Martyr of the Hive

by Taranth

Chapter 3: Betrayal/Salvation

It was more than her mind that felt fuzzy, now.

Her armour had softened while she slept, her body felt strangely numb. Staying awake was difficult. She knew that this wasn't the change proper, just preparing her for it - after all, she was a princess, and her body was a far more grand and complicated thing than the average drone. Undoing all that good work took time and effort.

And she knew that the starvation was a solid part of that, too. If she had any magical energy, it would be focused on healing herself, preventing these changes. But without anything, all she could do was try to ignore the horrible combination of gnawing pain and numbness.

Unfortunately, the best and only real thing she had to distract herself with was the situation she had been put into, and the more she thought about it, the more she began to realise that, given the evidence, she had probably done everything they said.

She couldn't remember any of it, but how could she deny it? Her hive was dead, that was unquestionable, gone to the last changeling. The princess of Honesty had not spoken in her defence, and the Queen believed it unquestionably. The only thing that made sense was that her mind had been tampered with afterwards, either as a side-effect of the pony magic or whatever Vicissitudo had done.

And if she had led her entire hive to its doom, and brought war to the others, then it was probably a mercy to not remember it, or anything else.

Guilt and despair blended nicely with the hunger and the numbness, and she fluctuated gently between them on the edge of unconsciousness, not even noticing the tap of hooves approaching her room.

It wasn't until a hole-filled leg fell right in front of her nose that she jumped, scrambling feebly back to her hooves.

"How are you feeling, Chrysalis?" Mutare asked her. She managed to gather the mental wherewithal for a flat stare. Her sister laughed, though not cruelly.

"I suppose that's unavoidable. I don't suppose you've remembered anything?"

She sighed, hanging her head. "I... I don't remember anything, but... I have to have done it. It's the only thing that makes sense... I just wish I knew why I would do such a thing..." She fell back down prone, clutching her throbbing head with her hooves.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense." Mused her captor. "Chrysalis, the princess of Kindness. You've always been content in the shadows. Quiet little Chrysalis, keeping her brood alive on scraps, begging and pleading. While my brood takes figures of authority or loved ones for Loyalty, and the others play counsellors for Honest secrets or artists for Generous donations, you and your brood play the lost, the homeless, the sick, the needy, waiting for the charity and Kindness of the ponies around them. It's not exactly a life of pride, but you and your brood seemed happy enough on the surface... but I suppose it's not too hard to imagine you just... snapping one day, though, is it?"

"W-what?" Chrysalis was taken aback by the sudden contempt in her sister's voice. For some reason, she suddenly wasn't sure anymore of what had happened at all.

Mutare smiled a fang-filled smile, pacing around her sister's immobilised form. "And your poor little children... oh, they love you so, and they would follow you to the ends of the earth. They have to beg and plead for every scrap of kindness a pony might show them, and they might hunger for more and more... but they love you, oh how they love you. Oh, so loyal. So when you suggested there was a way they might feed more, and make you happy... Oh, they are so very, very loyal. "

She walked around behind the partially immobilised Chrysalis, who swung around, eyes widening as the pieces came together in her mind. By the time she had turned, it was no longer her sister's face she looked into - but her own. Her indignation blew straight over the top of the fuzziness in her mind, as she began to realise just what had happened.

"You... How dare you?!"

Her reflection laughed merrily in her own voice, revelling in her outrage. "Isn't it hilarious, Chrysalis? We are a species that by definition pretends to be other beings to steal what they have - and not once has anyone suspected that it might not be you who led that charge."

"But it's impossible! Wouldn't the Queen have noticed you missing? And - and Vicissitudo! You couldn't possibly keep a secret like that from her!"

"Oh yes, Vicissitudo... our lovely sister of Honesty." The false Chrysalis made a show of rubbing a chin with one hole-ridden hoof. "How can one hide something so enormous from somepony who can literally sniff out and consume secrets? Unless, of course, she had some reason to be less than forthcoming on the matter..."

"She's in on it too?"

"Well, yes and no. Why don't you ask her yourself? She's right behind you."

A flash of green light, and the seals on her hind hooves shattered. She spun around, expecting the other princess to have teleported in...

And realised that behind her stood a cocoon, almost entirely hidden by rock that had grown over it.

And a princess-sized, deep blue-maned figure could be seen floating asleep inside it.

"...What... what have you done?" Chrysalis backed away from the cocoon in horror, before realising where that was taking her, spinning around and retreating from her other sister in turn.

"This hive is being wasted, Chrysalis. Don't you see that? Your petty little brood and their dependence on the Kindness of ponies... our sisters and their need for Laughter and Generosity... it's all just... small change."

"So you started a war? You're killing off your own sisters? Aren't you supposed to represent the Loyalty of the hive?"

"I feed on Loyalty - that doesn't mean I have to have any of it myself." She smirked. "Don't you understand? If it comes to war, then we will need to grow our armies. Who leads the armies?"

"A play for power in the hive? That's what this insanity is for?"

"Indeed! Our brood will grow, and they will be loyal to me. Beautiful, delicious loyalty, from every last one of them. It will be wonderful."

"You won't get away with this, Mutare. The Queen will find out. You can't just... knock off your sisters like that! How did you replace us? You couldn't possibly think a drone would do enough!"

Her reflection tutted slightly. "Now, now, Chrysalis! You can't expect me to give up all of our secrets, can you?" She grinned widely. "Now, I'm afraid you've got a date with dronehood, while I use the magic you've given me to kill the rest of our sisters and bring war to the ponies."

Chrysalis snapped.

Without a thought of anything but vengeance she dove at the traitor princess with an anguished cry on her lips and her sharp horn striking at neck height.

She never even got close. Green magic flashed out at her in a bolt that spun her around, adding new pain to that already consuming her body, stunning her for the crucial minute Mutare needed, effortlessly levitating Crysalis towards a second cocoon which was in the process of emerging from the chamber wall.

With what seemed like gentlest care, she split open the green membrane and tucked her prisoner into it, sealing it behind her as she began to recover from the stunning blast. "I know it won't mean much to you soon enough, sister, but it's the least I can do to ensure you don't go to your doom thinking you were responsible for their deaths. There's nothing you ever could have done." Her voice echoed through the slime within the cocoon, but all Chrysalis could do was glare. Mutare smiled, taking her own form again in a flash of green, and walked away.

Already she could feel the cocoon working on her, reshaping her form and seeping into her mind. Chrysalis seethed while she still had the chance to. What kind of monstrous creature had her sister become? But part of her was yet relieved to hear that she had not been responsible for her swarm's death. She could face her fate a little easier, knowing that, even if it meant she was innocent - a miniscule kindness just before her demise...

...Her eyes shot open as she delved into herself, fighting off the cocoon's numbing grip on body and mind.

A miniscule kindness is still a kindness, even if granted in spite, and Kindness was power.

She hadn't even felt it trickle in, as her body had directed the power straight to trying to heal her disintegrating form. She fought her own instincts to pull what remained of the power away from that task, holding it tight within her with rapidly fading attention.

But then, what could she do with it?

It was enough to let her escape the cocoon, certainly - but little beyond that, and she would barely be able to walk in her condition. And she was almost certainly at the heart of Mutare's territory. There was no reasonable hope of escape.

And even if she could escape, what was left for her outside?

She sighed, and gathered the power together for what she suspected would be her last act as a sentient creature. Touching her horn to the wall of the cocoon, she fed her attention into the connections of the hive, tracing back the living links between herself and the living fluid she was suspended in, and the walls, and the swarm...

She sought out the greatest mind of the hive, homing in on her mother's mind as instinctively as her own children would link to her. The link between princess and queen was not automatic nor permanent, but it was second nature to changeling magic, with the catalyst of the hive.

She let go a burst of information, everything she had just had explained to her, desperately pushing it into the link. And when her magic gave out, there was nothing left to protect her from the cocoon's embrace... she drifted off moments later, hoping that her final act might save at least some of the hive...

~-~-~-~

It was worse than Spring Bounty could have imagined.

They had been travelling for days, now, sneaking from town to town, eating scavenged supplies and unpalatable but edible wild plantlife. Every village they came across had been taken by the changelings. Here and there they spotted other ponies outside the towns, but Papillon advised to stay clear - they were as likely to be changeling scouts as real ponies.

If they were real ponies, they seemed to have the same thought, for if they were noticed they were given a wide berth. They moved fast whenever they were spotted, fearing the swarm would descend on them again at any moment.

But either the changelings were more interested in fortifying their captured towns than mopping up the stragglers, or they had Celestia watching over them as they ran, with the far-off peak of Canterlot ever in their minds. By this point the capital was a symbol of safety and protection, the only thing that spurred them onwards.

They'd found a Canterlot newspaper discarded in what appeared to have been a campsite used by another group of passing ponies, which told them that, at least, the fabled mountain city still stood, thought it gave them precious little other good news. Cloudsdale had been sabotaged, the weather machines damaged along with the structure of the city itself, but the pegasi's military and superior control of the weather had held the bugs at bay.

Unfortunately, as neither pony knew what date it was, they had no idea how old the paper was when they had read it, and as most rapid communication between the large cities was done by pegasus messenger, Papillon had been quick to point out that it was likely that any further information was likely untrustworthy - if even this was. Spring's eyes bulged, she hadn't even considered that. It really was a good thing she had her companion with her.

Time and again she relied on Papillon's quick bursts of aerial recon to keep them safe, and she knew without a doubt she would never have made it this far, even ignoring the fact she would never have escaped capture in the first place. The pegasus seemed to have an instinct for when to duck and cover from the changelings, pulling her into hiding before she'd even heard the buzz of their wings.

She'd laughed and commented on her companion's knack, and Papillon had chuckled slightly, supposing it must be her special talent with insects. As useful as it was, she seemed uncomfortable discussing it. Spring thought that was reasonable - after all, if her special talent had been related to these bugs, she'd probably have to resist the urge to scrape the symbols off her flanks.

How could this have happened to Equestria?

In the end, their luck came to an end when they were sleeping, as dawn cracked over the landscape. Bad luck it must have been, for they had woken up when a single changeling scout had literally tripped over them, stepping on Spring's leg while they slept. Papillon had woken and bucked the creature hard before the earth pony knew what had happened, but it wasn't enough to stop the chitin-plated creature.

It buzzed off with a slightly sickly drone and stagger to its flight path, and while Papillon made to give chase for a moment, she halted moments later as she realised it would take her easily in sight of reinforcements.

So, once again, they ran, and once again, the swarm followed.

This time there was no hiding, no pretending, no cover - the bugs buzzed over and around them, diving at them again and again as they tried to dodge away. The two of them ran together, separating only to avoid blows. For the most part they managed to avoid the worst of it, but both of them were tiring fast.

Spring moved closer to her friend. "You have to fly! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you behind after everything we've..."

They were interrupted by a changeling diving in front of them; Spring spun and kicked it with all her natural earth pony strength, sending it tumbling away - but entirely killing her momentum, slowing her considerably. She shook her head as her companion slowed to match her.

"We can't get away from them like this! I'll try and hold some of them off, just fly away!"

"No! Together or not at all!" Papillon spread her wings, moving into the air only enough to dodge a dive from a changeling, nimbly bouncing off its back as she continued her flight.

After that there wasn't enough time to argue further, as they'd lost too much speed and soon found themselves surrounded properly. Nervously pressed back to back, the two of them readied themselves to fight for their lives and their freedom.

Then there was a distinctly audible thunk, and one of the changelings collapsed.

Closely followed by a sizzle of magic, and another.

"Yeehaw, little buggys! How 'bout ya pick on a mob yer own size?" called a voice from just ahead of them, and they stared in disbelief and amazement as a horde of ponies charged, throwing rocks and magic and ropes before they hit the changeling line proper. For a few seconds, everything was chaos, then suddenly the circle of changelings around them was either lying prone or flying away, and ponies of every colour stood around them instead.

An orange-coated mare stepped forth, tilting back her hat as she grinned at them and offered a hoof. "Howdy there. Name's Applejack. Care to join us?"

Author's Note:

Well, had an interesting month and just didn't really get to do any writing. Decided I need to at least finish off this story before I start working any of the others running around in my head.

Will try to have the rest of it out in the next few days, but I promise nothing!

Thank you again to Kathangaroo for their assistance in checking and editing this!

Comments

[Perteks]

Hmm thats interesting, i didn't think you would go into something like that.