Dawn of a New Age

by GTthe4th

Chapter 11: The Long Road to Apocalypse

---

(The Frozen North, Mount Everhoof)

There was a saying the Ponies had: “when it rains, it pours”. As a Changeling, Pharynx never really took stock in Pony expressions or superstitions unless he had to have the perfect disguise. Today, however, he finally understood what the Ponies meant with this particular expression, and he had to give them credit where it was due, they were onto something with it.

Of course, way up here on Mount Everhoof, it never rained, only snowed, but the blizzard outside still made the word choice somewhat apt by comparison, and only exacerbated Pharynx’s frustration.

After a couple days of sitting around in the cave, he had finally gotten some of his lieutenants to do a proper head count, now that they had safely established themselves within the caves. The results were, as Chrysalis had put it, satisfactory. Pharynx had another word for it: appalling.

Out of the seven hundred Changelings that had started the long, arduous trek up the mountain, only six hundred and twelve remained. Sixty-three had been lost in the storm and were never recovered, eleven had perished in the snow from exhaustion, thirteen had died in the night from sickness, and one...

Pharynx sighed and shook his head. He supposed that last one wasn’t exactly “dead” yet, but she was far from alive, and certainly not a Changeling anymore if that crystalline demon had anything to say about it.

Six hundred and twelve: that was all that remained of the Hive he once knew. They were the last of Chrysalis’s loyal followers, and represented the last hope of the true Hive --- the Everhoof Hive, he supposed. There were no more backups, there were no more contingencies, and there were no more escape plans. This was all they had to work with.

But it wasn’t just the loss of life that Pharynx was angry at. Oh no, that was just the start. Morale was dropping like a millstone in an ocean, the blizzard outside was bitterly cold and made scavenging for food nearly impossible, and it was discovered that several of the cavern “walls” had actually been sheets of ice. Too much pressure against some of them had caused them to collapse, nearly burying half of his Changelings in snow and ice. Since then, they had reinforced the walls with hardened goo, but the damage was already done. Two of the podded Crystal Ponies they had brought with them for love storage had perished from the collapse, and couldn’t be resuscitated.

All of this led to only one conclusion: the caves had to be excavated further, and the dwindling supplies buried deeper and in more secure locations. However, with so few workers or infiltrators left in the Hive, many of the soldiers who had barely even held a shovel much less dig out a tunnel had to be recruited to be diggers. With Pharynx supervising the digging operations, that left only his two remaining lieutenants and a skeleton crew of thirty to defend them, which wasn’t bringing Pharynx any comfort.

And neither was the incompetence of his new “workers”.

Narrowing his eyes, Pharynx marched down one of the newly-dug tunnels and gave a sharp whistle, drawing the attention of three drones. Glaring at them, Pharynx growled out, “What are you three doing?”

“We ain’t gonna dig no further...” one of them wheezed as she leaned against the wall.

“...Until we have a break!” finished one of her male companions. The third drone gave a mute nod in agreement, his wings hanging limply at his sides.

Pharynx slapped a hoof against his face and groaned. “You’re soldiers of the Hive! You can out-fly a tornado, out-run a cheetah, and outmaneuver a maulwurf. Are you telling me you can’t handle a little digging?”

The second drone held up a hoof and pointed to it with a wing. “With all due respect general, look at these! We’re soldiers, not workers. Give me an axe; a sword; a crossbow; a halberd; or Tartarus, even a hammer, and I’ll fight a war for you. But we’re not built for digging. Even fifty workers could have a good-sized Hive ready within a couple weeks, but we--”

It happened so fast that it barely even registered in the drone’s mind before he was suddenly pinned against the wall with Pharynx’s hoof pressed tightly against his throat, his fangs bared and eyes narrowed. “Listen here, grub, and listen well,” Pharynx hissed. “Do you think I’m happy with this situation? Do you think I want all you sorry excuses for Changelings being all I have to work with? Do you think I don’t know your own limitations? I KNOW! I know more than you think, and I also know that the Ponies are out there searching for us, and that if we don’t entrench ourselves now, we won’t survive a sneak attack from them. Would you rather be out there with your brothers and sisters in the snow, who sacrificed so much so that we could live?”

“No sir,” the drone gasped out, clutching at his throat even as Pharynx lifted him further off the floor.

“Would you, perhaps, like to be cozy and snug along with all the other traitors back in the Badlands, kissing Thorax’s hooves and lapping up his sappy speeches like little puppies eager to please?”

“N-no s-sir...” the drone gurgled, trying to regain his voice.

Pharynx pressed tighter and leaned in closer. “Didn’t hear you.”

“No sir!”

“DIDN’T HEAR YOU!!!”

“NO SIR!” the drone yelled, using the last of his air.

Pharynx let the drone drop to the floor and watched him cough before turning around, seeing that he had gathered a small audience from the rest of the tunnel-diggers. “Digging tunnels sucks, I know. You’re all tired, I know. You’re not miracle-workers, I KNOW! But you’re Changelings, and you’re strong! You can do this. If you have enough energy to scream like this one just did, then by Chrysalis’s crown, I want to hear you scream.” He pointed down the tunnel. “Now you all go back down there, look at that damn wall, and roar. I want to hear your rage, and I want to hear that wall being torn down as if the hordes of Tartarus were beating against it. And I want to keep hearing it until we have a Hive worthy of your Queen!”

“YES SIR!” the drones around him all bellowed, lifting their tools into the air.

“Now go, before I throw you out into the cold,” Pharynx ordered, giving them a smirk.

They didn’t need to be told twice. Roaring just like they had been order to, the swarm of Changelings lunged at the tunnel wall, slamming pickaxes, hammers, and hooves against it with renewed vigor.

Pharynx watched them work for a few minutes before turning away and leaving, a scowl on his face. Pep talks were one thing, but he knew deep down that the mouthy drone was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Eventually his Changelings’ stamina would run out, as well as their strength. They needed good news, and they needed it now.

A flicker of motion drew his gaze to the cave entrance, and he wondered if it was the good news he was hoping for as he saw two beleaguered, winter-garbed Changelings flutter inside.

“Scander, Clink, report,” Pharynx commanded as they landed in front of him.

“It’s no good, sir...” Scander reported, shaking snow off of his wings and shivering as he lowered his hood. “Crystal Praetorians are crawling all over the slopes looking for us. Even without the blizzard, it would be impossible to get past them without alerting them. They’ve got detection wards all over the place.”

“Nasty buggers,” Clink muttered, stomping both of his hind legs against the floor to get the ice off of them. His teeth were chattering.

Pharynx took note of Clink and grimaced. “No change, then. Thank you for the report, now head down to the galley and get some warmth in you. I think Garla is serving some warm water.”

Clink sent him a grateful look of relief. “Thank you, sir.”

Pharynx nodded and patted him on the shoulder before sending him and his fellow scout on their way. As they limped down one of the tunnels, Pharynx brought his attention to a petite female drone who was hovering over a pitifully small pile of crates, a clipboard and pencil in her hooves. As Pharynx approached her, he could hear her muttering angrily to herself.

“Sixty-three...bloody great, that’s what it is...just dandy. Add another five of those, and only fifteen spare glimmerstone torches...”

“Sproink, how’s our--” Pharynx started.

“EEK!” the mare screeched, dropping her clipboard and throwing her hooves over head head as she landed. “Don’t kill me, my Queen! I only miscounted once this time!”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow. “What?” he asked.

She lifted a hoof off her head and looked up at him with one eye, blinking. She gave a sheepish grin and got back up, dusting herself off and blushing intensely. “Erm, s-sorry, you startled me, sir. Was in the zone, you know?” She glanced around and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Please excuse anything I may have said. Impulse, you know? Nothing to it.”

“Um, don’t worry about it...I guess...” Pharynx murmured, shaking his head. He had more important things on his mind anyway. “As I was saying, what’s our supply situation?”

Sproink groaned and picked up her clipboard, sticking the pencil under the clip. “Pathetic, that’s our situation. Heat and water aren’t a problem, since we’ve got plenty of thaumatic batteries to last us and plenty of snow to melt and detox, but food is where we’re hurting the most.”

“How long can we last?”

She tapped a hoof on one of the crates. “Aside from the emergency rations in each of the soldiers’ packs, we managed to bring only sixty-three boxes of our physical food stores. That’ll give us about a month tops, if we ration it. After that we’re down to the emergency rations, and that’ll give us another few weeks.”

Pharynx nodded. He had expected this. Without regular love feedings in their diet, Changelings couldn’t last long on just normal food, and eventually they’d need to consume more and more just to wake up the next morning. “What about love stores?”

Sproink cringed. “Ouch,” she said simply.

“That bad, huh?”

She nodded, pointing lazily to where eight podded Crystal Ponies sat leaning against the cavern wall, five civilians and three Praetorians. “We weren’t able to grab that many Ponies when we abandoned the camp. When we lost two during the ice wall collapse from earlier, our love stores took a massive hit that we frankly can’t recover from. We’re rationing it as it is, and a lot of the soldiers are already feeling the stress and pain of emotion starvation.”

Pharynx’s eyes narrowed. “We need more Ponies, is what you’re saying?”

Sproink nodded again. “A lot more. Thirty would be the minimum, but eighty to a hundred is ideal.”

His eyes widened, and he made a face of incredulity. “Where in Tartarus am I going to get thirty Ponies to pod, or the soldiers with strength to get them, much less a hundred?!” Pharynx thundered. “You said it yourself, we’re stretched thin as it is!”

Sproink frowned, her ears and wings drooping. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m just an accountant drone. I’m not a soldier or tactician. Perhaps the Queen would know?”

“The Queen...” Pharynx started, before catching himself. He couldn’t just tell anyone what Chrysalis was doing. “...is busy,” he finished with a growl.

“Ahhh, but a busy Queen is a good Queen, because that means she’s working to make the Hive a better place,” said a deep female voice from behind him. “Wouldn’t you say, General Pharynx?”

Pharynx whirled around and bowed low to the ground. “Indeed, my Queen. Command me, and I will follow.”

“Oh, get up, you look ridiculous,” Chrysalis snorted, trotting past him. As she passed the slack-jawed Sproink, she paused and craned her head back slightly. “General, where might be a good place for me to address my Hive?”

Pharynx pointed to a small outcropping on the cave wall to his left. “Over here, my Queen. I often use this spot to direct my drones.”

“Your drones?” Chrysalis echoed, raising an eyebrow.

“Erm, your drones, Your Majesty,” Pharynx backtracked hastily. Stupid, stupid, stupid! What is wrong with you?!

“Enough,” Chrysalis hissed, hovering up to the outcropping. “Call all drones to me; I wish to address them.”

Pharynx nodded and closed his eyes. All Changelings, this is General Pharynx. Report to the central cavern, your Queen has some words for you all. His message sent, he reopened his eyes and said, “It’s done. They’ll be here shortly, Your Majesty.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Thank you, general.”

She and Pharynx sat in silence, waiting patiently for the rest of the Changelings to emerge from the tunnels and gather around. A few wanderers had already arrived, and Sproink found herself a seat on one of the crates, cradling her clipboard to her chest. As more and more drones started to appear, Pharynx glanced up at his Queen with a quizzical gaze, and asked, “My Queen, if I may be so bold, what is it you wish to announce?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Chrysalis snapped, refusing to look down at him.

Pharynx grimaced and turned away. Something in her voice made him feel uneasy.

Wait...she isn’t going to--

“My Queen...?” he whispered, realization dawning on his face.

By now most of the Changelings had gathered together, all looking to their Queen in eager anticipation, weak smiles on their faces. Chrysalis looked over all of them with a cursory glance, pausing as her gaze landed on a few drones that were clearly suffering from the early stages of love malnutrition. She waited a few more moments as the last few stragglers arrived before spreading her wings wide, silencing any and all excited chattering among the massive crowd.

Once all the drones had quieted down, Chrysalis smirked and opened her mouth to speak: “Changelings of the new Everhoof Hive, loyal drones, my brothers, my sisters, my sons, my daughters, lend me your ears.” She paused for effect, and then continued, “It has come to my attention that there have been some grumblings lately around the Hive. Do not worry, I am not upset, and those of you have been grumbling will not be punished. I wish to tell you that I understand your concerns completely. Morale is low, the cold is bitter and biting, love is nowhere to be found, we are all tired, and our situation looks bleak. Many of you are sick and suffering, and we have lost several of our number to the harsh environment. Believe me when I tell you that I understand your pain and your frustration.”

She took a step closer to the edge of the outcropping. “But today, I’ve come before you to make an announcement, one that will change our fortunes considerably.”

The crowd burst into excited whispers once more, and the smiles on some of the younger Changelings grew wider. However, for the older drones in the crowd, they had heard all this before, and thus kept their emotions in check like they were trained to. It would’ve made Pharynx proud had he not been mentally panicking.

She’s going to do it. She’s going to reveal...him...!

Chrysalis silenced the crowd once more with a hoof and raised her voice, “Yes, our situation is bleak, and yes, we are weakened. Yes, the traitor Thorax now commands an army of drones that were once family. Yes, the Ponies are everywhere and their eyes are sharp, but we have something that they don’t have: our honor, and our pride. We are Changelings! We don’t back down from a challenge, we face it head-on!”

The drones around her cheered and applauded.

“The time for us hiding in the shadows is long past! The world knows our names, and they are afraid. We have fewer numbers and fewer weapons, but THEY fear US! And why do they fear us, you may ask? It’s because we are Changelings, and we are strong. What we want, we take, and what we need, we acquire.”

She jumped up from the outcropping and hovered in the air above the heads of the crowd, looking down with a malicious smirk on her face. “But one thing we’ve never had...is an ally.”

Pharynx shuffled on his feet, looking nervous. “This isn’t a good idea...” he murmured.

Nobody heard him or cared. All eyes were on their Queen, and she was taking it all in with manic glee. “My Changelings, my loyal followers, today I am proud to announce that we do indeed have an ally, one who has sworn to aid us in achieving our revenge! I have seen his methods, heard his plans, and witnessed his power, and I believe he holds the key to our conquest of the Frozen North and beyond. He is building an army unlike any other that will sweep across Equestria like a plague, and this time, the Ponies will know true fear! Would you like to meet him, my Changelings? Would you like to see the face and hear the Voice of our benefactor?”

“Show him to us!” someone cried. It sounded like Sproink.

“Who is he, I want to thank him!” yelled another. That one was Scander.

“Show us!” roared one of Pharynx’s lieutenants. “If you trust him this much, he must be powerful and worthy of our respect.”

“Fear, more like it...” Pharynx muttered under his breath.

Chrysalis’s smile grew wide and triumphant. “The Hive has spoken,” she whispered, her voice echoing throughout the cavern via an amplification spell. “Changelings of the Everhoof Hive, it is my pleasure to introduce to you a being from another world far removed from our own, with powers and knowledge beyond imagining. I give you...Malefor.”

There was a loud cracking sound, and the Changelings gasped as a large claw made up of black and purple crystal burst forth from the ground, a large yellow eye in the center of its palm. As the dust cleared and the crowd was silenced once more, the eye gazed out over the Changelings before it, and before anyone could say anything, they heard a Voice chuckle all around them, before it began whispering into their minds.

Greetings, Changelings. Be not afraid, for I mean you no harm. Quite the opposite, in fact. Your Queen speaks the truth. I have seen firsthand what these Ponies are capable of, and what their precious way of life has wrought. They seek to wipe you out, not through obliteration, but through assimilation. I seek to...correct this error in judgment.

You may be curious as to why I appear to you in this manner. I can assure you, this is not my normal form. In life, I was a mighty Dragon of great wisdom and majesty, with knowledge far exceeding that of my peers. For the crime of wanting to create a better future for my world, I was cast out, shunned, and eventually banished from my world entirely, my soul trapped within crystal. I found myself cast upon this world, and after regaining my strength, I wish to seek vengeance upon those who wronged me, and help those who helped me.

Your Queen took me in and sheltered me while the Ponies shunned me just like my former peers. For this, I am eternally grateful, and wish to help you in your own quest for reclamation and conquest. Like your Queen said, I am already building an army for you, but that is not all I wish to do. You see, when I arrived on this world, I was weak and limited in strength, so I reached out with my mind and touched a source of power unlike anything I have ever seen, something I’m sure you’re all intimately familiar with: the Crystal Heart.

Gasps abounded from within the crowd, and Malefor chuckled once more, sending a shiver up Pharynx’s spine. Yes, that Crystal Heart, the pride and joy of the Crystal Empire. While I was not able to drain it completely, I did manage to siphon off a massive amount of its power --- power that I am willing to give to you all as a sign of good faith. Think of it as a token of our newfound kinship and alliance. All I ask from you is your complete trust and loyalty, just as Chrysalis has already offered. I am not your master, nor your King, merely a...ah, forgive me for saying this, Chrysalis, I am merely a friend who wishes to help. A loyal friend who has your backs. And friends...trust each other, do they not?

The Changelings all looked amongst themselves and nodded, glancing back at Malefor’s avatar. Malefor let out a sigh that echoed throughout the cavern, and the eye on the claw glowed a deep, ruby red. Lines of magic swirled out from the eye, first only a few, then dozens, and then hundreds, each one aimed at every Changeling in the cavern. Chrysalis, Pharynx, Scander, Clink, Sproink, they all felt it: a sudden surge in strength they hadn’t felt in years, not since the Invasion of Canterlot.

Love! An actual, overflowing, glorious, addictive, unfathomably pure stream of love! The holes in their legs shrunk, their wings grew, their horns curved, and their blue eyes glowed in the shadows as they felt the power coursing through their veins and pumping through their blood. Their vision sharpened, and their sickness and exhaustion vanished, as if they never had it.

Then, the stream ended. Just as every Changeling felt like they would explode from the power now residing within them, the transfer spell was cut off. A look of disappointment flashed over their faces for a moment, but only for a moment, because immediately afterwards every Changeling swept their newly-reformed wings back and reared onto their hind legs, staring up at the ceiling and screeching in triumph and ecstasy.

All but one. Pharynx had felt the power just as the rest, and he was grateful for that, but something scratched within his heart and mind. Something foul was afoot, and he couldn’t stop it.

All he knew was at that moment, the Hive had two masters leading it, and he wasn’t one of them. His brothers and sisters hollered, screeched, and roared their approval of their new ally, and Chrysalis looked almost euphoric.

Malefor, meanwhile, merely hummed.

---

(Later that night...)

The Hive was quiet tonight, which suited Pharynx just fine. The drones working on the tunnels had gone deep enough that the sounds of them working wouldn’t bother their fellow Changelings sleeping in the main cavern. The entrance had been sealed up by thick membranes and disguised by ice and snow, giving the daytime guards some well-earned reprieve from their duties while the much smaller night shift took the next watch. For once, the Hive was almost peaceful, as if nothing bad had ever happened; as if they were back in the Badlands and their troubles were finally over.

Pharynx, of course, knew the truth. What happened today, while miraculous, was a turning point in the Hive’s history. Whether it was for good or for ill, only time would tell, but Pharynx had his suspicions.

For the moment, however, he just wanted some sleep. The shot of adrenaline he had gained after having his body’s love stores replenished by Malefor had long since vanished, and had been followed by the intense desire to rest and recuperate. He would deal with his Hive’s new situation in the morning.

His Hive...

He frowned, his thoughts swirling around in his head. He didn’t know what was happening to him lately, but he knew he didn’t like it. He was beginning to think of his Queen’s Changelings as his own. It had started with the ones he had lost on the slopes, then with the half-blind female, and now with all the rest. Such thoughts were not only forbidden, they were also traitorous. Pharynx was no traitor to anyone, least of all the true Queen of the Hive. He had to focus; he had to purge such thoughts from his mind before they could linger and fester into a virus across the Hivemind.

Pharynx let out a groan and turned over, grabbing his blanket and pulling it tighter around him with a tired sigh. As he did, he opened an eye to give the main cavern one last look before drifting off to sleep. Most of the drones around him were already sleeping, but he did spot a few of the older ones conversing in whispers next to each other. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but it sounded serious, judging by the frowns they wore. When they saw him watching, however, they quieted down and went their separate ways, some to pods, others to small alcoves dug into the walls.

Well, that was weird. Pharynx blinked, then shrugged and turned back to to his makeshift pillow, only to catch a glimmer of something purple on the walls. Looking up, his eyes narrowed as he watched a tiny sliver of purple crystal snaking down the wall like a thin vine, coming closer to him.

Malefor was on the prowl, and his target seemed to be the Changeling general. With a huff, Pharynx rolled onto his other side facing away from the crystal tendril, fully intending to ignore the parasitical crystalline maniac.

For approximately eighteen seconds, his strategy worked...until he heard Malefor’s voice whispering once more into his mind.

Am I disturbing you?

“Yes, every time I see you or hear you, now buzz off,” Pharynx snarked back.

Malefor chuckled. Snappy, aren’t we? Don’t worry, my dear general, I won’t be long.

“Good, doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep anyway.” As soon as he said this, Pharynx grabbed his blanket and threw it over his head.

You seem troubled.

“I’m ignoring you, if you couldn’t tell. Snore.”

Perhaps I can help you? What is that troubles you tonight?

Pharynx’s eye twitched as he threw the covers off his face. He sat up, whirled his face around to face the crystal tendril, only to jump back slightly at the sight of a claw with a yellow eye on it staring motionlessly at him. “Would you just leave me alone already?!” he hissed. “In fact, leave all of us alone! It’s bad enough that you’ve put my Queen under your thrall, and it was bad enough that you stuck that drone in that pod and lobotomized her, now you’re just poisoning the rest of the Hive with your words!”

The eye on the claw rolled upwards. Here we go...

“Do you think that honeying your words and giving us love will make me forget what you’ve already done? Do you think that you have any right to be here? I have no love for the Ponies, but after seeing your work first-hoof, I’m almost thinking that they were right to cast you out.”

I am not your enemy, Pharynx. Far from it. I have no wish to see any more of your race harmed.

“Yeah, I guess after you’ve seen the insides of one Changeling, you’ve seen them all,” Pharynx spat.

Malefor continued undeterred, I merely wish to see your race reach their True Potentials. I have seen what lies within your future once you attain such greatness, and let me tell you, there will be no one who could stop you once it happens. Equestria will be yours.

“What are you babbling about now?”

The claw bent backwards, as if it was shrugging. It’s not my place to tell. Ask your Queen, and maybe if she doesn’t kill you for asking about it, she might let you in on the secret. Either way her reaction should be quite the amusing spectacle for me.

Pharynx rolled his eyes and flipped back around onto his side, planting a hoof over his ear. He knew it wouldn’t really help, but he hoped it would get the message across.

Naturally, it didn’t. You still haven’t told me what truly troubles you, deep within. Are you often this stubborn? Why can’t you simply accept that I’m here to stay, and let me help you? Your Queen and your Hive already have.

Pharynx visibly winced at his words, and the claw’s eye gleamed. Ahhh, so that’s it, then? “Your Hive”...I overheard that little bit of confusion you and Chrysalis had over your wording from earlier. Is that what’s troubling you? Interesting...how VERY interesting...

“Get. Out.”

Struck a nerve, did I?

“GET OUT!” Pharynx whisper-shouted, rising up from his bed and reaching for his sword. “You may have poisoned the Queen’s mind, but my job is to be suspicious of everything, especially so-called ‘allies’. I wouldn’t let a demon like you into my mind even if it killed me.” He pointed the sword at the claw and sneered. “Now get lost, or I’ll run an experiment of my own on how well those crystals of yours hold up against a mythril blade.”

Malefor chuckled once more. You remind me so much of an old enemy of mine: a black Dragon of great power and courage. He had such potential, much like you, and such a command over the Dream Realm. The same courage, the same willpower, the same impressive defiance...the same stupidity. You could almost be brothers.

“NOW!”

Alright, alright, I’m going, no need to get upset, my dear general. Just one last thing --- the real reason why I came down here was to inform you that, with Chrysalis’s invaluable aid in genetic and thaumaturgical research, I have made a breakthrough in my experiments. We might even see this breakthrough in practice very soon, I’m sure.

“Good, that means we won’t need you anymore,” Pharynx snarked, setting aside his sword. “The sooner you leave, the sooner I can get some proper sleep again.”

The claw “shrugged” again. As you wish. Before I go, however, I should inform you about something.

“Oh, for the Queen’s sake, WHAT?!”

I know the mineral composition and chemical properties of the crystals my soul inhabits. Very durable stuff, I must say. The Ancients sure knew how to build things to last. That mythril blade of yours might just shatter like glass against it if you tried swinging it around, but by all means, swing away. It would be good exercise for you, and highly amusing for me. Of course, I doubt your Queen will find it very amusing, seeing her prized general turn traitor by attacking her newfound ally. Sleep well, general.

With that, the claw closed its eye and vaporized into a fine powder, blowing away down the cavern and out into a tunnel. The crystal tendril on the wall retracted back the way it came, leaving a spidery gouge down the wall as the only clue it was there.

Pharynx hissed at it and covered himself with the blanket once more, but it was useless. He wouldn’t get any sleep tonight either, even as Malefor’s words kept swirling around in his mind.

---

(The next morning...)

Pharynx accepted the mug of warm water offered to him over the galley table, holding it with both his forehooves as he slowly hovered over to a secluded nook near the wall of the Hive’s main cavern. His eyes and ears drooped as he landed on the cold stone, and he let out a tired moan.

As expected, he didn’t get any sleep last night, and he was feeling it this morning. Love or not, he still needed his sleep if he was going to have any energy today, and Malefor had gleefully denied him some. Muttering dark curses under his breath as he sipped at his mug, Pharynx swore he would get even somehow. If mythril wouldn’t work, perhaps explosives will. He’d ask Sproink if they managed to grab any breaching charges the next time he saw her.

He then imagined Chrysalis repeatedly smashing his skull into the walls of the Hive before throwing him out into the cold, and thought better of it. Most of the other Changelings never really saw that side of her, but he had, as had many of the other older drones. He didn’t relish seeing it again.

The cavern suddenly grew quiet, and Pharynx looked up from his mug to see Chrysalis walking up to the galley staff to receive her own mug of water. He raised an eyebrow, but then something else caught his eye: floating behind her was one of Malefor’s crystal claws.

Pharynx sneered and returned to his mug, just before noticing out of the corner of his eye that Chrysalis was heading towards him. After taking one last sip, he put on a less tired-looking face and stood up respectfully, bowing his head. “Good morning, my Queen.”

“Greetings, General Pharynx,” Chrysalis replied, in an oddly chipper tone, no less. She sat down near him, floating her mug in front of her face. “I take it you’re well-rested?”

Not in the slightest... his mind grumbled. “Yes, my Queen,” he replied evenly, glancing at Malefor’s claw.

...Did that thing just wink at him? With only one eye?

“Good!” Chrysalis chirped, taking a sip of the steaming water. “In that case, I have a mission for you.”

Pharynx stood at attention, ignoring Malefor as best as he could. “Command me, my Queen!”

“Some of the scouts this morning returned with news,” Chrysalis began. “They told me that a second cave system has been located in a nearby peak just a few kilometers to the west. They hid in it while avoiding a Pony patrol, and have determined that it’s quite extensive, and also unoccupied. I want you to put together an expedition of fifty drones to those caves and establish an outpost there.”

“My Queen, would it not be better to hold out in here?” Pharynx asked. “Creating a secondary Hive so soon would split our forces in half. We don’t have many--”

“Are you questioning my orders, general?” Chrysalis wondered aloud, eyeing him with a look of sudden interest. There was a dangerous gleam in her eye, one that dared him to continue.

Pharynx had seen it before, and while his instincts told him to back down, he was knew who he was. He was her appointed general and advisor, and this was his job. “No, my Queen, I question neither your orders nor your wisdom, I just want to point out a...flaw with the plan.” Before she could even open her mouth to retort, he continued, “That being said, you were the one who was given the report, not me, so you know more about these caves than I do, I would presume.”

“You presume correctly,” Chrysalis seethed, looking back down at her mug. She almost seemed disappointed. The eye on Malefor’s claw blinked at her.

“Are the caves as barren as these ones?” Pharynx pressed.

“Yes.”

“Do they give us a tactical advantage?”

“The possibility exists.” Her fangs were starting to show.

“Will it provide us with a way to get past the patrols without being spotted?”

“No,” she spat.

Pharynx sighed. “Then my Queen, why? Why should we waste resources and dronepower establishing an outpost that holds little value for us, when we are better suited here, where we can regain our full strength and hold out for far longer?”

“Because soon we won’t need to ‘hold out’, when we can strike back,” Chrysalis retorted, no longer masking the sneer on her face. “That’s why this outpost needs to be established, general --- not as a fallback position, but as a place from which lightning assaults can be launched against the Crystal Empire and beyond.”

“I’m not sure I follow, my Queen,” Pharynx admitted. “How can fifty drones launch an assault? That’s barely a platoon, much less a city-wide strike force.”

May I cut in, my lady?

Chrysalis lifted her mug, drained every last drop of the hot water in one gulp, and slammed the mug against the floor in a huff. “Please do.”

Malefor chuckled. General Pharynx, your Queen knows that fifty Changelings isn’t nearly enough to launch an invasion. They’re merely the builders of the outpost. The outpost itself will be manned by others.

“What others?” Pharynx inquired, sitting back down again.

Why, your new army, of course.

Chrysalis held out her hoof to Pharynx, revealing a small purple shard with a black center. “This is the reason why you’re establishing the outpost: to plant this deep within.”

Pharynx picked it off of her hoof and examined it closely. “A crystal?” He tried holding it up to the light, only to stop when he saw Chrysalis shaking her head at him.

It’s a Dark Crystal, a piece of my prison, and contains a faint portion of my soul. Breaking it off was...agonizing, but worth it in the end. Once planted within the cave system, it’ll enable me to be in two places at once, as it were, and allow me to have a much bigger workplace than a simple laboratory here.

Because of course it has that name... “I thought you told me you made a breakthrough?” Pharynx asked, leering at him.

Chrysalis nodded. “We did, a major one, and that’s why we need a larger space to work.”

Pharynx tucked the crystal into a pouch at his side. “How major, if I may ask?”

Malefor laughed. Spoilers, my dear general!

“You will find out soon enough,” Chrysalis added with a smirk, her forked tongue slipping out briefly and licking her fangs.

Maker, give me strength... Pharynx nodded and drained the last of his mug, the water already having cooled somewhat. “Very well, my Queen. When would you like me to leave?”

“Immediately.”

---

(Mount Everhoof, western slopes)

Despite the rough night and the even rougher morning, it had only taken Pharynx a record twenty minutes to gather together an expeditionary team for the mission, something that almost impressed himself. Adrenaline was one Tartarus of a drug, especially when paired with the fear of disappointing the Queen.

Luckily, it seemed that during the night the blizzard had subsided, giving way to clear, sunny skies and a slightly more comfortable temperature, giving them the perfect opportunity to undertake the mission. Granted, it was still too cold for a drone to be out for longer than a few hours at most, but at least it wouldn’t kill them outright.

As per the Queen’s orders, fifty Changelings left alongside Pharynx soon afterwards in teams of three, disguised as hawks and eagles. From there, they flew west, following the path the scouts had mapped out for them, while avoiding any Crystal Pony patrol they came across.

The Ponies were quite active today, from what Pharynx could see. He supposed it was due to the much more favorable weather, but it was also possible that they were always this active, and that his Changelings...the Queen’s Changelings just hadn’t seen them. That thought sent an involuntary shiver down his spine, and made him quicken his wing beats.

Fortunately for all the disguised drones, none of the Ponies paid them any heed, save for one resting Praetorian who briefly looked up and smiled, thinking they were a real flock of birds. That suited Pharynx just fine, and had put him in a good mood as he and his team landed at the peak the scouts had described a few hours after leaving the Hive. It wasn’t a moment too soon. Several of the drones’ hooves were already showing mild signs of frostbite, and required immediate treatment.

Once arriving at the caves, the frostbitten drones were laid to rest against the walls while the medics treated them, while Pharynx led a squadron of soldiers down one of the tunnels. In one hoof he held his sword, and in the other held a glimmerstone torch, its green flame illuminating the tunnel as he and the soldiers hovered through it. It only took a few minutes for them to determine that they were alone in the caves, save for a few worms and beetles, and they returned to the entrance in a more relaxed state.

Pharynx quickly got to work directing the Changelings to start establishing the outpost. Workstations were quickly set up, along with a small alcove designated for any supplies once they arrived. Loose debris was cleared, walls were reinforced with hardened goo, and disguise spells were cast and inscribed in runes to ensure longevity. Within hours, many of the tunnels had been explored, cleared, and made ready for future use.

The outpost, for all intents and purposes, was ready --- which left only one thing left for Pharynx to do.

As the rest of the drones finished off preparing the outpost, Pharynx wandered down one of the tunnels until he found himself in a large cave buried deep within the mountain. It wasn’t quite as large as the central cavern of the Hive, nor was it as perfectly excavated, but based on what his Queen had told him, it suited his mission just fine.

Digging into the satchel at his side, Pharynx pulled out the crystal shard and held it up, letting the glimmerstone’s light shine through it. Tiny spirals of black energy swirled inside, and he thought he could almost see bolts of lightning flash from within as well. Then, as he looked closer, a face started to form --- his own.

But it wasn’t a reflection. Even as he scowled at the crystal, the face that stared back smiled viciously at him and opened its eyes to reveal golden irises and red sclera. The smile curled further upwards into a fanged grin, and suddenly the yellow irises expanded, and as Pharynx watched, the face transformed into that of a mighty and enormous Dragon, its tattered wings stretching out over planets and stars. The oceans had turned red, and the lands were scorched beyond recognition.

He blinked, and the vision of his face and the Dragon vanished, replaced by the swirling dark energies once more. Snarling in disgust, he threw the crystal to the ground, watching as it embedded itself into the dirt with a dull thud, and stormed away, muttering angry curses under his breath.

But just before he left, he turned and looked back at the crystal, intending to give it one last dirty look, only to stop when he saw what now lay before him.

The shard was now glowing, and purple and black veins of crystal had sprouted from it and were now crawling across the cavern floor, reaching for the walls like the tentacles of some aquatic beast. More shards of crystal sprouted up from various places, as the original shard started to grow as if magically-accelerated.

Pharynx shivered again and backed away, suddenly wondering if he had done the right thing. The air around him had grown cold, oppressive, and dark, and he felt his skin crawl as if every beetle, spider, and ant in the cave was clinging to him for warmth. Voices began to whisper all around him, but he couldn’t understand the words, nor recognize who was speaking. It was as if some nameless, alien evil was speaking to him.

If there was any evidence he needed to confirm his doubts about Malefor, this was it. This wasn’t just magic, this was dark magic, the stuff that corrupted and devoured those who wielded it. And if Malefor was using it with such bravado and efficiency, that meant one of three things: he was insane, he really was a demon incarnate, or, Maker forbid, he was both. Every answer was horrifying to think about, and only made him even feel queasier than before.

His Queen was following a mad creature, and he had no way of stopping her. How could he? Instinct, law, order, and justice commanded him not to interfere. She was his Queen, and he had to obey. It was the way of things since Changelings began.

And as for Malefor...it was almost as if he knew that Pharynx knew who he was and that he was unable to stop it, and was enjoying every moment of it.

Shaking his head even as the whispers grew louder, he turned around and fled up the tunnel, leaving the Dark Crystal to transform the cavern into whatever it sought fit to create.

---

(The Everhoof Hive, main entrance)

Shortly after planting the Dark Crystal in the caves and warning the drones not to touch it or look too deeply into it, Pharynx sent a message over the Hivemind that his mission was complete and the outpost was ready. His Queen seemed happy about the news, but Pharynx could tell there was also something else that made her that way, judging by her tone of voice. Before he could ask her what it was, however, she had ordered him to return to the Hive post-haste.

So, after leaving the fifty Changelings at the outpost, he made the long flight back home alone, once more disguised as a hawk. The Praetorian patrols had moved on from the slopes, leaving him with nothing but open skies, a quiet trip, and a chance to collect his thoughts about what he had seen within the Dark Crystal. Despite his misgivings, he felt sure that he had to tell Chrysalis about it, and properly warn her about Malefor. She, of course, wouldn’t listen to him, as was her right as Queen, but he had to say something. It already weighed too heavily on his heart and mind.

It was in the middle of the afternoon when Pharynx finally returned to the Hive, coming in for a landing at the main entrance. Two camouflaged guards waved him down and welcomed him back, offering him a cup of warm water as he dusted the snow off his coat. Pharynx took the cup in gratitude and entered the Hive, intending to find Chrysalis, only to pause at the sight before him.

Hundreds of Changelings were staring at him, blinking wordlessly and sitting in a crescent shape around him. One of them in the back coughed.

Pharynx blinked back at them and, without breaking eye contact, took a sip from his cup and set it aside. “Can I...help all of you?” he asked at length.

Nobody said a word, until one drone up in the front, Clink, stepped forward with a nervous glance behind him. “Um, yes sir, you can.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Uh, no, nothing wrong...we think,” Clink replied, looking behind him once more. “It’s just that the Queen’s been acting a little strange ever since you and the others left this morning. Kinda distant and snappy, really.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “You guys know she’s always like that, right? She’s the Queen, not your friend.”

“But Pharynx, this...this is different,” said another drone, this one Sproink. “She told us to tell you as soon as you got back to meet her down that tunnel.” She pointed to her left, at a dark tunnel that remained untouched ever since the Hive was built.

Well, untouched by Changeling hooves, anyway.

“The tunnel covered with crystals?” Pharynx raised an eyebrow. The only thing that lay down there was...oh...

OH.

Oh, horseapples, what’s he done now? Pharynx wondered.

“Yeah, that one,” Clink affirmed with a nervous nod. “She told us not to go down there under any circumstances, and that only she and you were allowed to go inside.”

Pharynx sighed and stepped closer to the crowd. “Did she give any hint as to what she wanted?”

Clink and Sproink shook their heads.

The crowd parted as Pharynx made his way toward the tunnel, watching him with curious and somewhat nervous gazes. Pharynx rolled his eyes once more and mentally face-hooved at their antics, just as he stopped in front of the tunnel’s threshold. Looking up he could see that Malefor’s crystals had spread a lot more since he had left, although they never left the tunnel itself.

Creepy, but more annoying than anything. With a grunt, Pharynx stepped into the tunnel, not looking back as excited whispers erupted behind him.

He didn’t make it very far before he heard Chrysalis’s voice from up ahead, whispering, “I see you’ve arrived...”

Pharynx froze, one hoof lifted up as he stared down the tunnel. “My Queen, what do you wish of me?”

A stalactite ahead of him suddenly shifted and unravelled, revealing itself to be Chrysalis hanging upside down on the ceiling. She smirked at him from above, her glowing eyes and horn illuminating her face in a green light from the shadows. “Walk with me,” she replied, her voice sounding oddly lilting and sultry.

Pharynx blinked and then nodded, continuing forward on the tunnel floor even as Chrysalis marched upside down above him. They traversed the long, winding tunnel in silence, the only light to illuminate their steps being Chrysalis’s horn and the subtle glimmers from the crystals. Nevertheless, Pharynx could tell that Chrysalis was eager to speak with him. About what, he couldn’t say, but he had his suspicions...

Suspicions that were confirmed as soon as she opened her mouth to speak. “You’re just in time for the culmination of all my efforts, general. Today is a great day.”

“What do you mean, my Queen?” Pharynx wondered aloud.

“As you know, for weeks now Malefor and I have been working tirelessly to solve our little Pony problem,” Chrysalis explained. “Yesterday, we made a breakthrough, one that’ll change how we fight forever.”

“Yes, he told me as such, but he neglected to tell me what it was,” Pharynx replied, his face turning sour. “As general, I should’ve been informed immediately.”

“We had to be sure that what we discovered was worth our attention, and by the Maker, it was,” Chrysalis hissed from the shadows, a gleeful grin on her face. “Sacrificing that one Changeling for this was, oh, so worth it. She will never know just how glorious her legacy will become.”

Ah yes, the blind drone. Pharynx’s eyes fell slightly as he thought about her. He had recently discovered her name: Sentinel, a simple name for a simple soldier drone. Just as he had suspected, nobody remembered seeing her or remembered where she had gone. Most assumed that she had been lost in the blizzard, and for the sake of the Hive, Pharynx almost felt grateful for that. He couldn’t imagine the chaos it would cause if his Changelings found out what their Queen was doing.

Ignoring Pharynx’s silence, Chrysalis continued unperturbed, “It took a while for us to find it, and several failures. We nearly lost the subject several times, and even had to resuscitate her once. Let me tell you, that’s surprisingly difficult to do when the subject is already missing its heart and half of its brain, but I digress.”

“And what did you find?” Pharynx asked, trying to ignore the queasiness that had returned to his belly and the tightening in his chest.

Chrysalis stopped and stretched her neck down, twisting her head until she was face-to-face with him. She grinned, revealing her fangs once more. “We discovered a way to suppress our most basic instinct: the need to harvest love. Without it, the body will automatically produce high levels of adrenaline to compensate for the lack of nutrients, tricking the mind and forcing the body into a raging frenzy. The body will actively fight until its last ounce of strength to survive no matter what.”

Pharynx stared into her eyes, confusion written on his face. “You...you’re starving her?”

Not starving, suppressing. And not her, just her offspring.

Pharynx groaned as Malefor’s Voice echoed all around them. Then he narrowed his eyes as he processed what he had said. “Offspring?”

Yes. Through the subject drone you provided me, I was able to replicate it through a complex mixture of sorcery and science. The first few are already ready to arrive.

“Excellent!” the Queen cheered.

“Wait, won’t they be weak without love?” Pharynx countered, looking around at the crystals hanging from the ceiling. “What use are weak soldiers?”

“Did you not hear what I told you?” Chrysalis answered.

The drone’s offspring are not as weak as you may think. Because their feeding instinct is suppressed, their instinct for survival and aggression is amplified a thousandfold. They’re more mentally unstable, to be sure, but they’re entirely loyal to only one being in this world: Queen Chrysalis. We’ve already tested her Hivemind connection with them; they’re completely subservient, and will perform whatever tasks she asks of them without question. And, if cut off from her, they revert back to that “survive or die” instinct, only in the Queen’s name. They never tire, they never slow down, they don’t feel pain, and they’re fearless.

“They’re the pinnacle of Changeling evolution,” Chrysalis finished, her voice and breath turning heavy. “The perfect soldier; the answer for all our problems.”

Pharynx couldn’t hold it in anymore. All this talk about evolution and perfect soldiers was making his already troubled mind even worse. He had to say something. “My Queen...while I admit, the chance to strike back at my traitorous brother and his followers is tempting, I feel the need to warn you.”

“About what?” Chrysalis asked, sliding down from the ceiling in front of him. She stood tall over him, looking downward with an imperious gaze.

He met her gaze, and suddenly felt very alone. He could feel Malefor’s presence all around him, and for a moment the face of the Dragon flashed within his mind. Those great wings, that devious grin...daring Pharynx to speak, to defy him.

Daring him to strike.

“When...when I planted that Dark Crystal at the outpost, I saw something within it, something that worried me.”

Chrysalis said nothing for a moment, then leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I know you did, so did I.”

Pharynx blinked and raised an eyebrow. “You...did?”

Chrysalis nodded. “When I first looked into the crystal, I saw a vision of our future should we fail. I saw our race faltering, dying slowly at the hooves of the Ponies. I saw oceans of blood, OUR blood, and our lands burning. The Ponies preach of friendship and love, but really they just want to control everything and assimilate every race into their twisted ideology! Those who resist are thrown to the wolves. This is what I saw in that crystal, and I had hoped to spare you from seeing it as well, but it seems curiosity got the better of you.”

“But my Queen, that’s not--!”

My lady, the first batch of your new soldiers is ready.

“Finally!” Chrysalis cried, cutting Pharynx off before he could finish. “Come, my general, let us see the makings of our revenge. Malefor, you have been a tremendous help in this matter, and I am eternally grateful. Would you care to join us and see the fruits of your labor?”

Queen Chrysalis, your gratitude is reward enough for my efforts. It’s far more than any of my peers have ever given me before. Now, run along and enjoy yourselves; there is much work to be done, and I have little time to do it.

And with that, Malefor’s presence vanished, leaving Chrysalis and Pharynx alone in the tunnel once more. The Queen didn’t waste any time, and practically dragged Pharynx by the horn further down the tunnel. As she babbled about vengeance and reclamation, Pharynx had once more fallen into silence. He supposed he could try again to warn her about Malefor, but he knew it was no use; she would never listen to what he had to say. She was already so invested and obsessed with this new alliance and what it meant for her Hive.

It was just another step on the long road to the apocalypse he saw in his vision.

Before long they had entered a large cavern, and Chrysalis shut off her horn, no longer needing the light it provided. Despite being dark, the cave had its own source of light from its center, although what it was coming from Pharynx couldn’t tell. Speleothems and columns towered over them, and thin layers of ice and purple crystal covered the floor, interspaced with massive Dark Crystal formations and veins covering the walls or hanging from above.

It was also a cave that Pharynx didn’t remember being there before. After looking around, he understood why --- several overturned beakers and broken pieces of a purple goo pod lay about the floor, indicating what this cavern used to be. The drone, Lucia, was gone, as were all the pieces of her that had been preserved in jars. The laboratory was gone, replaced by something far bigger and more grandiose.

There were also few noises within the cave, but he did manage to hear one clearly: the buzzing of wings.

“There it is!” Chrysalis hissed, pointing ahead of them towards the center of the cave. “We’re almost there.”

“What do you see?” Pharynx asked, looking around the cave in awe.

Chrysalis chuckled and stepped forward. “Our new future.”

He followed her as she made her way around several of the Dark Crystals, stepping gingerly over the crisscrossing veins in the stone underhoof. Once again that profane presence he felt at the outpost bore down on him, but this time it felt subdued and more...invigorating. With every step closer to the middle of the cave the presence grew in strength, and he shivered, putting a hoof on the hilt of his blade.

The buzzing also grew louder, and he could also make out the clicking of Changeling hooves on the floor, as well as something else he couldn’t quite identify. Sword tips against stone, perhaps?

Just ahead of him, Chrysalis stopped in her tracks, looking ahead with a pleased look of smug superiority and vicious triumph. Pharynx sided up to her just as she raised her hoof and pointed once more. “Behold, General Pharynx...your new army.”

Pharynx followed her hoof and stared, unable to fully comprehend what he was seeing.

A massive sheet of blue crystal had emerged from the cave floor, its surface as thin as paper and smooth as silk. From it shone the light that illuminated the entire cave, and through it Pharynx could see shapes and dark silhouettes straining to get out. It was then that he realized the crystal sheet was something far more. It was a portal, although where it went he couldn’t possibly guess. Wherever it went though, he was sure that it was unnatural.

The silhouettes drew closer to the sheet’s surface, and as they did, one more feature appeared on them that made Pharynx’s heart turn to ice: large red eyes with yellow irises, just as he saw in his vision.

He took a step back, a large frown forming on his face. He briefly glanced up to Chrysalis, but her attention was transfixed on the portal. His warnings were useless now; his vision was coming true right before his eyes.

The surface of the portal rippled slightly, and something emerged. Bringing his gaze back to it, Pharynx watched as a large, scythe-like appendage slid out from the portal like one would emerge from a pool of water, followed shortly by a leg, a neck, and then a head. Soon, an entire being had slipped out from the portal and landed softly on the ground before them.

It was a Changeling, but unlike any Changeling Pharynx had ever seen. Gone were the front hooves, the blue eyes, and the lower jaw. Instead, the mutated form that now stood before him bore two scythes for front legs, sharp tusks emerged from its jaw, and the eyes were like the ones from his vision, piercing, alert, vicious, and cruel. Dark Crystal shards sprouted all over its light grey body, from head to hoof, all of them pulsating with powerful magic.

The mutant drone took several unsteady steps forward, looking at Chrysalis with awe and wonder in its eyes. Then, without a word, it prostrated itself before her, its eyes closed. Behind it, several more of its kindred were beginning to emerge from the portal, following its example as they saw Chrysalis in all her glory. Soon an entire row of them had appeared, some of them even hovering over the others as they flew out from the portal.

Chrysalis’s smile grew wider, and she stepped forward, spreading her wings out. “Welcome to the waking world, my new children. You are the latest in a long and powerful bloodline of warriors, and you and I will do great things together. Come, follow me, and meet your brothers and sisters.”

Without another word, she turned around and began her trek back to the tunnel, the mutant Changelings following close behind her. Even without any training, they had already formed up into ranks, and were marching and flying in perfect sync with each other.

Pharynx steadied himself and swallowed, watching as several more pairs of eyes and silhouettes appeared in the portal. For better or worse, the army was here, and his Queen was pleased with what she saw. And why wouldn’t she be? They were the perfect soldiers, and they just kept pouring through in droves. Endless. Obedient. Strong.

He knew he should be pleased as well, but something inside his was screaming at him that this whole thing was wrong, that this wasn’t the future that was meant to be, and that his entire world was in danger.

And yet, he could do nothing and say nothing. Despite his rank, he was a mere drone in the Hive, and Chrysalis was his Queen. The Queen was always right. The Queen was always wise. The Queen was always in control.

The Queen was to be obeyed at all times.

That road to the apocalypse he was walking suddenly felt very short indeed.

---

Author's Note:

Art by Shrekzilla:

Comments

[Comma Typer]

So pretty much inhumane experimentation and forcing the subject's children to be these disgusting abominations that were born without real free will. It does make me wonder how far Chrysalis is willing to stay partnered with Malefor until she realizes she's hurting her children.

I don't have much else to say here since what you've been doing well in the past, you're doing well here too. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if Pharynx is just killed off next chapter by a vengeful Chrysalis.

[GTthe4th]

11139639

So pretty much inhumane experimentation and forcing the subject's children to be these disgusting abominations that were born without real free will. It does make me wonder how far Chrysalis is willing to stay partnered with Malefor until she realizes she's hurting her children.

Must...resist...

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if Pharynx is just killed off next chapter by a vengeful Chrysalis.

Can say something about this though without too many spoilers: I’ve got big plans for Pharynx. Big plans. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

[Enderstorm]

I like the evil but still loyal to her children Chrysalis, but I really really hope what she's doing with Malefor doesn't screw her over too bad and leave Thorax's bubblegum coloured hive as the only option.

[vorxil]

And now there are Changeling Tyranids. What could possibly go wrong?