Rescue from the Changeling Hive
Chapter 5: Caught
"Oh…my…" Discord couldn't finish his thought as he stared at the sight before him. He had just reached the end of the last tunnel and stopped to behold what could only be described as the central hub of the hive. The room was enormous. He looked around, and all over the walls were tunnels with changelings entering and exiting. In between were stony cryptic walkways, extending straight, upward, downward, spiraling, and going in just about any direction, which the changelings likely knew by instinct. The room must have connected every tunnel in the hive. And it looked as though just about every changeling in the entire hive must have been congregated around here.
"Okay," Discord said under his breath, trying not to be heard, "which way leads to Chrysalis?" Most of the tunnels looked the same to him, and plenty of them weren't even being guarded.
Except for one. Clear across to the other side of the room and up high in the wall was a tunnel with a larger opening than the others. He took flight to take a closer look, ignoring the complex walkways around him. As he did, he found that the opening was flanked by several drones, all stacked up against the wall. They stood relatively still, and didn't look too focused on the chaos around them. But that was the problem. Every changeling around them flew about frantically, but they were the only ones around who did nothing. On another pony, this might not have looked suspicious, but Discord had seen more than his fair share of drones today, and this small group stuck out like a sign that read, "Here I am."
Slowly, he approached the entrance, avoiding eye-contact with the drones as best he could. As he got close, however, a drone immediately flew off the wall and confronted him in the air.
Figures, Discord thought.
"What business do you have with Mother?" hissed the drone.
At least this is the right direction, Discord thought. "I…have an urgent message for, uh, Mother." Wait, hive-mind! "And it must be delivered personally. No one else can be allowed to hear it." Smooth.
The drone eyed him, looking him over slowly. "Hmm…maybe. Perhaps if you were escorted the entire way, I could allow it. But what could possibly be that important?"
Discord did his best to look believable, keeping up his disguised voice. "I know this sounds strange, but I…"
A strange and fast galloping sound could then be heard from that very tunnel, drawing Discord's gaze. "I…just…uh…"
Seeing him stare, the drone looked also, as the sound was now probably loud enough for him to hear as well. Discord then found a figure emerging from the distant darkness. Whatever it was, it was too small to be a changeling, or at least an adult one. As it approached the light, its features became more distinct. Fast as her legs could carry her, a young, dark-pink filly appeared, her violet mane and tail trailing behind her.
"S-Screwball…" Discord muttered to himself, not bothering to disguise his voice.
The drone turned back to him. "What did you say?"
Discord didn't even notice him. "Screwball!" He then dived into the tunnel, completely ignoring the guards around him as he tried to reach his daughter.
When Discord touched down, Screwball halted to a stop, skidding close to him. She then stepped back, keeping her eyes locked on him.
"Screwball, no! It's…" He looked down at himself, remembering that he was disguised as a changeling, the very creatures holding her captive. He sighed, and he looked behind himself, finding the drones still watching them both. Still, he looked back to Screwball and took a relaxed pose. In an instant flash of light, Discord returned to his true form, drawing audible gasps from both Screwball and the drones.
Screwball hesitantly stepped forward after seeing this. "D-Daddy?"
Discord rushed forward and embraced her. "Yes, Screwball! It's me! I'm so sorry I let this happen to you! I'm so sorry, I…I…" He choked up and felt tears come to his eyes as he held his daughter. "I'm just so happy you're safe!"
"Dad," said Screwball softly as she hugged him back and leaned into his ear, "that was just too easy…"
Discord's eyes shot open. He leaned back to take another look at Screwball, only to find that he was instead holding a changeling, which grinned fiendishly at the fooled draconequus.
He immediately threw it to the ground, only to hear it laughing as it transformed itself into Screwball again, looking at him with his daughter's swirled eyes. At first, Discord just stared at it, speechless. Slowly, however, he began to glare at the changeling as it used his daughter to mock him. That look subsided momentarily when he heard strong hissing from behind him. He turned around to the entrance of the tunnel to find the drones from before, standing their ground and watching him. Behind them, a multitude of other changelings gathered. They completely blocked the exit. They all knew he was here. The hive knew he was here.
"Oops," Discord said to himself, realizing that he was probably going to fight his way out of this.
One of the drones stepped forward confidently. "Mother instructed us specifically to destroy you, monster."
Discord glared at it. "I really, truly wouldn't," he said slowly, staying where he was and being mindful of the Screwball impersonator behind him.
"It's far too late for any bargaining, spirit. You've attacked one of our brothers and had our sister locked away."
"Don't make the same mistakes they made, changeling," Discord quickly replied. "Be smart about this. We can settle this right now, without any more violence."
The drone chuckled at him. "Perhaps you don't realize, monster, but you are in no position to make demands." He gestured to the countless changelings behind him with his hoof. "With just one word, I can, and intend to, have you torn apart, right here, right now." He then smiled devilishly. "I can even have them all appear as a more…familiar form as they do…" Many of the changelings then did just that, donning the likeness of Screwball, one by one.
"Do you honestly believe that, roach?!" shouted Discord, actually making the drone flinch. "I can bring this hive to rubble in seconds and crush every single one of you while I teleport to safety if I had a mind to! I'm warning you for your sake." He sighed deeply, relaxing himself. He knew that he couldn't do that, not until Screwball was safe. But they didn't know that, and he had to work with what he could. "All I want is my daughter. If you give her back to me," he looked at the imposters that still had Screwball's likeness, "the real her," he added with an edge to his voice, "that will be the end of it. I'll take her with me, and I'll never return here."
The drone sighed as well, looking to the ground. He then turned to those behind him, his face completely lacking emotion.
"Kill him."
Discord was suddenly attacked from behind by the first Screwball impersonator. It relentlessly kicked and bit as much as it could, trying to harm him, but it was far from enough. Discord easily reached behind him, grabbed it by the neck, and held it in front of him.
He then loosened his grip at what he saw: the teary-eyed face of his daughter, looking right at him. "Daddy…why are you doing this to me?!"
He pulled it to his eyes. "Shut up, glowworm!" He then hurled it to the crowd before him, watching as it crashed into them. "You aren't my daughter," he added with a growl.
Three more changelings, undisguised, broke from the group and charged Discord all at once, but he easily batted them away, amplifying his own natural strength as he did. Two of them hit the floor, falling unconscious. The third one he knocked into the wall, breaking it under the strength of the impact.
Two more charged, only these were disguised as Screwball. One of the two immediately jumped for Discord's head, but he swatted it across the face without hesitation, knocking it unconscious. The other froze after seeing that, but then attacked with the same determination as before, and the same failure. With motion of his hand, Discord launched it back with the others, who were watching him with a little more caution. They now stayed in place, none of them stepping forward to him.
Taking advantage of this momentary pause, Discord leapt backwards and began flying through the tunnel, to Queen Chrysalis. He flew quickly, but he looked back and found the rest of the changelings following him at an impressive speed. It was quite the sight, as that end of the tunnel was completely filled with changeling after changeling, leaving barely any space between them as they flew.
I know what I said earlier, but I can't just destroy the place, thought Discord, even to take them all out. Not yet, anyway. Thinking fast, he did the next best thing. Snapping his fingers, he launched his chaotic powers into the structural stability of the tunnel walls ahead of him. Quickly, the tunnel ahead began to fall apart. Whatever strange material composed the hive was coming down in boulder-sized chunks, and was no doubt going to block off the tunnel. He picked up his speed to make it through before that happened, as did the changelings behind him, seeing what he was doing.
The debris was now upon him, and he did his best to evade. He twisted and contorted his body through the rubble, doing quite a good job at getting through. That is, he did until an exceptionally large piece of rubble fell from the ceiling and struck his head, throwing off his balance and sending him straight into the floor, making him roll as he crashed. Luckily, however, he managed to hit the ground beyond the reach of the cave-in he had caused. He was dazed, but he managed to look back to the destruction he left dangerously close behind him. Much more quickly than before, the structural integrity of the tunnel behind him failed, and the last of the rubble fell, completely sealing off the tunnel and trapping the changeling swarm on the other side. As he shook his head to get out of his daze, he thought he could hear the sound of bodies striking the rubble, changelings that couldn't slow down in time. He scowled at the thought.
"Serves them right."
Getting back up, he began hovering once again and looked down the remainder of the corridor. According to that one drone, this was the way to Chrysalis. And to Screwball.
He took flight.
"Screwball! Honey, wake up." Screwball never fell asleep in the first place. She simply continued doing her best to ignore the presence of the creature impersonating her father. That was difficult when she was trying to shake her awake.
"Screwball, I know you're awake. Just…listen for a moment," said the imposter. "I'm going to try to get us out of here." That made Screwball's eyes shoot open. "But listen, there's a changeling disguised as me out there. I know because I snuck out of here for a moment and saw him. I think he is going to try to trick you into going with him, and then they will be able to separate us. So I need you to stay with me, no matter what." The end was said with a little more force.
Screwball listened. So, Dad must have gotten through, she thought to herself. He's almost here, and she wants me to think he's a fake. She thought for a moment longer, then came to a course of action.
Slowly, as if just waking up, she rolled over and looked to the phony Discord, even adding heavy eyes to her facade. "Okay, D-Daddy." She almost winced as she called her that. "I won't fall for it. I promise."
The imposter gave a single-fanged smile. "That's my girl." She gave Screwball a tight hug, something that now made the filly's skin crawl. "Come on, we're busting out of here."
That must be it, thought Discord. As he looked ahead to the end of the tunnel, he saw what must have been his destination. He approached a large cavern, lined with tall pillars here and there, as jagged and crude as the walls around them. In the center of the room, however, was what caught his eye: a large, semi-cylindrical cell, wrapped around in black and green leathery coating.
She's in there, he thought. I just know it.
He checked his surroundings, not seeing anypony around. Then, he slowly made his way into the chamber, approaching the cell in the center. Just then, however, the cell opened. All Discord could see was a hole in the side opening up. He backed away just a little, hiding behind a pillar that was next to him, but he was still sure who would come out.
As he watched, his mouth nearly fell off at the sight of himself coming out of the cell. Not a changeling, but a draconequus that looked exactly like him was coming out into the open. His breath then caught in his throat when he saw who came out of the cell next.
Screwball.
Wait, is it really…? Yes, it was. After seeing so many imposters, all he needed was to look into her swirled eyes to see that it was really her, even from this far away.
Wait, if that's really Screwball, then, he thought, turning back to the fake Discord, that must be…
"CHRYSALIS!!" cried Discord at the top of his lungs, making the imposter and his daughter jump. No longer hiding, he lurched forward into the open, making himself known as he stood in front of them.
The imposter Discord stared for a moment, but then put on a sly grin. "Nice try, changeling!" Discord couldn't help but notice how well she imitated his voice. "But it's not going to work." She put an arm around Screwball below her. "We're wise to your tricks, now."
Discord's eyes flared wide. "You get your hand off her, witch!"
Chrysalis bent down to Screwball's level. "Remember what I said, dear. These roaches will say anything to fool you." She pulled her closer, drawing another glare from Discord. "Don't listen to it," she whispered in her ear.
Screwball said nothing. She tried to hold the figure in front of her, but she kept glancing at the real Discord.
Does…she not know it's me?
"I know, Daddy," said Screwball, hugging Chrysalis while Discord watched. "I won't fall for its tricks. I know who my father is."
Discord stood frozen, his red, mismatched eyes wide, and his single-fanged mouth hanging open. He didn't react. He couldn't react. All he did was stand there, watching his only daughter embrace a parasite, a monster that desired their destruction. A tear formed in his eye.
"Sc-Screwball…"
Screwball then opened her eyes. Still hugging Chrysalis, she quickly looked to Discord. Playfully smiling, she winked at him.
Discord's jaw dropped as low as it possibly could.
She knows it's really me, he thought to himself. He blinked the tear away as he found himself beginning to smile. I can't…
His train of thought was suddenly cut short as he was struck from behind. He fell straight to the ground, the back of his head burning in pain.
"Daddy!" he heard Screwball scream. He and Chrysalis quickly turned to her, as realization dawned on her face. She had just given herself away. "…Oops," she said, looking guilty.
In that moment of confusion, Discord looked behind himself. Several changelings stood at the entrance to the chamber. They also stared at Screwball in her moment of error.
Chrysalis, still disguised, scoffed. "Hmm, I was beginning to believe you would never figure it out," she said in her real voice. Still holding on to Screwball, she closed her eyes and dissipated her disguise. In mere moments, she was herself once more. "Good for you, dear," she said with a smirk.
Screwball now wouldn't look at the creature that still held her in her foreleg. "I knew you weren't my father," she muttered.
"Hmm, no matter," Chrysalis replied. "I will figure something out for you in the end." She then turned to Discord. "I would much rather deal with this annoyance."
Discord got back up on his legs, mindful of the changelings behind him. "Chrysalis, I'm not leaving without my daughter."
"Funny you should say that, chimera," replied the queen seductively, approaching Discord confidently, her horn glowing as she now held Screwball in the air. "I actually had something like that in mind…" Screwball floated very close to her, Chrysalis's magical aura only covering her neck.
"Perhaps I did not make myself clear," he quickly interrupted. "I am leaving, and I am taking Screwball with me, or else you can watch me rip this hive asunder!"
Chrysalis gave him a curious look as Screwball slowly floated in front of her, being waved back and forth as if simply to make a point. "Please, Discord. You are in no position to make demands." Looking relaxed, she smoothly walked right up to Discord and began circling round him, keeping herself between him and his daughter. His eyes were locked firmly on Screwball, but he didn't dare move a muscle.
"You know, chimera, you and your daughter could just have easily lived in blissful ignorance this entire time," Chrysalis continued. "You would have had a little filly to care for and love, and Screwball would be sure that she was in the loving comfort of her daddy. Everypony would get exactly what they want."
"Yes, and all the while, the filly I treasure the most would be used and mistreated by some glowworm!" Discord quickly retaliated, making Chrysalis flinch as he called her a glowworm. She quickly collected herself, however, and simply resumed eyeing him condescendingly as she stood in front of him.
"I know this must be difficult for you, Discord, but we all need to face reality right now. You're trapped, and there is no way that meddlesome Canterlot Guard is getting in here anytime soon."
Canterlot Guard? What?
"The only way out of this is to use your monstrous powers to escape, but…" She held Screwball in front of him, just out of reach. He saw the magical aura slightly tighten around her neck, making her reach up and try to tug at it, to no avail. "…poor little Screwball might not be able to handle it. She could easily get hurt, and it would be all Daddy's fault!" Discord's fists clenched, and he watched her as closely as ever, unable to look away.
Chrysalis stopped just in front of him, but continued holding the filly just away from him. "Go on, take her." The aura tightened just a little bit further as she moved her closer to Discord. Screwball was but an arm's length away. The queen narrowed her eyes. "I dare you!" Discord simply stood still, though. He could see the pain in Screwball's eyes, could see how she struggled against the aura around her neck. Every instinct he had told him to take her, but he wouldn't dare risk trying something before he had the right chance. He couldn't.
"Truly pathetic, Discord," spat Chrysalis as she pulled Screwball back to her side, finally easing up on her hold. Screwball took a deep breath. "But it's nothing less than you deserve."
"SHUT UP!!" screamed Screwball at the top of her lungs, soon as the grip on her neck was loosened. Everypony in the room, especially Discord and Chrysalis, stared wide-eyed at the filly. "Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk to him like that! Leave him alone!" She sounded much like a foal throwing a tantrum. Her eyes even watered from her own anger as she glared at the queen.
Chrysalis, using her magic, pulled Screwball close and tightened the magical grip again, effectively keeping her from screaming. "Know your place, foal!" Her voice seemed to resonate as she yelled. "Nopony speaks to me that way! I am Queen! So, SILENCE!!" With that, she struck Screwball across the face with her foreleg and lost her magical grip on her. The pink filly hit the ground hard, right next to the cell. She laid there, unmoving.
Chrysalis didn't even have time to turn around before Discord tackled her, throwing her to the ground and reaching for her neck. "I'll kill you, Chrysalis!" shouted Discord as he tried to wrap his snake-like body around her. "Nopony does that to my Screwball! Do you hear me? NOPONY!!"
Quickly as Discord began to wrap himself around her, she immediately lit her horn and struck him in the face with powerful magic, blinding him and allowing her to escape him. Discord quickly shook it off, then found Chrysalis again, even with his now-bloodshot eyes. He looked around, noticing several changelings closing in on him. However, one stern look from the queen warded them off. They were both left in the center of the chamber, with no interference.
Discord then eyed the ground below her. Before Chrysalis could begin charging another attack, the ground began to rumble beneath her. At her sides, the ground suddenly lurched upwards at her, threatening to crush her, but she immediately held the slabs of floor at bay with her magic. As she did, however, Discord took advantage of the distraction and ambushed her, this time tackling her against the wall. He didn't bother phasing them through, though. They crashed through.
Chrysalis was momentarily stunned as Discord clutched her neck tight in his hands. Immediately capitalizing, he held her up with his right hand. Then, he summoned up a glowing red portal in the ground behind him, through which he hurled Chrysalis. In that same instant, he summoned another portal on the wall next to him, which, carrying the momentum from before, hurled the queen into the opposite wall, hard. She got back on her feet, however, and began to back away from him. As she did, she launched a beam of magical green energy from her jagged horn at him, which he readily dodged. It instead flew past him into a wall, causing the small area around it to burst into flames. She repeated the attack several times, each missing, but growing faster. Discord, reaching out his hands, then released a wave of energy upon the walls around Chrysalis, causing them to quake. Immediately, they exploded around her, striking her from all sides with dust and debris. Discord grinned, but his face fell as the dust cleared. There the queen stood, green aura surrounding her, having deflected the entire attack.
As soon as the aura dissipated, he lunged at her once more, amplifying his strength and speed as best he could as he swiped and swung at the queen. However, her speed prevailed, as she maneuvered through his blows with ease, simply backing up as he advanced fruitlessly.
Finally, he stayed in place, and instead, arched himself back. Mustering up as much energy as he could, he hurled himself forward into the ground below him, landing on his arms and sending waves of chaotic energy around them. Immediately, the ground below them quivered and shook, filling with cracks and quickly becoming unstable. Discord once more took to the air, as did Chrysalis, making use of her wings. Below them, the entire ground collapsed, sending a shock of architectural instability throughout the hive. Unfortunately, intimidating as the move was, it served little more than an annoyance to the queen, as she seemed unharmed by the attack.
It was then that they paused mid-battle. Discord needed to breathe, and his efforts were getting him nowhere fast. Chrysalis took a breather as well, but she was smiling.
"I bet you would like to hurt me, wouldn't you?" she asked without any seduction or manipulation to be heard in her voice. Discord advanced a few feet, making her fly backwards a short distance. "I must be quite the target, drawing your attention like this." She looked at herself as she said that, emphasizing what must have been her own narcissism. Then she looked back up at him. "Yet, in your anger, you've already forgotten why you are fighting me in the first place, haven't you?" She grinned widely as she saw Discord realize what she meant.
"Screwball!" he shouted as he turned around and flew back to where they emerged. Peering through the hole, he saw a crowd of drones gathered on the other side of the large room. He then saw what they were carrying away in the air with their collective magic: his daughter, still unconscious.
"No!" He immediately flew into the chamber and bolted after them, his red eyes practically on fire at what he saw. When he was halfway across the room, however, something instantly struck his jaw. In the briefest moment, he saw what it was: a pillar of stone (or whatever the hive material was) glowing in a green aura, jutting upwards from the ground into his jaw. His momentum forced his head, followed by the rest of his body, to arch upward. In the next moment, he managed to open his eyes, only to be struck in the face once more, this time by a pure blast of magic, again in a green aura. The blast struck him right between his eyes, sending him forward into the ground.
He was still awake, but barely. His vision was too blurred to even recognize where he was, and his ears were ringing badly. In his daze, he could only manage to roll onto his back and try to see around himself. As his vision began to return to him, he managed to see multiple pairs of glowing blue eyes, all staring at him. He couldn't make out anything else, though. He could barely even think. But his hearing did begin clear up, allowing him to hear strong hoofsteps coming in his direction.
"Your daughter adores you, Discord," said the voice he recognized to be Chrysalis's. "That's why she was such a prize. That kind of love does wonders to a changeling's abilities. Her strength. Her resilience." Discord could barely see her, but he did see her horn glowing. It sent a mild wave of aura through her body. "Her power. All of my abilities have been amplified by your little Screwball." She then stepped forward and lowered her head down to his, so their eyes were almost level. "Her love for you has put my power at an entirely different level, one your feeble and suppressed efforts could never overcome. And you, spirit," she leaned in closer, emphasizing each word, "just lost your. Last. Chance."
Discord couldn't even wince. He tried moving something, but he couldn't feel a thing below his neck. He couldn't react, he couldn't move, and he certainly couldn't fight. He could only understand. As Chrysalis lectured him, he could only understand that he lost his chance, that he had lost what may very well have been his only chance to save Screwball. That he was so blinded by rage, he let his daughter get taken away, again. He was now in Chrysalis's hooves, and there was no way out.
His lack of response earned a sneer from the queen. "Seal him away with the others, far away from that filly," she said, addressing her drones. "Do not…let him out of your sight!" He could just see her green eyes get closer to him. Her horn glowed brightly.
"It's over, Discord. You, and Screwball, belong to me." After a bright flash of green light, everything went black.