//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Start of The Swarm // Story: For The Swarm // by VanishingAct //------------------------------// I stirred. I have really got to stop doing this... I opened my eyes and once more found the blue walls, the patterns, and the chandelier. Looking around I found a few more objects of interest. A table was against the wall, facing a window. On it were a few pieces of parchment, an ink and quill and stamps of some sort. Letter writing desk. Who writes the letters though? I flicked my mind back to what had happened in the few moments before I was unconscious. And then I realised. Phil. Phil the pony. So I was in Equestria now?! Awesome! I couldn’t help thinking that he could’ve just asked me instead of drugging me. ‘Terribly sorry about that my friend, you see, you being your rational self would have immediately said ‘No.’ Owing to the fact that until recently, you believed my world to be fictional.’ Said ‘Phil’ plainly, entering the room. 'You..You can read my thoughts?!’ I thought. ‘Why yes, good friend, that seems to be a side effect of us bringing you here...’ he replied, still with the British accent that he had at the youth centre. More like Trottingham accent, Benny. ‘Haha, you certainly do have a sharp mind! Why yes, we are here in Trottingham, more specifically Trottingham Palace! What do you say, my friend, do you like my humble abode?’ laughed ‘Phil’ with a glint in his eye. I decided that I should speak to him this time, rather than thinking it to him. Some part of my brain thought it rude to use telepathy in close quarters. I meant to say ‘It is certainly a nice palace you have here.’ but the words didn’t come out. Instead, the Prince (I realised that’s what he was after he declared the palace his home) received a strange warbling chirp, a cross between a bird and a Mexican girl rolling her R’s. ‘Yes, indeed...’ said the Prince looking forlornly outside the window. ‘I should probably explain before you ask your next question that you are unable to speak due to the current form that you inhabit.’ I suppressed a ‘This isn’t even my final form!’ thought and inquired ‘Form? What do you mean?’. ‘Well...’ said the Prince in an uncertain tone, ‘I’m probably going to have to bring my brothers here before I can explain. Could I ask you to wait while I do that?’ I nodded my approval, noting that my entire body had been thrown off balance by the action. I need a damn mirror. In the meanwhile, the Prince’s horn began to glow a light blue, similar to his coat. His short black mane rippled slightly under his hat and his wings were flared. An alicorn? I thought to myself privately. But of course. Royalty. A light presence started to fill my head and a loud voice called out, ‘Storgia! Agapé! You are needed by my side to explain the situation to our friend!’ I realised that this was the Prince mentally contacting his brothers, and that this was invading my head due to the fact that the three of them had a mental contact with me due to the summoning. I guessed that now was the moment I would find out why I was summoned. I heard a voice resounding in my head soon after the call. ‘Cooooooooooomiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg!!!!!’, said the happy, sing-song voice. This was that ‘Stodge’ guy! I reckoned that this was the Storgia that the Prince was looking for. I attempted to reach out to him and inquire as to his thinly disguised name. ‘It was the best I could come up with at the time!’ whined Storgia as he materialised into view. He was an alicorn stallion about the same height as ‘Phil’ with a beige coat like his shirt at the youth centre and had a matted, ginger mane. ‘Seriously, brother? You may as well have given him your actual name when we first met, for it would have aroused the same amount of suspicion,’ Said the Prince, chiding his brother. ‘Anyway, now is not the time for pointless bickering, for we have a friend to greet!’ ‘Hooray!’ cheered Storgia, almost like a child. I mean like a foal. Storgia span on the spot before facing me (while I was still in the bed) and giving a bow with an exaggerated flourish. ‘I am Prince Storgia Cadenza of Trottingham, pleased to meet you!’ he almost shouted the words. He continued, ‘Ooh, did you hear about the Grand Galloping Gala a few days ago?! It was an absolute disaster! I swear, it was so scandalous tha- oof!’ his brother had shoved him in the side. ‘This guy is like a less hyperactive, more eloquent Pinkie Pie...’ I remember thinking, and then quickly turned my thoughts to what he had said. ‘The Grand Galloping Gala? So I’m a few days after season 1?’ The blue stallion then turned to me, removed his hat and said ‘And I am Prince Filio Cadenza, ever at the service of his subjects,’ He had a wry smile on now. He replaced his hat and continued, ‘I’m sorry for my elder brother, Prince Agapé Cadenza’s absence, for he is currently meditating. He should meet you in due time, so don’t worry about him now.’ ‘Heh, yeah, Ol’ Gappy’s always stuck in thoughts, like this one time, he was so busy trying to work out how Earth ponies hold things in their hooves, that he didn’t look where he was going and he tripped up during the Royal Garden Party in front of all the nobles! He was so embarrassed that he didn’t dare to come out of the castle for anoth- eheh, ehehe...’ he would have continued rambling were it not for Filio giving him the stare. ‘Brother, now is not the time for idle gossip!’ ‘Right, yeah, sorry...’ said Storgia, suddenly finding more interest in the ground. I quickly realised that I hadn’t brought up something of interest during the brothers’ introductions, and brought this to the attention of Prince Filio. ‘Prince Filio Cadenza, as in-‘ ‘Yes, yes...’ Filio said in a bored tone, like he had said it all before. ‘Brother of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza...’ ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-Sparkle now, Filio.’ Storgia corrected his brother. ‘Oh, did you hear about the Royal We-‘ ‘Storgia!’ snapped Filio. The beige stallion went silent again. ‘Well, now I know that the Royal Wedding’s happened, but Storgia said the Grand Galloping Gala was a few days ago... so there must have been another Gala between the Wedding and now, so who crashed this one?’ ‘Hehe..’ chuckled Filio, ‘You’ll learn about those fellows later, but for now, let us focus on who you are, young Benjamin Brown, is it?’ ‘Yeah, that’s me.’ ‘Well then I think that our first port of call should be a mirror, then, don’t you?’ ‘Oh thank goodness, yes!’ He pulled a blue hand mirror from the desk using his magic (wait, was this his personal mirror?!) and placed it in front of me, mirrored side away. ‘Now, good fellow, before I continue, I must warn you that what you may see could very well shock you, and cause you to pass out much like you did earlier. That was uncalled for by the way.’ ‘Sorry.’ ‘Right, well anyway, are you absolutely sure you’re ready?’ I nodded the affirmative, noting my loss of balance again. ‘My body is ready.’ Prince Filio spun his mirror around with his blue aura and let me soak in my new look. The first thing I noticed was my head, or should I saw my body? My head/body was white up to a point past my tiny mouth, at which point it abruptly became a charcoal grey. So that’s what happened to my clothes. I then took note of my eyes. Huge things, nearly taking up the entirety of my upper head/body. They were the same colour as my original eyes, a woody brown, but with no pupils or white part, instead I had three shines in each. My form was completely round, apart from 4 tiny little black legs and 4 paper thin wings on my back, veined with a few lines. Most importantly of all, I’d worked out why the bed was so large. I’m tiny. That was when realisation set in. The oddity of my own body structure had interested me far more than where I had seen it before until now. I knew what I was. I was a Parasprite. 'So I’m a tiny bug with a bad case of reproductive bulimia, just perfect...’ The sarcasm plain to hear in my thought voice. ‘I don’t think it’s so bad...’ chirped Storgia. ‘Besides, who wants to be a pony, or a gryphon, or a dragon, or a timberwolf, or a... yeah, we done goofed. Sorry.’ Storgia was now on the floor of Filio’s room, looking darn depressed. I almost felt bad for him at this point. Key word: almost. ‘Now, now, brother, there’s no use crying over what wasn’t in our own hand!’ Filio said as he attempted to console his sad sibling. ‘But you’re the guys that brought me here, right?’ I thought to Filio. Filio nodded, sitting on the floor next to his brother, who was practically sobbing right now. ‘That’s correct, my observant friend, and while the other Masters were able to choose the form that their Piece took, we didn’t possess enough power to do so, and so the world chose to shape you into a form that fit best your personality and our goal for you in this world.’ ‘Wait what? Masters? Pieces? What?! And how in Tartarus does my personality and your aims make me a Parasprite?!’ ‘This is going to take quite a bit of explanation...’ said Filio with one of those tones that told you it was a long story. ‘This is only to the best of my knowledge, but I understand that on the day that Discord was free- you do know who Discord is, right?’ I gave another nod, this one sending me rolling off the pillow I had come to call my bed. Filio was laughing at my antics and soon enough Storgia was too. ‘Yeah, yeah, let’s all laugh at the guy who has yet to figure out how to control his body yet!’ Filio wiped a tear from his eye and continued, ‘Well anyway, on the day Discord was freed, he decided to travel to a different dimension, or is it planet? Universe? I have to admit that I haven’t the foggiest which it is...’ I quickly realised that he was going to go into deep thought about the issue and so mentally prodded him. ‘Home, right?’ ‘Yes indeed, where you call home. During his brief tenure there, he decided that he needed a being that could cause chaos effortlessly, fitting to his desires. It turns out that your former species were just what he wanted.’ I nodded sagely, making sure not to overdo it. ‘Yeah, I guess we have a tendency to fuck shit up.’ He returned the nod, graciously ignored my gratuitous cursing and went on, ‘Since that day, Gods of this realm have been following his example, bringing humans from your world and others-‘ ‘Wait, there are humans on other worlds?!’ ‘Apparently so, somehow. As I’ve already said, I do not know much about the process.’ That didn’t set my mind at ease though. Humans on other worlds? Maybe that Ancient Aliens guy was right... Filio sensed my distress and inquired. I shot him a thought saying nothing was wrong and he continued, ‘So they brought humans to this world, each gaining different forms, none becoming ponies, and all with different purposes. Some Masters will set their piece free to do as they will. Some will give them a task to uphold. Some force them into a task and etcetera.’ ‘...But why humans? Why not themselves?’ ‘Ah yes, I knew you were going to ask this question soon.’ The blue Prince cleared his throat and explained, ‘It is to the best of my knowledge that the Gods are unable to do as they please by themselves, and so use the Pieces in their stead. I also believe it is a means to some sort of end.’ He said morosely. ‘What end?!’ So many questions, arggghhh!!! What the hell was going on here?! ‘That, I regrettably do not know.’ Filio’s ears drooped to the sides of his head. I gathered that this was an expression of shame. There were three more questions that I needed to ask him now though, so I mentally projected to him the words: ‘So are you my Game Master? What do you want to do with me? And when did you decide to bring me here?’ ‘Right, yes.’ Declared Filio, straightening himself up. ‘To answer your first question, technically, all three of us brothers are your Masters, due to the fact that all three of us brought you here, and for the second, you need to know more about who we are.’ This was quickly turning into exposition central, so I motioned for him to continue. ‘We four siblings are the Sovereigns of Love, meaning that we embody and strive to maintain and uphold each of our different kinds of love throughout Equestria.’ ‘Different kinds of love?’ I thought to myself. ‘Haven’t I heard this before?’ ‘Storgia over there,’ said the mentioned’s brother, pointing to his still dejected sibling on the floor, who was stamping his hoof into the floor every so often, ‘Is the Sovereign of Affection, that is to say, he presides over the natural love and friendship that ponies have for each other, as shown by the happiness that ponies have when they greet each other during chance encounters in the street, for example. Storgia takes personal delight in seeing others smile, for then he knows he is doing his job correctly.’ Well that explained a lot. Storgia was like a less hyperactive, more eloquent Pinkie Pie because he, in principal, worked for the same goal. And I wasn’t particularly appreciative of the form he gave me, thus explaining his intense sadness. Filio went on. ‘I myself am the Sovereign of Fellowship, the bond between friends and brothers, loyal to each other till the end!’ He said that part with a particular glint in his eye. Looked like someone enjoyed their job. It also explained the musketeer hat and the rapier that was hanging on the wall. ‘My sister Mi Amore, whom most ponies know as Cadence is-‘ I cut him off abruptly. ‘The Sovereign of Romance.’ ‘Haha! I knew we made the right choice in choosing you! Not that we did have any choice... but anyway, yes! Mi Amore is the Sovereign of Romance, that which is what you scorn!’ He spoke the words with a slight menace and a knowing stare. ‘I’m going to go ahead and assume that I was the one that was chosen because Cadence wasn’t involved in the summoning process, which would’ve led to a different person being here, one not so resentful of romance.’ I blurted. I mean come on, it’s obvious isn’t it? ‘Is everything so obvious to you?’ inquired Filio with that same chuckle. ‘Yes, you are correct once again, although we weren’t expecting one who was so critical of romance either.’ ‘I have my reasons.’ ‘I know you do.’ Filio had that smirk on again, what thoughts lay behind it, I couldn’t tell. ‘And last of all, we have the eldest of us, Agapé, the Sovereign of Unconditional Love. Now I have to admit, I find it hard to understand his field in full, so I believe it is best that he explain it.’ I really needed to meet this Prince Agapé guy, I mean, how a guy can ignore the human that he summoned for his own aims (which I still didn’t know!) to go and meditate is beyond me, and when his own brother cannot explain what he does, it just fills my brain with fuck! ‘Now, you are probably wondering what role you bear in this.’ Yes, yes I am. Please, by all means continue. ‘The simple truth is that we need someone to help us mend the world.’ ‘Mend the world? What?!’ If my brain was full of fuck earlier, it was now contaminating my bloodstream. Prince Filio looked past his brother to the window forlornly. ‘Yes, you heard correctly. Equestria and the rest of Equis, although no-one wishes to admit it, have deep inequality. Ponies shun all that isn’t themselves, even when it is aiding them.’ ‘Society is racist?’ ‘In a nutshell, yes.’ He now had his eyes on his city, illuminated by a few streetlamps and Luna’s moon above. He let out a mirthless laugh before continuing. ‘There is even a law in place that prevents non ponies from carrying weapons! It is simply preposterous I tell you!’ His voice was crescendo-ing. ‘How is that even fair, or just?! How does it even make sense?!’ ‘Filio..’ Storgio whined as he finally got up from the floor. His brother paid him no attention. ‘That’s right, it doesn’t! We can’t carry on living in a world like this, where it is paradise for all of us ponies-‘ ‘Filio.’ ‘and the fucking depths of Tartarus for everypony else!’ A bead of sweat rolled down Filio’s face, which was contorted into an expression of violent rage, a vein protruding from his forehead. I was honestly scared at this point. If looks could kill, Filio would have been a mass murderer. ‘Filio Cadenza! You stop that right now, or you’ll make yourself sick!’ Storgia had finally spoken up, wishing his brother to stop his rant, which may have ended up in a broken desk. ‘I-‘he paused for a second before letting out an audible sigh. ‘You’re right... I’m sorry that you had to witness such an outburst, young friend, but as you can see, I deplore the situation we are in and thus hope that you can help us. I shall elaborate over dinner, Master B-...’ He stopped to think again here. ‘Aha! I know just the trick that’ll set all of our minds at ease! A new name!’ ‘A new name?!’ I asked incredulously. I had no idea right now. ‘A new name!’ screamed Storgia happily, his giddy grin once more on his face. ‘Oooh, what shall it be, what shall it be?!?!?!’ he asked as he zipped across all the different regions of Filio’s room, including in his closet and on his chandelier. Filio gave a grin and returned to me. ‘Yes, a new name, one that will suit you more here in Equestria; do you really want to go on an adventure as Ben Brown?’ Hell knew I didn’t! My name’s alright, it just lacks the sheer badass that was being asked of me at the time. ‘No.’ ‘Well then, it is settled! From today you shall be known by a new-‘ ‘Aniseed!’ Storgia blurted as he bounced on Filio’s bed, causing me to wobble about on the mattresses. ‘Aniseed? What?’ ‘Aniseed...’ Filio had started to play with that idea. ‘Why that is a rather novel name, a near perfect descriptor of our friend!’ ‘...How exactly...?’ ‘Allow me to explain. Aniseed is rather bitter, like yourself-‘ ‘I am not bitter!’ I never wanted to admit it but I was very much so. Filio continued, still smiling. ‘But it has its roots in herbal medicine, fitting to what your purpose shall be.’ ‘It’s also good in liquorice!’ shouted Storgia. I have to say, after all that, I actually wanted my name to be Aniseed. We probably weren’t gonna think of anything better anyways. ‘...Aniseed it is!’ ‘Huzzah!’ cheered Filio, raising a hoof into the air. ‘Now, onto the last name-‘ ‘Oooooooh!!!!’ ‘Storgia, I think it’s best if Aniseed thinks of his own one.’ ‘Awwwwww.....’ Filio turned to me and said ‘Now, Aniseed, I want you to think of this carefully. This name shall define you for all of your days in Equestria. You should probably make it befitting of the species you are and most importantly, make it badflank!’ His grin was enormous. I now began to think. I’m a Parasprite, and what does a Parasprite do? We eat. Now to make eating sound awesome. We practically inhale food, and we use our mouths to do so... wait a minute... I have it! ‘My name,’ I declared in most epic fashion. ‘Is Aniseed Vortexmouth!’ ‘Haha, I knew you’d be able to do it! Well met, Sir Vortexmouth! Now-‘ He was cut off by a loud growling from his stomach. His face flushed red as it did so. ‘Hehe, I suppose now would be a good time for dinner!’ He opened the door and motioned to a red Earth pony in a suit. ‘Hoofservant! Let the cooks know that we shall be dining early tonight, and remind them about the special order!’ The special order was for me, no doubt. The hoofservant nodded silently and marched off to the kitchens. ‘Well then, now that’s sorted, I think we should make a move. Shall we?’ Storgia lifted me onto his back with his magic and we three started off to the dining hall, where I, Aniseed Vortexmouth, would make a few more interesting discoveries about my circumstances.