Rescue from the Changeling Hive

by EKessler

Chapter 8: Rescue

Celestia gently shook the gray pegasus mare, trying her best to wake her up, while most of the guards around her did the same with all of the other ponies, some of them more successful than her. She then wiped the green gunk off of her face, thinking of nothing better she could do.
Finally, to Celestia's relief, the mare opened her eyes. They were a bright-orange, and they looked around frantically as she began seeing the likely unfamiliar surroundings.
"Wh-where am I?" she inquired, but then fell silent as she looked up and saw the Princess. Her face simply froze, her wall-eyed stare locked on Celestia.
"Shhh," hushed the alicorn. "That doesn't matter right now. But you're safe, I assure you."
The mare looked quite puzzled, looking around some more, but she seemed less frantic now. Celestia looked back to the other ponies that were recovering, and noticed that a great number of them weren't taking it nearly as well. Some of them tried to run from the guards, needing to be held in place by magic. It probably wasn't too difficult, but it was probably rather tedious.
The gray Pegasus began to stand up, trying to shake some of the gunk out of her mane. "Okay, but what happened?" She still had that puzzled look as she looked to all the other ponies around her, as well as the many Royal Guards.
"Well," said Celestia, looking for the right words, "I guess you can handle the truth." Just to be safe, she sheltered the mare with her wing. "The changelings have attacked again."
The mare looked surprised. "Those things that attacked the Princess's wedding?" Celestia nodded, surprised that she made that connection. "But what have they done? And what do they want with me?"
Celestia hesitated a little more, seeing no easy way to put this. "They…they've switched places with ponies all over Equestria. Somewhere out there is a changeling pretending to be you ."
This time, the pegasus seemed unable to respond. She only stared off into space with her wall-eyed gaze. "Oh…no," she said under her breath. "Dinky…"
The Princess then realized her mistake. "Oh, no, that's not exactly what I meant." The mare looked up to listen, but a tear was forming in her eye. "I'm sorry. I should have explained better." She knelt down to the mare's level. "What is your name?"
Her expression didn't change. "…Derpy."
"Well, Derpy," Celestia began, "I'm sorry I made you worry, but actually, I had ponies sent out to search for those changelings that have taken these ponies' places. Whoever pretended to be you is probably caught by now."
Derpy wiped a tear away. "So…does that mean my sister is safe?"
"Most likely, yes," replied Celestia, smiling gently. "Dinky…is that your sister's name? Dinky?" Derpy nodded, still wiping her eyes. "I think that's a lovely name."
When the pegasus's hoof left her face, Celestia finally saw her smiling. "Thank you, Princess."
Celestia turned to the others again, seeing that the guards were still maintaining control, and that most of the ponies were calmed down by now, being gathered together and let in on what was happening. She turned back to Derpy.
"Join the others, Derpy. We're going to get you all out of here, so you need to be ready."
Still smiling, Derpy stood and made her way to the other ponies. Celestia, however, stayed behind. She found a guard to her left and walked up to him, seeing that he wasn't with anypony at the moment.
"Are you sure this is everypony?" she asked.
"I'm sure," said the guard. "Reports show no more than a few ponies were taken from each town, and that's not very many. This has to be it."
"Good," she replied, smiling. "Then we're about ready to get them out of here."
"Yes, Your Highness." He looked behind her, surveying the progress they were making. "It seems just a few more need to be woken up first before we—" He was cut off by a loud explosion just behind him, where a cave in had been just a few seconds ago. Small pieces of debris bounced of Celestia and the guard's faces as they turned at the sound. The other guards and most of the pony captives followed suit. So far, all that was there was a large cloud of dust.
Suddenly, a green aura grabbed at the guard's neck, right next to Celestia. He tugged at it with both his hooves and his own magic, but it was no use as it quickly choked the air out of him.
Acting fast, Celestia used her magic to grab at it herself, her yellow aura quickly snapping the green one out of existence. She then levitated the gasping guard behind her as she looked ahead to the smoke cloud. What emerged didn't surprise her in the least.
Flanked by four changeling drones, Queen Chrysalis emerged from the cloud, her horn flaring green like fire. Before any kind of introduction could be made, two of the changelings immediately darted after Celestia and her party. Quickly, she fired her own aura into the changeling in front, batting him away and causing him to crash into the one behind him, sending them both into the ground. She then fired into the ground below them, exploding it and launching them both back to where they started.
Chrysalis didn't seem fazed, but she certainly didn't seem happy. She stepped forward in front of her fallen comrades, as if sheltering them from Celestia. Her horn still flaring, she launched a fluid-like beam of energy into the wall just behind Celestia, closer to those she was trying to protect. Just as quickly, however, Celestia's aura formed a large shield over the impact, completely shielding her ponies from the resulting blast. Dust and debris did manage to get over the shield and shower them, doing nothing but dirtying their manes.
Chrysalis then launched a similar attack, this time right at Celestia. Standing her ground, she raised another yellow shield, just in front of her. Right as the green attack reached her, she caught it in her shield, and then she flipped it around right back at Chrysalis. The queen simply tilted her head to the side while her drones jumped out of the way. The attack struck a wall right behind them, causing a massive explosion that sent dust and debris flying past them.
Celestia watched them warily, but they didn't try anything else. Seeing this, she stepped back a few paces and tilted her head toward the guard from before.
"Teleport. Now."
"Your Highness," he replied with a grave voice, "I know what you're trying to do, but it'll take all of us together to get them out of here."
"I know," she said, "and that's fine. I'm the strongest out of any of us, and I can hold her off long enough. I'll find a way out myself. You and the others, you need to protect them, make sure they escape, just in case any other changelings find you."
The guard still looked quite troubled. "I'll get them out, but then we're coming back in for you."
"No!" Celestia growled. "I'm ordering you to stay with the hostages. Do not leave them no matter what." She could see the guard was still challenging what she said in his mind, but wasn't offering any more protest. "And if you're attacked by more changelings, or if I'm not out in thirty minutes, leave without me."
The guard sighed in defeat. "Very well, Your Highness." He then retreated to the rest of the group, relaying Celestia's order's to the rest of the guards, getting similar grunts of disbelief or disapproval. Still, they worked quickly, getting word to the entire group. Soon, the guards had circled around the entire group, some of which were still unfortunately unconscious. The Princess stayed where she was, keeping her eyes locked on Chrysalis, who did exactly the same.
Finally, the guards fired up their horns, varying shades of blue, white, or even yellow. Their auras emerged, and quickly converged, forming a large bubble around the entire group, minus Celestia, who still stood guard. Quick as a flash, the entire group flashed in light and vanished, leaving only the alicorn Princess behind. She then heard the sound of hoofsteps behind her. She looked, and saw a dozen or so changelings emerge from the corridor just around the corner, and they quickly filled the space where her party had been.
Seeing that they stopped in place, Celestia turned back and took a few more steps toward Chrysalis, who was whispering something to her drones. After a moment, Chrysalis stepped forward as well, her drones staying in place.
They were both now looking into each other's eyes, standing no more than fifteen feet away from each other.
"You won't get to them, Chrysalis," stated Celestia, her face completely serious. "You've lost."
"You would think that, pony," Chrysalis replied, now with a strange look of satisfaction. She stepped forward. "But I still have you."
"Do you? Do you really think they would let you back in Canterlot bearing my likeness without first checking to make sure it's really me? After what's happened? Face it, Chrysalis. There's no way you'll be able to do anything on this scale ever again."
"I don't think I'll need to, Celestia," said Chrysalis, stopping only a few feet from her. "Years of providing for my children have taught me something." She then started staring off into space, as if reminiscing of those years. "Food supplies come and go. That much is obvious. We lose a source of love, we just find a new one. However," she looked back to Celestia, rather sternly, "little pests like you are quite a bother. You ponies have a strange tendency to stick your noses where they don't belong. You enjoy interfering with my plans, cutting us off. And now you've made a lackey of Discord." She said his name with a little disdain. "I'll level with you. We've lost a few ponies. That does not bother me. It truly doesn't. What bothers me, is a self-righteous horse who thinks she can make a habit of getting on my nerves and starving my children." Her horn flared to life once more as she said those last words. Even her eyes glowed green, a strong reflection at how much magic she must have been prepared to channel.
Celestia remained unmoved. "I really bother you that much, Chrysalis? You want me to never bother you again?" Her horn flared to life as well, and her eyes glowed white. "Then stay out of Equestria, and leave my kind alone."
"…No." A beam of green magic then shot from Chrysalis's horn and went straight for Celestia, who deflected it with one of her magic shields, sending it straight into the wall behind her, blowing it to bits. Celestia quickly followed suit, firing a wave of aura into the ground below Chrysalis, who immediately leapt high to her left and clung to the wall. The ground immediately erupted upward in a powerful explosion, surprising the changelings around them, but leaving the two focused on each other.
Celestia then took flight.

"Act natural," Discord whispered to his comrades, still disguised as changelings. They saw what he was referring to. As they trotted at a quickened pace down the corridor, a sizeable group of changelings approached at a similar pace. In just a few quick seconds, the two groups passed. The changeling at the front briefly glanced at Discord, nodding in passing, as did Discord as subtly as he could.
Once they were a good distance away, Discord looked back. "See? Easy." They continued on.
After a few short minutes of Discord retracing his steps, they soon found themselves back in the hub, the guards looking about the area for the first time, much like he had. Though, this time around it was very empty. Up above them, they could only see about one changeling at a time, and they were usually gone as quickly as they arrived. And they all seemed to be heading in the direction opposite Discord and his party. Celestia must have had them quite occupied.
"Uh, sir," said one of the guards to Discord, "where do we go from here?"
Discord looked from him to the large cavern, eyeing the dozens of entrances and exits, the extensive bridge and stair networks, and the sheer size of the room. He looked back to the guard. "I'll be honest. I didn't even think this far ahead."
The guard gave him a deadpan look, which was a little humorous when on a changeling's face.
Discord gave a playful shrug. "Relax, we'll figure this out." He looked back up to the room. "Somehow."
He then buzzed his wings, taking to the air and hovering just above the walkway he had shared with the guards. "You two," he gestured, "down below. Look for anything that's suspicious or stands out." He pointed them below to the network of tunnels and bridges that extended through the expanse below their bridge, somewhat less than the expanse above. "And you," the third guard, "with me." He pointed upward. "Remember. Anything suspicious. Any lead at all."
The three of them nodded, and two of them leapt over the edge, using their new wings quite well to descend through the expanse below. Discord and his companion did the same, flying above.

At the first turn take a left.
Done.
Then a right.
Turned.
And then go straight the rest of the way.
In progress. Screwball had now slowed from her galloping pace to a steadier trot, trying to get through the last dark corridor to where the drone had instructed her to go. Supposedly, her father was supposed to be there. But the further she got, the more she actually thought about it. Then she began to question how likely it was he would actually be there. After all, what were the chances that the two of them would decide to go to the exact same spot in the hive, however big and noticeable it was?
Still, it was better than nothing, and some central chamber of the hive did sound promising, at least a little. She just hoped she didn't run into the queen…
She probably wouldn't, she knew. The queen probably didn't even know she was loose, and would probably be too preoccupied with the Princess. Still, she watched her back, looking over her shoulder and checking every turn before continuing on. Even if the queen was likely occupied, the changelings probably weren't, and she doubted they would be as sympathetic as the one she left back there.
That reminds me, I should probably tell Dad about him, she thought to herself. She thought it would be right that her father knew that at least one changeling was a help to them, even if they didn't ever see him again.
A buzzing sound ahead snapped her out of her thoughts. She found herself frozen, standing still in the middle of the dark corridor, staring straight ahead. She listened intently, and sure enough, the buzzing was coming from up ahead. And it was getting louder.
Once she could catch her breath again, she managed to take a few steps backward. Then a few more. Then she found herself galloping, which was somewhat difficult because she was trying not to make any noise. The buzzing behind her began to grow louder, which made her forget about being quiet. She simply galloped as fast as she could away from the approaching changeling, praying she could get away.
She was elated at what she saw ahead: a small tunnel entrance, in the wall just to her left. She somehow found the strength to gallop faster as she approached the entrance, and finally managed to scamper inside.
She huddled herself against the wall around the entryway, making herself as invisible to the changeling as she could.
Please don't come in here, please don't come in here, please don't come in here…
Her heart was racing, her hoofs were at her mouth to hide her breathing, and the buzzing was at its loudest. She dared not look.
Please, no…
The buzzing grew quieter, and she could hear it growing more and more distant. Taking a deep breath, she took a look out of the entryway, looking down the other way. In the distance, she could see a small changeling hovering away into the darkness, taking no notice of her presence.
Screwball let her breath out in sheer relief. She could not believe her luck. She then looked back down to her right, taking a moment to make sure there were no more changelings on their way.
A green light then illuminated the immediate area, slowly growing brighter and making the pink filly freeze. She checked her left and right again, seen nopony in the corridor. Then she realized…
Slowly, she turned around, shaking like a leaf. Right there, no more than a foot behind her, was a full-sized drone. His horn was glowing, and his fanged mouth was opening wide in a nasty and audible growl. His horn was now blinding, getting ready for a powerful spell.
Screwball couldn't help herself. She screamed loudly, making the changeling flinch, and galloped as fast as she could through the corridor to her right. She heard a loud booming sound behind her, followed by a big flash of orange light that filled the area around her, likely an explosion.
She could then hear the rapid hoofsteps of the changeling behind her. She risked a look behind her and found the drone grappling against floor in its haste to catch up to her. As she tried going faster, she could hear the unmistakable buzz of insect wings. It had taken flight.
"Through here!" she heard somepony yell just up ahead. What was it? More changelings? She had no idea, but she still had to run. The changeling was gaining on her fast.
Then, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. Just up ahead, she could see the end of the corridor, a large exit which the drone who freed her must have been talking about. Not risking to look behind her again, she bolted as fast as she could, hoping that if she could reach the end she might be able to escape.
She halted to a stop at what awaited her at the end: four large changelings, which had come out of nowhere. They came through and effectively blocked her exit and forced her to stop. She tried quickly looking around for a way out of this, but froze at the sound of a heavy landing behind her. She whipped herself around and found herself eye-to-eye with the giant drone, his blue eyes glaring at her, making her freeze.
"Get him!" Screwball heard from behind her. Before she could react, three of the changelings suddenly leapt over her and tackled the now-startled drone before her, throwing him to the ground and bashing him into submission with odd efficiency. She was perplexed.
"Screwball?" That voice came from behind her as well. She recognized it. She turned around, hope rising in her again. What she found was one of the changelings from before. Her eyes grew as she caught sight of its unnatural red eyes.
"Dad?"
As he smiled, a bright light flashed around him and, in an instant, he resumed his true form, that of the draconequus.
Screwball's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. "Daddy!" She leapt at him, and he crouched his serpentine body down to meet her. Finally, father and daughter were locked in each other's embrace once again, not saying any more that might ruin the long-awaited moment.
She buried her face into his shoulder, now sobbing and not bothering to hold it back. She missed him so much, and worried for him so, but now it was over. He wasn't going anywhere. She had him back.
"Sir?" Whoever that was, he completely dragged them out of the moment. Her father hesitantly pulled her away and looked to the changelings that had attacked the one from before, which was now unconscious. Smiling, he snapped his fingers, and Screwball watched as they, in a bright flash, took the form of unicorn stallions, wearing some kind of golden armor. They seemed happy to be in this form.
Her father then held her in front of him. "Okay, Screwball. I'm taking us out of here. Remember how we practiced this before?"
She realized that he was talking about teleportation, so she nodded eagerly. They had done so before, but it was a practice not meant for Earth ponies, even one of Screwball's origins, and she hadn't quite grown accustomed to it. That being the case, she closed her eyes, clung to her father, and held her breath. He held her tight with his lion's paw, and he snapped his fingers.
What followed was the intense sensation that for Screwball accompanied teleportation. For a brief second, her body was sent through an intense rushing sensation, which could only be compared to a monstrous roller coaster. She was never hurt by this, but it knocked the breath out of her the first time her father practiced with her. It was strange for her, but her father said it was good practice for when she could do it herself.
A second later, it was over, and she slowly opened her eyes. She exhaled when she saw that she was outside, out in the middle of the desert. She could also see a large castle-like thing not too far off in the distance. The hive, presumably.
Still clinging to her father, she looked to the ground, finding a multitude of ponies, most of them pegasi wearing the same armor as the unicorns. They all stood over a bunch of changelings, either unconscious or crouched down in surrender. It made her wonder what she was missing this entire time.
She surveyed the area further and found more unicorn guards like the ones who accompanied her father, only there were far more of them and they seemed to accompany what looked like civilian ponies. That is, they wore no armor and didn't appear to have weapons of any kind. In fact, on closer inspection, they seemed to be covered in some kind of green slime.
What in Equestria did I miss? she thought to herself, trying to comprehend all she was seeing. In fact, now that she took a close look to them, she could see they weren't all ponies. She could see a griffon, a couple of donkeys, and…a dragon?
Wow…
Once their unicorn companions had left to the others, Screwball's father let her down onto the ground, crouching himself down to her level.
"Screwball," he said, sadness in his eyes, "I am so sorry I let this happen to you. I…just don't know what happened. Celestia just came in to visit the other day and…well, I just found out then, and…I…I…" He was no longer able to hold himself together. Holding on to her shoulders, he dropped his head and started crying. Screwball just watched in minor shock. In between sobs, she could hear a soft, "I'm sorry," over and over. He probably couldn't think to say anything else.
She knew she had to put a stop to this. Reaching under his head, she lifted his face up to meet hers, and smiled. "Dad?"
"Screwball?"
She then pulled him close, kissed his cheek, and wrapped her forelegs around his neck as gently as she could. "It's okay."
He paused, probably surprised at her trying to comfort him, but slowly, he managed to hug her back, just as gently. He even stopped crying. That must have been all he needed, knowing that everything was alright. Screwball had wanted the same thing all this time, and now she had it.
She then felt him shift slightly. She broke the hug, seeing him stare off into the crowd.
His face now registered concern, and he asked himself, "Where's Celestia?"