//------------------------------// // 7th: Hive Sweet Hive // Story: The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings // by Hooves Like Jagger //------------------------------// The Rule of King Cocoon of the Changelings There is still panic in the streets above me. After assaulting Lou like that, there is no way they'll ever listen my pleas for help. When news of the incident spreads to other towns, there will be no sanctuary for me. It isn't even my fault. I had nothing but the best of intentions, but my plans were foiled by the one pony with the worse intentions. The citizens deserve a hero like Lou. I mean it. They deserve a slimy, back-stabbing, morally compromised psychopath. Lou is the worst fate I could wish on them. As for Lou herself, I just hope my attack leaves a scar. Personally, I've never wanted to get home more than I do right now. I want to go home where everyone isn't out to kill me, for the most part. Home where I have friends and family. Home where ponies can be trusted and asparagus tastes like asparagus. Home where I don't have to live a lie to gain anyone's trust. "Welcome back, your majesty," Gorehoof greets me once I return to the sewer headquarters. Normally, he's the only changeling down here with a helmet on, but there is another changeling with an armored noggin with him now. "Allow me to congratulate you on defeating that monster. It was an excellent victory." "More like a hollow victory. I'd rather not talk about it. Is this the scout from the Hive?" I point to the other changeling with him. The changeling bows deeply as he addresses me. "It is an honor to finally meet you, your majesty. I've come at the request of the Hive Minds. There is much to be done and much to discuss back at the Hive." "The Hive Minds? Who are they?" I ask. If they can summon me back to the Hive, they probably pull a lot of weight. "They are your senior officers, your majesty. They work solely in your interest and wouldn't be summoning you if things at the Hive weren't so... hectic.," the changeling explained. I can imagine that a sudden change in the head of a monarchy would throw the other parts of the governing body into a state of chaos. Based on my previous experiences with changelings being ashamed when talking to me, this changeling's hesitance to admit things are "hectic" is a sure sign that these Hive Minds are having trouble holding down the fort themselves. "Tell me your name and rank," I demand, wanting to sort this changeling out from the thousands of clones running around. "Captain Bloodbuzz, your majesty." "Well then, Bloodbuzz, take me to the Hive!" I wait momentarily for Bloodbuzz or Gorehoof to say something, but they both stare at me without saying anything. The only sound is the buzzing of other changelings above. "Umm... are we going or not?" "Of course, your majesty. When would you like to go?" Bloodbuzz asks. It's a stupid question, really. I mean, how much longer do you think I want to stay in a city full of ponies who fear me to no end and would very much like to see me dead? "I'd like to go right now," I answer his question and my own. "Very well, your majesty. Fly close to me." "Hold on!" I stop Bloodbuzz before he can fly away. "I hate to admit it, but I can't fly." "I'll arrange for a swarm to carry you." Just like that, Gorehoof solves the problem. No discussion about my inability to fly, no questioning my ability to fly, they just solve the problem. I love changelings. True to his word, Gorehoof enlists the help of six of his scouts to lift me. I expected them to take my arms, my legs, and my shoulders and just lift me, but that didn't happen. Two lifted my butt, two lifted from under my feet, and two lifted from under my forearms. I found myself hovering in a living chair. It's weird, but it's comfortable. I was going to ask exactly how they planned on flying out of the underground liar, but before I could Bloodbuzz darted off into the darkness above. My throne followed, flying just as fast. I got the sensation of losing my stomach as my chair rocketed up, down, sideways and backwards. I grabbed on for dear life, disregarding that I was grabbing two living things. I don't know where we went after things got too dark to see, but I saw a light at the end of the tunnel we were apparently in. Upon exiting, the sight that greeted me washed away all my previous experiences. We were flying high over Equestria. Most of what stretched out before me was trees and modest patches of farmland. I look straight down, right down into the city that shunned me. Directly below us is a dilapidated skyscraper with a hole in the top. I look back out over the horizon. It strikes me that Manehattan is just one city. Lou is just one pony. This attempt at getting home was just the first one. There is a lot more to the world I'm in. I can't get down because one city rejects me. Somewhere out there, there has to be one pony who can help me. On top of that, Discord revealed that I'm not alone. If I can find a human who doesn't happen to inspire fear in the general population with his newly acquired form, we could help each other get out of here. With the entirety of the changelings at my disposal, there is no way we wouldn't be able to pull it off. Feeling rather rejuvenated, I hardly noticed when Bloodbuzz suddenly banked out from in front of my flying chair. I finally realized what was happening when my chair also banked right and dropped down. A white pegasus whizzed past, joined by a few more as the changelings in charge of keeping me airborne did their best to keep out of the way. Having to move me around and having to move in tandem was obviously keeping them from moving effectively. We were all surrounded by seven armor-clad pegasi, Bloodbuzz included. "In the name of Princess Celestia, the Forty Third Pegasi Troop will be seeing to your immediate termination, changeling," the pegasus who appeared to be in charge snarled. "Jeez, that's a lot of troops," I grumble, just to myself. "The army got out here awfully fast," I directly address the horse in charge. "Is it a slow day or something, buddy?" "I am Lance Corporal Summitplunge, not your buddy you cur! We saw the commotion from Canterlot and the Princess dispatched us. We didn't expect to find changeling royalty up to no good, but I see the new king didn't waste any time in making himself known." I wasn't paying much attention to whatever-plunger. When he said he could see the commotion from Canterlot, I began to look to see if I could see that capital city from where I was now. Turns out the pegasus wasn't lying. I guess I hadn't noticed it before, but Canterlot is visible from Manehattan! Even from this distance, the city looks absolutely pristine and beautiful. Pasted right on the side of a mountain, the ivory city appears to be the perfect roost from which to rule the rest of Equestria. It was just as I'd imagined it. "Look, Plungersomething-" "Summitplunge!" "That sounds ill-advised. Anyway, I was wondering if you could deliver a message to Princess Celestia for me." "I'll be sure to relay your final words if that's what you want," Summitplunge sneered at me. I probably shouldn't push his buttons, but I'm in an odd mood at the moment. "I'm serious here. Just tell her I don't mean her or her subjects any harm." Summitplunge crinkled up his nose, obviously not convinced that the King of the Changelings would earnestly mean such a thing. I didn't blame him. It's been made painfully clear changelings don't exactly have the best rap with ponies. "Just as sort of a royalty to royalty sort of thing." "Submit and you can tell her that yourself on the execution block." The thought of ponies using beheading as a means of punishment wasn't one that had crossed my mind. I didn't even think they'd have capital punishment. "Well, that's okay. I could just have Bloodbuzz here turn into you and deliver the message." "You wouldn't dare," Summitplunge growled. I don't actually know if I'd do it, but I know Bloodbuzz would do it if I told him to. It doesn't even have to be Bloodbuzz... well, maybe not Stagger Fang, but every changeling would probably jail their own mother if I told them to. "Just give her the message. Now I've got to get going. Let's hit the road." Just as I expected, Bloodbuzz and the changelings carrying me went ahead and began to fly off, despite the pegasi surrounding us. The circle quickly adjusted, blocking our exit route. "Don't mock the Forty Third Pegasi Troop! Attack!" the ring of pegasi began spiraling in towards our group. I expected Bloodbuzz to give an order or something, but instead he turned to me. "Your orders, your majesty!" Oh yeah, I'm in charge. "Stay close to me!" I order, standing up on the two changelings under my feet. The other four fly down to assist so the twothey don't have to bear my full load. Bloodbuzz joins them, which leaves me at the center of the circling pegasi. I take a deep breath in, focusing my magic into my hands. I concentrate hard, putting both hands out to the side. I focus on building up a careful heap of energy in either hand. The task feels like piling individual snowflakes into a tower. It's tedious and I feel like hours are passing. Out of the corner of my senses though, I can see the pegasi preparing to make their move. It's a lot to ask, but I can feel the nature of the spell starting to take hold. With an exhale, energy flows out of me and begins wrapping itself around the changelings and me. I shut out all distractions as I take in another breath, gathering up the energy necessary to execute. All I need to do is hope it goes well and give it one, final pu- "Charge!" Summitplunge tears my concentration asunder, causing the carefully constructed spell to fall to pieces. I'd been trying to teleport my little posse away from trouble, but the spell's failure had an entirely different effect. The membrane of energy surrounding us tore, releasing the energy I'd so carefully contained. The energy, however, hadn't liked being contained that much. The release was not a flash of light or a simple explosion, but a emerald firestorm that blazed outward. Pegasi scattered to avoid the oncoming wave of flames. As the flames expanded outward and drove the ponies away, it appeared my magic had still sealed the deal. "Alright, let's get o-" It was at that precise moment, as Summitplunge knocked me off my mount, that I decided I should not underestimate Equestria's military prowess in the future. I didn't have time to wonder how he'd navigated his way through the flames or how I hadn't seen the huge horse barreling towards me. I only had enough time to realize I'd gotten the wind knocked out of me and I was now falling towards the roof of a nearby building very quickly. My only option was to spread my wings and beat them as hard as I could. I took a deep breath, reclaiming the situation and righting myself as I made a harsh touchdown. I collected myself and looked up to where I'd fallen from. An air battle between my small changeling escort and the Forty Third Pegasi Troop had broken out. Only one pegasi had broken ranks, and that pegasi was charging straight at me. "Die cur!" Summitplunge cried as he dove at me. There wasn't much I could think to do at the moment, so I just hit the deck and covered my head. Summitplunge, being the warrior he was, didn't miss a beat. Instead of crashing into me, he reared his front hooves up to slow his descent. His back hooves touched down right in front of me, warning me that a reared up horse was standing right in front of me. I tumbled backwards onto my butt, watching as two meaty hooves bashed the ground where my head had been. Summitplunge reared up again, but the sudden familiarity of the situation inspired me to act. I got to my feet as the horse reared up, thrusting my left hand into the bend in his left forleg and wrapping my right arm around his body. I held him, stopping the assault, but the stallion didn't appreciate being held against his will. Before he could free himself though, I spun to put my back against his chest. I exhaled sharply as I lifted him onto my hip, then followed the motion through with my arms. The pony rolled over my body and landed hard on his back. Still operating on hours of practice, I held fast to Summitplunge's left hoof. I laid down, ramming my butt into his left shoulder and tucking him in close by wrapping my legs across his torso. Holding his hoof to my chest, I raised my hips ever so slightly. "Graargh!" Summitplunge grimaced as I worked his body against its will. Without fingers or hind legs that bend the right way to push off the floor, I realized I'd turned the pony into my plaything with a simple arm-bar. "I don't know about Equestria, but back home a horse with a broken leg is as good as glue." I push up a little more to reinforce the fact that I am in control of the situation. "How about you let me and my good buddies up there leave Manehattan and I'll let you walk on four hooves a while longer." This is where I'd tell you what Summitplunge's response was, but quite frankly I don't want to repeat what he said. Essentially, he told me I was something and that I should go do something to something somewhere. *snap* "GAAH-AH-AAARGH!" Summitplunge's scream drowns out the pleasantly underwhelming sound of a bone breaking. I free myself from under him as he writhes in agony. Letting magic flow through my body, I change forms for my Plan B. "Whaddya think? We're exactly the same! ... Except for the broken foreleg," I taunt the pegasi in his own voice, wiggling a perfectly functioning hoof in his face. "I'll kill you!" "Later." Seeing as Summitplunge can't protest or resist me very well, I take off his armor and put it on. Unless his men have a seventh sense for their leader like mine do, they'd never know it was me. I begin flapping my new feathers to see how they feel. To my surprise, I begin to lift effortlessly from the ground with just a few beats of my wings. Pegasi must have some sort of special, passive magic within them to be able to fly with such proportionally small wings. Unfortunately, I realize I have no idea how to fly. As I elevate up and up and up, every twist and twitch of my body jerks me left and right. Luckily, my destination is straight up, so as soon as I'm within earshot of the full-swing aerial battle I shout out an order. "Everypony for himself! Retreat!" I bark an order to the pegasi troops. Just like changelings, they don't question my order and simply obey, turning one by one back towards Canterlot. I turn to my actual allies. "Catch me!" Shifting back into my regular form causes the shining, golden armor to fall away. My changeling escort stops me from falling. Bloodbuzz and the entire chair swarm is accounted for, much to my delight. "I would advise we hurry back to the Hive, your majesty. Reinforcements could arrive any moment," Bloodbuzz suggests. All it takes is my nod in agreement to get the swarm on the move. The Changeling Hive is located outside of Equestria's borders. Bloodbuzz alerted me when we flew over the Pale Mount River, the natural, northern border between Equestria and a dry wasteland known simply as Minor Mineral Desert. I asked if there was a Major Mineral Desert, and I was surprised to learn it was our destination. The Minor Mineral Desert was pretty unimpressive. I could be wrong, but the dilapidated, abandoned huts and farms lead me to believe this is where the earth ponies lived before they found Equestria. At any rate, whatever lived there doesn't anymore. Until we actually arrived in the Major Mineral Desert, I hadn't considered why there needed to be two different deserts. Minor Mineral Desert was really just a dry prairie, but Major Mineral Desert is a massive sandbox. Nothing but dunes as far as the eye could see. I got a little worried that we would get lost when even the Minor Mineral Desert disappeared behind us along with the sun. I trusted that Bloodbuzz knew where he was going though. I hadn't misplaced my trust. I imagined the main Hive would be some sort of gooey, oozing, green shell in the middle of the desert, but that was far from the truth. I didn't see the Hive before I heard it. I didn't hear buzzing or changelings talking. I heard sand rushing towards a massive pit. Just like a whirlpool in the ocean, there was a spiraling, rampaging tide of sand flowing into a dark hole in the ground. When I saw it I thought to myself, "I'd like to get a closer look at that thing", but I hadn't expected Bloodbuzz and my chair to dive bomb the very center of it. The inside of the hole was darker than the night outside and louder than I cared for. As we approached the bottom, the sand began to light up sickly green, the trademark color of changeling magic. A long, jagged spike with a green bonfire was below us, drawing the sand under it aside like a curtain. We swooped into this opening. We swooped into the heart of the Changeling Hive. "Oh someone's Nonspecific Deity..." Bathed in the light of countless green bonfires, the heart of the Changeling hive was an ebony beehive. Hexagonal combs tessellated the enormous, egg-shaped cavern. Dormant changelings slathered in green ooze covered almost every inch of the combs. The walls were impressive, but even more impressive was the full-sized castle suspended in the center, like the yoke of some giant, alien egg. The castle was suspended by several thick, black beams that, just like most of the other surfaces, were lined with sleeping changelings. The thickest of these spires went straight down and occupied an entire comb. The castle itself was constructed entirely of whatever black substance everything else was composed of and the architecture was distinctively Gothic. There were high, pointed spires, flying buttresses, and high black walls. Changelings buzzed in and out of windows and doors, nearly obscuring my view of the castle by sheer number. My throne set me down at the front step of the castle, which lead into a massive great hall. Armored changelings lined the floor, walls and ceilings. Each one snapped to attention as I entered. "Welcome back, your majesty!" the crowd greeted me as I strode down the tattered, green carpet towards the opposite end of the hall. I took in the tall, shattered windows and the exposed supports in the high ceiling. I don't know if the changelings built this or not, but it is sure impressive. I noticed a group of changelings walking down the carpet towards me. Each one of them was decked out in more armor than any other changeling I'd seen before, so I could only assume that they were the hive minds. Their torsos were completely encased in a shell of the deep, violet metal. The openings for the legs and head had a round plates with jagged spikes to protect the joints. The armor on their hooves sported the same motif, but featured three long spikes that mimicked claws. The helmets were the same design as their subordinates', but their own horn was accompanied by four more; two horns rested directly blow the real one and the other two sprouted from the cheek guards like ebony pincers. "It is good to see you, your majesty. Your arrival here already eases much of the unrest here at the Hive," one of the Hive Minds explains to me. They number seven in total, each of them looking exactly like the other six. I need to order that everyone wears a different hat or something... "What kind of unrest?" I ask. "It is a... complicated matter. You should come and see for yourself." The seven changelings walked ahead of me while Bloodbuzz and I followed closely behind. The rest of the castle was equally impressive, but the architecture never changed. It was always the same tattered carpet, the same black bricks, and the same green torches. It's fitting, I suppose; changelings aren't much for variety. "If you'd step inside, she's waiting for you." The Hive Minds stepped aside as we arrived at a door made of black wood. "Um... who is 'she'?" I asked. The Hive Minds glanced at each other, but didn't respond. I swallowed my nervousness. Whomever I was dealing with could make my own changelings question my orders. I opened the door up and quickly slipped inside. I looked around, but I didn't see a soul. Whoever lived in this room lived in luxury though. The furniture in the room was well made and looked very comfortable. I also couldn't help but notice there were toys littered all over the room. Plush ponies, little figurines, and an assortment of play clothes carpeted the floor. It was as if I was in a kid's room, but there was no kid. "I have you now!" I realized I had spoken too soon as a tiny black figure squeaked and latched itself on to my face. While the speed with which it managed to attach itself was impressive, the assault only succeeded in blinding me. I could feel it trying to bit into my head with tiny little fangs, so I grabbed it and pulled it off. ... What in the name in all that is cute, precious, and puppy-like is this? "Let me go! I will destwoy you!" the pint-sized changeling threatened. "You are adorable! What's your name little guy?" "I am Ka-ween Chrysalis!" "Queen Chrysalis?" "That's what I said!" "No, you said 'ka-ween Chrysalis'." "That is ee-well-evant!" She was right, it was irrelevant. "Why are you so tiny?" I posed my question. Now that she'd brought it to my attention, I realized I was indeed holding the filly version of Queen Chrysalis in my hands. "I do not know! Last I we-member I was fighting wid Celestia's forces while twy-ing to retreat back to the Hive, but then I suddenly wake up here! Worst of all, I'm a filly and I learn some foal calling himself Cocoon has usurped my thwone!" "I didn't take over an purpose. I'm just as lost as you are," I attempted to explain. Chrysalis wasn't about to believe me though, scrunching up her face into the cuuuutest of expressions! "Liar!" Chrysalis started beating her tiny little hooves against my hands, attempting to free herself. "You are some sort of iwm-postor!" "Just let me explain myself!" I barked. Chrysalis continued beating against her prison a few seconds longer before submitting, crossing her forelegs in protest and pouting. "Look, we really want the same thing: I want to get out of here and you want to be queen again-" "I am the ka-ween!" "No, you're the princess, you are Princess Chrysalis. Anyway, I don't belong in this world. I'm from an entirely different plane of reality!" "That sounds unlike-aly." Chrysalis still appeared skeptical, but maybe I'd gotten it across that we're not enemies. To confirm this, I released her. Instead of attack me again, she buzzed her wings and hovered in place. Her silence implored me to continue. "All you've got to do is help me find out how I can get home and you'll be running this show before you even know it." I smiled as I made her my offer. Her skepticism persisted. "Okay, suppose I be-weave you. How exact-we would I be able to help?" "I barely know anything about this world. I need you to help me not look like an idiot in front of... well in front of the world." Chrysalis smirked a little, probably elated by the thought of me making a fool of myself. "All I want to do is get home, so I'm not going to make any huge policy changes or try to take over the world. I'll leave things exactly how I found them. For all intents and purposes, you might as well be Queen." Chrysalis's eyes wandered a bit as she pondered what I'd just said. "If you're from another world, how did you get here?" she asked. Coming from another world is a claim about as far-fetched as they come, but I had to prove it was true somehow. "I don't know how I got here just like you don't know why you're a filly again. If you help me out, we might be able to riddle it out," I offered. Chrysalis didn't respond. She buzzed down to the ground and paced around me. I stood rigid at attention as she examined me from head to toe. "I'm not convinced. Come wif me!" Princess Chrysalis commanded as she fluttered up and opened the door. I followed her as she meandered out. "Out of my way you bumbling imbeciles!" The Hive Minds moved aside and came to attention as the tiny tyrant marched past. "That's not any way to treat your subjects," I scolded her. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at me like I was the craziest person on the face of the planet. She didn't elaborate on why she was confused, but instead continued on her way through the castle. The Hive Minds followed us until we reached what was or destination. We'd gone down several flights of stairs to reach what looked like a well. I peered down into it, noting that I could not discern what was at the bottom. Chrysalis hovered over it and descended inside. "Follow me!" her voice echoed up. I turned back to the Hive Mind. "Where does this go?" "Down below the Hive, to Tartarus." How pleasant is that? The changelings have a direct passage to a giant underworld of monsters. Now all this castle needs is a death-ray and we can go in for our evil lair certification. I should have asked how I get back up if I can't fly, but my brain is too stupid for that. Instead, I just climbed over the edge of the well and let myself drop. It was a bit of a battle to get to get in the very center where I could move my wings, but I managed to slow my long descent into the depths of Tartarus. Unlike the entrance to the Hive, there wasn't a speck of light when I reached the bottom. "What took you so long?" Chrysalis chided me from somewhere in the darkness. "Do you mind explain what we're doing down here?" I asked, fumbling around for the tiny changeling in the dark. "So... you're King Cocoon?" a voice I'd never heard asked me from behind. I swallowed the lump in my throat and answered the ominous and powerful voice. "Yup... that's me," I whimpered as I turned about. I was greeted by not one, not two, but eight, enormous, globes of red eyes. Two bonfires jumped to life on either side of me, revealing the full extent of the monster I was being confronted by. I was staring into the many eyes of a massive, crimson tarantula with fangs that would be big on a humpback whale. Each of it's eights pupils were fixed on me. I backed off just as fast as I could. If this is the kind of stuff that's locked up in Tartarus, no wonder ponies want Cerberus to keep watch. "And you are?" I don't know what came over me that made me ask that question, but I was hoping that if he hadn't eaten me the moment I came down here it meant he wasn't looking at me as a snack. "Baal the Blacksmith at your service," Baal introduced himself and bowed... sort of. It was hard for something his size to bow to something my size. The "at your service" eased my heart a great deal, but there was another piece of his introduction that piqued my interest. "Blacksmith?" "I have been outfitting the Changeling Army and Changeling Royalty for many millenniums, and now I extend my services to you." "Quiet Baal! That's not what we're here about!" Chrysalis shouted. I looked over at where she was. ... Well... that's disturbing. Chrysalis is standing on a massive pile of changeling carcasses. It's not the only one too. As I look around, I realize I am surrounded by dead changelings. A great deal of the bodies are missing certain parts, especially heads. Calling this place a graveyard would be sugarcoating it. "What's with all the... uh... dead... stuff?" I dare to ask. "Quiet!" Chrysalis doesn't allow the interruption. "Baal! Cocoon keeps going on about being from a different world! I wanted to know whether or not you knew if that was true!" Baal raised one of his massive legs and scratched his head. The rubbing of his hair against his own hair sounded like someone running their hand through tall grass. "It's not impossible." Baal lowered his arm towards me. Without a word of warning, a long claw shot out of the end of his leg and nearly punctured by face. Instead of killing me with the claw, he began to examine me closely. "One things is for sure: he doesn't look like any changeling I've seen before." "That could mean anything! I want proof one way or the other!" Chrysalis complained, jumping up and down on some poor, departed soul's head. "I have no way of telling," Baal admitted. "There is someone who could tell us though." Baal scurried and turned himself around. I could hear him rummaging through something, but I couldn't see around his massive abdomen to see what he was rummaging through. He turned back around, holding something rather large in one of his arms. He held it before his face as his eyes lit up with a frightening, red light. After a few seconds of laser-eyes, I swore I heard the faint sound of someone clipping their nails. "Baal? What's up man, I haven't talked to you in a while. How's the whole blacksmith gig working for you?" I recognized the voice as Discord immediately. I realized that Baal was holding an old vanity mirror and had somehow contacted Discord with his magic or something. Somehow I wasn't all too surprised that the two knew one another. "I have a quick question for you. Is this your doing?" Baal turned the mirror around, revealing to me the image of my sworn enemy holding a toenail clipper. He looked less than happy to see me, but the feeling was mutual. "No, he's not my doing. I don't know who brought him here," Discord admitted. Baal turned the mirror back to himself. "So you're saying he did come from somewhere else?" "That would be correct. He's a human, not a changeling. Hey, would you mind letting me talk to him for a moment?" Baal lowered the mirror so Discord was facing me again. "I saw what you did in Manehattan." "Right... and you said I couldn't do chaos." "You can't," Discord growled. "Things were chaotic before! Everything is all normal now. Lookity Louise is back on the force, the sewers work, and most of all there is no Sphinx! No sacrifices of ponies Louise thinks are criminals and nopony gets prosecuted without proper evidence! That, my bipedal friend, is order." "What about my crazy snack-attack or when Lou unmasked me?" "Those things? Please, spare me the explanation. Changelings feed, that's what they do, how is a changeling doing as changelings do chaotic? On top of that, how is everypony knowing your true identity chaotic? You see, this is what's wrong with you! You can't even properly identify chaos!" As much as I hated to admit it, Discord was right. Boy, do I hate admitting it. When all is said and done in Manehattan, things are back to normal in the city. "Whether I'm wreaking havoc or restoring peace, I don't care. I just want to go home. You say you want me gone so bad, but I didn't hear you offer any suggestions!" I point out. "I did offer a suggestion!" "One that doesn't involve killing me!" "Now you're just being picky!" "Can you really blame me?!" "Bowth of you shut up!" Chrysalis shrieked in my ear. I held my ringing head while Discord made a face. "Wow Chrysalis, what happened to you?" Discord chuckled. "I do not know! It would appear to have something to do with Cocoon's appearance, so I have decided to help him get home!" Chrysalis stated her allegiance. I couldn't be happier to have at long last convinced someone to be on my side, even if it was a tiny, changeling Princess. "I'm telling you Chryssi, just have Baal cut off his head or something. He's just going to cause trouble," Discord grunted. "We are through talking! Baal!" Chrysalis squeaked up at the huge arachnid. "Now hold on a mi-" the image in the mirror faded away before Discord could finish. I kind of wanted to ask him about the other humans he'd peppered Equestria with, but on the other hand I really shouldn't trust him with being forthcoming about that information. After all, they are his precious sources of chaos. "C'mon, let's go Cocoon!" Chrysalis demanded, buzzing her way on up towards the hole in the ceiling I can only assume we came in through. "Now hold up, I wanted to hear more about this blacksmithing deal." I reach up and grab Chrysalis by her tail, yanking her back down to my level. "Nonsense! You don't need Royal Armor! You're not staying here!" Chrysalis retorted. "... Royal Armor?" Now there was no way I was leaving here without at least an explanation. Chrysalis heaved a sigh, handing the metaphorical mic over to Baal. "The ruling changeling always receives a set of protective armor for battle. The royal armor is special since the base for it is the King or Queen themselves." "I don't follow." "It's easier if I just show you." Chrysalis hovered away from me as Baal reached out one of his massive legs to me. I wasn't sure what he wanted at first, but eventually I reached out and took the hairy ligament in my left hand. The next moment one of his bladed arms cut the arm clean off at the shoulder. I reached out to my stump of a shoulder and pushed as much magic as I could into it, supressing the howls of pain welling up inside me. In a flash of light, I had my arm back. I wiggled my fingers around, making sure I hadn't been damaged permanently. "What the heck was that?!" I normally try not to explode with anger, but I'd just got my arm cut off. You don't just cut someone's arm off without telling them. It isn't cool. "This is the material I'll be using to make your armor," Baal explained, waving my severed arm around as it flopped around like a dead fish. "Your body has a natural need to consume and become whole, so by tempering your arm with the bodies of your fallen comrades I will forge armor that will reinforce your natural body." "You could have warned me before you lobbed my arm off!" "Quit your whining! We need to go con-salt with the Hive Minds!" Chrysalis flew off before I could protest. Not having time to explain I couldn't fly, I simply turned back into Summitplunge and clumsily made my way back up the hole in the ceiling. When I finally reached the top, Chrysalis was waiting impatiently with the Hive Minds and Bloodbuzz. "This flying thing is going to take me a while." I changed back into my normal form, panting from exerting myself in such a strange way. Even if I was trained to be an endurance runner, that didn't make me an endurance flier. "That's not important! Did you order the Manehattan branch to transport a rock here?" Chrysalis asked right out of left field. "I guess I sort of did. I made an inscription on a rock and told them to copy it down all over Equestria." Chrysalis shot a look back at the Hive minds who began to shuffle their hooves nervously. I began to wonder what had happened while I was struggling to get up here. "The etching on the rock was confusing, so they cut it out and attempted to bring it here so we could just make duplicates and place them in different places," one of the Hive Minds explained. "Oh, well that's perfectly fine... hold up... uh... 'attempted to'?" "Well... the changelings who transported it... dropped it." The Hive Minds all grimaced, ready for my unadulterated rage. Luckily for them, it wasn't a huge deal for me. I could just make another one. "Where'd you drop it?" I asked my only question. The Hive Minds peeked at each other cautiously before answering. "Right outside of Appleloosa." "Would somepony be able to find it?" "I... I guess so." "Perfect, take me to it!" I commanded. If someone could find the rock, there was a chance someone had found it. I'd left instructions in my message to respond right on the signpost, so with any luck someone would have made an alteration. The Hive Minds perked back up and conversed amongst themselves momentarily. Chrysalis took to her wings and got on eye level with me. "What's so important about this rock?" "Discord told me he'd brought other people from my world to Equestria as well, so I want to help them get home. The rock had a message only we humans could read." "If so many of your kind have come here, how come I've never heard of a human? On top of that, why haven't any of them figured out a way to return?" "Discord turns them into ponies and... well... I guess none of them want to go back." Chrysalis scrunched up her face again. "If they don't wanna go home, why are you twying to help them get there?" "Because they need to go home. We don't belong here and that's the bottom line." For the first time, Chrysalis smiled in earnest. She buzzed upwards and roosted on top of my head. "I misjudged you, Cocoon. You're not stupid, you're just simple." "Uh, thanks? By the way, how did you know about the rock?" "I asked them about any large ordered you'd given so far. I just wanted to make sure you weren't already up to somethign weird." Oh, to be trusted by one's allies... "Your majesty," one of the Hive Minds called to me. They parted and let Bloodbuzz trot right up to me with another, unarmored changeling right beside him. "Who's this?" I indicate the newcomer. "I'm Plundergrub, your majesty!" Plundergrub saluted, knocking himself in the head with his hoof. He winced, but straightened up quickly. "He was part of the team assigned to carry the rock," Bloodbuzz explained. "Appleloosa isn't changeling territory, so we're going to have to go there in disguise. Plundergrub will act as your guide." "What about you, are you coming?" I question Bloodbuzz. "If your majesty wishes, I will not hesitate to accompany you." "Then you're coming. Neither me or the Princess are the strongest of fliers," I admitted. I noticed Bloodbuzz's eyes wander a little, no doubt because he'd seen me try and fly. "I'm a great flier!" Chrysalis protested. "I'm just... young." I had suspected as much. "Alright then, I'm counting on you Plundergrub, Bloodbuzz." "Yes sir!" Plundergrub bellowed. Bloodbuzz made due with a simple salute. Just like that we were on our way to Appleloosa. The four of us transformed into pegasi, Chrysalis turning into a barely flight capable filly. She rode on Plundergrub's back while Bloodbuzz gave me instructions on the fly. I'd opted to turn into Thunderlane, the only pegasus stallion I could think of who was inconspicuous. Soarin' was a celebrity, Snowflake was enormous, and Summitplunge was a royal guard. Compared to them, Thunderlane is just chopped liver. It was a nice long flight to Appleloosa, but by the end I still wasn't very good at flying. "Down there sir! I can see it!" Plundergrub began to descend. There was indeed a stone that looked very much out of place in the dawning light sitting in the middle of a field just outside the collection of buildings known as Appleloosa. Nobody and nopony was out and about, so now was an excellent time to check things out. Bloodbuzz and Plundergrub, and by extension Chrysalis, made perfect landings. I crashed into the ground a short distance behind them. "Your language is weird, Cocoon..." Chrysalis pointed out. "Are you sure this is it Plundergrub?" Bloodbuzz asked. I sat up and spat dirt out of my mouth. I'd spent all that time perfecting the art of staying airborne, so the art of getting back to good 'ol terra firma had been neglected. "I think so... looks a bit different than I remember." "Really? Let me see!" I get to my feet and gallop up to the rock. The sight that greeted me made my blood run cold. "LEAVE ME ALONE"