//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Discovery // Story: Rescue from the Changeling Hive // by EKessler //------------------------------// Rescue from the Changeling Hive Chapter 1: The Discovery Out in the middle of one of Equestria's great fields of grass, far from civilization and devoid of noticeable activity, stood Princess Celestia, accompanied by her trusted guards. Her golden chariot, recently parked, stood not too far away. Just before them, some distance away, was a cave, embedded in the side of a large cliff. She was certain this was where she was supposed to go, but it still felt strange. Still, she approached, followed by her guards. She looked inside the cave to find nothing but darkness. Bright light then emanated from the tip of her horn and she launched it inside, completely illuminating the cave and leaving barely any shadow of darkness. Still, she didn't see anything but empty space. But she knew this was the right place. "Stay with the chariot," she said to her guards. "I won't be long." "Your Highness," said one of them. "With all due respect, I don't think you should…" "I'm perfectly safe here. You don't need to worry about me," she replied gently, turning to them. "Stay with the chariot, please." Complying, the guards bowed and returned to their vehicle, leaving Celestia to enter the cave on her own. From what she could see from the artificial light…actually, there was literally nothing to see. For a cave, there was little debris anywhere, and few features along the walls and ceiling. Essentially nothing stood out. It was just a cave. What caught Celestia's attention, however, was what stood ahead, where the cave simply ended. A door, completely clashing with the rock around it, was embedded in the wall before her. She could see it from a distance, but with the help of the artificial light around her, she could make out the finer details of the door as she got closer. It was actually quite ornate, looking to be made of the finest wood. But whatever it was made of, it had absolutely no business being here, which was how she knew this was the right place. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door. "Hello," she called through the door. Suddenly, the door simply swung open. It would have hit her in the face, had she not reared back when she did. "It's open," she heard a male voice call from inside. Her face showed her annoyance as she stepped inside, but she slowly began to grin. That was a little funny. Once she was inside, and the door slammed behind her on its own, she suddenly noticed how hospitable the inside was. In fact, it very much resembled a house, and a large one at that. The room was lined with chairs, a couch, and even some very fine artwork that hung on the walls. She even looked up to find a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, seeming to glitter like diamonds. She then broke her attention from her surroundings and noticed that nopony was in there, at least that she could see. She called out for anyone to hear, "Discord?" "One moment," a voice replied from one of the closed doors. Then, to Celestia's right, a door opened to allow a certain draconequus to snake through. Discord. The door closed on its own, and then slid clear across the walls to the other side of the room, as did the other doors around them. "Good day to you, Princess," said Discord, smiling sincerely. "And to you, Discord. I see you've become…settled ever since moving here," replied the Princess, taking another look at the layout of the room. "Yes, well, it certainly feels like home. For the most part, anyway." Discord snapped his fingers, and a couple of chairs slid to their sides. "Please, have a seat." Celestia sat down, willing to put up with his shenanigans while she visited his home. Discord did the same, coiling around in his seat to fit his long body. "You know," said Celestia, "I'm sure you would have been more than welcome to stay in Ponyville. Fluttershy is very well-liked there, and she would definitely have vouched for you." "I know, Princess," began Discord, who held out his talon hand, "but you know me. I can't sleep well at night unless some laws are being broken." He then snapped his fingers, prompting the ceiling above them to open up, revealing a beautiful night sky. "Umm, Discord," said Celestia, "isn't it noon?" Discord simply cocked an eyebrow at her, making her giggle at her own question. "Besides," he continued, "certain circumstances have…let's say, encouraged me to live in a little more solitude as of late, away from all of the hustle and bustle of constant interaction with others." "Okay," Celestia slowly replied, "so, why a cave?" He looked at her like he didn't understand, shrugging and smiling. "Why…not?" She exhaled a stifled laugh at his randomness, something she never thought she would find herself enjoying, given their history. Then again, she knew better than anypony how times change. "Now," began Celestia, getting back to business, "what exactly did you need, Discord?" As Discord's powers returned the room to normal, he grew slightly serious, a very rare sight. "I need your help, Celestia. It's my daughter." Her eyes grew. "What? Is something wr-" A look of confusion hit her. "Wait, you have a daughter?" Discord smiled shyly. "Well…yes, I suppose I do." Celestia's inquiring eyes gave him the signal to continue. "Her name is Screwball. She's there in the other room right now." He gestured to the door behind Celestia. "She hasn't been feeling well, and I believe she may be ill. She lays in bed all day and I need to be by her side constantly. She's usually so perky and full of life, but…" He trailed off with a sad sigh. "I just don't know what's wrong with her. None of my magic has been able to cure her, and none of the doctors I've seen could even figure her out, let alone help her. Not even Fluttershy could figure it out…" He paused, likely remembering a past failed attempt at aid that he was implying. His mention of Fluttershy's failed efforts seemed to bring him down. "That's why I wanted to ask you." "You believe I could help," asked Celestia, looking rather concerned, yet still very confused. "I believe if anypony has a fair chance, it would be you," said Discord, his eyes pleading. "If you help, it would be dearly appreciated by both me and Screwball." Celestia thought it over for the briefest moment before turning back to Discord. "Of course I'll help. First, though, what can you tell me about what's wrong?" Discord got ready to count off each thing on his lion's paw. "Well, she has a bad fever, she's been sneezing a lot, and she gets tired all too easily. It's gotten so bad that she's had to stay in bed for the past five days. Would you like to see her now?" "Yes, I would." The two of them rose, and Celestia followed Discord to the door behind her. He opened it and allowed her to step inside. When she got a good look at the room, she noticed how very...normal it looked. In fact, it reminded her much of her student Twilight Sparkle's old study in Canterlot, sans all the books. Then she looked to the bed, finding a dark-pink filly under the covers. She was turned away from them, so all Celestia saw was her purple and white mane. While she looked, Discord floated by the bed. "I have to hold back on my powers around her," he explained as he gently stroked the filly's mane. "She hasn't quite grown into her own abilities yet, and she can only handle so much. She's the spawn of chaos, but she's still a pony." They both looked to the bed as the filly began to stir, turning around in her sleep to face them, and allowing Celestia to see her face. She appeared to be in her teenage years, but Celestia couldn't be sure. "Isn't she beautiful?" asked Discord rhetorically, a smile on his mixed-up face. Celestia didn't answer, but mentally, she agreed. "Where did she come from?" Celestia quietly asked. Discord turned back to her. "I'm…not quite sure." He paused, thinking for a moment. "You do remember my rampage in Ponyville, correct?" Celestia nodded, remembering when he intended to make the town the chaos capital of the world. "I really let loose on that town. My powers were already bottled up for thousands of years, being a statue and all." He then smiled. "By the way, thanks again for that. You're a pal." Celestia couldn't help but grin. "Anyway," he continued, "I was just tearing the place apart, and out of nowhere, she appeared." He gestured to Screwball. "Really strange things happen when I'm in my element, but…this just hadn't happened before. I actually created somepony." He noticed how intrigued Celestia looked, as she was looking at Screwball in a more curious manner. "To be honest, I didn't really give her much thought, even when I became a statue again, but after Fluttershy and her friends let me stay free…" He almost looked guilty, remembering what happened. "…I just had to find her again. I needed to take responsibility." Celestia couldn't help but be moved by his brief story. Here he was, talking about responsibility and care for another pony other than himself. Just last year, such a thing would have been unthinkable for both of them. "How did you find her?" asked Celestia. "Ponyville orphanage," he stated plainly. "She was just a child, after all. Oh, and you have no idea what kind of strings Fluttershy had to pull to get her for me. I mean, look at me! Would I have gotten her back if I went in there alone?" Celestia wasn't sure what to think, but Discord seemed genuinely scared of the thought of having his daughter kept from him. "Well, Discord, what's important is that she's here now, with you." She smiled encouragingly to him, getting him to smile as well. "Thank you, Princess." Celestia turned back to Screwball, watching as she hugged her pillow tight, smiling. "I'll help her. Would you wake her up?" "With gusto." He then lowered himself down to the bed and began to gently nudge the filly. "Screwball. Wake up, sweetie." The filly in bed began to stir, quietly sneezing as she did. As her eyes cracked open, Celestia was immediately drawn to them, noticing the swirling purple pupils that dotted them. She was Discord's daughter all right. "Hi, daddy," Screwball gently squeaked out. She seemed very tired. "Screwball, sweetie, somepony's here to see you." He moved out of the way, gesturing toward the Princess. "This is Princess Celestia. She's here to help you get better." Screwball's eyes grew slightly at the sight of the white alicorn. "Oh, uh, you didn't need to do that, daddy. I-I'm sure I'll be okay!" He gently placed his talon hand on her shoulder and pulled the blanket off of her, allowing Celestia to see the cutie mark that marked her flank: a screw and a baseball, in that order. Never saw it coming, Celestia thought to herself, smiling. "Oh, I know it must be intimidating to meet royalty for the first time, dear, but she's here to help. Don't be afraid." Celestia stepped forward. "It's very nice to meet you, Screwball," she calmly said. "You don't have to worry. All I want to do is cast a little diagnostic spell. It won't take long and you won't feel a thing." Her horn then slowly flared with a pale-yellow glow, as did Screwball's body. A nervous smile spread over Screwball's face. "No, please! You don't have to…" She couldn't finish her thought, as Celestia, after a moment of magically examining her, gasped loudly, stepping backward and losing the spell. Discord's eyes shot wide. "Celestia! What's wrong?" Mouth agape, her shocked eyes were locked firmly on Screwball, never moving away. Screwball, on the other hoof, was shifting nervously, avoiding eye contact with either of them. After a minute, Celestia stepped forward again. "Discord, I must show you something…" "Princess?" Discord's worry showed on his face, as did Screwball's. Celestia's horn glowed once more, but this time, she pointed it firmly to Screwball's forehead. "Hold still," she demanded with force in her voice. "No! Don't…" Screwball's protests were cut short once more, as a wave of magic from Celestia's horn pulsed through her, holding her in place as it worked its way through her. After no more than a few moments, the magic took its effect. From Screwball's legs, a rough halo of green light formed at her back hooves and slowly worked its way over her body. As it did, her features changed. Starting at her hooves, her dark-pink fur turned to pitch-black skin, filled with empty holes. As it went over her torso, it revealed a smooth black exoskeleton, a couple of insect-like wings adorning the back. Then, it went over her head, completing the transformation. Discord gaped in horror at the revelation. In bed, where his pony daughter should have laid, was a changeling. "S-S-Screwball…" "It's a changeling, Discord," said Celestia. "It wasn't really your daughter." She turned to look at him, but stepped back from what she saw. Discord's shocked expression had turned to one of anger. His mismatched pupils flared within his eyes, and his single-fanged mouth was contorted into a horrible snarl. "D-Discord?" Immediately, Discord dived at the changeling.