//------------------------------// // Awakening (Morpheus) Part 2 // Story: dC/dt ≠ 0 // by I Thought I Was Toast //------------------------------// As I have said before, there is a particular art to making a well timed entrance. I may not have been particularly good at them, but I could respect others who had mastered the craft. That day, however, I needed to send a message. With the other lords making their moves, now was the time to show everyling that my purpose was true; I needed to leave none in doubt and prove myself stronger than those who opposed me. They had chosen to endanger my friends, rebel against my orders, and send all of Equestria into panic in one fell swoop. Such actions would not stand. I was the one who made tentative allies with Equestria when noling else thought we could. I was the one who befriended the Elements of Harmony, and I was the one who entered the third Chrysaling by the good grace of my friendships and the potential budding of something more. The reveal of my metamorphosis gave me one chance to convince anyling on the fence that my way led to peace and prosperity – that I had been right all along. Ve would not settle for anything less than an entrance that fully impacted that message upon those who would still listen. It was Wicked who tried pushed Castle’s door open: keyword tried. The stone grated with a fierce resistance, barely budging as Hera, Spi, Wyrman and I worked to open it. “Let me through, Castle,” I growled. “It’s for the best that I face this outside, away from everypony else. It will keep them safe. Isn’t that what you want?” The lights flickered, and a red crossed out circle suddenly painted the door. “You can’t keep both me and the rest of Ponyville safe.” I strained at the door, briefly redeploying my new legs to see if the extra purchase would help. A vague blur denoted where they violated the illusion, but it thankfully didn’t break. I’d kill Castle if he ruined the element of surprise. Deploying them didn’t make much of a difference, however. Progress was just as slow, and I grunted in frustration. Eventually, despite being castled, we managed to get the stubborn door open enough to squeeze out, and I doubled down on the disguise again. Snow gently fell to the ground in soft, fluffy flakes, and icicles clutched at Castle with their icy talons. The clouds were haphazardly strewn about from where pegasi had abandoned them to evacuate inside. Was this the first snow of the year? No…. I hadn’t seen snow personally before, but ve could see there was already too much on the ground. This half-made storm couldn’t have made all this. It was… nicer than ve expected. Cold, yes, but it was a refreshing chill. The breeze made me shiver, but it also sent electric tingles down my spine. Snow crunched beneath my hooves, and my breath left little puffs of vapor in the air. I savored the sensations momentarily before turning to the others. “Alright, everyling.” I stood tall. “You have your orders, and you will follow them.” I glared at Hera, who tasted of rainbows despite her stoic facade. “Noling is to interfere until I say so unless you are attacked.” Spi and Wyrman nodded, slinking into the shadows, while Hera gave a clipped nod and stiff salute. Then, all we had to do was wait. It wasn’t long; eight dots soon appeared in the distance, growing into large hulking warriors as they landed. Well, landed as best they could. Rather, they hovered just barely off the ground with artificially enlarged wings that buzzed with harsh, murderous intent. Four massive stinger-like appendages replaced their hooves – preventing them from standing – while their fetlock cavities were filled with green, pulsating glands carrying hive knew what venoms. I stared at them, and they stared at me in kind. “Ve all did not expect you to be standing,” one thrummed in Chitri. “And yet, here I am – healthy, whole, and ready to fight.” I nodded. “Ve all did not think you would fight.” Another tilted his head, eyes hidden behind his haws. “And yet, here I am – prepared to defend my friends.” I widened my stance slightly. “Lies,” they hissed in concert. “Your friends are nothing but hopes and dreams – delusions of the impossible.” “The improbable you mean,” I countered. “Dare I call it probable after all that I’ve been through.” I nodded towards Hera. “All that we’ve been through. I’m not the only one, you see, who has learned the magic of friendship.” “Come to us, then, and shed your skin.” The buzzing of their wings became a dull roar. “Friendship will not win your fights for you.” I grinned at their words. It would be better to build my entrance up a bit more. But, really? How could I resist that line? “Funny thing about that,” I chuckled, flames beginning to burn my other half away. “I wouldn’t be the changeling I am today without my friends.” Their hissing retorts cut off as I stepped forth from the fire. Several of them instantly buzzed backwards, horns aglow, and I gave them my most charming smile – fangs gleaming in the sun. My new set of legs pawed at the ground, making sure to draw their eye. “I-imperator.” It was rare to set warriors so far off guard; their fractured echoes sounded like an entire swarm, and ve had no doubt they were relaying the information to their lord post haste – scrambling for guidance. Their filters were tightly knit, but I could see how they had tensed. Several of them twitched as the flight or fight responses warred for dominance. Only their discipline kept them in line. I thrummed at the sight. “Oh, come now. You act like you’ve never seen anyling complete the third Chrysaling before. Everyling in the hive should have seen our report on the Everfree Hive. Can you honestly say none of your lords expected this? Were they so blinded by hatred that they failed to think that maybe – just maybe – I’d succeed in truly making friends? “This is the future I offer to everyling willing to believe in me.” I laughed. “All it takes is opening up to others.” Game. Set. Match. Even should Carapace’s underlings fight me now – even should Hera and I die here – Spi and Wyrman would make sure the hive saw this encounter. For the sake of everyling, they needed to hide away from the battle and record this meeting. Ve had no idea just how strong the Chrysalling had made me, after all, and it would be folly for us to bet solely on my new strength. When the hive saw this encounter, though – win or lose – I’d be a hero. More importantly, noling would want to side with Antiquity or Carapace after undeniable proof of my metamorphosis. “G-general Carapace would like to speak with you,” one of the warriors finally managed to speak again. “Hrmm…” I thrummed, nodding to them. Perhaps a fight wasn’t in the cards. That would be a fortunate if unexpected outcome. Together, the warriors hovered back and lit their horns. Pulling several comm-bytes from their corbiculae, they tossed them to the ground. The little beetles skittered together, shifting into the various forms meant to facilitate a secure, face to face channel. There was a hissing click as their neural networks slotted together, and the new entity’s eyes began to glow – projecting an illusory azure haze above itself. For a few moments, the haze remained indistinct. Then, the comm-bytes’ wings buzzed; their eyes glowed brighter as the swirling mist condensed into the imposingly large and bulky form of General Carapace. With a frame as sturdy and broad shouldered as any of his family’s famed warriors, he had always loomed over me before. Today, however, I found myself on even ground with him – perhaps even slightly taller. He had to have been expecting my normal height, as he phased in looking down with a sneer. That sneer became a frown as his gaze trailed upwards, his brow furrowing as he locked his good eye on mine. “It seems the little prince has finally decided to play at being king.” He snorted. “Too bad it's far too late for you to grow a pair. My die have already been cast with Lady Antiquity’s.” “Come now, Captain Blackblade. I’m sure we can patch things up between us.” I gave a cheeky grin. “Do. Not. Call me that!” he roared, stabbing the foreleg he had replaced with a blade into the ground. “That name was old even before your mother spawned you! Our leader is supposed to be better than some sniveling weakling cracking jokes!” “It’s not a joke when you have a sword for a leg and an eyepatch. You look like a hive forsaken pirate.” I tsked, frowning at the break in civility. “Regardless, ve have no idea how you can possibly justify calling me weak right now. By the First Father, I’m an imperator. Surely that speaks of the strength of my purpose.” “Aye, but the sheer idiocy you showed leading us into this mess was far more telling as far as ve’re concerned,” he huffed. “You’re madder than your mother ever was, and not in a good way! Your mother might have been insane for coming up with the plan to invade Equestria, but it was the sort of mad genius I could respect and follow! “Because of that, I was willing to give you a chance – despite our misgivings – but then you went and came up with the most harebrained scheme I’ve ever heard! Months of sending my agents out to collect obscure bits of writing for you – many dying – and for what? Making peace? “Bah! There’s too much bad blood between us to make true peace feasible. Even you admitted as such – in action if not in word! You would have rather had us all live as slaves to ponies with that damnable spell of yours! I warned you this day was coming the day you made me sign that hive-forsaken Contract!” I couldn’t help but flinch at the General’s words. It was true. He had been an ally once. I had used him and his agents to help gather several pieces of the Unbreakable Contract, and he had used me and mine to further his own agenda in kind – mostly rooting out upstart lords who sought his position as the head of House Scorpio. Ve had had no other choice at the time. If ve had known what I knew now— If I had actually realized what friendship was, maybe I’d be greeting an old comrade rather than an enemy. No…. The general was just as much to blame. Ve had known he had been talking with the other houses. It was part of the game, after all. He knew that; I knew that. Betrayal was only a matter of time after I announced my mission of peace. That was why ve had made sure I made him sign the Contract. Still… The image of Carapace burned brilliantly before me, and his posture was resolute and defiant. His head was tossed back, snout slightly up in the air – the days he’d bow his head in a modicum of respect long dead and gone. And it was my fault: no matter if it was all just part of the game. “I…” I bit my lip, bowing my head to him. “I am sorry. It was wrong of us to ever believe the Contract was a necessity. Ve know that now. All those foalish hopes you once mocked me for were real, though – far more real than I had ever dared to believe. Look at me, Carapace. Look at what friendship and harmony can achieve.” I stood tall, my emotions futilely reaching out to try and assure him. “Strength and security in the darkest of times. An alliance where noling needs to constantly look over their shoulder for a hidden knife. Friendship can only change us for the better.” I frowned as he snorted. “I’m serious, Carapace. Your alliance with Antiquity will only lead to ruin. You had to have reached this conclusion. Antiquity has delusions of grandeur that put my mother’s to shame, and her malice knows no bounds. As much as I disagreed with Mother, she was at least devoted to saving us. Antiquity would laugh as we all burn – pony and changeling alike.” The general thrummed for a few moments, his gaze boring into me with a calculating scrutiny. “Be that as it may, you are still too late. Ve had no choice but to ally with her after you placed a puppet at the head of House Flynn.” He grimaced with all the distaste of someling who had cyanide in his tea. “I have seen the secret to Lady Antiquity’s plans, little prince. Ve highly doubt you are capable of stopping her. You have sown the seeds of your own destruction, and ve would rather place our bets with the winning side. At the very least, ve can attempt damage control for Antiquity’s more… dubious actions.” “What do you mean by that?” I furrowed my brow. “You know as well as I do that you two are inviting open war with Equestria today. What could she possibly have that would allow her to not only overcome myself but the four ruling princesses of Equestria?” Carapace sighed, shaking his head. “Still always looking for hoofouts…. If I told you that, she might very well kill me. Perhaps you should merely trust my word. That’s what your so-called friends do, is it not?” He snorted before I could respond. “Regardless, I need to return to securing my troops. I can’t call off my warriors attack, because Antiquity would have my chitin, but I’d highly appreciate it if you didn’t kill my finest with your newfound power. Consider it payment for telling you the little I did.” I blinked my haws. “You expect me to show you that kind of courtesy right now?” “Aye.” Carapace bowed his head. “And ve know you’re too soft to refuse. Now, would you care to give me any parting words for Antiquity? She wanted your final words of anger and despair, but the chances of getting those today are suddenly seeming pretty slim.” I bared my fangs in a savage grin. “Why yes, actually. Ve have a rather large selection of choice words for her, but it would take far too long to rant them all. Suffice it to say that if either of you dares to harm any of my friends in an attempt to reach me, you’ll end up so dead that all the sands of the Badlands will not be enough to bury you. Harming Twilight in particular will ensure you suffer so much that such a death will be begging for mercy.” Stepping forward, I made sure to shift myself several inches taller just to loom over the general. “Your quarrel is with me and me alone, and the least we can do is have a civil civil war.” The general smirked. “Well, at least you’ve finally grown a pair. Too bad those words are wasted on deaf ears. All you’ll do is incite her wrath.” I shrugged, rolling my shoulders with an exaggerated slowness. “They are as much for you as they are for her, and the formalities must be observed. As far as ve’re concerned, she has already earned that punishment with what ve know of her actions in Manehatten. You, however, can still avoid such a fate if you’re careful.” He shook his head. “Even with a spine you’re still too soft…. Take care, little prince. When next we meet, we will be playing for our lives.” The light of the illusion flickered out, and the comm-bytes pulled themselves apart with a click. They skittered on back to their masters, who picked them up carefully. The assassins’ eyes were all hidden behind their haws, yet they clearly never left me. I eyed them in turn, licking my chops as our thoughts raced through various possibilities. “You can make this easy on yourselves.” I pawed one of my middle legs at the ground to get a better feel of the ground with my tremor sense. “I don’t want to actually harm you.” They all bowed their heads, one speaking. “With all due respect, we cannot disobey our lord’s orders. Whether you want it or not, we must fight.” “Does my lord’s position mean nothing to you, then?” Hera thrummed with a low, menacing buzz that echoed like a dank, dark and dangerous cave. “He is the leader of our hive, after all. At the end of the day, is he not your lord as well?” “We can solve this with minimal fighting and injury, gentlelings.” I tried not to tense as all the warriors – Hera included – shifted dangerously. “Ve understand your loyalty, but there are ways to end this that saves both your honor and your life.” “That is assuming you can take on all eight of us,” an underling droned. “Such a feat would be difficult for even an imperator.” “Exactly.” I smiled. “That is why I’d like to—” My ears flicked as a flurry of several rushed message spells from Tibia reached me. “Urgent news. Princess Twilight in critical condition. Diagnosis: severe magical exhaustion. Requires mana or love transfer. Please hurry.” The words echoed through my head, and I felt the icy talons of dread rip into my heart. Twilight. Needed. Me? “Antiquity!” Had I yelled that? I hadn’t meant to. My smile twitched erratically as my vision started to turn azure, and data began streaming to us from somewhere— from someling buried deep within the hivemind. Ancient instincts that hadn’t been called upon in millenia stirred as long abandoned sections of the archives sent us memories ve hadn’t known existed. Someling – maybe Hera, maybe me – inhaled sharply as ve returned our focus from the rush of info still hammering into us to the warriors before us. “Sorry for that. As ve were saying, ve’d like to end this as soon as possible.” There was a sense of detachment as ve reared up and drove our fore and mid legs into the earth. With a muffled explosion, dirt and rocks and bits of crystal roots burst upwards from the ground around us, and ve turned to buck exactly eight pieces of debris towards the warriors now dodging to the side. Each buck instilled a mighty tremor filled with nonsensical information into its projectile, and each was aimed by us to carefully track ahead of their targets as the assassins dispersed. Every shot hit spot on, and each of the warriors dropped like a stone as the tremors overwhelmed them with data to try and parse. Trotting over to them, ve leaned down and frowned. For just a second, the azure haze in my eyes cleared. “I’m... sorry….” Bending down ve felt a most vile and despicable spell bubble out of our horn. “There.” Ve shuddered. “Ve have severed their connection to the hivemind so they cannot collude with Carapace any more, and it will likely take them hours to stir out of the sensory overload. Before they do so, ve want you to make sure you have them properly imprisoned, Hera.” “Prince Morpheus…” Hera whispered, her steely resolve hammering at the ice around our heart. My heart? I blinked as the azure haze began to fade from my vision. “Right, right…. Sorry. Ve don’t know what came over us. There was a message about Twilight and how she— Twilight!” I grit my teeth. “I need to get to Manehatten now! Castle, give me whatever love you have to spare! Twilight put herself into extreme magical exhaustion, and I need to make a cross country jump and still have enough magic to jumpstart her.” “My Lord!” Hera reached out slightly before pulling back into a salute. “Please reconsider this! There are sure to be ponies who can treat her in Manehatten.” “By the Azure Veil, ve know neither the state of the hospitals nor their supplies from the riots.” My echo fractured with a harsh buzz. “The riots are still ongoing, and ve do not trust that Antiquity is gone from the city. I am going to go treat her myself.” Azure crept into the corner of my eyes again. “The others are there by now too, and may be in just as much danger. Ve are going now that the situation here is handled, and you will not stop us. Understood?” Hera was silent for a moment. “At least take me with you, sir. Spi and Wyrman can handle the prisoners after they compile and send what happened here to the rest of the hive.” “Ve suppose ve can allow that….” The blue veil lifted and I smiled. “Thank you for understanding.” She nodded, and I began to siphon love from Castle until my heart was skipping every other beat. My chest burned as I lit the horn for the portal spell – the coordinates ve found placing our destination at the front of City Hall – and I stumbled as I went through the threshold after Hera. As we hit the other side, we entered a roaring din that fell completely silent at my appearance. There was a shield of some kind over the two of us, and we were near the edge of it. Both the ponies inside and outside stared at me, and ve were suddenly very aware of the fact that I wasn’t Wicked. “Hera,” I hissed, “they’re all looking at me.” My words shattered the silence, and a roar filled the air as most of the crowd outside surged at the shield. Someponies screamed and fled, but most appeared to be firmly rooted in the fight half of fight or flight right now. I looked at the carnage outside and the ponies pretending not to shiver inside the shield. It made me scowl. “Antiquity is going to pay for this when I get a hoof on her.” “E-excuse me, you two, but were you sent by Prince Morpheus by any chance? You seem like you...” Pencil Pusher trailed off as I looked down at him. Looming over him, I gave a low growl. “Where. Is. Twilight?”