//------------------------------// // 229. The Loss of Faith - Part 12 + An early debut! // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// A sad little dragon wandered the castle halls, wishing with all his heart there was something he could do. After Sombra caused Twilight to sleep, Cadance and Spike took her to her old bedroom in the tower she lived in back when she and Spike had been living in the castle. Before that old pony’s tale spurred Twilight into action, and instead got her sent to Ponyville to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration… only to find exactly what she’d been looking for, and what she had been missing. Once Cadance had tucked Twilight into her bed, she insisted they leave her to rest. Cadance had offered to bring Spike along if he wanted to be her temporary assistant, if only to give him something to do. But Spike declined, wanting to be alone. “Oh Twilight…” Spike was feeling so low. He’d seen Twilight at her best and he'd seen her at her worst, but never before had he seen her like this. When Twilight had seen the proof of the Brotherhood and Celestia’s involvement she’d looked like her whole world had been turned upside down. Back there in the hospital wing?   She’d looked like her whole world was about to end.   “Stupid Brotherhood, stupid changelings…” Spike muttered, not really looking where he was going as he carried on through the hallways. Wanting to vent, he looked around… and saw some bust of nopony he knew in particular, and… “Grrrr…AUGH!!” Spike ran over and kicked the pedestal the bust was on, but instead of the bust toppling over and breaking-   *CLICK – Tumble, tumble, tumble…*   “I don’t think I like the sound of thaAAAUUUUUUuuuuuuggghhhh!!!” The floor beneath Spike had suddenly vanished and Spike screamed as he was swallowed up by darkness, and felt himself slide along something, bumping at sharp turns but carried on sliding sharply down. Until finally, some kind of cupboard-like door opened and Spike yelped as he was unceremoniously dropped… into a cave of dazzling crystals! *Click-clack* The young dragon peered up to see the door had swung itself shut and was way too high to reach and there was nothing around for him to climb up on to get to it. “Wh-where… am I?” Spike looked around. It was beautiful and actually it also all looked rather delicious! Spike licked his lips but then he felt hesitant as he felt a foreboding sense in the air, and realized how scary this place really was. “Wait… crystal caves? Beneath… the castle? Oh! This must be the place where Twilight found Cadance after Chrysalis tried to take over last time!” Realizing his predicament, Spike groaned, “Just my luck, the one pedestal I choose to vent has to be some kind of switch that opens a trapdoor and drops me allll the way down here! Great… How the hay am I gonna get outta here?” Looking around, Spike saw a few paths and tunnels but none looked promising. Sighing, he held up a finger and began: “Eeny, meeny, miny… oh what they hay- that one!” Spike chose at random and started down the closest path. As he walked without any idea whether or not this would lead anywhere, Spike puzzled out all he knew about Canterlot and the mountain it was built upon, Mount Canterhorn. Having lived all his life with a dedicated scholar had been perfect for his own education as Spike remembered helping Twilight study for assignments, projects, reports, the many works they did together on all kinds of subjects, especially history. Twilight had been as much a teacher to Spike as Celestia had been to her, and Twilight had been insistent in working on Spike’s education almost as much as her own. Recalling the histories he’d studied alongside Twilight on Canterlot, Spike remembered that before the royal capitol was built on Mount Canterhorn, long ago back when the Royal Sisters ruled together from the Castle of the Two Sisters, Mount Canterhorn had been a landmark used to help navigate the lands of Equestria, due to it standing right at the country’s center. Shortly before Luna gave into her jealousy and insecurities and became Nightmare Moon, Mount Canterhorn was discovered to have its own sizable vein of energems. It became a mine and the riches were dug up and stored in the royal vaults to be used for study and refined into resources. But once Nightmare moon came along, all mining was brought to a standstill as Celestia dealt with her fallen sister. After Nightmare Moon was banished, Celestia could no longer stay in the Castle of the Two Sisters. The memories had been too painful. So, with Star Swirl’s help, she commissioned the construction of a new castle built upon Mount Canterhorn. However, during the construction, there were accidents relating to the mine within the mountain, which led to Celestia and Star Swirl forbidding any more mining into Mount Canterhorn lest the mining would destabilize the mountain and destroy the new castle before it was completed. The mine was closed forever and overtime forgotten. “42 buckets of oats on the wall… 42 buckets of oats…” Spike had tried singing, if only to pass the time or try and make things less gloomy. It wasn’t working. Even surrounded by all these gems and crystals, Spike was dispirited, and it was getting confusing as the more clearer crystals and gems became reflections like in a funhouse minus the fun, especially since some of them were so clear they were like invisible walls! More than once, Spike bumped into a wall of these crystals so clear he couldn’t see them until he felt them. Grumbling, he started holding his hands out, to feel for any more of these see-through crystals, which meant his pace became even more slow going. “AUGH!!!! CAN ANYPONY HEAR MEEEEEE!?!?!?!” Spike screamed, his frustration reaching its peak. HEAR MEEEEEE… HEAR MEEeeee… Hear meeeee… The echoes slowly faded away, leaving Spike behind in his lonely misery. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders as he wished, “Anypony… help.” *Clatter* “HUH?!” Spike whirled around, having distinctly heard what sounded like a rock clattering on the ground when he saw something move! “AUGH!” Spike jumped back but then he got a better look and saw, “Oh! It’s… just my reflection.” He turned to carry on when out of the corner of his eye, something about his reflection didn’t seem right. He turned back and approached his reflection, reaching out to touch his reflection’s hand, and feeling pressure.  He stepped to the side, his image vanishing, and then shrewdly narrowing his eyes as he leapt back out, his image doing the same. He raised a brow… and then hopped up and down ,waving his arms and sticking his tongue out while laughing. “Huh, just my imagination, I guess,” Spike turned around to leave for real this time, when- *SLIP* "Ouch!” The little dragon whirled about again and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, his pupils shrank to pinpricks to see his reflection getting up from the ground and dusting himself off and then flinching to see he’d been caught! The “image” of Spike was suddenly enveloped in soft blue flamelike mana that quickly vanished and standing in the double of Spike’s place was now a…! “Ch-ch-ch-CHANGELING!!!” Spike screamed, stumbling and falling onto his butt. He scuffled back a bit before getting onto his feet and running. “No, wait! Come back!” “AAAUUUGGGHH!!!” Spike screamed, running while peering over his shoulder… only to step somewhere where there was no ground! Spike quickly realized he’d run right over an edge and below was a dark crevice with no visible bottom. He screamed and scrunched his eyes shut… only to feel something grab his tail, hear a soft buzzing, and he peeked to see he was not falling but floating! He looked up and was surprised to see the changeling had latched his mouth onto Spike’s tail and was holding him. The changeling had saved Spike’s life! “This is… unexpected,” Spike commented as the changeling carried him up to the ledge and set him safely down. As Spike stood up, shaking off the jitters of what just happened, the changeling landed in front of him, and he noticed that this changeling honestly wasn’t that big. “If you’re not careful, you can get really hurt in these caves,” the changeling said, sounding like a soft-spoken teenager. Then he sounded like a meek and nervous teenager, “I… wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of me.” “You… saved me?” Spike couldn’t believe what had just happened! “It’s okay… I know you don’t wanna be friends,” the changeling said in sad understanding before he began to flitter away- “Wait!” He stopped and looked back to a confused Spike, “I… I don’t understand! I…. thought changelings are supposed to be monsters!” “Monsters? Well, not me. All I’ve ever wanted was a friend,” the changeling sighed as he recalled his youth as a changeling larva. “From the moment I first split my egg in the nursery hive…” The miserable and scary memories of seeing his siblings, even as newborns like him, hissing, vicious, and he himself, frightened and afraid of their mother. Their queen who regarded her children not with love but with a sneering satisfaction. “This may come as a surprise to you, but we changelings are all the children of our mother and queen, Chrysalis. But even though she calls us her children and herself our “beloved mother”, Chrysalis doesn’t treat us like pony mothers treat their children. “…She treats us as slaves and that our only purpose is to obey her, nothing else.” “…But… couldn’t you just… leave?” Spike suggested. “Ordinarily? No,” the changeling sighed sadly. “Chrysalis controls all changelings with a magic Hive Mind. The closer we are to her, the more powerful the Hive mind is over us, and all changelings are connected to the Hive Mind. So ordinarily, even if some changelings wanted to be free they couldn’t leave because no changeling can resist the command of Chrysalis’s Hive Mind. “It dulls our free will and forces us to obey her, turning us into mindless drones.” “And… unordinarily?” Spike cracked weakly but prompted, having heard the changeling use the word ‘ordinarily’ as though there was more to his story. The changeling couldn’t help but crack a small smile but it quickly went away as he said, “I was there, at the invasion during the royal wedding? I saw these six ponies standing together despite all odds. The way they stood up to the changeling invaders, I’d never seen such friendship like that! “I knew in that moment I didn’t want to steal it just so I could feed off its love. I wanted to share it! Then… some kind of magical power forced all the changelings out of Canterlot, stopping the invasion and sending all changelings careening over the horizon, including me! But… when I woke up, I felt something for the first time in all my life! “I felt- I felt… free!” “Free?” Spike echoed, not understanding. “I mean, I didn’t feel Chrysalis’s Hive Mind anymore!” the changeling exclaimed, “I could no longer feel her presence, no longer hear the thoughts of my fellow changelings constantly buzzing in my head- My mind… was clear! “But it was only when the changelings involved in the invasion received orders to return to the hive that I realized… I was no longer bound to the will of the queen! I truly was free! But… I also realized… I could no longer live with my own kind anymore.” “Wait… a magical power that drove all the invading changelings out,” Spike considered the changeling’s words while thinking back on the day. It hit him! “I think I got it! Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were the ones who stopped the invasion and forced all the changelings away! Maybe it was their love-empowered magic that freed you of the queen’s spell!” “I… guess that makes sense,” the changeling considered before groaning in discomfort before growling and hissing his tongue at Spike. Seeing Spike cringe back in fear, the changeling shook his head and stepped away, “Oh! I’m sorry, it’s just…” “Just what? Are… you okay?” Spike asked in concern. “No! I’m… I’m starving!” the changeling panted, clearly hungry and tired, “I had to leave the hive because if I was discovered to no longer be controlled by the Hive Mind they would have destroyed me! Queen Chrysalis loves only one thing, Power! A changeling she could no longer control, she’d see it as a threat to her power! “But without any sources of love to feed on, I’m getting hungrier and hungrier everyday! But… maybe if I had a friend, then perhaps the love and friendship we’d share would be enough to sustain me! But… I don’t think anypony would want to be friends with me…” “Hold on,” Spike made a time-out gesture, “If you don’t mind me asking, what’re you doing here? In case you don’t know, there’s actually a big mess going on involving the changelings!” “See, that’s kinda the thing,” the changeling looked guilty. “I… I…” The changeling looked afraid and even wary of Spike, and Spike had a feeling that whatever reason he was here he meant no harm. “Listen, I can tell you’re not here to hurt anypony,” Spike held out his hand. “So… if you wanna start somewhere, start with me! My name is Spike, the Number One Assistant of Princess Twilight Sparkle!” The changeling regarded Spike warily but also hopefully before reaching out with his hoof and startling a bit when Spike grasped his hoof and shook it in a welcoming way. “Nice to meet you, Spike… I’m Thorax!” “Nice to meet you too, Thorax,” Spike smiled, causing Thorax to smile even more… and then suddenly snarl and hiss, Spike stumbling back. “So-sorry!” Thorax controlled himself, feeling awful, “Kindness like that, and what with me in my condition…” “It’s okay,” Spike waved it off as he stood up and dusted himself. “Wait, kindness?” “Oh! Changelings can actually taste all emotions,” Thorax explained, “but it’s the positive emotions we really like, especially love! Negative emotions, like sadness or… hate… They… Well, those kind of emotions would be like food poisoning.” “And I guess you like Love the most because…” Spike gathered, “Love is probably the most fulfilling emotion of all!” “Uh-huh! Do… do you mind?” Thorax asked sheepishly. “Go right ahead,” Spike smiled kindly. He watched as Thorax stared at him and then take a deep inhale. It was faint and almost imperceptible, but Spike saw it, a soft yellow shimmer coming from him like steam and getting sucked into Thorax as he breathed it in. Spike didn't feel a thing. Thorax then stopped and panted, “Oh! That’s… a little better! Thank you so much, Spike…” “You’re welcome… friend!” Spike stepped over and placed a friendly hand on Thorax, making him smile. And slightly growl, Spike jerking his hand back. “Sorry!” “…We’ll work on that,” Spike smirked, having somewhat expected it. “But now Thorax, you still gotta answer my question. “Why are you here? Right below Canterlot, while changelings are threatening Equestria?” Thorax hesitated more, Spike saying, “Thorax, if you want me to trust you then you gotta trust me back!” “…Okay, but you gotta promise you won’t reveal what I’m about to show you,” Thorax insisted, sounding oddly protective. Spike went through the motions as he swore, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Thorax gave the little dragon a weird look as the latter explained, “It’s an official Pinkie Promise! And no one breaks a Pinkie Promise.” “Well, okay… Follow me,” Thorax bade Spike. Spike followed his new changeling friend down a tunnel that went deeper in. As he did, a small part of Spike was still wary and warning him that this might be a bad idea. But Spike’s gut instincts were telling him that Thorax was sincere, and despite a few instinctive slips, he didn’t really feel threatened by the changeling, and he felt a real connection! Before long, they came to a chamber and Thorax pointed ahead, “The reason I’m here, Spike… is because of her!” Spike looked ahead and saw what looked to be a greenish-blue cocoon! But inside, something, a small shape, was giving off a gentle red glow. Spike looked at Thorax, curiously, as Thorax gestured him to go ahead and take a closer look. Hesitantly, Spike approached the cocoon and reached out to touch it. It was soft but firm to his touch, and it felt slippery. It was roughly egg-shaped, big enough to contain a fully-grown pony, it had a rough frame of a hard dark blue-green substance, and as Spike peered in, he saw the small occupant a little more clearly. “Wait… is that…?” Spike never thought he’d actually see one but Thorax confirmed it as he stepped up beside the dragon and peered into the cocoon with a loving look. “A changeling foal,” Thorax nodded, sounding concerned, “Her name is Elytra. She’s… my little sister.” “Your sister?!” Spike gaped up at Thorax, not quite understanding.  Thorax took a deep breath and sat down, leaning against the cocoon, Spike plopping at his side. "Like I said before, all changelings are Chrysalis’s children. The reason for that is… her Hive Mind only allows Chrysalis to control a changeling she herself is the mother of! If another changeling dared to have a child, she and the baby would be killed without hesitation!” “That’s- That’s awful!” Spike was disgusted. “It is… Chrysalis can’t control her… grandchildren, I guess is the technical term,” Thorax went on  sullenly. “She won’t tolerate any changeling that she can’t control with her Hive Mind. Since all changelings are technically brothers and sisters because we share Chrysalis as our mother, changeling mares would have to… have children with regular pony stallions.” “I know all about the birds and bees, buddy,” Spike waved off Thorax’s beating around the bush. “Oh, uh… okay,” Thorax took it in stride and continued. “Well, Elytra came from the same nursery as me, and… she’s the only thing I’ve ever really cared about! After the invasion was thwarted and I realized I was free of the Hive Mind, I knew I had to leave because if I was discovered to no longer be under the queen’s control I’d have been killed! But… I couldn’t leave Elytra behind. If I did, she’d have to grow up and be just another drone enslaved to a mother who treats her own children as slaves! “So… I took her. But there’s a problem, Spike.” Thorax stood up, Spike as well, as they both peered into the cocoon, at little Elytra. “Elytra is still connected to the Hive Mind. It wasn’t long after I ran away with her that the hive came after us! They can use the Hive Mind to sense each other, and they were able to sense a changeling who is much too young to be outside the nursery being taken from it!” Thorax sighed wearily, “Ever since we ran away, we’ve had to stay on the run! No matter where we go, the hive can track us because Elytra is connected to the Hive Mind!” “But… what does that have to do with you two coming here?” Spike brought up. “Because Elytra is connected to the Hive Mind, she can hear the telepathic buzzings the changelings send to each other,” Thorax explained. “A while ago, Elytra picked up telepathic buzzing that the changelings are gearing up for another invasion! If the Hive succeeds in conquering Equestria, then there won’t be anywhere I could keep Elytra safe! “So… I decided to bring her here, and after I sang her to sleep… I placed her in this cocoon…” “Why?” asked Spike. “While she’s cocooned like this,” Thorax held his hoof up to the membrane of the cocoon, looking sadly at his little sister, “her connection to the Hive Mind is dulled, making it harder for the Hive to track her. “I’ve been down here the last couple days, trying to think of how to approach the ponies of Canterlot and warn them. But…” “But with everypony all tensed up about the changelings,” Spike understood, “they might accuse you of being with the rest of the Hive and wouldn’t listen to you.” Thorax sighed sadly, “Yeah… I want to help the ponies but odds are they’d never believe that! But if I don’t try… then Elytra will never be truly free of the Hive.” The conundrum had Spike stumped as he began to ponder it further. Thorax was right – His friends, the princes and princesses, everypony probably wouldn’t even entertain the idea of a friendly changeling. But in his heart, burning with compassion and boldness, Spike had no doubts that Thorax was sincere and that he really could be of great help! This is gonna be a tough nut to crack…