//------------------------------// // Bringing Out the Secret Weapon // Story: Hive Versus Hive // by Impossible Numbers //------------------------------// The palace gleamed with the honey smothering it. Flutter Ponies buzzed and crawled from rooftops to base, drawn like wasps to an abandoned cake. From the inside, tusks hacked and sliced at the windowpanes until they fell away with a crash of glass, and those waiting outside wriggled through each hole as it opened up. Overhead, the orange glow gave way to the familiar purples and pinks. Seabreeze frowned up at it. He struggled once more to pull his limbs out, but only his dainty wings showed. Down to the neck alone, he was free. A few Flutter Ponies withdrew their mouths from his shoulders, trailing threads of gold. Past his neck, he was caught in hardening syrup, which soon was tougher than concrete. At least he could still breathe, but nothing below the surface was going to move. Dotted around him, the other Breezies tried flexing their wings, the only parts of them that they could keep out of the way of the working jaws. Each Flutter Pony wiped a mouth with the back of their two front legs, and then disappeared into the darkness while Dragon Lily and two flunkies came up to them. “Until you behave,” she said, “this honeycomb will remain your prison. My fellow Flutter Ponies will bring pollen for you in an hour.” “What about my child?” said Zephyrine. Her face was pale. “He’ll be helpless without us!” “We don’t attack young. Your child is safe with us, living as ours do. If you agree to cooperate,” snapped Dragon Lily when she started to protest, “we will free you and you can see him.” “Invading pests!” snapped Jingo Belle. “This is merely a change of management.” Dragon Lily shrugged and about-turned without knotting herself, an impressive feat for a six-legged creature. “Now, I have to deal with Vox Tailblade.” “Planning Equestria next?” Gusto smirked down at her. There was a faint flash of a snarl before the Flutter Pony’s face was composed again. “This is only a temporary measure until we can more fully trust each other. Petty threats won’t get you out of there faster.” Seabreeze watched her stride across the moss to the palace. As he’d hoped, none of the Flutter Ponies stayed to watch over them, but then they barely needed to. He couldn’t do more than flap wings that were worse than tissue paper anyway, and there must be hundreds of the creatures swarming the palace. The stray gazes of many busy eyes alone could keep them in check. From the wall of the honeycomb, he could see that the Ring Portal was now as big as the palace. There used to be old stories about that portal; in times of invasion, it would sense the threat and snap shut like a pillbug, never to open for a hundred years. For their sakes, he hoped it was just a story. This world couldn’t survive a hundred years alone. Besides, he always wondered how the story could ever have gotten started. Not from observation, that was for sure. Also, it was always in “the old days” when that sort of thing happened, according to the elders. Nature spirits walked the world, portals opened and closed everywhere, and young Breezies always respected their elders. It was suspicious to say the least, especially that last part. Window holes flared with light. Around him, the exposed heads of the Breezies gasped at the sight. Despite himself, the old flames of rage cut through his thoughts. “They’ve found the vaults!” Gusto wrestled to free herself, hitting the hardened syrup with chin, head, and crinkled wings. “That’s sacrilege! They can’t just help themselves to the stores. This time, they’ve gone too far!” Soil oozed out of the open front gates and dribbled into the pond. Sparkles crept along its crumbly heaps. Flutter Ponies came out with little flames tickling their antennae but not burning them. Many were smiling. “This plan,” said Hugglenut, straining not to yell with every word, “had better work.” Soon, Gusto was gnawing at the ooze around her. She broke off. “They can’t be allowed to get away with this!” she was shouting. “Those are the Forage stores! It’s the ultimate rule never to touch those until it’s time for the World Harvest! Don’t they realize what they could do!?” “Calm down!” shouted Seabreeze, and everyone except Gusto fell silent at once. “This is not the time to get angry. Zephyrine, look!” On top of the tide of dirt, pink grubs wriggled and munched on the clumps. They were too far away to make out, but the Breezies squinted through the darkening air and thought one of the creatures had Breezie wings curled over its head. Seabreeze heard the gasp. Hastily, he said, “Do not call him over! It looks like she was telling the truth.” “Saltshaker…” Zephyrine’s antennae slumped. “What’s he doing? What are those?” “Those are Flutter Pony young.” Piffle coughed and sniffed. Despite his wide eyes, he seemed calm enough, but occasionally he twitched his nostril; the poor Breezie had an itch, by the look of it. “Before they turn into adults, they wrap themselves in a paper cocoon and sleep for a month. It takes a lot of time to make a Flutter Pony.” Zephyrine smirked and shook her head, swinging her antennae from side to side. “Change of plan. I know how to get us out of here faster.” “How?” said Milktears. “Watch.” And as theatrically as possible with her chest stuck in a block of yellow, she sucked in enough air to pop a lung and threw her voice into a fit of racking coughs. Lights on her antennae flashed on and off, blinding the Breezies who had been staring. Seabreeze nodded and watched the flashes, taking note of each stretched pause. On its own, and to an outsider, it looked like random bursts. Combined with the cough, it was just one of those things Breezies did when they were sick. Strung together in chains of flashes, though, and to those in the know… Tiny hooves padded across the moss. Breezie babies loved light shows, and Saltshaker – Seabreeze recalled those afternoons with pride swelling in his chest – was a fast learner. Out of the gloom, the baby emerged open-mouthed. His eyes reflected the flashes. “Interesting,” said Piffle, but he was the only one smiling; the others either stared blankly or shook their heads in disgust. “Snookums,” cooed Zephyrine, and the baby showed all his teeth. “Silly daddy didn’t do any cweaning today. ‘oo’s a silly, eh? ‘oo’s a silly?” Saltshaker gabbled back. It didn’t matter that he was talking gibberish. Simply throwing syllables around gave him a giggly delight. Over the palace, a couple of Flutter Ponies began to spiral down. Seabreeze turned his head away. “Faster! Someone is coming!” he said. “Big Shakey-Wakey gonna help daddy do? ‘eess ‘oo are. ‘eess ‘oo are.” Her voice switched back. “I think he got the message.” To groans and howls of anger, the Breezies twisted their heads while Saltshaker fell onto his front and waddled back into the gloom. Seabreeze snatched a glance at the palace. Both of the Flutter Ponies stopped, hovered uncertainly, and then spiralled up to the rooftops again. They were visible by the glint of starlight on their yellow bodies and stings. He ignored the complaints bubbling forwards. I am only doing this because I have to, he thought. It is not me. I should not be rushing around or be treated like I am a two-foot tall giant. Maybe I should not do this. I was just a cranky pollen-collector. I am not a “Big Breezie”. Pretend you are going out again, then. Do not think about what you are really doing. This is just… a game, before we go. “I don’t know what ridiculous scheme you had in mind, Zephyrine,” huffed Gusto, “but I vote we go back to the first plan.” There were murmurs of assent to this. Neither Seabreeze nor Zephyrine bothered to correct them, but simply waited with smug smiles on their faces. Sometimes it was fun not to spoil a surprise. “Do you know much about flash fire, Piffle?” said Seabreeze casually. “Better: I’ve used flash fire, out in the wilds.” He flicked his antennae on and off, and the grin cut across his face. “And once in the Big World when I was collecting sparks. What you do is this: you find something to cover the fire, and then you take it on and off again at different speeds. That gives you a basic alphabet.” Up high, Gusto gasped as the words clicked inside her head. “A secret message?” “Your very own language.” Piffle squinted out into the darkness, ears cocked. “I think your baby has got the gist of it.” They fell silent and cocked their ears in turn. Certainly, the babbling heralded the waddling approach of Saltshaker, but there was also the munching of tiny mouths and the crackle of many joints. Armour gleamed under the faint reflection of the golden honeycomb. Then, the young Breezie emerged into the haze of their glowing antennae. “Good boy, Saltshaker!” said Seabreeze. The baby hiccupped and yawned up at them. As soon as they entered the light, the three Cleaner Pillbugs snapped to attention. What looked like just a pair of overlong front legs waved as though in a breeze. They could smell the honey. “What?” said Milktears, lips drawing back and teeth clenching. “What is this? How are they supposed to help?” Seabreeze, the lowest one down, clicked his tongue and prodded each one with an antenna, though at this point it was more for show. All three of them bashed one another trying to clamber up to the cell, and then they bumped into his face and crumpled his wings by treading on them. “I think they like you,” said Zephyrine with a chuckle in her voice. He opened his mouth to reply and almost chipped a tooth against a bulldozing head. Despite the bumping, they were munching down to his folded forelegs, which began to wriggle in their own cast. One crawled down his back and scattered glass-like pieces of gold over his mane. Both wings beat a little more strongly. “Cleaner Pillbugs have the strongest jaws of any creature alive. Give them a few more seconds,” said Seabreeze, “and then I will be free.” “Uh oh,” said Hugglenut. They followed his gaze. Five Flutter Ponies shot from windows and rooftops. Unlike before, none of them circled, but made a beeline for the combs. Under Seabreeze’s chin, two of the grubs slithered up to watch the commotion. They were definitely Flutter Pony from the neck up, clicking their tusks and smiling, but from the neck down they were bulbous, deathly pale sacks of oozing and bulging skin. Saltshaker lay down on his belly and watched them, wide-eyed. “Hurry!” shouted Milktears. “You gotta fly at hawk speed! Go!” “I am trying!” Seabreeze forced his wings to beat harder, making what were little more than two flaps of cobweb do the work of metal rotor blades. Everything in his face was either leaking or threatening to pop out. Gold fragments trickled out of the comb. One final flap threw him clear, chunks of hardened honey clamped to the bindweed on his legs like handcuffs, and he soared over the shining nebulae of the pond. The air and the cheers behind him buoyed him up. He threw all four legs into a paddle, craned his neck, felt the tingle of pink sparks touch his nose – A Flutter Pony blocked his way. Odd impulses seized him; he grabbed the startled creature and hauled his body around to throw it aside. Black dust rattled against his body and tickled where it flowed down the contours. Nothing happened. Then… He lost all sight, all sound, all sensation, and was suddenly in a void. Everything had been snatched away. Had he woken up from a dream? The shock of nothingness was all he had. Seabreeze screamed. When he came to, the icy pool of moss pressed against his cheek. Curled up on the ground, he was shivering. No forceful thinking from his mind would make it stop. Colours swam in front of his eyes, free and unattached to anything until he focused; now, he focused on the six legs before him, which turned dark yellow, and then focused on the heads in the wall – which turned golden – behind it. “Do you believe we’re stupid?” snapped the voice, and his ears fought to focus the words. “Breezies are fey, just like a lot of this world’s inhabitants used to be. And we’ve discovered your weakness.” The six-legged thing before him held a leg up, and he could see black dust cradled between the pad and the claws of the insect foot. Everything in his vision tried to rip itself apart. Knives shot into his thoughts. He winced until it cleared, and when he opened his eyes again, the creature was no longer holding the black dust. “Lodestones from the northern pink snowscapes,” the voice continued. “You Breezies are too sensitive even to things we can’t see or hear. You can sense the power from the iron, but it’s a lot of power for such a little creature. I scraped this from the lodestones myself.” Then the creature – “Dragon Lily” surfaced in the sea of his thoughts – spun around to address the wide-eyed faces in the combs. “Cross us again, and we will not bother with simple dust. We’ll bind you with chains of this stuff. Our terms are more than reasonable. They’re generous. Don’t turn us into your enemies.” Hissing and spitting punched into his ears. Next moment, Seabreeze was hauled up by the collar. He felt two points poke into his back. Someone was shouting his name, and memory produced the word “Zephyrine.” “As for the ‘Big Breezie’,” said the one he vaguely remembered as Dragon Lily. She turned around, and both tusks gleamed under the light of what he realized were his own antennae. “I want him to come with me.”