Hive Alive

by BlackWater


5 - Reason is Subjective



Two space-black eyelids opened groggily, their characteristic shine a tad dull in comparison to that fateful day in Canterlot. The mind behind the eyes was strong in energy now but still low in spirit. Sure, she kept rather chipper but that said nothing of the part of her that wanted more than mere morsels of physical strength.
Chrysalis lifted her head from the soft padding of the sleeping ring, a tear falling down her cheek and making an even darker spot against the dark color of the floor. She had felt emotion while she had slept off the weariness of her earlier labor and she hated to feel this way.
Changelings were normally of a hivemind, sensing each other, touching individual minds as well as the whole and thus effecting one and all at once. Chrysalis had less trouble dealing with its absence while awake than she did when she was asleep. When under the influence of slumber, she had no guard against the void in her subconscious or of the ache in her heart. She told herself that Twilight Sparkle was her queen and even that Spike was a fellow subject but it weighed as an empty lie in her mind. She could keep saying it but she did not truly feel it yet in her heart.
There was only one way for the changeling to be at peace, to be home. She had to have the hivemind back. That meant Princess Twilight Sparkle had to be the hivemind's crown leader. She had to be its instigator. Chrysalis could only start her plan but she could not finish it. If the purple pony didn't take the reins at the appropriate time, the shape-shifter would be cursed with that eternal pain in her heart and she couldn't live with that.
So, she wiped the remains of the tear off her cheek and shifted her horn to the sleep ring's contact point. Twilight wasn't around so she could make another test of the ring connections without question. Tapping her horn to the right non-marked area, she used only the minuscule amount of magic that it took to make the test. A magical ping came back from the spot, hitting her horn as water upon rock. One, two, four, five. The first was strong and the other four were so weak that they were barely there to begin with.
Good, Chrysalis thought to herself with a smile. Everything was as it should be. Fluttershy's ring would broadcast clearly while the four stealth connections would setup the initial links and engage some simple connection self-generation. At least they would in theory. The changeling had to keep reminding herself that, in spite of her own cleverness as a former queen, the rings and connections she had made were all new things that she had put together. They had never been tested before because they were never things that a changeling had before thought to make.
Chrysalis got up confidently on her hooves and started walking to the stairway. She was less confident of what the night would bring. Practically everything of her future now depended on what happened in the next twelve hours. Seeing the light from downstairs, she corrected that number to six hours.
The pang of nervousness was brief and passed quickly. Of course she could feel nervous every now and then. She may not have been a pony but she was still a living breathing being very close to a pony. It was near madness to mimic hivemind broadcasts for pegasus, alicorns, and The Spinner knows what else. Even if the theory held, the actual result could be far from expectation...
Chrysalis groaned as she stepped down the stairs into the main library. Twilight's way of thinking had wormed its way into her the same way it festered in Spike. The changeling had caught onto the fact that the dragon would sometimes mimic the princess' personality of studious nervousness, perfectionism, and generally overzealous diction.
That unicorn-now-alicorn had a way of rubbing off on others...
“Chrysalis,” spoke a small male voice.
The black being looked to the side to see the purple and green dragon placing a book on a tall stack in front of him. He looked like he was about to topple clumsily over it and knock the whole precarious thing over.
“Yes?” she answered in her buzzy insectoid voice.
“Is there some kind of miscommunication going on between you and Twilight? Because I kind of feel like I'm being a poor middle-dragon,” he bit his lower lip, still the young assistant worried about how he performed. Doubly now that he was assisting a princess.
Chrysalis lifted herself with her wings for only a moment to buzz over the piles of books that had been not-exactly-carefully stacked around the room. “Using some longer words now, I see,” she commented casually. “You were not always able to say 'miscommunication.'”
At that, the dragon put his claws to his hips and huffed a puff of smoke. “Have too. And you didn't answer my question. Twilight looked like she didn't know you were going out. Now she's gone off, you're here again, and I don't have a clue who's going around for what. Gonna come clean?”
“Clean?” Chrysalis gawked. “That's what this place needs. Mind if I help? I do seem to recall how Twilight wanted it all organized.”
“Uh...yeah...” the dragon dropped his pose. It wasn't often that somepony (or someone) offered him help. The unusual occasion made him forget that the changeling had dodged the question again. “Could you take S-Z over there?”
“Ah, yes,” Chrysalis found the piles and started organizing them back on the shelf in the new order. “We'll finish faster together. Maybe we can make a jewel cake afterwards,” she added in the hope of keeping Spike from remembering anything about her earlier “errand.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis could see the magical reptilian perk up and then deflate. “But I don't have any jewels right now. Help books don't help much when you don't have anything to begin with. And that's all I have until my next allowance.”
“I have a few to donate,” Chrysalis recovered hope for the dragon. “They're not much but we can space them around in the right spots so that you won't notice it all that much.”
She could see from the corner of her eye once again that the dragon re-inflated with excitement. “Really?”
“If I was lying then it wouldn't take you long to find out,” she lightly responded. “Now let's finish this up and have that cake started before Twilight gets back.”
“You're not all that bad, Chrysalis,” Spike commented gleefully as he upped his formerly dragging pace. He had a spring in his step now as a result of a tempting end reward.
The changeling chuckled to herself. What he said was something that she rarely ever heard. Spike may have been slower in acceptance of her than his “sister” but he was still more comfortable to be around than most.

“And stop,” Rainbow Dash declared without any pause of breath. Less could be said of Princess Twilight Sparkle, who heaved and panted upon the cloud that she had been using as a sort of return base. It's soft and plush whiteness was not something that the alicorn planned on leaving any time soon. She was exhausted.
“You,” Twilight wheezed, “could go a little easier on me, Rainbow Dash.”
The pegasus never broke a sweat during the stretch of lessons that she had given. Now, she plopped down onto the cloud with her purple friend and laid a hoof over the other's shoulders. “I did go easy on you, Twi,” she countered. “Besides, you'll never get anywhere unless you build up a sweat. That's how you get stronger.”
“I'm not aiming to be a Wonderbolt,” the princess glared at her companion.
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she seemed to do often enough. “That's not what I meant. I just mean strong enough to make good use of your wings,” she emphasized the last part by stroking her hoof across one. “I know you're probably thinking how hard it all was and how you don't want to do any more practicing for the rest of your life. But, trust me. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did. At the very least,” she shoved herself away from the other mare and flapped into a hover, “you'll be happy that you get to fly up here to the clouds.”
“Huh?” Twilight voiced before her mind caught up to her mouth.
“You can get away from all the buzz downstairs, you know? Just chill out up here on a cloud and let the wind calm you to sleep.” Rainbow plopped back down onto the fluffy cumulus and looked off into the bright pale blue sky. “Maybe you'll finally understand why I like napping so much,” she smiled only faintly.
The princess caught the tone of voice and began to look worriedly to the azure pegasus, hoping she wasn't over-analyzing the matter. Was this a repeat of what happened with Fluttershy earlier in the day? Rainbow Dash was no introverted mare but she was just as likely not to talk about something due to pride as Fluttershy was likely not to talk about it due to timidity. In any case, there was definitely a flake of something in Rainbow's tone that Twilight worried about. Did the pegasus feel like she wasn't understood? As a friend and now as a princess, she felt it was necessary to pay attention to such things.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, unable to mask that worry from her voice.
But as soon as something seemed wrong, it was gone again. This pegasus was, after all, not one to get sappy. “No more for you today,” she switched tracks. “You should probably get back to the library because I wouldn't want you passing out on the street. Eggheads aren't really built for long days,” she kidded as she patted Twilight on the head.
The Element of Loyalty always seemed to know what to do to push Twilight's buttons. But before the alicorn could make a return remark about being belittled by her more sporty friend, the pegasus was dragging her to the edge of the cloud. “Don't worry about flying again. I'll just put you down, myself,” she explained.
“Oh,” the princess responded in shock. “Um, thank you.”
Rainbow lifted the other pony from under her forehooves, slid off the cloud, and flew gently down until their hooves touched the ground. Twilight had honestly thought that the pegasus was going to force her to fly down on her own, so this little courtesy felt odd to her. As a stray thought hit her mind, she began to wonder.
Both winged ponies said temporary farewells, Rainbow Dash flying back to her home and Twilight Sparkle walking causally back to the library. The thought that she had just randomly received was giving her reason to contemplate how the pony of loyalty really was as an individual. Put simply, she remembered something that Applejack had mentioned in passing about a camping trip with Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash had always seemed the tough vaguely-coltish sporty type but Twilight had learned more and more over time that pegging a pony with a stereotype was a bad idea. At the very least, it had a high probability of leading to misunderstandings. What Twilight now wondered as she got closer to her book-storing treehouse was if Applejack had unintentionally prophesied about a side of Rainbow that neither thought existed to begin with.
For all the outward toughness that the blue pegasus exhibited, did she secretly harbor a softer motherly side?
Twilight smiled at the absurd idea. Not that it was entirely impossible but rather that there was nothing wrong with it should it actually be true. If Rainbow Dash was trying to avoid the notion that she was “soft” then that was her decision plain and simple. Twilight would have to find a way to address the mare sometime soon about it. Of course, in a way that didn't make the pegasus clam up. If Twilight wanted anything for her friends then it was simply a kind of friendship that held care and support as more important than image. Real friends didn't wear masks around each other, as the ideal went. And speaking of masks, Twilight bridged thoughts as she came up to the door of her library. Chrysalis was going to drop whatever one she was using and come clean.
The princess' two guards took up their positions on either side of the door as she went in. Again, she had them out of her mind when she had been walking back. Perhaps that was a part of their talents as royal guards. Not being noticed. The two stallions were just as much an issue as anypony else, though. She had told herself earlier that it was a matter for another time. But “another time” often wound up as an excuse to never address an issue and let it glide smoothly into forgotten habit. Regardless, other things weighed heavy in her mind and she had to disregard the two once again. Perhaps tomorrow there would be time to retrieve the names of the stallion pegasi, thank them, and find some way to lessen the burden they held of following her around all the time.
What she expected when she walked into her home was to find Spike still working on that book reorganization. Maybe Chrysalis would be up and about. What she saw when she walked in was neither. A fourth occupant of the tree home was flapping about instead. He seemed to be scanning the neatly and perfectly reorganization-finished shelves before he turned in flight and regarded his master.
“Owlowiscious?” the alicorn greeted by inquiry. “I didn't expect you back for a few days still,” she remarked with a raised brow as she trotted over to the shelves he had been observing. “Did you find the crystal I sent you for?”
The owl hooted in reply and tossed something from a talon. It had been so small that she hadn't noticed he was clutching it to begin with. Catching it deftly with a forehoof, she turned her surprise from seeing the finished book shelves to the small black crystal that now lay in her hoof. It gleamed with a shine but something seemed off about it. There was a faint but very real mist coming off of it and every so often a dark spark could be glimpsed in the shroud.
“Thank you,” she looked up sincerely at her pet, to which he hooted worriedly in return. “I know. I don't like it either, but somepony needs to look into it,” she exclaimed as she trotted over to her desk and set the crystal next to a microscope. “Where's Spike?”
Owlowiscious found his stand and perched upon it. His head turned a full ninety degrees in the direction of the kitchen doorway. That's when Twilight heard a distinct and rather buzzy laughter. She knew who that was.
When she rounded the doorway, she jumped a bit in surprise. There was the dragon and changeling laughing hysterically over what seemed to be a badly failed attempt at a cake.
“Next time,” Spike giggled, “maybe you'll listen to me about the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of baking soda.”
“Hmph,” Chrysalis turned her head up, trying to hold back her own laughter. “Well I wasn't the one that put an eighth of salt in.”
“Oh, I only do that when I'm the only one-” Spike stopped himself when he noticed the pony that had just half walked in. “Twilight!”
“Ah,” the changeling soothed as she turned around to face the princess.
Twilight just shook her head and headed for the trash. “Thanks for finishing up the shelves early, Spike. I'll be able to do some critical research tonight without swimming in clutter.”
“No problem, your highness,” he saluted proudly. “Chrysalis helped out a lot.”
The changeling picked up the cake in a greenish magical grip and floated it into the trash can as Twilight held the lid up.
“I see. Well, thank you as well,” she nodded to the black pseudo-pony. “But we have matters to discuss once again.”
Chrysalis grinned sheepishly as she turned and made her way out of the kitchen without a word. As Twilight followed her out, Spike turned to the few gems on the counter that he and the changeling had carefully removed from the failed cake. No time like the present, he thought as he licked his lips with his serpent tongue.
The changeling stepped up to her savior's desk with curiosity. She thought she had seen something shine on it and she frowned when she saw what it was. But before she could comment, Twilight spoke up from behind her.
“You went out somewhere while I was asleep and told Spike and the guards that you were on an errand for me. You lied. What were you doing?” the purple princess looked intensely at her shape-shifting friend.
“I lied because I didn't want to make a fuss of it. Seems that failed,” she turned from the desk to face the alicorn. “If you really must know, I was picking up some snacks for you. I figured you'd be up late tonight and want them. At least I was right about that.”
Twilight widened her eyes, narrowed them, and then finally turned back to the kitchen in confusion. She walked back into it to find the snacks of question laying on the counter where she hadn't noticed them earlier. Spike was still there in the room except this time with a few gems crammed in his mouth. He gave an embarrassed expression when he realized he had been seen stuffing his face. At least he's getting more self-conscious, Twilight thought as she shook her head once again and turned back into the library main. Chrysalis was where she had been before, face unchanged.
“Um...thank you?” the princess tried. She felt pain inside at the fact that she had wasted so much time and energy running around in panic over such a non-issue. At least she got some flying practice, she tried encouraging herself. “How did you know I would be researching the crystal, though?”
“I'm not deaf, my queen,” Chrysalis smiled smugly. “I knew you sent the owl on a special mission.”
Owlowiscious hooted casually and hopped on his perch, apparently pleased with having completed his own errand.
“And matters such as this one,” the changeling continued, “take both time and care.”
“Honestly,” the princess sighed. “I thought he would still be away for a few more days. I don't suppose you knew when he was coming back?” she asked then with a raised brow more of interest than suspicion.
“Hardly,” Chrysalis answered, on the verge of a cold sweat. The conversation dragged longer than she wanted and it was making her feel like a hatchling crawling its way through the dangers of the lower caverns. Alone. “You'd need sustenance eventually, though. Those crystals are quite complex in construction.”
“You know something about this crystal?” Twilight asked hurriedly as she trotted over to her desk. The tiny jewel still lay there with its faint mist and sparkle. “Bon-Bon told me a couple of weeks ago about some weird crystal out on the old Canterlot road. I didn't think it would turn out to be anything important but I'm glad now that I had Owlowiscious get it. This thing,” she prodded at the minuscule gem, “is suspiciously like those dark magic crystals that King Sombra summoned. Well,” she corrected herself, “they seemed more a side effect of his presence than some forced creation. It makes me wonder...”
Chrysalis knew that Twilight was switching into her excited scientist mode, which meant the bluff and cover had worked well. The princess actually believed that the earlier errand had been nothing more than a snack run and even that Chrysalis had anticipated something she never could have. Sure, she had known about the thing that the owl had been out to investigate but there was no way she could anticipate everything that had happened. That was why those contingency plans were so important. The side effect was that Chrysalis ended up looking more clever than she really was. Well, she'd take whatever she got and it wasn't quite that bad since she did, in fact, know what the crystal was. Unfortunately.
Twilight Sparkle was a bright princess and would inevitably make a supreme queen. As such, Chrysalis could not bring herself to come out with all she knew on the spot. There was, in her mind, the possibility that saying too much in the present might spoil what needed to happen that very night. If Twilight found out that she already knew about that type of crystal and the pony behind it, something irreversible might happen. At the very least, it could lead to a breakdown for the princess. As a changeling, Chrysalis could very well feel the stress that was emanating so strongly from the purple mare.
“You know something?” Twilight repeated when Chrysalis didn't respond. The alicorn was staring at the jewel intently, probably preparing research methodology in her head. She could be rather exact in how she planned to do things, often exhibiting that exactness in small ways. The perfectly spaced quills and papers upon her desk were one such example.
“I know it didn't wind up near that road by mistake,” the insect-like being remarked coolly as she stepped behind her winged host. At first, she thought that making such a statement might lead her safely out of further inquiry by way of a few more calculated responses. But she immediately grimaced, knowing that the Sparkle of science would question one thing after another systematically until she extracted everything she wanted to know. There was no way out of what was to come and Chrysalis could only chide herself for slipping again into Twilight's own infectious mind of calculation.
“I don't think it did either. But I only assume and you said you knew. How so?” the princess of magic asked as she grabbed a quill and ink pot with a magical grip. Her tone was full of pointed inquiry, wanting very much to know what Chrysalis apparently did. But the calmness in that tone gave the changeling a chill. It was not the calmness of one who went along with the flow of life. It was the calmness one had before a storm. A calmness that foretold of a great storm.
Chrysalis gulped subconsciously. “I...didn't,” she replied weakly. “I assumed as well. I mean, how can such an unusual crystal end up beside the Canterlot road? There weren't even any others with it.”
“Did I say it was the only one?” Twilight voiced again calmly.
Chrysalis saw this was just one more crumbling tower, as previous attempts of hers had been. “No, but you implied as much.”
“Still, you mentioned it was complex. You must have studied this kind of crystal yourself once, right?” came the next question. Never had Twilight averted her gaze from her desk, the crystal, or the paper to which she was writing her research headings upon.
“The weather sure was nice today, no?” Chrysalis remarked dumbly. It was all over.
The alicorn sighed. “Chrysalis, I'm done going in circles with you. No more playing tag. Tell me what you know or I'll have you teach me how changelings discipline their hatchlings. For practical and immediate application.”
The shape-shifter cringed. Twilight's fear of being treated like a young filly was not necessarily an unusual fear. Chrysalis feared for her life where the former-unicorn only feared for her dignity and perhaps her self-esteem. Changeling discipline was rare but severe, which may have been why it was so uncommonly required. “I'll tell you anything you want to know but please don't be upset with me.”
Twilight didn't know that Chrysalis was worried more about how her queen slept tonight than how she herself might be disciplined. “I...can't promise that if you've withheld vital knowledge from me,” the princess answered, drawing from past experience. “But I will promise that I won't stay mad forever if that's the case. I do care about you as much as any of my other friends, Chrysalis,” she added encouragingly as she turned to face her carapaced companion.
The changeling nodded solemnly and began.