Rag Doll

by No one is home


Chapte 22: "I shall carry my own ashes up the mountain"

“Okay, that was the preamble,” Ocelia stood on her hind hooves and clamped her front four hooves together with a super serious scholarly scowl.  “This is where the history of the Underhive really starts…”

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When the Nopony and his brood queen escaped during their invasion, they had brought along as many drones as they could convince to follow them.  They split into two groups, they would travel with the majority of the drones on a direct route to Fillydelphia.  Their thirteen offspring would be smuggled into the pony capitol under the cover of the First Changeling Invasion.  Regardless of the outcome of the invasion the two groups would rendezvous after the dust had cleared.

When this plan failed Nopony organized a third secret hive in Fillydelphia, the Shadow Hive.  The Shadow Hive operated openly as a changeling refugee circus, that from the outside seemed the model of friendship, featuring changelings, ponies, and all manner of creatures working together to bring smiles and laughter to Equestria.  But it wasn’t at all what it looked like.  In the shadows just beneath the surface, the circus itself was a cover for all the illegal activities meant to fund the hive’s real purpose: To infiltrate the pony capitol and recover any survivors of the brood, particularly the young queen that could feed on hate.

To this end he entered into an alliance of convenience with the Mad Queen he had escaped, promising that his Shadow Hive could neutralize the Free Hive, opening the pony capitol to infiltration.  It marched his circus hive into the city in broad daylight under the flag of friendship, only to explode into a trainwreck of violence and debauchery.  It was instantly defeated and its drones scattered, and that was the moment it won.

The capitol was beset by a wave of changeling drones with no other purpose than to make ponies fear changelings.  They didn’t even try to steal love, the No Pony had drugs for that.  Instead they terrorized the ponies of the undercity on a personal level, often while impersonating the very changelings the ponies trusted and depended on to defend them from hostile changeling invasion.  And in doing so it set the bait to tempt out its scattered brood and draw them back into its influence.  

Without the love and trust of the ponies they had defended, the Free Hive was forced to hide away when the Mad Queen's second invasion commenced.  And even as the Free Hive grew weak, the Nopony’s brood were bloated with the fear and distrust he had unleashed.  Of all the Nopony’s Brood, only the Little Queen was able to avoid being brought back under its sway, strong from the love of her adopted pony family.  So, in an act of needless cruelty and cruelty the Nopony took them from her.  This would be its undoing.

The Little Queen drank deeply of the hate her creator had sown, because she knew to protect the creatures of the undercity and avenge her pony family she would need strength.  And she… she killed… not just the Nopony, she killed every changeling that worked with it in one night and purged the shadow hive.  Her name was Princess Diane Banana Fo Fanna Bo Banna Fee Fie Foe Fanna Pastel.  And she was the first queen of the under hive.  My ancestor.  But you already knew that didn’t you, Uncle Cornelius…

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“You knew exactly what you were pushing me towards.”  It breaks the space in my fluff that would normally hold a heart.  “That’s how you knew it would be afraid.”

“Open up your eyes!”  Gloomy is feeling possessive and there is nothing I can say that won’t make it worse.  “I’ve carried the ragdoll since I was a foal.  There are no cutesy names, because I know Charlie for what it is.  I don’t know any of your legends surrounding MY doll, but I’ve had a lifetime to know Charlie.  My lifetime.  He is a liar.”

“Aunt Gloomy!” OC is making that cute squinty face that is impossible to say no to.  I want to warn her, but I’m still pretty sure anything I say is only going to make it worse.  “That’s mean!”

“Grow up!”  Okay she is actually showing emotion,  I’m starting to think that using a rebellious teenage changeling filly to further my schemes might have upset Gloomy.  “We. Are. Not. Nice. Ponies!  His name is Charlie, not ‘Uncle Cornelious’!  And he is a cursed magical artifact from ancient times.  I am an emotional stunted witch pony, who casually uses her special talent to manipulate everypony around me to get what I want!  If if we have to confront the ancient nemesis of your tribe, or hive, or whatever you call it,  you better be the descendent of a mass murdering evil queen!  And stop calling me ‘Aunt Gloomy’!  I’m not your aunt!”

“No, you’re not her aunt.”  I flop in between them.  “But by weird ancient Equestrian adoption laws, I sort of am her uncle, and you need to stop Gloomy.”

“You’re actually taking her side over mine?”  Ouch, I knew this was gonna be a problem.  I had hopped it would be later rather than sooner.

“A long time ago a bully stuck a needle in my head, Gloomy.”  I have to pick these words carefully.  “A brave filly stood up for me.  I’m following her lead.  Ocelia’s just a little filly, Gloomy.  She’s just a filly who wanted to get to the top of the mountain.”

“I… I’m sorry…”  Goddammit but I can not let Gloomy see how emotionally disarming it is when she cries now that she’s a filly again.  She will totally exploit that.

“It’s okay Miss Gloomy.  I’ve just never been away from my family for this long… and I just wanted to make a family connection with you and Uncle Cornellius... I mean Charlie.  I didn’t mean to cross your personal boundaries.”  And they are actually going to hug it out.  Well this is going better than expected.  Because I’m narrating this I choose now to flop towards the hotel balcony.

I gotta admit, the view is great from up here.  Zephyr Heights stretches below us, and beyond that the rest of Equestria all the way to horizon.  I can’t resist a semi-arrogant smirk,  “But we made it, girls.  We made it up the mountain!”