Epilogue
Celestia stood tall and proud as she walked among her troops, her retainers, and her loyal citizens, all while they were rushing this way and that to aid the wounded, and care for the displaced. Many stopped to bow to her, but she waved them off, their current tasks far too important to waste time on something as trivial as formality. With quick, precise steps, she made her way to the center of the cavern, her eyes constantly moving as she took in the throng around her. They had all fought and suffered far more than anyone could ever know, had lost homes, businesses, family and friends, all at the chitinous hands of alien monsters from beyond the stars. The fires of war had swept over the whole world, had threatened to consume them all, and had the enemy gotten its way, there would have been no one left to gather the pieces of her once proud and happy people.
And yet, despite the overwhelming odds, her people had not only withstood the enemy’s advance, but had driven them off. Never before had her heart been filled with so much sorrow, or so much pride, at seeing her subjects gathered before her, setting aside any differences they might have had, and coming together as one people. Even the changelings, once thought to be a race of savage and brutal monsters, were being treated with gratitude and fellowship by her little ponies. She was sure that, once the fires had died down, and her people had managed to rebuild somewhat, that a glorious future could be wrought from the embers of this horrible tragedy.
“Princess Celestia! How goes the battle?” a voice called out, causing the Sun Princess to turn to see a worried-looking Queen Titania fly to her side.
Princess Celestia looked out over the ponies and changelings and noticed that they all were paying close attention to her. Her answer wouldn’t be to just the queen, but to the entirety of the people that had been contained inside these dark, foreboding caverns. Not only that, her words would most likely ripple out from there throughout her entire diarchy, and to lands and worlds beyond.
It was a heavy burden, to be sure, but it was one that she had held for over a thousand years, and was undaunted by the gravity of the situation. “We have driven them off,” she said, causing an uproar to spread as friends, family and total strangers embraced, relieved that the worst of the nightmare was finally over.
She let them continue in their joy for a few moments longer, as they needed the relief and hope that came with it. She still held up her hoof, though, signaling that she wanted their attention. “However, our homes, and our cities, as well as those of our minotaurs and griffons neighbor, are in shambles. What’s more is that our new, alien allies, those that ran fearlessly into our homes and streets to save those that they could were also targeted by the insectoid menace on their own world. No one has been left untouched, no life has been unsullied by their hatred, and nopony has avoided the sting of their fury. The enemy has been repulsed, yes, but this travesty is far from over…”
* * *
Emily groaned in pain as she tried to open her eyes, wondering to herself what had happened to her. Her whole body felt like one big bruise, and she was having difficulty breathing. She tried to get her bearings, but it was too dark, her head hurt too much, and the pressure and heat around her made her far, far too confused. Am I tangled up in my blankets? she thought as she tried to free herself.
Just the effort in pushing against whatever was restraining her caused pain to shoot through every nerve of her body, though. Her arms felt like they had been dragged through a meat grinder, she could barely feel her legs, and a throbbing pain seemed to shoot through her stomach every time she took a breath. Gritting her teeth, she tried to raise her head, but found something hard and rough keeping her whole body in place, preventing her from even moving an inch.
Relaxing as much as she could, she tried to trace back the steps that had led her to this point. She had been walking to her car in her company’s garage, her phone in hand as she surfed the internet for more news on the alien visitors. She had just put her key into the car’s door when… when…
She couldn’t remember what happened next, and just trying made her head feel like it was going to explode. With a grunt, she tried to move her arm, to feel her torso for anything that might be bleeding, but found that it was still just as impossible to move as it had been seconds before. She gasped in another lungful of what seemed to be a rapidly diminishing air supply, her head spinning as the darkness all around her seemed to grow even darker, seemingly burning her lungs with its smothering weight. “Please… Someone… Anyone… Please help…” she managed to choke out weakly.
Even as the words left her lips, though, she knew that no one could hear her tiny squeak. The walls around her seemed to dampen all sound, and the only reason she had heard herself was because she was inside her own head. More tears sprang to her eyes, and she began to hyperventilate, wondering if she was going to die down here.
A warmth suddenly swept over her, a peace that she wasn’t able to place, and in the darkness, she thought she saw something move. “...Don’t worry, someone’s coming…” she heard something murmur, its chill, deathly whisper oddly familiar, though she couldn’t quite place where she had heard it before.
“Who… Who’s there?” Emily managed to ask, before she was wracked with a horrible coughing fit.
Before the other person could answer, a warm, red light suddenly washed over her, and she found herself wincing in pain as the stone around her started to rumble and shake. The sounds of crumbling stone grinding against stone surrounded her, as was the whining, metallic scream of metal shearing away from itself.
Then, as if it were a miracle from God himself, the weight upon her disappeared entirely, and she found herself blinking in pain as daylight washed over her.
“Cal-tha lul, no la ta var!” An unknown man called out in a musical, sing-song tone. Emily tried to sit up, to get a look at her savior, but any strength she had disappeared as something was pulled from her gut, causing her to scream weakly in pain as she curled up in a ball.
“I said to lift the rock slowly!” another voice said as several pairs of hands began to swarm her, holding her down as they began wrapping the gaping hole in her stomach.
“Cer-vi-na, thul to sha na la,” a female piped in, and Emily felt several of the pairs of hands back off, causing her to look up in confusion.
She faintly registered the E.M.T.s and the firefighters trying to keep her from moving, as well as the soldiers nearby, all looking very serious, but what really grabbed her attention was the strange, four-legged creature nearby. It was wearing what appeared to be a full hazmat suit, though the visor was clear enough for Emily to make out two large, extremely expressive eyes. A light seemed to flicker into existence somewhere inside the creature’s helmet, and Emily felt a weird sensation cover her entire body. Then, a pulling, yanking pain started around the hole in her stomach, and she could feel the oddest sensation of the skin around the injury heating up, before the nerves around the area seemed to go completely dead, all while filling her nose with the foul scent of burning flesh.
“Holy God…” one of the E.M.T.s muttered, causing Emily to look down at her stomach, fearing the worst.
Instead of seeing a gaping hole, spurting up an endless amount of her lifeblood, all she saw was shiny burnt skin, still quite damaged, but completely whole.
“Ti sha ca-va ral la ni talis,” the hazmat suited, four-legged creature said, before turning away from Emily. “Shi va la-nath cara’la’this.”
Emily tried to say something, tried to ask the creature what it was, and why it was here, but a sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her, and she barely found the strength to keep her eyes open. “What… what is that thing?” she managed to choke out.
The E.M.T. closest to her looked back at the strange, four-legged creature, an odd look in his eye as he let out a weary sigh. “I… don’t really know. All I know for sure is that it’s here to help.”
Emily stared at the strange creature for a few more seconds, before turning away, a sudden fear gripping her. “There was someone else with me… he was close by, I think he was hurt…”
The E.M.T. looked at her carefully, before shaking his head as he and his fellows lifted Emily into a stretcher. “You’re the only survivor here, miss.”
Emily kept searching, though, her eyes sweeping the rubble she had been pulled from, trying to find the one she had heard while she had been down there. “No, there was someone else… Someone… Someone…”
Darkness quickly filled her vision, overwhelming her senses, but right before she passed out, she barely made out the features of Robert Downing, her coworker, lying not three feet from where she had just been. His eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping, and next to his face she could see his arm lying next to him, as if he had been reaching out for something.
The rest of him was nowhere to be seen.
* * *
A bitter murmur spread throughout the survivors, some frightened, some openly weeping, and others looking listless and empty as they stared at the Sun Princess, their will to go on clearly broken. The majority of them, though, had a fury burning in their eyes, one that she understood all too well, for it was the same one that burned inside her own heart. “However, those demons have made a terrible, terrible mistake: They failed to crush us when they had the chance,” Princess Celestia said, her voice trembling ever so slightly with barely contained rage. “Equestria lives on… its people live on. Homes can be rebuilt, livelihoods can recover, and wounds can heal. Our strength will return to us… but the lives they took will never come back. They have made a terrible enemy this day, and though they flee, laughing at the destruction they have wrought, they will soon know only sorrow…”
* * *
Private Stout Heart’s eyes snapped open, his heart thundering in his chest as he glanced around him. He was floating in a clear, viscous liquid, with a strange, metallic mask around his muzzle being the only reason why he could still breathe. Containing him and the liquid was what appeared to be a long, cylindrical glass container, which in turn was inside a brightly lit room lined with similar containers. Most contained either a pony or a changeling, though a few contained creatures that he had never seen before, though their proportions and anatomy strongly reminded him of the monster that Princess Celestia had kept in the castle, though these creatures were not nearly as terrifying.
This barely registered in the private’s mind, though, as he was far, far more concerned with the disgusting-looking bug things that scurried back and forth between the different tubes, strange devices in their hands as they did… something at the panels positioned at each of the different stations. He tried to scream, tried to hammer at the glass, but the taste of the air being fed to him suddenly changed, and he felt himself becoming drowsy with every passing second.
“No… you can’t do this… please…” he managed to choke out as he struck out against the glass, making a weak tink noise as his hoof encountered the impenetrable barrier.
Right before unconsciousness claimed him, his eyes swept the other glass containers as he searched for someone, anyone that could help him. He was disappointed, however, because none of the others looked like they were awake, much less able to aid in an escape.
At least, that was the case, up until his eyes fell upon a tank containing one of those bipedal creatures that resembled the horrible monster from Whitetail Woods. The creature looked… lumpier and curvier than the monster, though in Private Heart’s drug addled mind he could barely muster the mental capacity to notice such differences. However, it had noticed him, and was staring directly at him, as if silently judging him.
Darkness took him soon afterwards.
* * *
“They think they are safe, that they are beyond our reach, that through the strength of their arms and the might of their empire they are beyond reproach, that they can murder our people, steal our comrades, and destroy our lands with impunity,” Celestia said, her voice rising in rage and volume. “And for their arrogance, they shall taste the bite of our swords, the rage of our magics, and with our new allies, we shall be their undoing…”
* * *
High General Inos walked into the grand meeting hall, his head held high as his eyes swept over his fellow generals. A few looked impressed, due to his recent success, but far more had a fire burning in their eyes, their ire for him kindled by the sorry state he had brought upon their already dwindling forces.
“...Was it worth it, General?” General Kiths snapped at him as she glared at him with open hatred. “All our preparations… nearly ten years of endless toil, all up in smoke. We have fifteen ships now. Fifteen. We barely have enough materials left in the system to make a measly frigate, much less another fleet! And that’s not even touching on the fact that, in order to staff them all, we’d need to clone and train an entirely new population! All of our efforts, all our hard work and sacrifice, all worthless!”
High General Inos let the female rant, his gaze cold and unyielding, not showing an ounce of weakness, or even emotion, until she had spent all of her ammunition against him. “…And what is any of that compared to those abominable snake witches?” he asked pointedly. “Did you forget about the battle of Carrak-Nor? Did you forget when they literally tore the star from its place and hurled it at us?”
General Kiths looked a little less sure of herself, but she would not be so easily cowed. “That fleet could have been used for other offenses! We could have struck out into a different part of the galaxy, re-established our empire elsewhere, rebuilt… The quzin’s grasp does not cover nearly as much space as they claim!”
“And yet, had we revealed ourselves so foolishly for a few, momentary gains, they still would have crushed us without a second thought,” General Inos pointed out, snuffing out her argument, as well as any opposition against him. “Yes, I sacrificed far more ships than we originally estimated. Yes, our forces are completely devastated. However, they still have no clue where we are. What’s more, is that we’ve finally captured some witches of our own. Finally, we will be able to turn the tables back on them, and retake what is rightfully ours..”
“That’s only if they don’t manage to sniff us out, first,” Kiths shot back. “Only having the most senior staff know the actual location of this place has worked up until this point, but it’s only a matter of time before their cursed prophet has another one of his visions. We’re living on borrowed time.”
“So, I suggest we make the most of that time, instead of wasting it with this pointless bickering,” General Inos said, before he snapped his fingers, causing the video screen behind him to flicker, before revealing the same fiery horse-god that had brutalized half of his fleet. “The quzin did not cause this to happen. It isn’t their style. This phenomenon was caused by those horrible savages, and they have yet to even leave their own atmosphere! Do you not wonder what kind of power they could wield if they had reached for the stars first? What kind of power we can wield if we make it our own?”
The dark muttering that had surrounded him since he entered now turned to far more excited muttering, as several of his fellow officers pointed towards the horse, their attention and imagination clearly held captive.
“That is impressive, but can you really say that it was a worthy trade?” Kiths asked, though somewhat more subdued. “Our forces are depleted as it is, and even if we make some kind of superweapon, we will still need troops to control it. Are you really certain that we haven’t sold our homes for a garden hoe at the edge of winter?”
“I would have traded our entire fleet for a chance to obtain that power,” General Inos said, his antennae raised high in pride. “As our hated enemy has proven to us time and time again, this power is the key to realizing the dreams of our empire, and they-” Inos then snapped his fingers again, causing the research facility which housed his latest experiments to appear on the screen. “-Are the key to obtaining that power for ourselves. Mark this day as a sacred holiday, for this is the day that the empire rises again! We will not be silenced. We will never retreat again. We will never go crawling to the enemy, begging for mercy as he tried! Ours is a dynasty of strength eternal, and the gods smile upon us this day, for we shall purge all those disgusting, fleshy terrors from the night sky, and prove ourselves worthy of the Battlemaster’s favor!”
The other generals raised their fists in salute at that, each one raising his voice in praise as they let out their ancient, wordless battle cry. It was in the tongues of their ancestors, its true meaning lost to the ravages of time, but its spirit, its fervor, still remained strong after all these years.
“Ka-tal!” General Inos responded, striking his chest with all four arms.
“Ka-tal!” his officers answered.
“For the empire! For the krin! And for the glory of heaven!”
“Ka-tal!”
* * *
“They think they are gods, sitting on their thrones, laughing at the destruction and misery they have wrought, but they could not be more wrong,” Celestia proclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the hive’s main chamber, lifting the spirits of her broken people. “They are mortals like us, and soon, they will know the terror they have inflicted on so many innocent lives. Justice will come for them soon, and though our civilization lies in ashes, like the mighty phoenix, we will rise again. Of this, you have my solemn word.”
The assembled ponies let out a mighty cheer at that, during which Princess Celestia used her wing to pull Queen Titania in closer, so that she could speak with her without being overheard. “A moment, when you are not so busy,” she muttered under her breath.
Queen Titania nodded once, before gesturing towards the back of the room. “I am ready now. The prometheans have been more than helpful, and no one is in critical condition. At this point I am merely organizing my children for the eventual rebuilding of Equestria, a task I am sure can wait a few moments longer.”
“Indeed, lead the way,” Princess Celestia said, allowing the changeling queen to lead them through the rejoicing throng. It took them a while, but soon the pair were alone in a room that looked very much like a tomb, an observation that was proven correct once Celestia drew closer to one of the large sarcophagi. “This is where your ancestors buried the Greek warriors, I take it?”
“It is, indeed. Most of the hive is far too packed with our people to give us much room, but this place is sacred to my people,” Titania said, gazing mournfully at the face carved upon the stone lid. “We are free to speak here without fear of being overheard.”
“I see…” Celestia said, her eyes wandering around the ancient crypt, before finally settling on the queen herself. “I thought you might like to know that we’ve sent people to inspect Chrysalis’s abandoned hive.”
Titania looked intrigued at that. “Oh? And what did you find?”
“As Chrysalis’s spy told us, only a few put up a fight,” Celestia said, her expression twisted into one of disgust. “The hive is basically a shell of its former self. The pods are empty, the hive’s stores are completely depleted, and there’s only a few bodies to indicate that anyone had ever set hoof inside there before.”
Titania nodded her head, her muzzle twisted into a grim frown. “Chrysalis was always one to fully commit to something, even if it was a patently terrible idea… What of her Patriarch?”
“His throat was slit,” Celestia said, her voice dead and lifeless. “From what you said, the patriarch bears a large burden, and is almost universally respected in changeling society. I cannot understand why she would so carelessly murder what was once her lover and closest confidant.”
“...Would it make more sense to know that Chrysalis is almost universally hated among the hives?” Celestia looked at the changeling queen in confusion at this, but did not stop her from explaining further. “As I have told you before, most changeling hives follow the old ways… with the exception of Chrysalis, of course. One of these old traditions involves sending drones to each other’s hives, to serve as replacement patriarchs when the old patriarch’s time finally comes, and his body and mind are absorbed into the hive.”
Celestia felt horror grip her breast at this thought. “You mean, he stays there, utterly motionless until his death, then you eat him?”
Titania shook her head, though she seemed amused by Celestia’s revulsion. “No, you misunderstood what I meant. By that point, the patriarch of a hive has lived a long, full life, service freely given, and joy fully expressed. He is not eaten by his children, either. He is absorbed by the hive itself.” The queen then moved to the hive wall, running a hoof over the chitinous structure. “Our hives are our greatest achievement, a monument to the strength of our people, and the will of our genealogy. When a patriarch dies, his memories are absorbed into the hive, and the whole structure enters a state of hibernation, waiting patiently for another to take his place. Once a new patriarch is selected, he can commune with the echoes of the hive, drawing on the previous patriarch’s wisdom and courage, while serving the hive as his elder did, and his elder before him. It is an honor to become a patriarch, and to send a drone to serve as such speaks volumes of how the hive views such an individual.”
Celestia bowed her head in apology. “I am sorry. Your culture and customs are… alien to me, to say the least. However, your explanation only serves to confuse and disgust me more, making me wonder how Chrysalis could ever bring herself to murder such an important person to her hive.”
”Your apology is not needed, though you are quite right. Through that lens, it would seem impossible for a changeling queen to turn on her hive like that… until you consider just how much Chrysalis threw away the Old ways.” Celestia’s confusion must have shown on her face, because the queen did not require any prodding to continue her explanation. “To send a drone to serve as Patriarch serves two purposes: Firstly, it strengthens the bonds between the two hives, and ensures a peaceful cooperation between them. After all, why would you go to war with another hive over resources if your own child serves as that hive’s father?”
Celestia nodded at this, as it made sense. “...And the other reason?”
“It prevents inbreeding.”
Celestia blinked in shock at that, before the reality of what Titania had said set in. “That… now that I think about it, that would make a great deal of sense…”
“Exactly. Which is why it is not a good idea for us to make enemies among the other hives,” Titania said, before gently caressing her hoof across her own hive’s chitinous wall. “To make an enemy of another hive ensures that, not only will they never share a drone with you, but their allies will not either. Now, imagine if all hives shunned you. How long do you think they could survive before the madness of inbreeding killed off the hive?”
“I do not imagine that it would take more than a few generations…” Celestia said, her face twisted in disgust. “Is that why Chrysalis would throw away her hive so quickly? The madness had already set in?”
“Yes, and no…” Titania said sadly, while shaking her head. “Chrysalis’s hive might have been quite mad, but that had more to do with the locust warfare they were engaged in. They were still surprisingly sane when it came to certain other matters, and she absolutely refused to take a consort from her own children. She felt it would only weaken her people for their eventual conquest, and rightfully so, as the madness of inbreeding does not just inflict the minds, but the bodies of the next generation as well. Instead, she would more likely have stolen her consort from another hive.”
Celestia stood there, mouth agape at the notion, before shaking her head in disgust. “So the father of her hive…?”
“Was nothing more than a slave to her, yes,” Titania said, her eyes filled with sadness. “I do not know whom she took, because it is not uncommon for changelings to go missing while out gathering. They can be killed in an accident, discovered by their targets, imprisoned while impersonating the wrong pony… the list goes on. It could have very well been someone from my hive, though I doubt it, seeing as how she has a special hatred towards the changeling race’s eldest hive. Any of my people she would have found would have been killed after extracting any useful information from us, I assure you.”
“I understand. It was something I wanted to ask about, as the patriarch’s color did not match Chrysalis’s, and I thought that maybe there was a traitor hive still among us…”
“Though I cannot speak with complete certainty, it is still far more likely that he was a victim, not a traitor,” Titania said, her voice filled with sorrow. “What were his colors? His mother and father would want to know, to give him a proper burial.”
“According to my people, his eyes were a deep red, though I do not know what his shell was like,” Celestia answered, disgust still very clear in her voice.
Titania nodded in understanding. “Athinashia’s hive, then. I will inform her as quickly as I can, though I do not think she will take it well. She has always been… overprotective of her children. The thought that one of her sons was being used in such a brutal fashion will probably drive her and her people into a rage.”
“Is it anything we need to worry about?”
Titania shook her head again. “No, it simply means that she will be far more likely to join your cause. She was one of the more… standoffish hives, and flat out refused to listen to your message of peace, sending only a four word reply back with my messenger: It is a trap. With this new development, I do not imagine that she will be nearly as hostile towards you in the future, especially if you were to return her son to her for a proper burial.”
“Thank you for the advice. I am sure it will be useful in the days to come,” Celestia said, nodding her head thankfully towards the changeling. “There is one more thing that we found, however, something that might explain why Chrysalis went with the krin so easily.”
“What is that?” Titania asked, her tone filled with a mixture of curiosity and dread.
“We found a secret room deep inside the hive. It held a number of krin artifacts, as well as an opened cocoon, far larger than any your people had ever seen. The imprint inside the hardened material was something familiar, too, making me wonder whether Chrysalis had gone after Alexander on a whim after hearing about him-”
“-Or if she had already been told all she needed to know about him, and went after him after hearing about his potential as a weapon,” Titania answered for her, her expression taking on a disturbed look. “It would certainly explain her willingness to leave with an unknown alien entity. She was probably promised mastery over this world if she sold it out, not knowing the deviousness and cruelty of our enemy. Did Thorax have anything to say about it?”
Celestia shook her head, her gaze lost in thought. “He claims not to know anything about the alien she kept, and I am inclined to believe him. From what I’ve managed to gather from him, as well as from you and your people, Chrysalis was not a kind mother or ruler, and saw her people as disposable pawns. Based on that, I find it unlikely that she trusted any of them with her secrets.”
“And who is to say what the mad queen truly thought?” Titania asked as she moved towards the crypt’s entrance. “She was already deep in the thrall of Locust Warfare long before she sought to invade Equestria, which makes it all the more impressive that she managed to accomplish as much as she had. I would not have thought she had the mental capacity to plan a coup, much less actually stage one, but she certainly surprised me on that front.”
Celestia turned her head in curiosity at that. “If she was so dangerous and unstable, then why was she allowed to continue as long as she did? Surely she represents a danger to all your kind, not just your own hive. I imagine that if you had combined your hives’ forces, you would have been a match for her.”
“And that is where you are wrong, Princess Celestia…” Titania said, shaking her head. “We changelings… are not as strong as you ponies. Our magics are quite weak, and without your love, it does not take us long to shrivel and die. Locust Warfare changes that, makes us stronger, faster, more powerful… at the cost of our sanity. It also greatly enhances a hive’s reproduction, allowing them to create an army far larger than anything a hive is normally capable of sustaining. My hive was the second largest hive on the face of the earth, and I guarantee you that our total numbers do not even equal half of the forces that Chrysalis was capable of fielding. With her numbers and increased power, it would have been possible for her to daunt Equestria’s armed forces head on, though it would have been harder for her had you called in the support of your allies.”
“Yes… I encountered that stolen strength before…” Celestia said, rubbing her horn at the memory. “I was surprised to say the least. I could have taken her, but…”
“I understand. The power of the sun is not to be trifled with, or unleashed carelessly. I have already heard about your prowess on the field of battle, as well as the collateral damage you can inflict when you become serious. To act with restraint was the right decision.”
“I tell myself that, but it is hardly a comfort when you know that an evil far worse than her now possesses her power,” Celestia said darkly. “I may have made the right decision that day, but even the right choice can have dire consequences down the road.”
“Only time will tell if our choices truly have been the correct ones,” Titania said, before opening the tomb again, gesturing for Celestia to lead the way.
Celestia nodded at this, before a slight smile graced her lips. “You are quite right, Queen Titania. Come, let us go and forge a future that might soften, or even mitigate the weight of past choices. After all, I foresee a wondrous future between our people, and it would be a shame to spoil it with thoughts of what could have been, and what we might have done.”
Titania bowed deeply to Princess Celestia, before rising with a thankful smile on her face. “It would be my honor to help create that future. I only hope to live long enough to see it bear fruit.”
Celestia chuckled at that, shaking her head as she made her way to the changeling queen. “...So do I, Titania. However, I think we’ve managed pretty well, and have gotten through the hardest part, so I have a fairly strong suspicion that both of us will be able to see that future with our own eyes.”
Titania’s smile took on a playful quality, while she gave the Sun Princess a knowing look. “For you, at least, I am sure that is the truth. I am not so certain about myself, but I am content enough to know that my people have such a bright and wondrous future ahead of them. You have my eternal thanks, Your Highness.”
“You have my thanks as well, Your Majesty, for opening your home, and your hearts, to my little ponies. Come, there is much to be done,” Celestia said as she rested her hoof lightly on the changeling queen’s withers, before giving her a welcoming smile.
Then, with a clear purpose before them, the two rulers left the dark, dreary tomb, and towards the people and future that awaited them.
* * *
I sat there, staring at the dashboard of the car for a full minute, trying to steel myself for what was to come. By all rights, I shouldn’t have even been here. There was still plenty of work to be done cleaning up the mess left by the krin, even for a monster like me. I should have been serving as a translator for one of the new alien species, seeing as how I was fluent in not one, but two different alien tongues. A talent like that shouldn’t have been wasted on something so petty, so selfish…
To be honest, I did have that job. Until an actual diplomat could be trained, I was, quite literally, the best person to deal with the new alien presence on Earth. President Darris had even said as much, and had appointed me as the acting ambassador for both the equines and the snakes until further notice. I was honored, really I was, but it really wasn’t something I was too comfortable with.
That’s not to say I was currently shirking my duties, though one could have been forgiven for thinking that. No, I was here because, even if my talents were in high demand right now, I still had something to do. A small bit of closure for those that had died to get me this far. Their last words could be conveyed later, but this… this needed to be taken care of now. For them, like I promised.
“You okay, honey?” Valerie asked, pulling me from my little world.
I looked up at her, before smiling back at her. “Yeah, it’s just… I never really got to say goodbye to them.”
She returned the smile, before leaning in and planting her lips on my cheek. “I’m sure they’ll be happy just to be back home.”
“Yeah… I’m sure…” I muttered, before taking in one more deep breath. Finally feeling a bit more prepared, I opened the door, before glancing back at her one last time and affixing my mask. “Let’s do this.”
I walked out onto the short, well-kept grass of the cemetery, a shovel in one hand and her hand in my other, all while the bright, midday sun beat down upon us as we made our way across the sacred ground. Behind me I could hear the sounds of doors opening and slamming shut, as the few servicemen that had volunteered for this got out of their cars and moved to pull out the caskets. Even though only twenty of our original fifty could be recovered from the crash, and even less of that number had corpses that hadn’t been burnt to a crisp in the fire, it was still far, far too many for just me to handle with how much time we had. The circuitry had been removed, of course, and samples had been taken in an effort to try and identify what was left of them, but I had no real hope that we’d truly know who was who among the dead that we recovered.
I was just happy for this chance to give a few of them a proper burial.
The plots we’d picked out were pretty nice, all things considered, as was the cemetery that housed them. I barely registered any of it as I began to dig, though I did register the unmistakable sounds of more cars as others began to arrive. I didn’t recognize any of them, nor did I stop my task to ask them why they were here, but as I listened to Valerie talk to them, I slowly began to realize who each of them was, even if I hadn’t really expected them to show up so quickly.
Stacy’s mom had shown up, and she had apparently driven all night and day to make it here, though from what Stacy had told me about her, I really should have expected that. Eduardo’s parents were more of a shock, as was Kazuko’s, seeing as how one had lived in Mexico and the other was Japanese. Those weren’t the only ones to shock me with their presence, though they were just the ones that really stuck out to me, seeing as those three had, by far, the longest journey to come see their loved ones buried.
That’s not to say that all of them showed up, though. Kazimir’s family was in Russia, for example, and I doubted that China’s government had let Xiu Ying’s family even know that their boy had been abducted, much less let them come see him buried, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. There were others of course, but it was too painful to think about those that couldn’t make it. Instead, I concentrated on making one scoop after another, preparing the ground to house the corpses of my dead siblings.
Luckily for me, the new arrivals didn’t seem much for conversation, because after the initial pleasantries they exchanged with my fiancee they chose to stay silent as they watched me dig a hole for each of my brothers and sisters, though quite a few decided to roll up the sleeves of their Sunday's best to lend a hand with my task. It was long, silent, hard work, but it was something I wanted to do. Something I had to do.
Finally, after a few hours of work, we had managed to dig up twenty of the twenty-one plots I had obtained for my brothers and sisters. It usually took quite the penny to get enough plots like this, but the funeral home had waved their usual fee. Something about “heroes being buried for free.”
I hadn’t argued with her. I just needed to get them back into Earth’s holy soil, just like I had promised.
The twenty-first plot was special, though. It sat in the exact center of the others, a larger monument to those that had died, but could not be recovered. It also served to proclaim to all who cared to visit exactly who all was laid to rest here, as there was no real way to identify each of the fallen individually. Each of the other graves were marked with a simple tombstone, proclaiming to all that: “Here is buried a hero, one of fifty, who died to stop an evil inflicted upon them from spreading to others.”
It was rather simple, but I’m a simple kind of guy. I’m sure that if Eduardo had been the one who have survived, he would have come up with something complex and flowery, something that really did justice for those that were being laid to rest, whereas if Kazimir had been the one, I’m sure we would have gotten a whole poem on heroism.
It was a shame, then, that it was me that survived, rather than them.
Without a word, I pulled myself from the hole and made my way to one of the long, narrow boxes. Eduardo’s brothers helped me with that casket, while the other mourners and a few of the servicemen went to the others, before lowering each one back into the wonderfully rich soil of their mother Earth. As I began to cover the first one, I heard another car pull up, but I didn’t stop to look to see who it was. I didn’t think I could have seen anything through the tears that had started to roll from my eyes, so I didn’t bother, choosing instead to concentrate on my task.
“You got another shovel?” a familiar voice asked, causing me to pause from my work and glance up at a group of people I hadn’t seen in over a year.
There, standing not two feet from me, staring at me with his clear, green, steady gaze, was my Uncle Jerry. Dad was there too, as was Mom, though Dad was still in his wheelchair, and could hardly be expected to use a shovel in his condition. Sherry wasn’t here, nor was Jared, but I hardly expected them to drop everything and come, especially since Jared was in the military, and Sherry was a doctor. I didn’t even comment on their absence, instead choosing to nod towards the servicemen, not trusting myself to look in my family’s eyes for too long without breaking down entirely. “You should be able to get one from them. They have some extras,” I said, my voice surprisingly chipper, despite the tears still rolling down my face.
Jerry slapped me on the shoulder a little, before heading off to negotiate a shovel from a soldier. It didn’t take him long, and soon he was helping us bury my brothers and sisters as if they had been his own.
After a surprisingly short amount of time, each of them had been laid to rest, and the only proof that anyone had been here at all were the twenty fresh mounds, as well as the flowers that had been laid on top. No one said anything as we stepped back to admire our handiwork, and I don’t think anyone needed to.
Finally, after what seemed like another hour, each of the mourners came to me, thanking me in turn with a few words for finally giving them closure. For letting them know what happened to their brothers, their sisters, their babies, their lovers, their fathers and mothers. I didn’t say anything as they came to me, to offer their thanks. I couldn’t even look them in the eye, to tell them that it should have been Eduardo, or Stacy, or Kazuko, or Brian to have survived. I couldn’t tell them that I was sorry I hadn’t tried harder to save them, or that I hadn’t charged back into the wreckage to try and pull out who I could, simply because I had trusted my implants when they had told me that each of the others had already died that day. Instead, I weakly smiled like the coward I was as they each gave their thanks, before letting them retreat back to their cars, and back to their normal lives.
I was now alone with those closest to me, as the servicemen had also returned to their own vehicles a while ago, to give us the time that we needed. With a deep, sorrow-filled breath, I looked out over the lonely cemetery, my eyes filled with tears, as I said goodbye to people that, to this day, I still had no idea what they actually looked like. I only knew them from their voices in my head. Most would have said that was hardly enough interaction to build a meaningful friendship, much less consider them family.
For me, though, it was more than enough.
“Goodbye, guys. I’m glad that I had the chance to meet you,” I said, before finally reaching up, pulling up my mask a little, and wiping the tears from my face.
“Are you okay, honey?” Mom asked me, her voice filled with worry.
I sniffed a little, before I nodded and replaced the mask, not really trusting myself to say anything right then.
“It’s good to see you again, Alex,” Dad said, before his chair made a whirring sound as it rolled itself closer, so that he could wrap his good arm around my middle. I returned the hug with what little strength I had left, and was quickly overwhelmed as everyone else crowded in to get in on this thing.
I didn’t mind so much, though. I had been alone long enough, and it was a miracle just to be able to see them again. I would have gladly allowed myself to be sealed inside a iron coffin and hurled into the bottom of the sea just for a chance like this, and compared to that, a little claustrophobia was a very small price to pay.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore, though, and without care or thought, I broke down entirely, crying into the shoulders of my family, glad to finally be back with those I had missed for so, so long.
After what seemed like an eternity, though it was still far, far too short for my taste, we pulled apart from each other, and my mother pulled up my mask, revealing the monster that her son had become. There was no horror there, no judgement, only a warm smile, and tears that fell in rivers down the sides of her face. “Welcome home, Alex,” she said simply, before pulling me into another hug.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said as I buried my face into her hair. “It’s good to be home.”