//------------------------------// // The Wasp With No Hive // Story: Hive Versus Hive // by Impossible Numbers //------------------------------// From the top of the hill, Seabreeze could see over the dark forest of tiny trees. Lights waved back and forth along a narrow path. Dimly, he could make out the travellers. They must be the first of the fey tribes, he thought. Under the glowing pinpricks, he could discern the pupil-less eyes, stubby snouts, and rosy cheeks of the Nymphs. The rounded proportions of their fronts contrasted strangely with their long, tail-like abdomens, and mothy wings flowed from their backs as gracefully as robes. Each one had a laurel wreath on his or her head. They were noble spirits, striding smoothly. A party of Flutter Ponies intercepted them on the path. Both of them look happy to see each other. Seabreeze groaned. So, we will get no help from there. “I’ll cover watch duty,” said Piffle. Seabreeze turned around to see the old Breezie ambling up the slope, and shook his head. “We have nowhere else to go,” he replied. “There is no point watching. This is as safe as we are going to get.” “If you say so. The others are waiting for you.” Both of them paced their returning walk. On the side of the hill, what would’ve looked like just another patch of mossy ground was really an overhanging flap of moss, indistinguishable by sight. Nevertheless, they could feel its shape and weight through each hoofstep, and they pushed it aside and crawled through a gap so narrow it almost snagged their wings. Down the next passage, their steps echoed on the stonework. Buried under the soil of the hill, the fort was a relic from the ancient days. Mould covered its walls and shone when they lit their antennae. Up ahead, the passage ended with granite brickwork. Piffle knocked a carefully ordered rhythm that Seabreeze couldn't follow, and the hatch scraped by to let them squeeze through. Zephyrine, Jingo Belle, Saltshaker, and the larva sat in a circle. This chamber was large enough for a pony’s coffin, and just beyond their antennae’s light, something gleamed. They called this place the Ringfort. It was said to be the burial ground of the last army of Fey Ponies. Seabreeze raised his lights, and the white barding shone. When he’d been younger, he’d managed to sneak in here and wondered what it would be like to try on the armour. Jingo Belle looked up. “No sign of them?” “No one has seen them yet,” he said. “Look, why not take the armour in case we need –” “Out of the question,” Piffle snapped. “These are ancient relics. You can look, but you can’t touch.” There were two rows of barding, one white and gleaming, the other dark. Not just dark: they were so dark that they absorbed the light around them and stood out even with the lights turned off. They made the rest of the burial room, masked in shadow as it was, look merely light grey. “They’d protect us from the stings,” said Jingo Belle, but she was glancing left and right, trying to catch out any sneaking ghosts. “I’m sure the old Fey Ponies would understand! And at this time of year, they’re meaningful. That gives them extra magical power.” “We are not wearing them!” Zephyrine growled. Beside her, Saltshaker and the larva played a game of tag. “The thought of wearing barding that someone’s died in… That’s icky.” Three knocks echoed in the silence. Piffle froze. A muffled voice came through the stone, and Jingo Belle shot up into the air. “That’s Milktears! Let her in!” When the brick scraped back, Hugglenut and Milktears stepped into the light, their own antennae entwined. Jingo Belle leaped forwards and tackled the two in a tight hug. Someone yelped. At once, the three of them backed off. “What the –?” began Jingo Belle. “What’s that?” said Zephyrine, curling her lip as she peered through the gloom. Hugglenut and Milktears beamed as though announcing their engagement. She said: “That’s our new prisoner! We caught her trying to sneak after us when we were running away.” He added: “So we jumped her and tied up her legs and wings. She can’t do anything except wriggle. It’s perfect!” Zephyrine wrinkled her nose. The Flutter Pony's mane was knotted and full of thorns and oval leaves. “She’s their Vox,” she muttered. “She’s the one behind this.” “Um,” said Seabreeze, “actually, she is not. There is another one who is taking charge. I do not think this one means anything to them now. They did not seem to like her very much.” All gazes fell on him until he blushed and drew back. Hugglenut and Milktears pulled on their improvised leashes, hauling the figure into the centre of the ring. Tailblade stared up at them, wide-eyed, and curled up. Her eyes gleamed orange. “I say we take her hostage,” said Jingo Belle, shaking and starting to foam around the mouth. “Make her see how she likes being bullied, and powerless, and terrified –” “We’re Breezies!” said Piffle. He gaped at her. “Exactly! We should stick together. Gang up on them! We need to stick together, or they’ll take us all. They won’t dare do anything if she’s in our clutches!” Seabreeze didn’t say anything. His throat was sore, and he couldn’t stop staring at the terrified eyes below him. Tailblade’s gaze darted from one face to another. Next to him, Zephyrine was glowering at the prisoner. Piffle turned his gaze to the walls. Chalk figures peered through the dim circle of their lights, dressed with black in white armour and white in black armour. They were marching side-by-side along the burial chamber. “Light and dark…” he murmured. “Order and chaos… High and low…” “Seabreeze,” snapped Zephyrine. The luckless Breezie almost jumped. “Did you see any other fey species?” “Nymphs,” he managed to say, seating himself next to the twitching stinger. “They will not help us. They are invited guests.” “The Charity Ponies and the Viler Spirits will, though,” said Jingo Belle with a nervous giggle. “They hate violence. And then there’s the Joggers, the Chaneques, and the Curupira. All of them like things the way they are. None of them want the Flutter Ponies mucking it up.” Around this point, Seabreeze noticed the old Breezie staring intently at the Vox. Both were maintaining eye contact. “Take off her gag,” said Piffle at once. Mid-speech, Jingo Belle snarled at him. “What? What for? You won’t learn anything from her! She’s treacherous! Seabreeze already told us what the plan was.” “What plan?” Milktears frowned. “Yes, please take off her gag,” said Seabreeze. He stood up. “I want to know what she has to say.” “But she’s a liar, and their leader!” Jingo Belle paced up and down, flexing her antennae as though she wanted to strangle them. “No Flutter Pony can be trusted with anything! Have you forgotten what they did to us?” “No.” Piffle curled his lip in disgust. “But that’s what her hive did, not her. And I don’t think they trust her to be their leader anymore. Take off her gag, please.” Narrowing her eyes at him, Milktears waited an indecently long time before reaching forwards. A swipe of her hoof, and the Flutter Pony gasped for air and began panting. Seabreeze saw his partner glare at him. Uncertainty trembled in Zephyrine's face, and she glared all the harder. He threw her a despairing shrug and turned back to the Flutter Pony. “I want to find out what she has to say for herself,” said Piffle. “Hoping the other fey species will help us is too risky. There might be a better way.” “There is no better way!” Milktears’ yell echoed through the chamber. “Jingo Belle’s right! When the other species find out the Flutter Ponies broke the rules –” “Some of them will be angry,” said Hugglenut, nodding at the old Breezie. When he spoke again, his tone was softer and calmer. “But maybe… maybe some of them will like the idea. I think Piffle is right. Just think of the Enchanters of the River. They change their minds at the drop of a hat.” No one spoke for a while. In the corner behind Piffle, both the larva and Saltshaker tumbled over each other, giggling. Seabreeze followed the Flutter Pony’s gaze to the walls, where the chalk figures were smiling or frowning or laughing or weeping. Individual faces, yet the same colours over and over. Dragon Lily thought it was a game of good and evil. Maybe this is like that game… “clear and distilled”. He’d tried being tough, and it had gotten them… all over the place. Perhaps the next step was to see where being nice worked, and where it didn’t. “Ask her what she wants,” he said. “Please.” Piffle nodded and began hissing and spitting. Round the back, the larva stopped trying to climb up Saltshaker’s back and wriggled over to listen. Seabreeze suddenly felt the energy rush out of him, and he shuffled over to his partner and, ignoring the way her back stiffened, seated himself beside her with a bump. “What is wrong with trying to talk to the other species?” said Zephyrine. Her face was now blank, her tone carefully calm. “I do not know,” said Seabreeze. “A few days ago, we could have asked ourselves what the Flutter Ponies did not like about us, and we might have answered ‘Nothing’.” Once Piffle stopped, Tailblade responded in kind. Then they continued talking. Soon, the pair of them were chatting away, ignoring the red of Jingo Belle’s face and the frown on Milktears’. “It is not the same now,” he continued. “When I was in the dungeons, I found out they really hated us. They think we are wishy-washy and dawdle and do not really know what we are doing.” Zephyrine sighed loudly. “I’m not sure you know what you’re doing right now.” “No. That is why I want to do it and see what happens.” Just then, Piffle and Tailblade stopped talking. Everyone crowded closer. “She says…” Piffle glanced at Seabreeze, while Hugglenut scratched behind an ear and frowned. “She was impressed by the way Seabreeze played a game with Dragon Lily.” “You!?” hissed Jingo Belle, rounding on Seabreeze. “You were what!? Playing a game!? What?” “She says that her hive has turned against her,” continued Piffle loudly, “and Dragon Lily is convincing them that she’s a hypocrite. All her life, she says, she kept to the traditions and tried to maintain order. When she learned about your exploits in the Big World, she started to question herself. Her hive began to be suspicious of the present order, if even feeble Breezies were able to manage in the Big World so well and yet so differently.” At the same time Milktears opened her mouth to shriek at them, Tailblade began speaking again. She was watching the larva, and then the Flutter Pony turned her gaze to Saltshaker when he waddled over to tag the flexing young tail. “I really should clear things up about that Forage some day.” Seabreeze shook his head at the floor. The larva peered up at his face wide-eyed. “So what does she want?” Piffle translated, and another barrage of chatting followed. A small grin flickered under his antennae’s glow. “She wanted to express herself,” he said. “What does that mean?” “Isn’t it obvious?” said Zephyrine with a shrug. “She lives in a hive. She did things the traditional way, and so did everyone else. I’ll bet it got a bit boring after a while.” “Are you even listening to yourselves!?” hissed Jingo Belle. “She’s the enemy!” Tailblade spoke quickly, forcing the words out before she forgot them. The larva ignored Saltshaker’s attempts to ride it and flattened itself on the brickwork, ears waggling. “Now what’s going on?” said Hugglenut. Piffle’s face scrunched under the effort of concentration. “She’s… telling a story.” While Jingo Belle made a disbelieving laugh, Zephyrine shuffled closer to Seabreeze. He pretended not to notice, too rapt by the unintelligible tale being spun by those clicking tusks, those biting teeth, the flecks showering onto the floor before the disgraced Vox who refused to meet anyone’s gaze. “I know this story.” Piffle hummed to himself. “Tell us!” said Hugglenut impatiently. He was promptly shushed. Everyone waited until the Vox fell silent, and then Piffle said: “A long time ago, the Light Fey and the Dark Fey created a dance to bind their love for each other. Every time the seasons changed, they danced the same routine, and they kept this up for a thousand years.” Losing interest, the larva turned and tried to writhe over the baby’s back, but now Saltshaker stared up in rapt attention. “One day, a Fey Pony was born who was neither Light nor Dark, but Grey.” “Was it a he or a she?” said Milktears, and then blinked and covered her mouth to hide the profanity of her own interest. “Neither. This one was simply called the Grey.” “I know that story,” said Zephyrine softly, and Seabreeze shivered to hear her voice so close to his ear. “It’s the Tale of the Fairy Ring. My mother used to tell it to me every night.” “I never heard this one,” said Hugglenut, and got a thump on the shoulder for his trouble. “What?” Milktears massaged her hoof. “Don’t encourage them!” “So you know what happens next, then.” Piffle shrugged. “The Grey became impatient with the same routines because he… uh, she… it… didn’t fit into the grand scheme at all. Instead, the Grey went into the wilds and stumbled across a ring of mushrooms. There, the Grey began to dance to a completely different tune, and the love and energy in its own secret dance leaked out and created the first Fairy Ring.“ Seabreeze placed a hoof on Zephyrine's shoulder. Relief swept over him; she did not shake him off. “This means something,“ he whispered, more to himself than to her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed her slight nod, but she still did not look away from the calm, staring Flutter Pony. “When it entered the ring to continue the dance, it was shocked by a bright light, and found itself emerging into another world. The Grey was the first to step into the Big World, a world where the creatures were as tall as hillocks and the elements were fiercer than Tiger Beetles and stronger than mountains. Afraid for its life, the Grey fashioned the first bow and arrow from a nearby alder tree for protection, and as a warning fired the first Feyshot.” “This is all very sweet, but where is this bedtime story going?” said Jingo Belle. Hugglenut looked down at the trussed-up Flutter Pony. “It’s real, isn’t it? It’s not a myth. It really happened.” “When the Grey went back, it showed the Fey Ponies what it had discovered. And what they found was that, over a thousand years, their world had been growing sick and stagnant, and was now on the brink of death.” “And that’s when our ancestors began the first Forages,” said Zephyrine. Seabreeze felt her forelimb wrap around his shoulders, and the tingling warmth caressed his spine. “The Grey became a hero.” Seabreeze finally met the Flutter Pony’s gaze, and a frown creased across his face. I wonder. If she is telling the truth, then she was pretty selfish and stubborn to go off by herself. It is worse now she has failed. The hive would have let her do it if she had asked them, would they not? Even in spite of that, they would have cheered her if she had succeeded, would they not? She did say they wanted change too. He reached across and embraced Zephyrine, never taking his gaze from the eyes of Tailblade. No flicker betrayed a lie. What would she have to lose? Dragon Lily is practically the new Vox, if she is not literally so by now. Take a deep breath… “We’re wasting time,” said Milktears. “The other fey species will be here soon. I want to know what we’re going to do to get rid of these things.” A contemptuous hoof flicked towards the centre of the circle. It earned her a hiss from the larva. “What else are we going to do?” said Hugglenut. “Tell them the truth.” “Anything!” said Jingo Belle, throwing her front hooves up. “Just get them out of here before the Forage comes back!” “I do not think telling the truth is enough.” Seabreeze stood up. He nodded to Piffle, who began translating for Tailblade’s sake. After a few seconds of silence, he added, “I think we need to face it, too.” Unsurprisingly, Jingo Belle began shaking and spluttering. “Stop talking in riddles! What are you up to now!?” “I am saying we might be getting too impatient with the Flutter Ponies. We want everyone in this world to be safe from danger, but now we are lashing out just like they did. Just like I did when I was on the Forage, and no one else wanted to leave that cottage and come home. Tailblade got too impatient, and now her hive believe she is a traitor. Her hive got impatient, and now they are wrecking the land because they do not understand what they are doing. I saw them ruining the vaults and the ingredients. Now we are getting impatient, and if we are too quick to lash out, we might put everyone in danger.” He glared at Jingo Belle, who was so wide-eyed with shock that she was no longer shaking where she stood. It took him a moment to realize he had shot to his hooves. Instantly, he sat back down again, but several seconds passed before anyone stopped staring at him. Zephyrine and he reached out for each other. “You mean we’ll start a war?” said Milktears, boggling at her own words. Hugglenut turned pale. “But we haven’t had a war in centuries. It can’t just happen!” “That's nonsense, Seabreeze! You’re giving up because of what might happen!?” Piffle stopped translating and glared at Milktears. “Giving up on what, my dear? The chance to stop anyone getting hurt? The chance to learn how to do our jobs properly? We’re supposed to be friends with the other species by keeping them safe, not by treating them like monsters.” Zephyrine clutched her partner ever more tightly. Her face radiated with heat. On the ground, the Flutter Pony sighed. There was a sharp movement. Jingo Belle shot for the doorway, turned, and fixed them all with a fiery snarl. Her wings were a blur from the sheer trembling fury trying to shake them apart. “I’m not listening to any more of this!” She shot a hoof at Seabreeze. “I would have thought that you of all Breezies would’ve stood up to these outrageous criminals! We can’t let them get away with this!” “We’re not going to!” snapped Piffle. “But we can’t act like –” “‘But’? ‘But’!? You can’t say you’re for justice and then say ‘but’! I am leaving, and anyone who’s got any sense will come with me. If you’re too frightened and soft to stand up to bullies, then I’ll do it myself if I have to!” No one moved for a long while. Even the larva was staring after her agape. As one, their gazes turned to Milktears. She squeaked and hung her head, took a step towards the exit, and then turned to Hugglenut. It was impossible to read the tics and spasms crisscrossing his face. One hoof reached across to hers, and then stopped. Milktears batted it aside. “No. I’m sorry,” she whispered to the floor. “It’s over between us.” Both Seabreeze and Zephyrine clung more tightly to each other. They could feel each other’s hearts sinking into their intertwined limbs. Neither of them moved when Hugglenut sniffed something back. The rest of the party watched her go. Finally, the brickwork slammed back into place, and the two were gone. “Oh dear,” said Piffle sadly. “I’m sorry, my young friend.” “It's OK.” Hugglenut’s voice was thick, so he snorted it back down. In a forced bass, he added, “This is important. She knows it, I know it, we both know it. We just have different views about how to tackle it, that’s all.” Everyone looked down at the Vox, who hadn’t dared move the whole time she’d been there. More to occupy his forelimbs than anything else, Hugglenut crouched down and fiddled with the bindweed. A moment later, Zephyrine detached herself from her partner and crouched down to help him. Tailblade stretched her wings to flick away the last threads. Soon, she was cracking each joint in her legs and flexing her neck and waist. Under her shadow, the larva headbutted her clawed feet until she patted it on the head. Piffle said something to her, and they devolved into hisses and spittle. All eyes turned to Seabreeze. “Well,” said Zephyrine, picking up Saltshaker, who squirmed and tried to break free. “You’d better start filling us in on your plan, because at this point it sounds like we’re just popping in there and talking.” “Not a chance,” said Piffle. “Tailblade just told me the guards will be out in full force when the speech starts. ‘Vox’ Dragon Lily will catch us the moment we come within a yard of the palace.” “Oh, so she's on our side now?” Piffle's spitty translation resulted in Tailblade giving Zephyrine the narrow-eyes treatment. “Um. Not exactly. It would be more accurate to call this a temporary alliance for mutual gain,” said Piffle, blushing and looking away. “Look, she's a Vox trying to get her hive back, or at least trying to take it from her replacement. Once that's done, perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement. Until then, let's just plan and focus on our common enemy, OK?” Oh my word, thought Seabreeze faintly. It is not brave words. We are really doing this. They have talked themselves into it, one way or another, and now I am supposed to pull a fruit fly out of the hat. Nice, or tough, or a bit of both, or neither? I do not know anymore! I have not got a clue! I am not a Big Breezie. I just wanted to have a nice life at home with my family! This is too big! Below, Saltshaker giggled and dropped out of his mother's grip and waddled after the crawling larva, away from the light. Following his son’s progress, Seabreeze's gaze drifted to the suits of armour gleaming from the darkness. Yes, he thought gloomily. We are really doing this. Very well. He sighed and opened his mouth to speak.