Markings of a King

by Zimprus Nalune

Stratos (Pt 1)

All was still in Kruziik-Ahrol.

The hallways were empty. The colosseum was devoid of activity. The only thing settling in any of the feeding hubs was dust. Even the throne room, usually the source of some world-changing event, was vacant.

The silence that lingered throughout the Hive was frozen in place, horrible to hear. No scuffling of chitin echoed through the passageways. No hisses of aggression or competition came from anywhere. No biting comments from a queen or a savior were heard, the same for any scathing replies.

But perhaps, most unnerving of all, was the silence of the Hive Mind itself.

The sea of lights that was the collection of changelings was, one day earlier, of a brightness to challenge the Sun. At its core rested two lights, two minds that were blazes among embers. The Queen and Monah Lun, Chrysalis. The Commander and Savior, Jack. And beside them, a smaller flame, but intense nonetheless, was the Herald and Possessed, Harbinger.

And at the current time, they were among ten lights not dimmed to near nothingness.

Jack was doing his best not to hyperventilate.

Chrysalis had her head bowed in shame.

Harbinger had a look of dumb disbelief.

The seven armored changelings that accompanied them shifted uncomfortably.

The dead husk of a changeling that had the other ten circled around it did nothing.

Deep within Kruziik-Ahrol, in the very foundations of the hive, Chrysalis, Jack, Harbinger, and their escort of seven armored changelings stood around the first true victim of their failures. The insectoid being had simply collapsed on the spot, body exhausted of all energy, mind completely burnt out of any semblance of will to keep going on.

“So…” Chrysalis whispered. “How the mighty have fallen.”

“This is bad,” Jack said loudly. “This is really, really bad.”

Harbinger said nothing, instead drawing her gaze upward. In front of her laid the dead drone’s destination. A veritable mountain of cocoons, softly glowing green as they kept their precious contents, the bulk of the changeling race, alive. But only just. The drone on the floor had been moments away from being placed in a cocoon of its own, but had fallen short of its goal by only a few steps.

She wondered how much longer her species had to live, before the few drones still living in Equestria could no longer gather enough love to sustain anyling but themselves. In a way, being fed over the Hive Mind was almost as bad as starving, for the hunger that needed to be sated was not dispersed by such a method of feeding. It was only through the sleep in their cocoons that the hibernating changelings did not consume all available reserves, for their minds were too sluggish to comprehend much of anything, even their own bodily needs.

Chrysalis looked over to Harbinger, her frown deepening as she heard the changeling worry about things that were the queen’s domain alone. She reached out with her mind, trying to project some measure of comfort to her daughter. It worked to some extent, as Harbinger’s worry receded and she offered a weak smile to the queen, letting her know her thoughts and care were appreciated.

Chrysalis wished she could provide the same comfort for Jack.

The human was very obviously jittery, his fingers seeming to practically vibrate in place. He was breathing loudly and somewhat rapidly, a far cry from his earlier calm, collected, and self confident demeanor. In fact, his panic seemed to be much more uncontrolled than her own or even Harbinger’s. It dawned on her that he seemed to be acting similar to how he did upon first waking up.

“We’re dead in the water,” he said suddenly. “A sinking ship. We’re going to drown in a sea of resentment.”

“No, we will not,” Chrysalis said firmly. “We may be the only ones not in hibernation, but that in no way means that we are going to fade away.”

Chrysalis’ horn lit up, and a green glow surrounded the body of the dead changeling. The empty shell was thrown up into the air, and was promptly met with a gout of emerald flame from the queen’s horn. The carcass burned away in seconds under the intense heat and energy, reduced to mere ashes which fell back to the ground unceremoniously. Chrysalis then took a step forward, placing her hoof firmly in the middle of the ashes.

“You gave us hope,” she said to Jack, whose eyes remained staring at the ground. “For all your pretentiousness, all your hubris, you gave me hope when I needed it most. For you to back out now would be to turn your back on all of us.”

Jack flinched at her words. The verbal jab was as harsh as any physical one. Still, the only effect it had on him was to cause his shoulders to slump, and his hands to stop jittering. His spines were limp, nearly flat against his back. Chrysalis approached him and placed her hoof under his chin, lifting his head up to meet his eyes with hers.

“Giving up now means that the ponies have already won,” Chrysalis said softly. “I am not going to give up, and neither will Harbinger, I imagine. It is not in the changeling nature to simply bow our heads and submit. Instead, we will be, as you once said, beasts backed into a corner. And as you said, we should be all the more dangerous for it.”

Jack gazed into Chrysalis’ eyes, blinking slowly and rarely. He remained still for some time, not moving until the changeling queen let go of his chin. He kept staring at her, finally closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and nodding.

“As you wish, my queen.”

Chrysalis nodded in return. She then looked at Harbinger and the other seven changelings. While Harbinger was now her own entity, the several armored changelings still remained mostly mindless. Chrysalis was thankful for that, for she did not think she had the ability to comfort everyling present.

“My queen?” Harbinger asked nervously. “What shall we do now?”

“I admit, I have little idea,” Chrysalis sighed, looking up to the ceiling far above. “The best plan seems to be to divide ourselves in half. Five will stay in Kruziik-Ahrol, and five will go to Appaloosa, to blend in with the ponies and hopefully garner enough love to keep the ten of us from starving.”

“By your command, my queen,” Harbinger bowed. “Who shall go, and who shall stay?”

“I should stay here,” Jack blurted, tapping his index fingers together. “Every time I leave the hive, something bad happens. Besides, I can’t shapeshift.”

“True and true,” Chrysalis said with a smirk. “Very well then. I shall lead the team to Appaloosa, and you will keep our home safe.”

“Agreed,” Jack replied. “Harbinger should go too, she’s been under cover since she was young. I’ll keep four captains, and you take three.”

Chrysalis cocked her head slightly in confusion.

“I figure,” the human explained. “If I’m your Commander, these armored changelings will be my Captains. You said it yourself, you appointed them to handle other changelings during the invasion.”

The queen nodded curtly.

“Very well.”

“I also think we should name them,” he added. “You know, make them easier to distinguish from one another. And it’ll help if we need to send them anywhere, we can just specify who we want instead of them sorting it out themselves.”

“That seems ridiculous,” Chrysalis said flatly. “We have never had to do such a thing in the past. I see no reason to do so now.”

“How about recording history?” he offered. “If we manage to pull ourselves out of this mess, we should know the changelings that made it possible.”

“Again, I see no reason,” Chrysalis argued. “Their only qualities I might deem unique are their armor sets. As the ponies have shown, armor is little reason to be deemed unique.”

“Fine, you don’t have to name yours if you want,” he said, shrugging. “But I’m naming mine.”

Without waiting for Chrysalis to respond, Jack touched the minds of four of the newly christened Captains.

“Right…” he began. “Two males, two females. This should be easy enough.”

Jack folded his arms and stared his chosen four, ordering them to stand in a line in front of him. First were the two females, next the males. It was then that Jack noticed a very subtle dimorphism, that being the females were ever so slightly thinner than the males. This minutely more lithe form resulted in a more obvious, but still easily missed, way that their dark blue armor wrapped around their bodies.

“Alright, I’ve got it,” he announced, lifting his chitinous hand to point at each changeling as he spoke. “In order, your names are as follows. Mistral, Tiamat, Rayleonard, and… Nebula.”

Chrysalis bristled at Jack’s defiance. She had the three remaining changelings, a trio of males, form a line of their own. Without taking her eyes off of Jack, she spat out their names.

“Nidhiki, Wilfre, Kraid. Serve me well.”

“Thought you didn’t have a reason to name yours?” Jack asked cheekily, receiving a harsh glare in return.

“I do now,” Chrysalis responded. “If only to keep your head from getting too large.”

Jack smirked at her, then straightened up and snapped his arm up into a salute to his queen. His Captains turned around and did the same.

“Good luck, my queen,” he said. “May they always see you, yet never know you.”

Chrysalis nodded in reply, then turned to leave, her own Captains and Harbinger in tow.

“Don’t worry,” she called back to him. “The pony folk will rue the day they decided to strike back against us.”

It was nighttime in Equestria once more.

All throughout the land, ponies of all types, young and old, big and small, laid down their heads to rest for the next day’s activities. Not just ponies, but a great deal of creatures and critters slumbered as well, save for a few savage, stealthy predators. But those demons of the dark would not harm a single pony, for one reason.

Princess Luna, Regent of the Night, would keep them at bay.

In the months following the invasion, the princess had been quite distraught, feeling she had failed her subjects once more. As such, she had taken to flying over the city every night, making sure no such thing would happen again. Her pride, or rather, her shame, would not allow much else.

After making several flights over the entirety of Canterlot, the alicorn soared up into the sky, rising far above the cloud layer. There, she basked in the rays of the moon, closing her eyes and letting out a gentle sigh. The moon was her one companion, present when all others, ponies, family, the stars themselves had long faded.

Her conscience did not allow her much respite, quickly demanding she resume her duties. Luna released another sigh, this one more resigned. She would keep her subjects safe, even if she only remained a fleeting thought in their minds.

Luna drew her wings close to her body, losing all momentum and aerodynamic qualities. She began to fall, rapidly gaining speed as she approached the ground. She angled herself just so, diving towards a patch of shadows that were utterly devoid of all light, whether from her moon or from the lights of the ponies.

She did not fall into the shadows, but instead, through them. However much she appeared to be a radiant beacon for the ponies of Equestria, Luna was a creature of the dark, through and through. Beasts became servants, dreams became playgrounds, stars became art, and shadows became doorways. For any being of the day, a fall from the sky would mean death. For Luna, it was simply a step through one patch of darkness, and out of another.

She exited into her quarters, slipping silently out of the darkness that covered the roof, and dropping silently to the floor. She could have easily arrived at her true destination, the Night Court, but her sister advised against showing such aptitude with what she referred to as ‘dark magic’. Luna had ignored Celestia’s instruction for a time, but the sheer fright her subjects had been caused was, in her mind, not worth the public display.

Luna exited her quarters, acknowledging her two trusted Night Guards with a curt nod at each of them. They saluted their princess as she passed by, and resumed their vigil once she had gone.

Luna allowed herself a small smile. Her Night Guards were far more competent than Celestia’s Day Guard, or the Royal Guard as they had become known. Such was the advantage of sealing away her most trusted troops during her time as Nightmare Moon. Time had left them unscathed, and their senses and training undulled.

But for all their skill, for all their toughness, they were still mortal.

The blue princess’ smile dropped into a frown as she pondered recent events. The trio she had sent into the Badlands, Lezard, Jeice, and Alster, had not returned. Luna kept three letters to three families unsealed on her desk, but as time drew on, she grew more and more resigned they would be sealed before long.

With the doors to the court in sight, Luna pushed her worries to the back of her mind. Now was not the time for troubling thoughts, but for a calm, collected, and regal demeanor. She could brood later.

Again a pair of Night Guards stood watch outside the grand doors, saluting their princess as she entered the court. Another pair of guards waited next to the throne at the far end of the room, silent and still.

Luna held herself high, striding towards the throne with regal poise and purpose. There was, as always, nopony awaiting her arrival. Even the Night Guards simply followed their duties’ calling, as they were trained to, never truly waiting of anticipating anything. In that way, Luna mused, perhaps she had deprived them of their base qualities, but she did not regret it for one moment, and more than once her forces had informed her they did not, either.

For a split second, the Regent of the Night closed her eyes. No longer than one might blink, she had already in the back of her mind resigned herself to another session of futile attempts to communicate with her alienated subjects. Nevertheless, hope shone in her, and with the confidence of her, currently slumbering, dear sister, Luna seated herself upon the throne.

Ancient magics, wrought well before the modern day, responded immediately to Luna’s presence. Like water, arcane influences flowed across the throne, turning it from a seat of gold to one of silver. The princess’ thoughts wandered back to the ancient days, where she had once demanded the enchantments form her throne out of platinum, to better match up to her elder sibling’s golden glamour.

And yet, even with her return, the request had been struck down. Gently, but struck it was, and such it would likely always be.

“We hereby declare the Royal Court, open!”

Luna had long stopped using the Royal Canterlot Voice to announce the court’s beginning, thanks to the intervention of the Elements of Harmony. But she was still far from the soft-spoken nature of her sister.

As expected, there were no immediate petitioners or even simple visitors. Yet the princess of the night sat rigid upon her shared seat of power, waiting dutifully for any that might come. Such was expected, and such would be given, for royalty, in Luna’s mind, was to be admired, feared, and respected, but never too haughty to ignore even the lowliest of subjects in the kingdom.

Luna found she sympathized with the lowly the most.

And so, with her physical entity seated upon the silver throne, the princess allowed her mind to wander off to happier times. Times when she was still young and naive. Times when everypony in Equestria was not frightened of her very name.

And so, the moon passed over, bit by bit, hour by hour. And still the night court remained empty, save for the princess and her guards. Luna mentally noted such, and with certain thoughts heavy on her mind, she prepared to sound and end to the court. Untraditional, to be sure, but she reminded herself wryly that traditions seemed to matter little in recent times.

However, before the words left her lips, three ponies in cloaks and hoods rounded the corner beyond the great doors. They spoke with one of the Night Guards, Strum, Luna believed, who announced them.

“Silent Arrow, Coal Blaze, and Jetstream to see Her Highness, Princess Luna!”

“I shall see them, then!”

Luna suppressed her excitement as the three ponies approached her. Halfway to the throne, they collectively threw back the hoods that concealed themselves, revealing at least one to be a unicorn, and one to be an earth pony, if not two. However, her eyes caught the subtle characteristic shuffling of wings underneath the rightmost pony’s cloak, declaring the pony to be a pegasus. All three were mares, though they had a sort of roughened look more befitting of stallions.

The trio stopped at the foot of the throne, bowing deeply and reverantly. Luna detected equal parts fear, admiration, and respect in their stances, and began to wonder when she had last seen such a thing.

"Glory to the Night, Queen Nightmare," the center pony, the unicorn, spoke. "Your glory is as radiant as ever."

Luna gasped.

"Dispense with thine garments!" she commanded. "Let me see thee clear in the moonlight!"

Without rising from their bows, the three ponies unclasped their cloaks and threw them away. The light of Luna's moon shone through the windows, seemingly focusing on the subjects before their supposed queen.

For all her composure and regality, Luna's lips let forth a horrified gasp.

On the right was the earth pony. Her coat was a charred black, while her mane and tail, cut short and jagged, were a mixture of gray and orange. Her emerald green eyes were the only brightness about her. A flaming coal superimposed upon a stream of molten metal rested on her flanks. Overall, Coal Blaze seemed a bit buff, especially for a mare. No doubt, she was a committed blacksmith.

Silent Arrow was dainty, even fragile in comparison. A slim physique, lithe and likely swift on her hooves. She stood between her companions, almost seeming like nobility flanked by bodyguards. Her silver body glinted in the moonlight, with abnormally brown mane and tail elegantly flowing around her body. A simple bow composed of bone rested on her flanks, but perhaps the oddest feature of the made was how her horn was sharpened into a point, which tradition observed to be in preparedness for war. War that her stormy gray eyes told she would be ready for.

And finally, the pegasus Jetstream. Her tan body rippled with muscle, and she could have easily been mistaken for a Wonderbolt. The two things that most obviously gave her away were the way her violet hair was pulled back in an impromptu ponytail, and the fact her left eye had been replaced with an orb of steel and ruby, severely offsetting its brown counterpart. Three long scars next to the socket left little to the imagination.

But none of their various quirks and oddities compared, even slightly, to the horror that rested on all three of their chests. The horror that Luna prayed was some trick of the night, and was not truly there.

“Rise,” she commanded, hoping that her eyes had deceived her.

Coal Blaze, Silent Arrow, and Jetstream rose, perfectly in sync.

And Luna’s hope fell.

For upon all three of the mare’s chests rested the same symbol, slowly rippling and twisting as if it were alive. For all purposes, in fact, it was. It could see, hear, feel, and think as much as any creature of the night.

The crescent moon upon a blotch of purple. The sign of night eternal. The bane of daylight, and the banisher of the sun.

The mark of Nightmare Moon.

“What are you!?” Luna demanded, her voice rising.

“We are yours, Our Queen,” the trio replied, bowing their heads.

Coal Blaze stepped forwards.

“But to keep your return a secret, we shall know you as Princess Luna,” the blacksmith said. “But whatever we must call you, we are overjoyed to see your glorious moon light our way once again.”

Before Luna could speak, Coal Blaze stepped back and allowed Silent Arrow to come forth.

“We know, Princess, that our lives are too little to compare to your duties. We are not bothered that you neither know nor care for the tales of our lives, but know that we will serve you without question.”

Silent Arrow withdrew, and Jetstream approached the throne. Unlike her companions, however, she walked up the steps, and did not react to the Night Guards as they flared their wings and prepared for her to move against their princess. Instead, she collapsed at Luna’s hooves, looking up at the princess with a terrible sadness in her one eye. Yet, her smile was one of joy, and tears came forth from the pegasus as she spoke, her voice no weaker for her sorrow.

“I lost my eye to a Timberwolf,” Jetstream told Luna. “But you, my Queen, you drove the beast away. It saw your moonlight and knew itself unworthy. So it fled to avoid your wrath. But I… I followed your light, and it guided me to place, I know not where. I remember nothing of my pilgrimage, only that I awoke to find myself in the care of the blessed guardians of the night, and I could again see properly.”

Jetstream bowed her head, allowing her tears to stain the red carpet. Luna put a hoof to her mouth, off put by this tale. Arrow had been wrong, she did indeed care for her subjects.

“I owe you everything, my Queen,” Jetstream continued. “My life for you, my eyes for you, my wings for you. If I ever bear foals, I would give them to you, if you so desired. I and my friends have already pledged our souls to your night, but ask anything of me, and I will give it to you.”

Jetstream looked up into Luna’s eyes, fear and reverence present in equal measures.

"We come before you, my Queen, not to ask anything of you, but to let you know we are here. We, your children of the night."

Jetstream backed away.

And Luna wept.

Northern front, all clear.

Western front, all clear.

Southeast front, all clear.

Southwest front, all clear.

Jack steepled his fingers for a moment, then relayed his orders back to his captains.

Mistral, Rayleonard, check the eastern front and RTB. Tiamat and Nebula, circle around and come back home.

A chorus of affirmatives, and the changelings proceeded to carry out their orders.

“Figures the only time someling listens to me, it’s already almost too late,” Jack muttered.

The human was resting on the throne, directing his changelings and monitoring the progress of Chrysalis and her entourage. Both of their groups were doing fairly well, all things considered.

The changeling queen was in the midst of finding suitable ponies to replace. Thus far, the absence of Two Bit had gone unnoticed, but Jack reminded Chrysalis that in small towns such as Appaloosa, such an absence would not go unnoticed for long. As such, it had been determined that Chrysalis’ group would alternate filling in Two Bit’s position. The queen was concerned over the dwindling love reserves, but according to Harbinger, her father would return home soon to satisfy their needs, if not their wants.

Jack had taken to ordering his captains on patrols, ready to act upon any pony incursion at a moment’s notice. What with his first experience with the Royal Guard, coupled with the more recent infiltration by the Night Guard, the human was not taking any chances. In both instances, changelings had been lost, and Jack would do his damndest to ensure that no more suffered the same fate.

The human shifted his weight on the throne, trying to get more comfortable. From the minds of Mistral and Rayleonard, he was able to view the expansive sands of the Badlands, with naught but a few rock formation to be seen in any direction. There was little wind to be had, which meant that Jack could also feel the heat beating on the two changelings even as they flew through the air to cool off.

It never struck him that Kruziik-Ahrol was built in such a way that provided the time tested method of climate control, that being very thick walls. The interior of the hive remained the same temperature, no matter how hot or cold it became outside. Only now did Jack realize how fortunate he was to be on the inside, sheltered and protected from the elements and more.

He made a silent promise to change that soon.

By the time Tiamat and Nebula dove through the coliseum's skylight, Mistral and Rayleonard were nearly to the eastern edge of the Badlands. The day was well and worn, as shown by the sun approaching the western horizon. The desert was beginning to cool, and little time was left before the temperatures became truly freezing.

Jack watched through the two changeling’s eyes as they neared the end of the Badlands. He had seen from the memories of the Hive Mind what laid on the eastern fringe, but memories were not the same as seeing it in the flesh, or even through the eyes of another.

A great sea, crystal clear blue waters, nary a wave in sight. Though given all those factors put together, Jack assumed it was a completely enclosed freshwater body, but in Equestria, anything was possible.

Tiamat and Nebula touched down a fair distance away from the ocean, looking around themselves slowly and cautiously. They then took off and headed back to Kruziik-Ahrol.

“Eastern front, all clear.”

Jack was almost disappointed to hear the news. If nothing else, he wished to have the chance to extract some much deserved revenge from ponykind. An attack from the sea would have been thrillingly unexpected. But silence was good. Silence meant that noling would be in danger, and that they might last just a little longer.

And perhaps, he mused to his Captains, they would have their revenge the next day.

Once again, Chrysalis found herself doing the grunt work.

Not that she minded.

There was a certain amount of satisfaction she got out of getting her hooves dirty, of doing the dirty work herself and seeing it through to the finish. It was almost funny to her.

But standing in the middle of Appaloosa’s hardware store, waiting on an asinine pony to show up to get her the materials she needed, was almost not worth it.

Almost.

The changeling queen was disguised as Two Bit, taking the place of the deceased pony before any Appaloosans noted her disappearance. Despite Harbinger’s personal advice and memories, however, her imitation of the mother was not perfect. A simple cover story of an odd creature damaging the Apple family house the night before served a dual purpose, for nopony would suspect a clearly rattled mother of being a changeling.

As it was, Chrysalis was awaiting the return of the pony who ran the hardware store. All of the goods were placed behind the counter, and as such there was no effective way to get what she needed to patch up the homestead until the owner returned. As such, the changeling in disguise was pacing back and forth, wondering what could possibly be taking so long.

“Mother?” a familiar voice spoke.

Chrysalis turned to see a disguised Harbinger in the doorway of the store, Smiles crossed both their faces, but did not reach their eyes. Both changelings knew the speech and family loving were a ruse, and nothing more.

“Hello, dear,” she responded. “Where did you run off to?”

‘Apple Fritter’ entered the shop and sat down next to the counter.

“Nowhere, mother. I just went to the sheriff’s office to check when Father would be home again.”

The queen’s eyes flashed for a moment.

“Ah yes, I should have known,” she smiled again. “And what did the sheriff have to say?”

“Same as always,” Harbinger shrugged. “The caravans are under a slowly lightening guard, and the train system is still mostly out of commission, barring a more thorough investigation. If only there hadn’t been an attack about a month ago, the trains might be up and running again.”

“Bah, it’s the fault of those drones. I had ordered them to capture the train, and a few guardsponies should have been easy pickings for them.”

“It’s so awful… I still can’t believe those changelings are still out and about.”

Harbinger’s eye twitched.

“Jack told you himself, my queen. It doesn’t look like Royal Guards are Equestria’s only defenders now. And if the Night Guard have truly returned…”

“Well, Mother, I just hope Celestia will keep us safe and sound. She hasn’t failed us yet.”

‘Two Bit’ coughed.

“You aren’t making this easy, Harbinger.”

The sound of hooves running down stairs interrupted the conversation between the pair. Harbinger and Chrysalis paid no attention to the pony as they entered the store’s front, huffing and puffing.

“Can I help you, ladies?” the voice, a stallion’s, piped up.

Harbinger grinned at Chrysalis, who nodded. Harbinger laughed for an instant as the queen shut the front door of the store.

“Now, Wilfre.”

With two of her three underlings in place, Chrysalis was once again out and about among the ponies. She pondered to herself where she would be able to find suitable places for Nihiki and Kraid to stand in. Although Harbinger had lived among the ponies for years, she hadn’t seen into most of their personal lives, and as such the changeling queen needed to find two ponies who wouldn’t be noticed. Ponies who could act strangely and be thought no less for it.

The problem was, in a backwater settlement such as Appaloosa, nearly everypony knew everypony. There was little chance Chrysalis could replace two more ponies and keep suspicions low.

Then, inspiration struck.

The queen searched through Harbinger’s memories, looking back a few minutes prior. The changeling had indeed been to the sheriff’s office, and had gotten a good look at the caravan schedule before she had left. Chrysalis picked up a bit of longing through the haze of remembrance, but ignored it in favor of what was seen. According to the schedule, Two Bit’s husband would be returning in a little under a week. It would prove an excellent chance to replace yet another pony, possibly even two if the caravan had picked up some travellers unknown to the populace of Appaloosa.

Chrysalis tucked the memory into her own, allowing a smirk to come across her face. Soon, she would have a husband to feed off of, and one more pony subverted and replaced. She decided she would have Nidhiki fill the space left by Two Bit's husband.

"Husband..." she murmured, allowing the word to roll off her tongue.

Chrysalis had experienced many things, but the supposed joy or misery of married life was not something she planned on experiencing, ever. The queen understood the ideas behind marriage, and in truth she commended the ponies for coming up with such an idea. No other race in Equestria practiced marriage, or at least not to her knowledge.

Chrysalis abstained from any kind of marital commitment. Not because of any lack of creatures to marry, but because she found none worthy. In her eyes, all marriage would ever be to her was a way of forming alliances, for she had no way of loving anyling else. She would gladly take another's love, but she grimaced at the notion of love coming from her heart. The only form of love she ever felt was the parental kind, for she was Monah-lun, and all changelings were her children.

The changeling queen shook her head free of thoughts of spouses and marriage. Now was not the time to ponder such things. She would have time to rest and think about frivolous things when her race had been saved.

"Now that's something I never thought I'd see..." Jack chuckled to himself. "Queen Chrysalis, devourer of love, pondering marriage."

Jack returned his attention to the book he was holding. Against his better judgment, he had entered Chrysalis' personal quarters, and had begun sifting through her modest collection of old tomes. So far, all he had discovered was that the queen liked picture books, perhaps to further of a degree than was healthy.

He chuckled to himself as be flipped another page, eyes passing over the illustrations of what seemed to be a vaguely pony shaped individual performing a teleportation spell. He wondered if Chrysalis' books had been the things to guide whatever discoveries she had made.

"My queen, how exactly does our race know so much if our collective memories are wiped every time a queen dies?"

The response was quick.

"As I have said, there are some things so essential to our existence that we will never forget what they are. Most knowledge is learned through our infiltration of pony society, and sometimes educated guesses are made."

"How did you learn to teleport?"

Jack could feel a bit of inquisitiveness from Chrysalis, but her tone remained unchanged.

"Simple. One of our drones infiltrated a library in Canterlot, specifically the Library of Arcane Arts. It found a rather small book out in the open. Disguised as it was, the drone was able to find out that the small book was actually a very powerful spell book, requiring a complicated ritual to learn from. It was virtually blank until the ritual was performed, and once the book was read it destroyed itself. However, whoever read it, in this case the changeling that was under cover, would perfectly memorize the contents and recount them at will. Once that drone knew the arcane formula, we all knew it. And we could remake that one spell book any time we please."

Jack nodded to himself, still looking at the picture book in front of him. He suddenly felt a little odd, forgetting he could have simply pulled the memories from the Hive Mind instead of asking. He wouldn't admit it, but being so integrated into Changeling society and their Hive Mind was a little off-putting, a Or at least, having it happen so quickly.

“Wait. So you’re telling me that, in order to learn a spell, you have to memorize some crazy formula, have a self destructive book, and a ritual to boot? How does anyling learn anything?”

“Not necessarily. Magic is complex, and it only follows a very loose set of rules. I suppose a glass of water would be an appropriate analogy. Magic cannot escape certain confines, but it is free to shift and change in any way inside those confines. To answer your question, it seems that ponies spend their time studying magic, how it reacts with them, with objects, and with the world. Their studies bring them… visions, ideas that we do not understand. The ponies created a system to understand these ideas, and even then true comprehension takes years of contemplation. What we do know is that they transcribe all their studies into books, then perform their rituals to perfectly memorize them. After that, they usually write simpler books that describe the flow of magic, or very simply, how to guide magic to perform a spell. From there, trial and error allow anyling to learn.”

“Okay… Thanks for the info dump. I’ll be taking the rest of the information I want by mind, now.”

What could only be described as a snicker came from the queen, before she turned her attention back to whatever had been holding it before Jack’s interruption.

The human shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. A quick mental probe through the Hive Mind revealed the entirety of the ritual used by the ponies on their arcane tomes. Jack’s mouth curled into a malicious grin as he reviewed the procedure.

“Good…” he chuckled to himself, mentally giving commands to Mistral and Tiamat. “Even in death, you will serve…”

It was mid-afternoon as the two female captains left the safety of Kruziik-Ahrol, exposing themselves to the brutal sun and hot desert temperatures. As always, they traveled by wing, taking flight over the still sands of the Badlands in search of their targets.

Having only a general direction in which to work forwards with, the captains kept their eyes peeled, trading speed for meticulousness. Their targets were supposedly very noticeable, especially in broad daylight, but that was assuming they weren’t buried underneath the sand.

“We should find some sort of locator spell for future use.” Tiamat noted.

Mistral remained silent. Nothing needed to be said, just a simple affirmative over the Hive Mind.

The captains flew for many hours, until the sun had begun to set. They did not complain, nor did they stop to rest. Orders were orders. Their reserves were plentiful, and their energy remained steady. They did not stop until a bright gleam shone up from the ground, nearly blinding them with its intensity.

The captains dove down towards the gleam, which was soon found to be a dark blue metal. That alone was enough to confirm that the captains had accomplished their mission.

Immediate digging commenced, and as the sand was swiped away, the changelings beheld their catch. Mistral turned to Tiamat.

“We’d better turn these things in before they start to stink.”

A laugh of approval was heard in both their minds.

In the middle of the colosseum stood a newly erected altar of bone, bloody and fresh. The smell of burning meat filled the air, a smell Jack wasn't sure he enjoyed or was repulsed by. The stench of fused bone accompanied the smell of the meat, and ultimately proved to be a burden that had to be shouldered.

Jack stood in front of the bone altar, arms folded. The perversion in front of him was repulsive, but he believed it to be a necessary evil.

"Little wonder they kept to themselves..." he muttered.

The teen turned to the four captains behind him, each holding in their teeth a random book from Chrysalis' collection. He had done his best to keep her from noticing, but he had to move quickly. The queen would likely not take well to having her mementos of previous rulers incinerated. He pointed to Nebula, then jerked his thumb back at the altar.

"Nebula, get that book loaded up quickly. Random page, I don't care."

Captain Nebula did as instructed, opening up the small tome and securing it in between two sets of jaws that rested atop the altar. He then took his place back behind Jack, waiting for his next order.

"Alright, Mon Capitans," Jack rubbed his hands together. "Let's light this puppy."

Arranged around the altar were four bone poles, each of which had a portion of hide wrapped around them. The ritual called for the bone poles, but the hide was present in stead of any other flammable materials. That meant whoever was going to read the book would have to be quick.

"Take your positions," Jack ordered. "On my mark."

The human approached the altar, looking down at the open book. It was opened to a picture of a plant, followed by a pony, and then a pony with vaguely butterfly shaped wings.

Nebula, Rayleonard, Tiamat and Mistral each approached a makeshift torch, their horns lighting up and illuminating the area with green light. Each mentally signaled their readiness, preparing to receive the order to light their torches.

"Light 'em!" Jack ordered.

The changelings each lit their respective torch. The hides caught instantly, burning with emerald fire, the smell of burning leftover hair filling the air.. But they were already showing signs of charring, spurring Jack on to the next step of the ritual.

He immediately snapped his fingers, an ember appearing over his left index finger. He touched the ember to the open book, causing it to catch as well.

Jack waited, clenching and unclenching his hands, waiting for the ritual to take effect. If his guess was correct, then the book before him would soon reveal its magical contents, and hopefully bring one more spell into the swarm. Time was short, however, the hides were burning quickly.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And slowly...

...the torches went out.

Jack's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Oh...this isn't good."

Chrysalis was doing her best not to fly into a rage.

It wasn't going so well.

The Hive Mind was filled with minute tremors as Queen Chrysalis' anger radiated out from her like a barely contained volcano. Every changeling shrunk back from her, even Jack, as none wanted to be the target of her wrath. Most of their fears were unfounded, however, for the changeling queen already had her target.

Jack, would you care to explain why you just desecrated our hive, wasted as much energy as you did time, and create a particularly foul odor?

... I... was... conducting R&D.

Chrysalis took a deep breath.

I see. Oh, and one other thing, quite small really, you might want to think on this one WHY IN ANCESTOR'S NAME DID YOU JUST CONDUCT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON MY PERSONAL LITERATURE!

I was checking for spellbooks! You mean to tell me you had those books this entire time, and never once considered that they might actually be spellbooks in plain sight, even after you saw how the ponies created and used theirs?

Of course not! Why would our predecessors hide anything from us, let alone a spellbook? What possible reasons could exist?

... While that is pretty sound logic, I'll give you one very good reason why.

And what, pray tell, is that?

Jack took a moment to respond.

Some things should stay buried.

Chrysalis scoffed out loud, then collected herself when she realized she was still in the company of ponies.

I don't suggest we abandon all caution, but I think we have little to fear from whatever you're afraid of. Dead is dead, and buried is buried.

... Chrysalis, you live in a world where the Sun and Moon are raised and lowered on the whim of two creatures, one of whom I'm relatively sure controls the entire cosmos. In my world, those three celestial bodies obeyed nobody. If anything I would say a group of pastel ponies are far more dangerous than anything I have ever seen before. Six of them felled gods, so who's to say a thousand dead are nothing to fear?

Chrysalis froze, allowing the thought to sink into her. She nearly lost her composure, but was able to maintain her false visage through will alone.

Let us cross that bridge when we come to it.

The shakiness if her response did not go unnoticed, but noling chose to comment on it.

The changeling queen took in a breath through her nose, closing her eyes. She was, yet again, experiencing anxiety. It was never something she enjoyed.

Jack, you will refrain from unnecessarily increasing my worry. Is that clear?

... Of… course… my queen…

“Left… and down.”

Jack tentatively let go of Mistral a she set him down on top of Kruziik-Ahrol. The captain settled down next to him silently, ready to act if the domed surface of the hive proved less than grippable. A moment passed as Jack evaluated whether his perch was sound, followed by a nod and folding of his arms.

“I’m worried, Mistral,” Jack said aloud. “If the ponies were to attack now, we would stand no chance. One princess is all it would take. So I wonder, why don’t they just do it?”

“Savior, the answer is obvious,” the changeling said flatly.

“I know…” Jack narrowed his eyes. “But even a prey species can fight back. It’s no different from bees and wasps. While we recuperate, they might strike at any time. And that’s what worries me.”

“The queen has forbidden any escalating of her anxiety,” Mistral reminded him.

“Bah,” the human waved her off. “She’s proving to be less and less the wonderful majesty I thought I knew, and more and more a lamenting old granny. She needs to snap out of this, or we truly are doomed.”

“Not as long as we have you.”

Jack sighed and lowered his head.

“And who am I to doubt a prophecy, I suppose…”

“Anomaly on the Eastern front!”

Interest was sparked in the Hive Mind. Rayleonard's report was followed by several images of a large, red disc sticking out of the ocean. Smaller, saucer-like discs glowing blue were in the air around the large disc, spinning and hovering without any visible means of flight.

Jack's breath caught in his chest.

"No. No no no." He breathed. "Not here. Not now."

"What? What is it?"

"Rayleonard, do not engage those saucers. Chrysalis... I think everyone's now living on borrowed time, not just us."

"Jack, explain yourself."

Images flashed through the minds of everyling. Images of more of the flying saucers, whole swarms throwing orbs of fire at pristine white buildings. Massive four-legged behemoths spat poison and fire at little metal humans, and bathed the land in red clouds of poison when they died. Bestial monstrosities crushed spinning pillars with their fists alone. Skinny, gray imps ran about and placed small devices everywhere, devices that exploded and turned the pristine buildings dark and lifeless. Metal demons that also spat death, but shimmered and ran through mountains unimpeded.

Finally, one great red beast stood tall, blotting out the sun of another land. Its head flew off, and through a bird's eye entire continents were reduced to flames and ash. The warped laughing of an unknown alien filled the air, and as the Hive Mind watched a strange planet was stripped bare by the red discs and left barren, nothing but rock and dust to cover the dead world.

"Horrors exist out there, Chrysalis. What you see before you is a race that has brought ruin to countless worlds like ours. Their leaders can unmake swathes of lands, or turn even steadfast brothers against one another in an instant.

I don't know what unholy name they were born to... But I know them as The Hierarchy."

Jack waited while Chrysalis reeled in shock. He understood, and he did not blame her. If what he feared came true, the situation could become far more dire than it already was.

When he felt Chrysalis reign in her terror, he listened intently for her instructions.

"Jack, take charge of all your Captains. I want that... Command Ship secured. Destroy the saucers and take their ship for ourselves."

Jack nearly fell off the Hive.

“M-my Queen, I respect your wishes and I will never disobey you. But I highly doubt any of us receiving various forms of directed plasma to the face would benefit us. And besides, that ship is probably soaked in radiation, poison you can’t begin to fathom. We’d die in seconds.”

“You don’t know that. Now go, I don’t want to hear from you until your task is complete.”

Jack sighed and turned to Mistral. The changeling acknowledged him with a curt nod, and they waited as Nebula found his way up to them. Jack allowed the Captains to lift him up by his arms, lifting him off Kruziik-Ahrol. Tiamat soon joined them, and the group set off for the eastern sea.

As the sea came into view at last, Jack took a deep breath and prepared to survey the situation. Rayleonard, who had kept watch over the ship and its floating sentinels, retreated to join his siblings in preparation.

Mistral and Nebula set their Commander down on the sand, well enough away to observe the saucers, but not provoke them.

"Alright, this is how we're going to do this," Jack said aloud. "These Saucers are powerful, but they're not very fast. Stay alert, and try to kite them whenever possible. Our plan is this. You three fly in, fast and high. Get their attention, and lure them away from the ship. Once that's done, I'll provide AA fire from the ground. If all else fails, dive into the sea. The Foo Fighters, the little orbs they spit out, will likely follow us and be extinguished, then we can attack from up close. The eye things on bottom are their guidance systems, knock those out and the Saucers are useless. Oh, and if you get stuck with a fighter, get away as fast as you can, they can't go too far from the Saucer."

Jack turned back to the sea, both arms glowing green with magic.

"It's do or die, my little changelings," he said firmly. "On my mark."

One hand was raised, three fingers held.aloft. The four changelings readied themselves for takeoff, wings buzzing like hornets before an attack. One finger dropped, then another.

Abruptly, one of the Saucers left the main group, whirring towards the assembled forces of Kruziik-Ahrol. Jack cursed to himself and pointed his finger at the approaching aircraft.

"Mark! Waste this bitch!"

With a flurry of hisses and snarls, the changeling captains launched themselves into the air, horns ablaze with magic. The Saucer spun faster as they approached, seemingly agitated by their bravado. A trio of bright orange globes detached from the Saucer, hissing towards the changelings with all possible haste.

Rayleonard sped ahead and buzzed past the Foo Fighters, drawing one away from the group. Mistral, Tiamat and Nebula made a beeline for the Saucer, narrowly letting the other Fighters pass between them. The Saucer, evidently sensing their approach, drew back and tried to distance itself.

The Saucer was, in fact, fast enough to maintain the gap between itself and the changelings, but not expand it. The trio opted to slow down, trying to get the Saucer to approach them instead.

Then Tiamat screamed as the two Foo Fighters caught up to them.

Jack swore violently, charging up and unleashing twin beams of magic from his hands without hesitation. Tiamat's screams continued, even intensified, and the Fighters burst into clouds of gas, dissipating in seconds.

Apparently, however, the Fighters had been the only thing keeping the Captain in the air.

Tiamat's burned body silently dropped to the ground. Her wings had been almost completely incinerated in the brief time she had been under attack. That, coupled with the stench of burned chitin, almost firmly established her as deceased, were it not for the mental screams that she gave off, her body wheezing faintly.

“Dammit!” Jack rushed over to Tiamat, standing guard over her and blasting away at the Saucer. “Everyling, stay away from the Fighters! Situational awareness, dammit!”

Mistral and Nebula silently acknowledged the order. From the ground, Jack guided the duo, instructing them to strike with magical blades at the hovering machine’s underside.With two Foo Fighters extinguished and the third chasing Rayleonard every which way he decided to move, they had a clear shot.

The Saucer, seemingly realizing it was in trouble, called back its Fighter. But a single burst of magic from Rayleonard rendered that command null and void, as the third Foo Fighter met its end. With no immediate support, the Saucer tried to fly back towards its brethren above the Command Ship, but Rayleonard had it locked in his sights.

The Saucer veered to the side, but was far too unwieldy to do so effectively. As such, Rayleonard took the chance to dive under the Saucer, and with a single jerk of his head, drove his magic-encased horn into one of three guidance systems.

The effect was immediate.

The Saucer’s spinning faltered, and the entire machine listed and lost both altitude and speed. Lights flickered and sparked across the entire construct, showing no irrelevant signs of damage. Mistral and Nebula easily caught up to it, and followed their brother’s lead by spearing the remaining systems with their own blades. From below, Jack gave them a proud smile, then started as he realized what was to follow.

That alarm was all the trio of Captains needed to realize they had to put some distance between themselves and the Saucer, which was now covered in arcs of electricity. As the changelings buzzed away, plasma burst out from one, three, seven spots all over the Saucer. The spinning machine dropped like a rock to the sand below, failing in all possible regards, sparking and hissing and dying.

Jack cocked his head as he watched the spectacle.

“Huh…” he muttered. “I was expecting a little more-”

The Saucer suddenly erupted in an orange gout of plasmic fire, blackened metal bits flying everywhere. The sand was turned to glass in an instant, and even from his far away view the human could almost feel the heat from the blast.

“Holy!” he jumped. “That was not supposed to happen!”

Jack recalled his Captains, who touched down in front of him in a perfect line. Nebula and Rayleonard’s eyes glanced down at Tiamat for a brief instant before refocusing on their Commander.

“Yes, I know,” Jack acknowledged them. “She’s in bad shape. But that’s why it’s all the more important that we get inside that ship. Worse comes to worse, she dies and is reborn later. Best case scenario is that we find her some medical aid, which I seriously doubt is lacking in a ship like that. Now let’s take out the other two Saucers before-”

Jack was cut off yet again as he noticed the remaining Saucers breaking away from the Command Ship, whirring towards their fallen comrade. From his current position, Jack could faintly see the Saucers glowing an odd bluish color, as opposed to the previous Saucer’s orange.

“Change of plans!” he yelled. “Mistral, grab Tiamat! Rayleonard, Nebula, carry me! Quickly!”