//------------------------------// // 44 - Rage // Story: Change: Queen of The Hive // by tom117z //------------------------------// That Night, Deep Within the Hive Mind “NO!” Twilight screamed as she continued to tear the exterior of the first hive apart, piece by piece turning the structure to dust through the will brought about by her unstable rage. “NO MORE! IMMORTALIS, NO MORE!” Silence was her answer, and so the rage only grew. The pony within her had been completely buried by the infuriated Changeling Queen with a thirst for her enemy’s blood, a vengeance plaguing her mind for all the harm done to the many innocents in the Empress’ path to total domination. Twilight uprooted the last of the statues in the hive’s grounds and propelled it at the ancient structure itself, caving in a sizable section and simply phasing through the resulting rubble as if it wasn’t there. But of course it wasn’t, none of it was real. Twilight was really above Manehatten’s ruin, her vison almost like she was watching a unicorn’s projection of past events. A spell to record something to later be played to somepony else. She could see, hear and smell everything around her. She was fully aware of her surroundings, as she had always been. She was conscious of every action, every life she took, and every family she broke. It was a nightmare. One which she desperately wished to wake from, desperately wished for Princess Luna’s intervention and then to wake within the Equestrian Hive to begin the day anew. And yet it was no dream, not like the façade of the first hive which Twilight destroyed stone by stone. The sensation was almost unexplainable, being aware and awake for everything she did in the real world while at the same time being confined to a shadow world deep within the hive mind, the very depths of her own consciousness while she did the Empress’ will as programmed. She made every decision. Called down every spell upon the ponies. And yet she didn’t want too, but did so anyway. Because that’s what the Empress commanded of her, and she belonged to the Empress. It was like everything good about Twilight Sparkle had been locked within her soul, leaving only the blackest parts of her heart in control. A black heart, with undying loyalty to one underserving of it. And no matter how hard she tried to resist, there was nothing she could do about it. A slave. A monster. With tears brimming her eyes, Twilight gave a terrific shout as she took hold of the hive’s upper most dome and ripped it straight off with little difficulty. The advantage of being locked within your own consciousness was, with a bit of practice, reality was whatever you wanted it to be. And it meant she could take reprieve in destroying all that the Empress had built. Even if it was only a falsity. After discarding the crumbled dome roof, the Changeling Queen descended down into Immortalis’ throne room. She stood before the Empress’ seat of power with a defiant snarl on her lips, her horn lighting up again and letting the magic creep along its frame. She applied a little pressure, and then a little more. Steadily she began to press down against the throne until dents began to form and the very structure of the seat began to buckle. It then shattered, spraying yet more debris over the entirety of the throne room. “Too bad I am not in it, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight let out a slow breath as she heard that voice. A voice which she had come to think of as the lowest denominator of life, and one to which she directed all of her ire. “Empress,” Twilight coldly greeted as she turned around. “I assume you enjoyed the show, seeing a city of innocents burn.” The Empress gave a tsk at Twilight’s words. “You did too, as I so recall.” “That was not me,” Twilight growled in response. “Everything out there, that’s all on you.” “I don’t know about that, the EUP should have been better trained,” Immortalis deflected. “Maybe then they could have stopped you from destroying that library you loved so much.” “They were trained to fight griffons, or diamond dogs. Any enemy who conforms to the same rules as they do,” Twilight refuted. “This is their first true war against changeling, and this time they do not have changelings helping them. And yet they still give their lives to stop you, they have nothing but my respect.” “And that’s another of your many problems, my favoured pet,” the Empress stated, and in a flash the throne room was restored to its former glory as the Empress seated herself within her throne. “You think too much of the little ponies. They die for a pointless battle that can only end one way, as is the natural order of things.” Twilight growled. “Why are you here? Just to taunt me?” “I have far better uses of my time,” the Empress retorted. “But you were making quite the mess, you’re normally such a quiet soul. Barring the time you tried to kill me.” “I’m sorry I failed.” The Empress laughed, the echo of which sent chills down Twilight’s spine as Immortalis took untold joy in Twilight’s futile efforts of rebellion. “Oh, how fascinating to see you now,” the Empress noted. Twilight looked confused by the statement. “Excuse me?” “The last time I was here I saw a little lavender unicorn so eager to learn under that fool alicorn,” the Empress explained. “And now here you are, making very real threats of death while thinking of the most gruesome way to carry them out. Your two remaining mothers must be so proud of the bloodthirsty changeling you’ve become.” Twilight flinched, only causing the Empress to laugh even more. “If you were my daughter, I would have been ecstatic. But from what I’ve seen Chrysalis was a weak Changeling Queen who was too soft for her own good. The wedding could have been her chance to usurp the throne in another world, but here she gave the chance away.” “My mother was a great queen!” Twilight argued fiercely. “Better than you.” “Then why is she dead?” Immortalis taunted, rising from her throne and approaching the Changeling Queen. She placed a hoof on Twilight’s scar, running the tip of said hoof along it. “Why couldn’t she prevent this? Such a shame I never had dominion over Infiltrator Serpens, his skills would have been put to good use. But perhaps his sisters can fill the void, or perhaps they will die.” Suddenly, a loud bang heralded the throne room returning to its dishevelled state and a blade of lavender magic came slicing down upon the Empress. Mostly on instinct, the Empress took a quick step backwards but wasn’t fast enough to avoid the blade entirely. It slid straight through the chitin on her cheek, leaving a sizable bloody gash oozing down her face and dripping into the floor. Immortalis held her cheek, eyes showing clear surprise. Twilight struck forwards in another attempt, only for the entire room to dissipate into a field of twinkling stars and for steel chains to materialise from thin air. The chains wrapped themselves around the Changeling Queen as she thrashed and struggled against them, but she was successfully pinned when five pitch black locks latched on and held them all in place. Her sword evaporated before her eyes, and she was left with an angered Empress of the Changeling as her sole companion. “You surprise me, Twilight Sparkle,” the Empress growled, hoof still on her cheek. “It appears I’ve let you have too much will, but the battle is done and you needn’t bother yourself with such things. Twilight gave a sharp gasp as pain warped her mind. In the waking world she fell from the sky and landed onto the roof of a surviving building, wriggling in agony as her eyes glowed a deeper and brighter red much like Queen Pupa when she had questioned the Empress previously. When the pain finally subsided and the Changeling Queen arose, there appeared to be a little less intelligence within her eyes. “Such a shame, you were such an effective weapon as you were,” the Empress noted. “But no matter, I’ll perhaps let you out again when I need a little more of the mind of yours. But for now I cannot allow you to be so… disruptive.” And yet, despite everything, Twilight smirked. “So, you can be harmed within the hive mind after all. I wonder what would happen to a changeling who ‘died’ in here…” “Pray I don’t conduct an experiment of my own, Twilight Sparkle,” the Empress retorted. “But I can feel your resolve shaking, your mind fracturing as your will weakens before me. You will come to see the world as I do soon enough.” “I’ll never care for your natural order,” Twilight spat. “Then what do you believe in, hm?” the Empress coyly asked. “Surely not the magic of friendship? That was you once, but can you say you’re that person anymore?” “I’ve fought and bled to protect my changelings, it’s true,” Twilight conceded. “But so has Celestia for her ponies, and she taught me those values. I’ve seen that power defeat beings like you many times, I’ll never stop believing in it.” “Truly?” the Empress questioned. “I’d even offer you mercy and redemption, should you reach for it,” Twilight stated. “But if not, I’ll do what I must.” “Just like with Queen Crudelis?” “Just like with her.” Immortalis hummed, and then leaned in so she was muzzle to muzzle with the Changeling Queen. “I’m not Queen Crudelis.” And then she was gone, and Twilight Sparkle remained in chains. Canterlot Castle “How many dead?” Celestia asked, sitting upon her throne. “The reports are still coming in,” Captain Broad Sword replied grimly, looking at the extensive list in his hooves. “They hit hard and they hit fast. The city’s defences should have been enough to at least delay a swarm of that size, given the amount of sheer firepower our ships possessed. But nopony predicted that the Empress was insane enough to do… that.” “An entire city levelled by a weaponised tsunami,” Luna recalled with anger tinting her voice. “She will go to any length to achieve her goals. Even I, as I once was, would never have caused such senseless destruction.” “Because you’re better than her, sister, even in your darkest of days,” Celestia assured her younger sibling. “This Empress is completely insane. Dark days will come should she continue to lead the swarm.” “So what is to be done now?” Captain Vladimir asked, his metal wing twitching a little. “It has been obvious that the Empress will not fight her own battles,” Princess Cadance noted. “She has to be coordinating things from her own throne.” “I know,” Celestia replied. “Which means we will have to go to her.” “I doubt she will surrender,” Broad Sword remarked. “She’s… determined.” “That’s one word for it,” Shining Armor stated spitefully. “Things were bad when we talked some hours ago in the war room, but this… it’s unforgivable. An entire city, one of our largest, gone in a single day.” “As I said, my sister was better than her even in her darkest days. I always knew, and believed, Nightmare Moon to be redeemable. But this Empress, I fear she is beyond such things. Queen Crudelis pushed Twilight to her limits, outright rejected redemption even on the edge of a blade. And the Empress is beyond even her.” “In an ideal world, the element would allow the Tree of Harmony to decide the wretch’s fate,” Luna added. “But as long as she holds the Element of Magic in her sphere of influence, that’s no longer an option.” “And the other Element Bearers?” Vladimir enquired. “Any news?” “Still nothing from Twilight’s friends from Ponyville,” Princess Celestia replied with worry. “But I know that Ms Rarity made it out of Manehatten. Details were scarce, but I know they’ve stopped off at Fort Harmony for the night and will take the refugees to Canterlot tomorrow.” “We’re going to need to find space for them all,” Cadance reminded them. “There’s going to be a lot of scared ponies arriving.” “I’ll see that they have proper accommodations,” Captain Broad Sword stated. “Though Vladimir might need to help fill in the gaps in my duties while I perform that one.” “I can do that,” Vladimir agreed. “Though I could always use a helping hoof. Carduus is experienced.” “Let him help in whatever capacity is needed,” Celestia agreed. “He is Twilight’s former Captain of the Royal Guard.” “That’s why I want his help,” Vladimir stated. “I’m sure Façade will want to pitch in too.” “We need all the help we can get,” Broad Sword concurred. “Speaking of, what of the rest of Equestria? The news is spreading fast, fear is rampant. As is paranoia.” “I want the generals to handle any unrest professionally, assure our ponies that they are protected,” Celestia commanded. “As for our other coastal cities, I want a tighter defence net around their bays. Should they try this again I don’t want them having a clear route. Also revise evacuation procedures for these locations to account for these… waves.” “I’ll give the order,” Broad Sword confirmed. “Is that all?” Celestia nodded. “For now. We shall discuss our plans for the Empress soon, but for now the hour is late. I have a few more duties to run before retiring for the night.” “Everything will be ready for the refugees tomorrow,” Cadance assured her adoptive aunt. “Thank you, Cadance,” Celestia said as she got up from her throne. “Make sure you all get ample rest yourselves, it’s been a trying day for us all.” Celestia exited the throne room with her sister following shortly behind her, those they left behind were in silence for a few moments before Shining Armor spoke up once more. “I can’t imagine how Twily must be feeling, at least on the inside,” Shining muttered with a depressed sigh. “And her friends…” “She’ll pull through, she’s strong,” Cadance assured her husband. “And don’t count her friends out yet.” “You sound so confident.” “It’s called hope.”