Cosmic Lotus

by Goldfur


Probes

Alexa was practically wearing a groove in the luxurious carpet of House Path manor as she paced worriedly. Free and Path passed a bowl of popcorn between them as they watched her reverse her course back and forth across the room.

“She’s so agitated – are all foxtaurs such worriers?” Path asked.

“Oh, stop teasing her. Alexa – come over here for a moment and sit with us.” Free patted the lounging mat between himself and Path.

She sat down and held her head in her paws. “There is that huge meeting happening right now and I can’t be there. It’s supposed to be another deliberation by the council about my home!” she complained. “After all this time, I thought that we had secured Equus’ full support, but now that seems in doubt.”

“You know the latest turn of events with the Swarm has a lot of Equians scared,” Free said. “They rightfully point out that if the Federation can be caught by surprise by the Swarm’s flanking moves, then they can visualize it happening to us as well.”

“I realize that, but they need to see that the best chance for both of our peoples is to keep working together.”

Free nodded in agreement. “You’ve argued that point very persuasively, but that still doesn’t appease the irrational side of many species. You’re just going to have to trust that cooler minds will prevail.”

Path said, “You know – if you really want to look, Free could let you peek in on one of his changelings in the meeting room. That’s what we are going to do.” The stallion looked over to Free with a smirk.

Alexa gave the pony a shocked look. “Isn’t that a bit unethical?”

“Nah – the councilors just want to be able to yell at each other without the Federation looking over their shoulders.”

Free chuckled. “And I never cared for their stupid rules anyway. So, yeah, I can show you, but are you sure you want to see? For all you know, it could be going really badly.”

“I know, but I need to watch at least so I can figure out my next course of action.”

Path got up and walked over to a hamper by the wall. “Always planning ahead. Good girl,” he said with a smile as he pulled out a few larger pillows, putting them onto the ground in a neat little pattern.

“What are those for?” Alexa asked.

“Simple – you are going to be the first foxtaur in the Chrome Network. I’m always bound to Free, so he can pull me in without effort, but you are going to be a bit more difficult. Once we three are fully in the network, we can watch things play out in real time through Pif’s eyes since she is there representing the interests of the Chrome Hive.” He laid down on a large pillow and motioned for her to do the same.

“The changeling network?” Alexa asked as Free settled down on the other side of her.

“It’s pretty much a hive mind,” Free explained. “It’s how the ’lings get things done so easily. We can pull in others on a temporary basis, or in Path’s and Citrine’s cases, bonded mates can stay linked indefinitely. You have a strong mind and I’ll be acting like a buffer, so you should be fine for a few hours. So, wanna give it a shot, Alexa?” Free grinned and shifted into her queen form, letting her wings buzz for a few moments before folding them back up against her chrome carapace.

Alexa had seen Free’s natural form once before, but the change was still shocking. She looked over to Path and it looked like he had already settled down with his eyes closed. Every few moments, his eyes moved and his hooves twitched as if he was experiencing a very vivid dream. She made up her mind. “Okay, I’m in!”

Free smirked. “Always the risk-taker. I’m not sure how much this will hurt – it felt a little like a sting to Path, but it shouldn’t cause you any real problems.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that I have to put the bite on you to make the connection,” Free replied with a grin that showed off her fangs.

Alexa gulped but decided to trust the changeling. She held still as Free leaned over and opened her jaws wide, sinking her fangs lightly into the foxtaur’s neck. Alexa let out a loud squeal as her vision went white.


Alexa stood back up suddenly and yelped, “Holy crap, that hurt!” The sensation rapidly faded though, and she looked around only to find herself no longer in the living room but in front of a large amphitheater, well-populated with Chrome changelings. It looked like it was created out of the lunar regolith, and when she looked up to the sky, it wasn’t the blue she was expecting but rather a jet black firmament with a massive star field. However, the constellations didn’t exactly match the stars around Equus, but somehow she knew this was the view that Equians would see if it wasn’t for the dark nebula surrounding it.

“Come on, it’s already starting.” Alexa turned to look behind herself and saw Path and Free approaching. The earth pony pushed her along and all three of them went into the amphitheater. A few of the harvesters and think-tank members paused to look at the foxtaur.

“Ooh, a new visitor! Can we exchange information?” One of the younger drones looked up at Alexa with wide eyes.

“Exchange information?” asked Alexa.

“When you enter the hive, everything that you are is exposed to everyone else, normally,” Free explained. “But since I am acting like a buffer, you are protected from that. I didn’t feel it would be right to just toss you into the deep end. Conversely, while you are not exposed, nothing is revealed directly to you. Something to consider later after the meeting,” he added with a pointed look at the drone.

The trio took seats that seemed to have been made just for them up in front. In the center of the arena, the meeting room scene unfolded as seen through Pif’s eyes.


The room was a chaotic blend of voices before three gavels thumped the table. Emperor Quirinius of the Thestral Grand Colony; Hardened Corundum, appointed representative of the Crystal Kingdom; and Argus Glimfeather, second oldest of the Glimfeather princes, called the Greater Equus Council to order. It was then that Argus spoke.

“It has come time for us to deliberate once again over the issue of the Federation-Swarm Conflict. It has come to our attention that there are several parties both for and against the motion to aid the Federation. Since we have been deadlocked for the past three months, I hope that we can make some progress today. The GEC Triad recognizes Privileged Horn of Equestria to address the assembly first.”

An old unicorn stood up tall, moved over to the podium, and began to speak into the microphone. Based on his body language, it was not going to be pleasant.

“We did not ask to be caught up in this war, nor did we have the opportunity to pick a side! We know nothing of the Swarm and why they are attacking the Federation; for all we know the Federation did something to provoke it! When we look at the historical archives that the researchers of the Cosmic Lotus brought back to Equus, we see evidence that the Terrans instigated fights going back thousands of years! From the Colonial A-mare-icans slaughtering the Native A-mare-icans, to the British attacking the Zulu! The Mongols attacking China, and the Spanish attacking the Philippines! They do it under various terms like ‘Manifest Destiny’ and ‘Colonization’, but who’s to say that’s not happening right now? Then there are the warlike Rakshani and Voxxan pirates. We are only hearing one side of the story from the Federation and, because of that, I believe that we should try to open up communications with the Swarm just like we have for the Federation. If we don’t, what happens when the Swarm is defeated? The Federation might come for our magic and our planet! I can’t say much about the foxtaur species – that one ambassador seems pleasant on the surface – but we have heard much about the others and they seem too war-hungry. I propose that we should cut off aid immediately and bolster our system defenses across the board!” The unicorn thumped his hoof on the table several times to emphasize his points, and nearly half of the hall either clapped, stomped their hooves, or cawed in support.

As the unicorn stepped down, Argus said, “The GEC recognizes Precision Strike of Griffonia to talk next.”

A middle-aged griffoness moved over to the podium, leaned heavily and sighed and shook her head as if in disappointment. Then she slammed her clenched talons onto the podium.

“What is wrong with all of you?! Why is this even an issue?! We are smart, we are strong, and we are proud. Equus has long been a bastion for harmony; with our collective willpower, we unified the world, colonized the moon, and then reached into the stars and even beyond them. We discovered a new universe with new civilizations, and one of them gives us the gift of faster than light travel. Over two thousand years of technological progress, massive influxes to the arts and to culture in general, and you don’t think we owe them something?! For shame! Even if they had given us nothing, we should still help them because it is the right thing to do! It is the Equian thing to do! But if you want to be selfish and capitalistic, then even by those amoral standards we should still help them. Beating the Swarm may be long and difficult, but we can do it!” she snarled loudly. “We are the Sword of Equus, and we shall cut deeply!” She let out a loud war screech and flared her red-tipped wings out, and almost by instinct, all of the griffons with the exception of Argus Glimfeather joined in with her along with thestral screeching and some hoof stomping.

It took the leading GEC triad several minutes and quite a bit of gavel slamming to get things under control again, long after Precision Strike had seated herself once more.

“The GEC triad recognizes Crafted Stanza of Zebrica,” Argus said impassively.

The zebra stallion was calmer than the other two as he cleared his throat. “My stance is not that of alliances, nor of rapid and prolonged militarization. It is one of isolation. I think that we should cease all talks with the Federation, do not attempt communication with the Swarm, recall all magical devices, and close down the portal to the Far Star. However, I am but one voice among many that feel the same way about this.” He paused for a moment before the clapping of his faction died down, then his eyes shifted to one of the observers. “What do you think, Solar Princess?”

Pif’s and everyone else’s eyes looked to Celestia sitting in one of the observation seats high up and out of the way. With all eyes upon her, she opened her wings and floated down to the microphone. The alicorn looked up to the Head Table and waited. Argus nodded and announced, “The GEC triad recognizes Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

“I believe that my little Equians should stay planet-side because I can protect them here, but I can’t protect them in a faraway war,” she said softly but firmly.

As there were gasps and murmuring among the crowd before a second alicorn slammed down beside her and yelled out in a shocked voice, “Sister, you cannot be serious! If we don’t act now, millions if not billions of lives will be forfeit!” Luna’s wings flared out in a manner that everyone could see as aggressive. Celestia’s flared up as well in reaction to the wing display and the volume of the voice, not so much what was said, but it was already too late.

Quite a few unicorns moved up and a few even teleported to the solar princess’ side. “You do not talk to the Giver of Light in such a way!

The reaction of the unicorns prompted the thestrals to react and several of them flapped over and landed next to Luna. Their leader screeched loudly at the unicorns, “You will not talk to the Lunar Imperatrix in that tone!

Everyone could see what was happening – the room was becoming so polarized that groups were moving to the side of the room that aligned with their views. Horns were sparking to life, claws were being brandished, and things were getting to a breaking point but the triad intervened, all three gavels banging loudly.

“This meeting is in recess until tomorrow morning at nine!” Argus spoke loudly above the remaining babble. “Everyone needs to cool down if we are to make any progress on this topic!”

Pif wasn’t paying attention so much as she was staring at the two sisters who were glaring at each other intently, their wings yet to go down. Then they both disappeared in a pair of concussive airwaves.

Back in the amphitheater, Alexa was fretting more than ever before and so was much of the hive. She looked as the drones started running away.

“Why are they all scattering?” she asked.

“Because Pif and Hype are ramping up production on a black project,” Free replied.

“Black project?”

“It’s a project that’s determined to be of such high importance and secrecy that only the most confidential think-tank teams are allowed to work on it. I think that the drones’ reaction is due to the schism we just witnessed.”

“Speaking of which, why didn’t you do anything! You two are Lords Free Agent and Long Path – all of them respect you!”

Path looked at Alexa gravely. “I haven’t been the Head of House Path for a long time, and I only have what you call soft power. I can influence whole groups but only when calm and rational minds prevail. What you have just seen is the exact opposite of that. Rational minds and scared minds split on a topic, and then in a power move, the scared faction called upon Celestia, a traditionalist, which then caused Luna to react. Once that happened, it was Solarists versus the Lunarists, so religion was tossed into the mix. No more progress can be made today, and if I tried to settle things now, it would just weaken my position later. Trust that if it’s needed, I will step in.”

Free’s ear flicked a few times. “Luna and Twilight just arrived.”

“Shall we depart?” Path asked Alexa.

The foxtaur nodded and everything went white. She found herself back lying on the pillow, Path a few feet from her on one side and Free a similar distance away on her other side. She was about to say something when a loud voice shattered the silence.

“I DONT BELIEVE SHE WOULD ACTUALLY SIDE WITH THOSE COWARDLY, SELF-SERVING, EGOTISTICAL COLTS!”

Free looked to Path. “You’re up, boy-toy. Pacify her so she can calm down the thestrals.”

“Gee, thanks,” Path replied before taking a deep breath and braced himself to confront his mate.


There was, of course, a third alicorn to break the deadlock between the sisters, which was one of Destined Path’s major functions as a member of the triumequirate that ruled Equestria. Up until now, he had managed to be impartial which had let the older alicorns grow to trust his judgement, and when Alexa and Penumbra approached the stallion, they reasonably expected a considered decision in favor of one of the princesses.

“I cannot give my opinion one way or another,” Destined said sadly.

“What?! Why not?!” Penumbra said in shock.

“Because too much weighs on it, and my choice can have some drastic ramifications, many of them bad.”

“How can you possibly know that?” the thestral protested.

“My future self gave me a warning because, when he was me, a future version of himself gave him the same warning. He told me that there would come critical moments in History that are so pivotal that any interference could have grave consequences.”

“And how would you know that this is one of them?” Alexa asked curiously.

“My special talent is time, Ambassador. If I choose, I can travel the paths of highest probability and see what happens in the future. At times like these, I see the shifting probabilities in my dreams. I can change those probabilities with the slightest of touches, but I am still too young to know the full repercussions of my actions. Give me a couple of thousand more years and I may not be so hesitant, but for now, the best thing that I can do is not interfere.”

Penumbra frowned. “So, a bit too much foreknowledge can paralyze you, but aren’t you already helping Wandering and the Federation?”

“There will be times that I can intervene, and in this case, by the time that I became aware of the bigger picture, I was already involved. By now, stopping what I am doing on the basis of my foreknowledge would also count as interference with the timeline. Therefore I will continue to help in the small ways that I am already doing.”

“So you can’t help us at all?” Alexa asked.

“I can only tell you that no matter what you do, it will get better, but your decision affects how much worse it will get before it gets better.”

Alexa frowned. “Better for whom though?”

The alicorn smiled. “Now you are starting to see the bigger picture.”

“What do you mean by ‘how much worse’?” Penumbra asked.

Destined gave a heavy sigh. “Okay, let’s play with hypothetical situations. What if I said that if Equus was to shut down the portal right now, it would have ten thousand years of peace?”

Alexa replied, “I would push for as many Federation citizens as possible to evacuate to Equus before closing the portal when the Swarm gets there.”

The alicorn regarded her sternly. “Which would lead to a population explosion, insufficient resources, famine, and then death, leaving only thousands where there were once billions.”

Alexa gasped.

Destined continued, “Now what if I said that by keeping the portal open, you would defeat the Swarm and everyone lives happily ever after?”

“Then I would keep it open,” Penumbra replied.

“Then you would become complacent because of your foreknowledge and the probabilities change, so instead the Swarm wins the war,” Destined retorted. “And what if I said that regardless of what you did, within twenty-five years, every planet you know, every person, every pony, everything is dead, crushed under the Swarm no matter what?”

“Are you saying that?” Alexa asked.

“Maybe.”

“Damn it, Dad, give us an answer!” Penumbra demanded.

That’s bucking enough! I’m tired of everyone expecting me to hold their hoof! You know what – let’s see what you can make of it!”

Destined abruptly plunged them all into a pocket in time where he came to contemplate problems. Unlike the alicorn though, the thestral and the foxtaur were ill-equipped to cope with it. “Here’s your answer!”

The two just gawked, squeaks and whimpers coming from their muzzles as they struggled to comprehend what they were seeing. A plethora of pathways led from the alcove into the chaos, twisting and turning, breaking and bridging. They could see everyone several times over, each subtly different. They caught glimpses of celebration parties intertwined with horrific battles. They could see Federation species peacefully co-existing with the Equians and at the same time being utterly subjugated by them. They perceived glorious futures and abject poverty and hunger. Eventually, it became too much for them.

Stop! Enough!” Alexa screamed.

Destined brought them back to normality immediately. “See? You can’t even handle just a small fraction of what I deal with every moment of every day! My future self gave me this advice – when the cusp of a critical event in history approaches, I will start to see all the major directions that the timeline may take, just as you have just seen. Meddling may cause the opposite effect to my intentions at these times. So stop asking me to hold your hooves, stop asking me for the answer, live your lives and be bucking happy that you exist right now because, trust me, while there are a nearly infinite number of time-lines where you are here right now, there have been an equally large number where you have been killed! Now, if you have finished asking for the impossible, I have a husband who is waiting for me to come home.”

The alicorn then teleported away without waiting for a reply, leaving the two stunned and shocked. Alexa just stood there panting and shaking for a while before she could manage a comment.

“Now I think I know what it is like to try to make demands of a god.”

Penumbra nodded. “My father has always been loving and considerate, but I have never seen him like this before.”

“Why do you think he’s so irritable now?”

The thestral shrugged. “Maybe because he knows something that he’s afraid to tell us. Maybe he doesn’t have the patience of Auntie Celestia as yet. Or maybe it’s because my other dad is dying.”

“And maybe all of the above?” Alexa added quietly.

Penumbra nodded.

Alexa took a deep breath and let it out with a huff as she firmed up her will. “Then it’s time to stop relying on others to make this work out. I’ve got to impress on the Federation the importance of proving our good intentions, and you’ve got to get the councilors to see the truth of them. If not, we may all be doomed.”


Wandering had oversimplified things when he said that he would teleport everyone over to the target ship. First, the regular fighters had to get control of engagement, and only then did the pegasus fighters break off to separate one of the Swarm from the others. Because their goal was to contain it rather than destroy it, the pegasus ships were dancing around the enemy in such a way as to prevent it from fleeing while not getting shot themselves. Not that that seemed likely. The alicorn admired the skill of the pilots who were just as fast and maneuverable as they had boasted. Nevertheless, the Swarm ship had yet to stay still enough for him to target it.

Blue Leader to Captain Path – anytime now, boss!” came Dust Storm’s voice over the comm.

“Still waiting for you to pin it down long enough, Blue Leader,” Wandering replied tersely. He knew that the pegasi had a difficult job, but they had claimed that they could do it, and he needed it done as soon as possible. Every wasted minute might change circumstances and put the mission at risk.

Half a minute later, the moment came when the Swarm ship was balked for a few seconds, and Wandering teleported over to the vessel. He reappeared on the outside, not risking a blind ’port into the ship. This close though, his senses could detect a void that was the passageway that he anticipated finding, and he teleported inside. He slapped his comm. “Wandering to Starry – I’m in!”

Moments later, Starry teleported over along with the rest of the team, homing in on the mana beacon that Wandering had brought with him. With the others now safely transported over, the mission could begin.

“Captain Path to Blue Leader – recon team is now aboard. Phase two begins.”

Acknowledged, Captain. Good luck!

The pegasi would now back off a little to reduce pressure on both themselves and the Swarm ship while still keeping the enemy ship from re-joining the others. The goal now was to just keep the situation under control without forcing the Swarm into some unanticipated action that could endanger the reconnaissance team.

Starry had already put up a defensive shield although they had been fortunate not to encounter one of the Swarm creatures as yet. That gave them a moment for each member of the team to begin their special tasks. Unlike the first time he had been on a Swarm ship, this time Wandering had no temporal field interfering with his special talent, and his magic senses sought out any living beings. The first and strongest was the ship itself, confirming what they had already believed was the case. It made the alicorn sad that such an amazing creature was being used for such a horrible purpose. He barely had stored the creature’s pattern before the team was confronted by its first Swarm.

The insect-like being stopped and looked at them for a long moment before its antennae twitched and it charged at them with its pincers extended. It was easily stopped by Starry’s shield, and it paused as if thinking about what to do next. Then its feathery antennae twitched again and it started feeling around the force field with its manipulator claws, apparently trying to find a way around the obstacle.

Chakat Midnight spoke up. “This Swarm creature is not behaving like the two that we captured. It appears to be far more intelligent than them, acting decisively and looking for weaknesses.”

“Or acting according to instructions,” Zane said. “Did you notice how its antennae moved just before it acted. I’m still having trouble tuning in on the Swarm creatures, but I’m sure I detected telepathic activity at those moments.”

Fidelitas nodded. “I believe you’re right. I’m detecting a changeling-like neural network. I’m trying to synchronize with it without becoming a part of it. Wandering explained how different hives can’t ‘hear’ the other hive’s network unless both sides cooperate to make a link. I’m not going to get that cooperation, but I can’t just force a link and risk being overwhelmed by it.”

“Since communication is one of the Swarm’s primary strengths, it seems likely that we’re looking for some kind of controller for the Swarm,” Twilight Sparkle opined. “This Swarm drone only hesitated long enough for its controller to relay instructions.”

“We have a major goal then,” Wandering said. “Let’s push ahead.”

The team moved on, Starry’s shield effortlessly pushing the drone into a side passage. They moved down the corridor to the first doorway where they paused long enough to look inside. It was dimly lit, but they could see a translucent wall just inside the doorway which retained a large amount of liquid which had several creatures swimming within it. Wandering scanned them and indicated that the group move on. They noticed the drone following them but no longer trying to get to them.

“We’re being watched,” Midnight announced.

“I agree,” Wandering replied. “Nothing we do from now on will be unknown to this ship’s theoretical controller, and probably to the rest of the Swarm too, if our guesses are correct. No point in killing it – it’ll only get replaced immediately. We can only continue as planned anyway.”

The next room contained something a lot more familiar. Row upon row of pens held the same kind of mana creature that had been used as living ammunition. This was not one of the weapon rooms though, and judging by the way the Swarm drone inside was behaving, it seemed more like a nursery for the creatures, or at least their kennel. The attendant drone’s antennae twitched and it picked up one of the mana beasts and approached the group. Abruptly, Starry whinnied as one of the creature’s tentacles touched the shield.

“Yipe! That mana beast is draining the power from my shield!”

Twilight reacted immediately, firing a kinetic pulse from her horn and flinging both the drone and the mana creature away from them.”

“Are you okay, Starry?” Wandering asked with concern.

“I’m fine – it just took me by surprise. It didn’t have time to drain too much of my power.”

Midnight said, “They’ll know that vulnerability now. If any drones approach with a mana beast, I am going to shoot them.”

“Good. Show them that we learn quickly too,” Wandering agreed. “Keep advancing. Helen – have you detected anything of interest yet?”

“Not much, sir. Aside from cables that look out of place in here, I suspect that we’re looking at a largely organic control system.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Twilight said. “If this is a living starship, then there ought to be mostly organic neural pathways in areas like this. I suspect that we will need to locate some kind of control room to find much in the way of technology related to those cables.”

“Or whatever it’s controlling at the other end. We don’t know which way we’re headed,” Helen pointed out.

Zane said, “I detect more activity in the direction we’re going. I think we’re on the right route.”

The next room that they came across was brightly lit with plenty of foliage soaking up the light.

“A kind of aquaponics room?” Twilight guessed.

Helen studied hir PADD. “More organic technology. This is fascinating stuff.”

“But so far no magic usage aside from the ambient field that I sense around this ship, and of course the mana-eaters,” Twilight added.

Something the size of a cat suddenly dashed out of the greenery and bounced off Starry’s shield. It chittered irritably and then dodged to the left and scurried down the hallway.

“Well, at least something on this ship isn’t trying to kill us,” Fidelitas remarked.

Wandering snorted. “How would you know that it isn’t going to fetch a horde of its friends and come back to attack us, Fifi?”

“Don’t be paranoid, Wander. I could taste its fear of us.”

The stallion shrugged. “What about the others?”

“The Swarm creature is little more than a dispassionate drone. The mana beast was just hungry. But I can taste something else ahead.”

“The same place as I can sense the telepathic activity, I guess,” Zane said.

“Let’s find out,” Wandering decided.

The team moved onwards, each member stretching their talents to the best of their ability. Wandering was in touch with his cadre of Chrome Changelings back on the Pegasus, and he fed a constant stream of data to them via his link. It was not very different from how he ran the Cosmic Lotus, and very useful at times like these. He had suggested that Fidelitas link with him too, but the changeling princess declined, claiming that it was safer to keep their minds discrete.

They continued investigating doors and passageways, discovering more animals and more vegetation before finding a weapons station. Several drones were at the controls of the various artillery with which the ship was equipped. Some of it was regular technological items, but a few looked as if they were grown from the ship itself.

“Should we sabotage their weapons?” Midnight asked.

“No,” Wandering replied. “The pegasi are coping, otherwise they would have notified me by now. Besides, we might just stir up a hornet’s nest if we tried. We have enough tagalongs already.” He pointed out the drones that they had accumulated along the way, all still keeping their distance from the interlopers.

“Uh-oh!” Starry said. “One has got a mana beast.”

Midnight lifted hir weapon and pointed it squarely at the drone in overt threat. Shi was ignored and the Swarm creature advanced on the shield. The chakat’s weapon spat tightly controlled energy and the Swarm collapsed. However, the one next to it picked up the mana beast and continued the advance with the same results.

“Shoot the mana beast!” Twilight ordered.

“Won’t that cause it to explode?” Midnight asked as shi shot the third Swarm creature.

“No – only an electric shock will cause it to do that.”

The ebony chakat didn’t hesitate. She killed the poor creature, rendering it harmless. The Swarm drones lost interest in attacking them once more.

“Now they know that using the mana beasts won’t work,” Wandering said. “Hopefully they don’t have another trick like that.”

Helen said, “I’ve completed my scans here, sir. We can move on now.”

Wandering nodded. “Let’s go.”

The team continued exploring everything along the route but growing conscious of the time that they had already spent aboard the ship. The longer that they stayed, the greater the chance that something would go wrong. Nevertheless, this might be their sole opportunity to discover the Swarm’s secrets, so they needed to be thorough too. It went without saying that tension was growing among all of them as they checked out all the rooms, discovering storage facilities, more animals and plants, and equipment that they did not recognize but Helen dutifully scanned for later analysis. Then they came to a major Y-branch in the passageway.

“Should we split up?” Helen asked.

“I recommend that we stay together,” Midnight said.

“I agree, but which direction should we go?” Starry asked.

“Right!” Zane and Fidelitas said simultaneously.

Wandering guessed that they both sensed something that eluded him, and he led the group in that direction. Suddenly there were no more doorways punctuating the walls, and the passageway ended in the only closed door that they had encountered on the mission so far.

“Who’s got a key?” Wandering asked.

“Leave it to me,” Twilight said, stepping forward to place her horn on the door. Her horn glowed but nothing happened for a minute. Then she cried, “Aha!” and the door split in two and sank into the walls.

They entered a bit more cautiously this time. Any place with a locked door was definitely somewhere that they were not wanted. They quickly saw why. Lying on a bench in the middle of the room was a different kind of Swarm creature. Firstly, it was easily twice the size of the drones that they had encountered so far. It lacked the large pincers of the others, but it had two extra pairs of feathery antennae on its significantly larger head. A few normal drones seem to have been attending it, but now they stepped up to block the way to the large one, obviously defending it.

“Take me to your leader,” murmured Helen even as she started recording the meeting.

“Zane – are you able to make telepathic contact with that big one?” Wandering asked.

The skunktaur’s brow was furrowed in concentration. “Some surface impressions only. Its brain seems to be mostly incompatible with my telepathy.”

“Fifi?” the stallion asked hopefully.

“Hold on – I’m getting something… Yes… Yes… This is their controller alright. I can detect a network similar to that of changelings.”

“Let’s see what I can sense,” Wandering said as he reached out with his mind.

“NO!” shouted Fidelitas.

Too late, Wandering felt the controller link with him, flooding him with a myriad of impressions, but worst of all, a dominating will.

Step forward,” it commanded.

Wandering started to do so, but Fidelitas called out to the others to restrain him.

What are you?” it queried. Without any volition on his part, information started to flow to the Swarm creature.

Interesting. We can use you. Kill your companions.

Wandering unhesitatingly turned and lowered his horn. Surprise paralyzed his targets, but a long, black tail lashed out and yanked his head aside just before he loosed a bolt of lethal magic. Undeterred, he tried again, but before he could charge his horn, his mind exploded with blinding white pain, and he collapsed on the floor, twitching helplessly.

Shoot the controller!” Fidelitas yelled. The changeling lowered her horn and fired a blast of eldritch green energy at the big Swarm creature, only to have it blocked by one of the drones.

Midnight, Twilight, and Starry also started firing but were also blocked by suicidal drones, more of which were pouring into the controller’s room, some of them bearing mana beasts. Meanwhile, the Swarm controller appeared to be making a retreat to safety.

“We’re going to be overwhelmed if this keeps up,” Twilight said. “We had better teleport out of here now.”

“No! We have to kill that controller first!” Fidelitas insisted.

As Twilight started to protest, Zane spoke up. “She’s right. Do it!” His slightly glowing eyes were still fixated on Wandering.

Twilight saw her son on the floor, helpless. She realized that Zane must be restraining him still, and that could only be because Wandering was still under thrall. Her expression hardened and her horn lit up. A moment later, she had teleported in front of the controller and she fired a tight beam directly between its eyes.

The Swarm controller collapsed, and all activity by the drones abruptly ceased. The team stopped firing as soon as they realized that it was pointless now. Wandering stopped twitching, and Zane let out a sigh of relief.

“Momma Twilight! You haven’t got a shield up!” Starry warned her.

“I didn’t have time to put one up and prepare a killing strike,” Twilight said tiredly. She hurried over to re-join the others and the safety of Starry’s shield.

Wandering started to struggle to his hooves. “S-starry… p-port… now,” he slurred.

“Huh? You want us to teleport back? But with the controller dead, can’t we investigate safely now?”

Her husband put a hoof around her leg and looked at her earnestly. “W-what happens… when inca-incapacitated?” he struggled to say.

Starry thought a moment, but Midnight beat her to the conclusion.

“The ship blows up! Teleport us out of here immediately!”

Starry didn’t quibble. With her mind fixed on the mana beacon on the Pegasus, she teleported everyone off the Swarm ship along with the controller’s corpse. She need not have rushed so much – it was another twenty-three seconds before the ship exploded, and the team got to watch it from the safety of the Federation warship. They even had time to warn away the pegasus fighter craft.

“Okay, what happened there?” Twilight demanded as soon as the Swarm ship was destroyed.

Fidelitas answered. “I told Wandering that he was not the equal of a changeling queen. I was tracing the Swarm network while keeping myself separated from it. Wandering was not as skilled and he linked up with the network. As soon as he did, he was overwhelmed by the Swarm. We have the answer to how they communicate, and frankly, it’s terrifying. While it resembles a hive network, those controllers are linked to every other controller everywhere in the galaxy, and I believe that there may be an over-mind directing even them. The point is that he had tens of thousands, maybe even millions of minds all focused on making him obey. He was their puppet from that moment on.”

Zane continued the explanation. “While I now realize that I could not telepathically break into such a gigantic gestalt, I could get into Wandering’s head. I fired a mind-burst into his brain to stop him from thinking or acting, and hopefully, break the link.”

“But I sensed that the link did not break, which is why we had to kill the controller,” Fidelitas continued.

“I could have broken the link, but only at the risk of damaging Wandering’s brain,” Zane finished.

Wandering groaned, sitting up with his head in his forehooves as he nursed the worst headache that he’d had in his life. “I think you did anyway,” he whined.

Starry hugged her husband and said, “It sounds like you’ll recover though. I’m just glad you survived that stunt, you idiot.”

“I love you too, Starry,” the stallion replied, not bothering to deny the assessment of his action.

“How much information do you think the Swarm got from you?” Twilight asked gently, not wishing to stress her son so soon after the event.

Wandering shook his head and then winced. “I’m not sure, but I do know one thing – the flow of information was not one way.” He allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. Maybe this headache was going to be worth it after all.


Pif appeared in the high district of the Northern Lunar Dome, Hype to her left and Citrine at her right. Normally they were on the far side of the moon where the research base was located, working on their projects and keeping the lunar extension of the Chrome Hive well-managed and prosperous. But today, they had another destination in mind. Pif smiled as they passed into the large garden dome.

An old griffon was sparring with a younger one. The elderly catbird’s plumage and fur showed the signs of his age, but the constant training of his mind and body kept its drawbacks at bay far longer than for more lethargic griffons. He glanced over his shoulder at the trio and the younger catbird rushed him, only to be side-stepped and grabbed before he was slammed into the ground with a squawk. The older male bent over and held out his foreleg to pick up his sparring partner. After a respectful bow, the younger one left, passing the trio as he did so.

Pif looked back to the old griffon with a smile. “General Carnot Highstrike – still keeping sharp even after retiring from the aethernaut corps and politics, I see. How many terms was it as Lunar Chancellor? Four?”

The griffon grabbed a towel from the side of the small arena and rubbed his still sharp eyes. “Six, then I decided that somebody else should have a turn.” He laughed loudly. “So why are you three here? It’s rare to see you Queens out of your labs, and Citrine not pestering you.”

Pif chuckled and grinned widely in a manner rarely seen. Her companions echoed the smile.

Carnot blinked and smirked. “That grin – I have only seen than grin twice before: from Lord Path when he told me about the project that became the first orbital flight of Equus, and the second when he had me do the transmission from lunar orbit.”

Pif produced a strange black crystal. “Black Project XIV. Tap the crystal and read. It will disintegrate after one view. You need only contact me with a yes or no answer.”

The two princesses started to turn around to leave but Citrine added, “Looks like you get to be a captain one more time.”

Carnot raised an intrigued eyebrow.

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