Edited by iakovl.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this world? They call it Earth here, but it’s not my Earth. My Earth has McDonald’s, Best Buy, highways, barbeques, and football. Here, I’ve found nothing but ponies, brain rape, and a world full of magic. I stress the brain rape with the emphaticness of a mime having a heart attack while making love to Phyllis Diller against my will. I do not like magic. Magic has not been kind to me since I got here. Apparently I’m also the victim of some cruel joke, probably at a level involving things I’d rather not begin to think about. This place is where people can come and debate the feasibility of living gods walking among them and have philosophical discussions on ancient horses playing fetch with celestial objects like the sun and the moon.
What happened? Oh, right. Kidnapped by faceted-eyed changelings on board a ship supposedly secure with the ease of a team of Navy SEALs sneaking aboard a barge full of sailors passed out from a night of rum binging. I fought, Chryssie fought, Octavia simply kicked ass and took names until sheer numbers —dear God, the numbers!— of the little buggers (heh!) swarmed into Fleur’s room and made any chance of fending them off laughable. It was Custer’s Last Stand without the drama of having no survivors. I think I broke my knuckles from slugging muzzles and cut my hands on their fangs. Their carapaces were tough and hard and had practically no give. Their bites were painful, quickly numbing at the bite area before slowly taking over my nervous system. It was like being filled with novocaine. Then, they scooped me up after breaking the window. I faded out shortly after that from the venom in their bite.
How long I was out, I had no idea. When I opened my eyes, my body felt like it was made of concrete and my head throbbed as if I had spent the previous night binge drinking with a reformed alcoholic. It was my ears which announced to me my return to the land of the living. All around me, the faint sound of buzzing, muffled but constant. On occasion, there was a chitter or a chirp, smattered here and there with various hisses. There was dim lighting on the walls of an amber color, almost golden. For some reason, they felt creepy. It was as though the lights were looking at me. With that in mind, I continued to study my surroundings and wondering just what in the blue hell I had gotten myself into this time.
Lord, why do you do this to me?
I was most certainly not alone. There were eyes upon me. As more and more of my senses began to focus themselves, I became more so aware of my surroundings, shifting my attention away from my source of lighting and to what else might be within my line of sight. I was on a hard surface, with bumps set in a sort of organic pattern. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it felt weird, like some sort of oddball back therapy bed as seen on an infomercial. My right knuckles felt as though I had spent hours punching a brick wall with reckless abandon and the places where I had been bitten felt like really nasty mosquito bites with ten times the itchiness. I was sans my boots, as my toes wiggled at me as if demanding to me as to the location of their covers. One cannot kick ass and take names if the kicking results in broken toes. Everything was sore and I felt old as I tried to collect my wits and figure out where the hell I was. I tried to recollect the events before fading out. There was no way to tell how long I had been out, but I could hear something shuffling to my right.
My muscles protested, but slowly I turned my head to look in the direction of the sound. Grimacing at the throbbing aches, I semi-rose on my side as I blinked blearily as I heard the distinct sound of a gasp. Something moved in the shadows beyond my vision. Was it really that dim in here? Curious. My ears picked up the sound of chittering and again beyond my field of vision. It was behind me, to the sides, even above me!
“Do not attempt to escape, Mr. Spriggs,” came a disjointed and feminine voice from the shadows I faced. “You are securely within my hive and are always watched. You are not shackled because you are not a prisoner. You are here as a hostage. That being said, you will have freedom to move about my home and interact with my subjects.”
“Where am I?” I asked, not at all comprehending half of what she just said. Everything was groggy and sluggish. “What happened? Chryssie? Where’s my daughter?”
The voice chuckled. “She is safe and unharmed, though her choice of protectors leaves much to be desired. However, she is not yet in danger. I cannot entrust the Sisters to your well-being, so I extracted you for the moment until a more secure form of protection can come for you.”
“Protection?” I groaned and forced myself to a sitting position. “What the hell happened? What’s going on?” Can’t I get a straight answer from anyone on this insane world?
“They didn’t tell you, did they?” the voice pressed, amused it seemed at me.
“Tell me what? Who are you?” For the third time I asked, “What happened?” Her earlier words finally sank in. “Hive? What do you mean? As in a beehive?”
“A changeling hive. My hive.” The voice stepped from the shadows. At first glance, I might have mistaken her for Chryssie, but this changeling was taller, thinner. Dare I say sicklier? She was also more blue than green to match her carapace; from her mane and tail to her wings. The changeling was taller than Celestia, but I doubt she was close to the alicorn’s weight. It was easy to assume because of her anorexic frame she might be weak, but the way this queen moved, she was clearly not a pushover. A tall, thin crown was mounted on top of her head just behind her jagged horn. It was simple, its four points flowering out and tipped each with a white pearl. “I am Queen Anisophira. I would apologize for the rudeness in which you were taken from the ponies, but alas, I am not sorry for doing it. Therefore, I feel I do not need to apologize.” She flashed a grin at me, sending chills up and down my spine. Her fangs were really long and looked sharp, like those of a rattlesnake. Again, I could not help but feel there was something out of place. Something in the back of my mind whispered and insisted she was not at all what she seemed to be.
Her mane was styled to hang over the left side of her neck, partially concealing her left eye. It was long and trailed to the bumpy floor of the strange room we were in. Those sapphire harlequins bore into me, sending an unwanted shiver of fear throughout my body. Her single horn jutted up from the center of her forehead like a bayonet that had been violently twisted twice. It looked sharp and dangerous. Each step she took reminded me of a stalking cat, smooth and deliberate as if I was to be her mouse. Yet something seemed off about her.
I patted my chest, checking to see if the arrowhead necklace was still there. I felt nothing by my shirt. Panic began to set.
“Missing something?” Annie asked with a purr, smirking at me. Next to her right shoulder and hovering just a few feet in front of me appeared my necklace. The chain had been broken and dangled as the changeling queen regarded it with mild curiosity. “Ah, yes. It would appear the link was broken during your struggle with my Infiltrators. You are quite the fighter, Mr. Spriggs. Perhaps there is some merit on the old intelligence I have on you.”
Somewhere in my mind I was wrestling with the urge to attack and lash out with all of my frustrations behind it. I wanted to start raving like a lunatic and scream every profanity I could think of, maybe in the process invent a few new ones. As my mind raced, I stared stupidly at the queen towering over me like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi.
Annie swung her narrow neck down to put her face in front of mine. “But enough about you. As interesting as you are, I brought you here to...talk.” She smiled dangerously, flicking the tip of her tongue out. It had the desired effect of scaring me shitless.
“What do you want?” I managed to croak.
The queen pulled away, apparently satisfied with her intimidation. “A monster has stolen my children. You are my guest until the princesses destroy it and retrieve them or fail and I kill you.” The necklace was floated over to me, bearing the green aura of the queen’s telekinetic grip. “There is a locator spell upon it. I suspected as much. Not as if I expected anything less. Princess Celestia does have an interest in keeping tabs on your whereabouts. Curious there has been no sign of her or any sort of rescue attempt after a full day. Perhaps the nobility in her efforts to save my children no doubt has put concern for your well-being on hold for the time being. Or perhaps she does worry for you as she always seems to have the worrisome habits towards all living sapient things. Even changelings. What a foolish nag. Her concern for others will be her eventual downfall.” She studied me closely as she spoke, gauging my reactions to her little monologue.
I stared at the necklace, trying to digest her words. My eyes flicked towards Annie. She smirked, inclining her head for me to take it. She even pressed it into my hand the moment I reached for it. “Why should you care?”
Queen Anisophira chirped sharply a few short notes and the lights began moving. I jerked back in surprise as I realized they weren’t lights at all! They were changeling eyes, belonging to several guards who had been staring at me warily. The buzzing sound I heard earlier had been their wings as they fanned the room to circulate the air. Quietly they filed out, hissing softly as they obeyed their queen. As the light faded with the passing of those oddly glowing eyes from the chamber, so did my pulse quicken as the only source of light was soon emanating from the twin pools attempting to devour my soul.
“You are a creature who prefers the light of the sun, are you not?” she asked coyly, slowly gliding in a predatory circle around me. She made no sound, save for her wings as they appeared to be restless. As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I noticed her ears constantly twitching and swiveling. “Yet your kind operate with stealth and skill at night if trained properly. Remarkable. You appear to be not much of something to behold, yet your ability to adapt to your environment and skill in manipulating your world to suit your comforts makes you dangerous. An apex predator with no claw or fang to hunt with. You hunt with your minds. Yes, your kind are dangerous, Mr. Spriggs. Though too much to look at from the outside.” She paused, regarding me with a feral hunger. “But that’s not what I’m interested in.”
I dug my toes into the hard floor, remembering I was sans boots and one of my big toes was still sore from stubbing it in the galley. Thinking it best to keep my mouth shut, I simply held her gaze, strongly wondering why I wasn’t running away and screaming like a little school girl.
Annie was terrifying.
“I can taste your fears, Mr. Spriggs,” she taunted, twisting a savage grin through her fanged mouth. “You should be used to us changelings by now. Or have you only tamed ones to deal with in your experience? Docile changelings. Bah!” she spat at the ground, tossing her mane with disgust. “They seek peace with prey? Queen Druanae is weak and her weakness has sent her to pleading for protection under the wings of grazers. Bah!” She barked out a harsh laugh with no humor in it. “Were I so foolish as to spit in the face of my Empress with such ideas. Changelings do not consort with lesser races, human! Changelings do not let lesser races raise their nymphs! Changelings do not mix their blood with lesser races! Never breed with those beneath us. We are supreme. We are strong. And I am losing my hive.”
I started, wondering if I had just been brought into the presence of a living insane asylum.
“Chrysalis and I were close,” she went on, resuming her predatory orbit around me. “As close as sisters are allowed beneath the gaze of our beloved Mother. We plotted and schemed and moved upon Celestia, to teach them a lesson in superiority. We pulled in other sisters and their hives to aid our children in assaulting the hallowed home of the Sisters. We launched our assault with precision, after we had eroded their defenses from within. Our attack was perfect and we had the Sun in our grasp! Chrysalis’ plan worked perfectly and I envied her. Oh, how our children feasted upon the fears of our victims. But fear does not satisfy. Only love can leave a changeling feeling content. Only love can develop an egg so it might hatch.”
Annie sighed, stopping again in her tracks as her ears drooped dejectedly. “Mother was not pleased with us. She was not pleased with Chrysalis and we were punished. We were betrayed with a simple act of leaving the bride and groom unguarded. Oh, the ponies have all been told there was but one queen that day, but not two. Not three. There were four of us, Mr. Spriggs. Four queens bringing the full military might of their hives upon one location! It was glorious. Mother was greatly displeased with our act.” She stared through me, her eyes going distant as if recalling the memory, reliving the past in the present. “She snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and scattered us to the four winds with a simple act of pure love. Such power...such...devotion…”
She blinked, shaking her head for a moment before regarding me as if I had just appeared before her out of thin air.
“Come, Mr. Spriggs. There are some things I must show you.”
None of my questions had been answered, by the way. Annie had gone bye-bye a long time ago, it would seem. Or had she? Was she acting crazy or was she really crazy? Or was I crazy enough to see her ramblings as crazy? Numbly I got to my feet, my joints aching and muscled protesting. I needed to take a leak.
“Where’re we going?” I asked numbly, popping body parts and trying to get things to function properly. Growing old sucked.
“A tour of my home and the home of my changelings,” she said, taking on a demeanor of a pleasant hostess. All the crazy had vanished and a professional smile creased her muzzle. “You are a guest and it would be rude to not do so.”
By now I was used to the dim lighting. It still didn’t mean I could make out things very well.
“I am unfamiliar with human vision. Do you have enough light?” Her question touched with concern as she regarded me.
“It’s a bit dim,” I replied, coughing. I had to turn my head away from the changeling. It was sort of like standing next to Sigourney Weaver if she had four hooves and a long, crooked horn. What can I say? Tall women can be intimidating. Why was Annie reminding me of the actress? Was it because of the Aliens movies? Yeah, I think so. Maybe it was something about her voice that made me think of her.
Stupid rambling brain.
“The last assault damaged our light source,” Annie explained brusquely. “Somehow they managed to scramble the hive mind, rendering most of the adults helpless and unable to defend our home. My hive is not as large as some of the others. In fact, I have the smallest hive of my sisters.” She lit the tip of her horn until it glowed a soft green light. “Perhaps this will do. Come. There is much for you to see and to understand.” Without waiting for me, she surged ahead at a determined pace.
I padded after her on the balls of my feet. Shadows moved silently behind as as guards fell in step at a respectful distance. Their menacing eyes were slits as they glared at me in obvious contempt. Chryssie never felt this ominous, but this queen had me eying her nervously.
“Aren’t you afraid of starting a war?” I asked.
“Celestia would not dare put her beloved subjects in harm’s way if she could help it. She is ancient and powerful, but far too sentimental.”
I noticed there were signs of what I believed to be combat throughout the corridors. Changelings were busy trying to clean up debris on the floor and patching up crumpled holes. The place looked like a war zone. A few walked on the ceilings, giving me curious looks and chirping at each other. It gave the impression they were whispering to each other about me.
“On earth, attacking a warship can be considered an act of war,” I said.
The queen snorted with disdain. “I am more concerned with my missing children and the actions of my fellow queens than a pacifist pony princess. A dragon sends his lackeys to romp through my hive and kill my subjects and steal this hive’s future. A stern glare from the Diarch of the Sun means nothing to me.”
My sore toe was bothering me. My knuckles throbbed. I think I broke something in my hand. Still, I didn’t complain, but followed reluctantly. I jammed the arrowhead necklace into my jeans pocket and sighed, wondering why the universe hated me. At least I hadn’t been bound or thrown into a cell...or worse.
“In case you were wondering,” Anisophira tossed casually over her shoulder, “I have you in a mild thrall to keep you compliant. Nothing too intrusive. I’m aware of the scarring on your mind and I certainly have no interest in further damaging what little you have left.”
“What is with you changelings and mind raping me?” I complained.
“You happen to have some value, Mr. Spriggs. Nothing more. Your link with Chrysalis is unique and… disturbing. As a human, you should not be able to link into a hive mind, but she managed to do that with you. You are a curiosity, as well as something of interest to all the queens. Mother was kind enough to share her memory of the encounter with you. Not all the queens were impressed.” The queen followed the corridor as it turned and sloped downwards at a sharp angle. It branched off to other, smaller passageways, but I found us travelling in a descending spiral deeper into the heart of wherever the hell I was. I could hear the sounds of a crap load of changelings going about their business, reminding me of a bustling underground city. They bowed to their queen, gave me odd looks, and behaved pretty much like ponies I had met already.
If I tried really hard to apply my imagination, they might have looked like normal people in a small town just going through their daily routine. Only this was in some sort of underground cave system and some of them were walking on the walls and ceilings. The air hung heavy with high strung nerves and frightened little titters. It became easy to tell the civilians from the guards; the frightened and worried from the suspicious and determined.
I did see one changeling foal, clasped securely on the back of his mother and staring at me with huge, curious eyes. The mother saw me, buzzed her wings nervously as she bowed to the queen. It wasn’t hard to see the females were easily larger than the males. Not quite as grand in appearance as her queen, she still looked more fearsome than the...stallions, I guess the boy changelings are called? Annie’s expression went soft as she spoke in her buggy language to the changeling, maybe inquiring about the baby or perhaps asking if she thought I was a moron. I didn’t have a clue. The foal must have known who the queen was right off the bat as an inquisitive little chirp was answered with a buzzing hum. He lowered his head and Anisophira gently, oh so gently! touched the tip of her horn to the little nub in the center of his forehead.
At some point I decided it had to be a boy, but by then, we were already on the move. I waved good-bye at the little changeling tyke. He was a cute little nipper, staring at my fingers as they wriggled at him. He stared at his hooves, held up on holey appendage curiously and I think he tried to wriggle his hoof at himself. His mother took him one way, the guards slipping aside to let her by before reforming their ranks behind us while we resumed our little ‘tour’.
Anisophira wasn’t explaining anything along the way. I supposed I shouldn’t complain. I wasn’t in chains, but my feet were not used to barefoot excursions. Glumly I wondered if this would be my Bataan Death March, only without the bayonets and murderous heat. I was compelled to follow the changeling mare against my will, my eyes fixed sullenly upon the back of her head. She had an odd bob to her walk, and I found myself mimicking it.
Of course, my eyes had a mind of their own and began to wander, taking in the details of the queen walking before me. Her mule-like ears cocked at me for a moment before splaying out naturally, much as Chryssie’s ears do.
She was skinny, as I had observed earlier. As to whether or not she was pretty was debatable, considering the spindly legs had a sense of being malnourished. Where as pony legs tended to be thick and stout, these were more akin to the legs of a deer. What stuck in my mind was seeing her hip bones stick out from her flanks.
“What?” she wondered, annoyance in her voice. “Spare me your pity, Mr. Spriggs.”
“You’re starving, aren’t you?”
She misstepped, but caught herself. “Come. It’s just a little further, Mr. Spriggs. As to answer your question, no I am not starving. This is my natural appearance. Are all humans rude like you?”
“Lady, if you think I’m rude, then you’re in for a shock if you meet some of the people I’ve met in my life.” Her guards hissed at my tone, not at all liking what they felt was me being disrespectful to their queen. At least she wasn’t controlling my mouth. I decided to let it run.
Did I ever mention I’m not the smartest guy in the world?
She spun on me with such speed as to make me question why I thought she was half-starved. Before I could blink, her muzzle was half a breath from my nose, her eyes ablaze with fury. Her magic took hold of me and I found myself unable to move.
“Listen to me and listen well, human,” she hissed at me. My speech clearly pissed her off. Jimmes were definitely rustled! “I would prefer you dead, but Mother would have it otherwise. I am being punished for something I did and my hive is suffering for it. What I am about to show you is a shame all queens dread ever having befall them or their subjects. I am going to show you a broken incubation chamber where all of our eggs are gathered and cared for until they hatch. Do not suppose for a minute I do this because I like you or even think you are worth my time. But Chrysalis is connected to you and she will sense what you feel. You are but an instrument to be used, then discarded when there is no longer any use for you.” She released me and I stumbled backwards, falling on my butt, jarring my right elbow from breaking the fall.
“Christ, first you tell me you mean to protect me, then you say you want to kill me. What’s the big idea?”
She inhaled deeply, recovering her composure. “I suppose you are but a pawn in a game I myself have no other choice but to play my part in,” Annie admitted. “A trap has been set for your benefactors, more to test an unproven changeling than anything else. But that does not matter for the moment.” She hoisted me to my feet telekinetically. “Come. There is little time and much to show you. You must become educated, Mr. Spriggs. You must learn a little of true changeling society. You raised a changeling as you would one of your own young. Such ignorance cannot be overlooked. Especially when it concerns a queen.”
“I’m not starving,” she insisted, softly, her voice suddenly hollow. “I’m dying. Celestia knew this upon laying her eyes upon me. She knows I’m desperate and doesn’t want to risk me doing something stupid because of it.”
I stare at her, not knowing what to say, other than to parrot out the word ‘dying’ in the form of a silent question.
“Again, your pity is not wanted, Mr. Spriggs. Come. There is much to do. Our stock of love is low and thankfully the fiend did not take the unhatched eggs. His insufferable minions destroyed most of the reserves set aside for the hatchery. Deliberately, I should think.” She pursed her lips, an impressive feat with her fangs.
“So, what happened?” I asked as we resumed our journey. Seriously, how big was this hive? It felt like I had already walked a mile.
“Two nights ago, I received word from the Empress there was to be a gathering of the queens,” Annie said just loudly enough to hear. “A new queen had been found. Rather, Chrysalis was returning to the Cradle.”
“What’s the Cradle?”
“It’s considered the birthplace of our race and the only permanent city of all the hives. The Empress resides there, along with my two eldest sisters. The three of them maintain the city as a neutral place where the queens can gather and work out differences in opinion. Changeling law is simple and straight forward, but there are times when certain issues require the attention of the First Mother.”
“Syl?” I queried.
The queen regarded me with another flash of annoyance. “That name is meaningless to me. Where does it apply in this conversation?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s just since Chryssie’s mom didn’t bother to give me a name, I gave her one so I could have something to associate with her.”
“Pointless,” she huffed. “And we’re already off topic. Nevermind the Cradle, Mr. Spriggs. You’ll soon see its ominous glory soon enough.” Well, if that doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy of anticipation, then nothing will! “He used griffons to cover the skies while the dogs came in through the caves to prevent escape. Leviatan has a keen he can emit which can disrupt the hive mind and render most changelings as helpless as a landed fish.”
“What’s Leviatan?”
“He’s a sea monster. Rather, a sea dragon that has ruled the oceans for as long as anyling can remember. He never before bothered us, but he is a dragon and dragons by default are always seeking ways to grow their treasure hordes. One way to do it is through slavery. Changeling hatchlings are considered highly desirable by any creature who has a certain use for them. Disgusting.” She spat the last word with emphatic enthusiasm. Annie slowed in her steps, pondering for a moment the ground at her hooves before resuming at a quicker pace.
Our path began to show bits of moonlight breaking through there and there, slowly at first. We round a corner and I could smell the salty air of the sea. Faintly, I can hear waves crashing against the rocks, the din growing louder and louder with each step. Our path simply disappears in the face of a night sky kissing a moonlit sea, the breakers foaming a bluish white as they tumble ceaselessly into the base of a sheer cliff face. The stones here are jagged and broken, as if something massive had simply torn away at the rocks.
“He sang his song to paralyze us and I tried to face him, to stop him,” Anisophira said in a voice barely above a whisper. Fading away was her confidence. I understood a broken mother when I saw one. I was once a broken father. “Fifty-three hatchlings, Mr. Spriggs. While he sang and my changelings lay helpless, I battled against his might and failed. As I failed, he tore away the protection of the cliffs, exposing the hatchery. Fifty-three members of a generation were taken at the cost of more than two hundred of my subjects dashed to the waves and rocks below or felled by the minions of the drake.” She turned to me, tears coursing down her face. “But that is far from the worst of it. One hundred and forty-one hatchlings were crushed beneath the avalanche and two hundred and thirty-five eggs were smashed. Among the dead are my own eggs.” She threw a hoof at the shattered remnants of her hive. “Observe my kingdom, Mr. Spriggs. Observe my home and know my despair.”
She inhaled deeply, shuddering out an exhale. “No, spare me your pity. I am beyond such a trivial thing. Mourn instead for my dead children and the dead children of the changeling mares who worked so hard to gather enough love to start a family. We live for the next generation, Mr. Spriggs. They are always our hope for a better hive. Without them, we are dead inside.”
I stared numbly into the void of little more than broken earth and filled with the roar of the ocean.
“As I was saying, Mother announced Chrysalis would be traveling under the watchful eyes of Celestia and Luna. Her plan was to put each of her sisters in her path, one at a time so they might come to see for themselves the return of a sister they thought dead.” The change of topic left me in a lurch. “Come, there is more to show you. I might have an immediate use for you.”
“Celestia will send some of her precious ponies to collect you,” she noted, touching on something she had already mentioned earlier. “No doubt they will be expecting a hive on full alert. I doubt they are aware Leviatan has been slowly starving my changelings for weeks, chasing off my fishers who feed this hive from the bounty of the sea. Oh, we do what we can to run his blockade, but there are but three hundred of us who are able to fight. This fortress must be abandoned, lest my subjects be want not only of love, but of basic food as well.”
I thought I hear her mutter something else under her breath.
“Mother would never have let this happen in the past…”
As I paid attention to the changelings we passed, I noted more and more of them sporting what I thought were injuries of various degrees. The tunnels were soon filled with litters bearing the wounded. Pitiful changeling chirp versions of moans and groans filled the air. It reminded me of a hospital filled with civilians after a suicide bomber went off in the middle of a open market. I felt as though I was gazing down at innocent civilians, the strange insect-like sounds they made akin to people crying in pain, lamenting lost loved ones, or at a loss to what had happened.
Queen Anisophira was an emotional wreck and was barely able to hold herself together.
I followed the shambling queen past the crowd of wounded changelings in the halls. She ducked into a room to the left and I followed, seeing the attending changelings —their medical people, I assume— bow to her and speak in their strange buggy language. She smiled at them briefly, her attention turning to cocoons suspended from the ceiling. They glowed a soft phosphorescent green, each one roughly the size of a mini refrigerator. The room was filled with the things lining the wall. Most seemed empty, but the ones that were occupied were lined up together. Mentally I counted and found the number to be twenty-two.
“Our babies,” the queen whispered with a wan smile. “There is hope yet. Come. You raised a changeling. Look upon them. They sleep in their pods. They heal. All of our reserves of love have gone into making them whole again.” Without waiting for me to reply, she slowly moved forward, chirping softly as she approached the first cocoon. One of her subjects said something to her sternly, but she ignored whatever was said, her horn flaring to life. With a steady exhale, she leaned forward to the cocoon and brushed the tip of her horn against the surface. The little form within was suddenly surrounded by liquid flaring with magic.
I came closer and noticed with fascination little bits of golden tendrils flowing from the surface of the cocoon where Annie held her horn in place to the little form suspended in the center of it. My heart went to my throat as I realized it was a young changeling, maybe younger than Chryssie when I had first found her.
“Oh my God!” I gasped.
“Our babies,” the queen repeated. She withdrew, the light of her horn fading. Shuddering, she righted herself and moved to the next one. “This is only a third of the survivors who made it through the first night after the attack.” An eye flicked to me before focusing on what was in front of her.
“Why? Why do this? It doesn’t make sense.”
She scoffed. “You’re a warrior. You know perfectly well the insanity you have witnessed in your life. Why ask such a question?”
Taking a step back from the queen as she repeated her thing with the horn, I found I didn’t want to answer. But, like a glutton for punishment, I did. “When I was younger, I joined the army because I thought I could make a difference to stop this sort of chaos.”
Annie smirked. “You must have been a very naive child.” She was already on the third cocoon, moving with grace despite her weariness. It was as though being in the presence of the changeling foals in the pods gave her a new vigor. “Place your appendage on this one,” she instructed in an authoritative tone, giving a slight jerk with her head. “I do not have the energy nor enough love to feed them all.”
I hesitated. Appendage? Oh, she meant my hand!
“Can’t you freely give love to other changelings besides your adopted daughter?” she asked flatly.
“Is it safe?” came my query.
“You will come to no harm, Mr. Spriggs. If you please, touch the surface of the cocoon.”
I thought of the foal I had seen earlier. Leaning forward, I peered into the pod and tried to make out the details of the little form within. It was indeed a changeling, roughly the size of a football. He was very young. I think it was a ‘he’. I found myself blurting the question.
“A colt, Mr. Spriggs,” Annie intoned patiently, backpedaling a step to give me room.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and extended my palm towards the surface of the pod holding the changeling. I heard a slightly alarmed chirp to my left. One of the doctors, I think, or whatever changeling medical personnel are called. Annie replied sharply. The other changeling sulked as it muttered under its breath.
The cocoon felt warm to the touch. My fingers gently brushed the surface. It was somewhere between rough and smooth, with patches of both. As soon as skin touched the odd organic surface, there was the sensation of awareness from the little creature within the heart of the cocoon. I opened my eyes and peered in. The colt twitched his little legs. I could see some of his wounds, though the view was blurred with the goop he floated in. One eye was simply gone, it seemed. The other was closed, but one of his hooves seemed to reach for me. I might have been mistaken.
“Yes, feed him,” Annie cooed. Her breath fell warm upon my neck and shoulders, ragged and starved. Whipping my head towards the sound of her breathing, she caught herself, surprised at her own action. The queen gasped, “I cannot, must not!” I could hear her clattering, almost frantic hoofsteps as she moved away from me. “For them! Only for them!”
The room buzzed with the sound of changelings, but I tuned them out. I could feel the same sensations I felt when Chryssie was young; the touch followed by the tingly sensation. For a moment, I flashed back to happier days of watching television with my daughter while petting her mane between the ears. Oh, the questions she would ask!
“That is enough, Mr. Spriggs,” Annie said softly in my ear. I jerked back and away from her, my hand falling away. The sensation vanished and I was staring into the eyes of a queen who was giving me an odd look. “The next one requires love. They all do if they are to fully recover. Love is one of the most pure forms of magic. We need it to feel complete, but can never hold it. Love for changelings is elusive, for we cannot keep it. It is the key source of our power and it allows us to regenerate.”
I nodded, not understanding a damned thing she just said. Chryssie ate normal food growing up, but Celestia did explain a little about the other way changelings feed. They feed on emotions to charge their magic. It also bolsters their physical attributes and inherent abilities. It seems as though they really need love when they’re still in the eggs to help them develope. The more love a changeling gets while in the egg and as a nymph, the better chances they have at survival. I have no clue what it all means, but I guess I did something right. Chryssie is about as healthy a changeling as I’ve ever seen. Never mind she’s the only one I’ve spent any amount of time with. She grew up as happy as I could manage to keep her.
“I can feel the love flowing from you,” the queen said softly. She coughed harshly and unexpectedly, turning her head quickly as she did. Instinctively, I reached out to her, my fingers brushing the base of her throat. Those harlequin eyes flashed like green hellfires. “Don’t touch me!” she spat, drawing out a long hiss at me.
Suddenly I was surrounded by guards, each one giving me the evil eye and brandishing their sharp horns at me. I noted they were each clad in armor of some sort over their carapaces.
“Never touch me, filth!” Anisophira screamed, lunging in at me until she was close enough for her spittle to spray over my face. I fell back, or tried to, but her magic held me and fast. I had no idea she would become unhinged like this. “I will make you feel pain the likes of which you would never wish for in your deepest, darkest nightmares if you ever think to touch me. Do I make myself perfectly clear, ape?”
“All right! I’m sorry!” I cried, unable to move. “I was trying to help.”
She snorted, narrowing her eyes, nostrils flared and ears splayed against her skull. Her mane had assumed a life of its own; undulating about her face and neck like a swarm of snakes.
“I don’t need your help,” she said after a long and painful silence (with buzzing guards around us). “I am beyond help. The nymphs need what you can give them. The ones asleep in the cocoons need love so they can heal. My time is short, so I give what reserves I have to them. I will not look back upon my life and think to myself I did not give it my all to the next generation.”
Again, my mouth took over without giving my brain a chance to kick in. “Why are you dying?” I asked when I found my voice.
Hesitating, the queen regarded me, curling the side of her lip for a moment as the room went deathly quiet. “It’s a wasting disease,” she said flatly. “There is no cure. I’ve searched for one. My subjects have hunted for one. It’s been with me since shortly after the failure at Canterlot. Even Mother has deemed the progression of my malady to be beyond her ken.”
“Is there any pain?” Shut up, Mike.
“Some days, it’s a dull ache. Others, it’s as though my insides are trying to turn themselves inside out.” She barked a short laugh, condescending and pitiless. Anisophira sounded like she had given up in more ways than one. “But I must move my hive from the sea and take my changelings to a safe place so they might rebuild. I can at least do this.” She released me and ordered her guards off me. They did so reluctantly, but obediently. “Please continue to heal my children, Mr. Spriggs. Then I shall show you the other nymphs and the broodmothers watching over them.”
For what seemed like hours, I ignored my aches and pains (and that goddamn throbbing big toe), going from one cocoon to the next, peering in at the young changeling within, unable to not see their wounds and their hurts. I wept for them, thinking of Chryssie. Anisophira quietly informed me when each nymph had enough love, then I would move on to the next one. Nervous chirps from the other adult changelings were pipe up and catch in my ears. Slowly I felt more and more drained, but I was beginning to understand the need, even if the methods of healing were flat out insane. Love to heal wounds? Love to help children grow? It was taking an emotion and applying it in the literal sense.
Baffling.
Still, I did what I could. Apparently I was doing it right. I felt something for the little guys. They reminded me so much of Chryssie when she was little! I guess what I felt for my daughter had simply passed over to these helpless little victims. I also felt bad for their queen. Sure, she was a bitch, but she clearly loved these kids...foals...nymphs...whatever! Pissed at being kidnapped was one thing, but discovering the reason behind it was even more shocking.
Annie seemed to notice. “Anger will not heal those nymphs any faster, Mr. Spriggs,” she informed me in a bored tone.
I grunted in response.
After cocoon number twenty-two was done, Anisophira (or Annie, as I obviously had dubbed her) ordered me to rest while one of her medical changelings clucked over me (and I do mean clucked). Apparently my own aches and pains were enough to bother with a cursory once-over.
“They’re using the love they fed off of you indirectly to take care of you. You could say you’re loving yourself,” chuckled the queen. The smirk on her face was humorless. Somehow, I think she hurled an insult at witless ole’ me.
Which doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. “How do you know about human anatomy?” I asked the changeling mare tending me. She looked up from the attention she was giving my knuckles and cocked her head to one side. A cute little mewling sound followed before she shrugged and went back to work.
I looked expectantly for a translation from her queen. Anisophira complied. “Books,” she said helpfully. “Before we move on, you will eat something.” There was no suggestion in any way, shape, or form in her voice. I had the impression I was going to eat even if she felt it necessary to order her guards to hold me down while she shoveled grub down my gullet.
Yay me. “Okay,” I said lamely. My stomach rattled its cage at the mention of food.
With the queen leading the way and me patched up by my own lovin’, I found myself in a chamber maybe a third the size of the one the cocoons had been in. A table awaited within and a small meal had been placed there. From what I had seen of the place and upon first glance at the dishes, changelings were a spartan people. People? What word would I use? Sapients? Sentients? Race? Damn it. It was like they lived as nomads, or hunter-gatherers, clinging to an old way of life that was dangerous and uncertain. I could smell the fish, as well as an assortment of vegetables. There was another place set.
The table was long and rectangular. A stool had been set up for me at one end and a high backed chair designed for certain quadrupedal queen was at the other end. In the middle of the table was set an odd bulbous lamp glowing an amber yellow.
Proudly Anisohpira announced, “Most of what you see was gathered from the sea by my changelings. They take pride in their skills as fishers. I do not think I shall ever tire of the taste of the sea. I enjoy what my cooks create in their kitchens. Do you like seafood, Mr. Spriggs?”
“I know it’s a healthy way to eat,” I replied. Not really a big fan of fish, my stomach firmly told me at this point it wasn’t going to be too terribly picky. “I don’t get much seafood, but I’m always willing to try new things.” I’m a rotten liar.
Long story short, I ate on pain of... whatever. The queen nibbled and I was stared into finishing everything on my plate. Thankfully, there was no small talk, no conversation. I could feel eyes upon me beyond those hellish orbs of the ruler of this hive. I had to eat with my hands, but a warm, damp washcloth was waiting for me. I was escorted to what passed as facilities and I was allowed to relieve myself and bathe. Changeling plumbing is weird. After some embarrassing moments of trying to figure out how everything worked, I emerged refreshed and clean, if not a bit disturbed by the whole ordeal. A pair of changeling mares attended me while I bathed, chatting in their chirpy language while I simply sat there, flushed beet red the whole time. If someone could combine a chicken and a cricket into one voice, that’s what they sounded like as they scrubbed me squeaky clean. I was not allowed to move. The best part was I survived relatively intact, if a bit resigned to the nightmares to come.
Still, my mind remained locked on what I had seen in that room with the cocoons. I had thought about them since leaving them. Each one had throbbed with the heartbeat of each individual foal within. It haunted me, moved me. Why would a monster want changeling foals? For what purpose? Annie had mentioned they were considered valuable as slaves. I hadn’t even seen what this dragon looked like, but guessing from the massive hole in the side of the cliff, I’d say he was in Godzilla territory.
“How long was I out?” I wondered out loud. It was night time, for crying out loud! Was I out cold the whole day? Two days? Three?
As I found myself waiting alone in yet another room...well, with a guard watching me like a hawk, I pulled my necklace out of my pocket and fiddled with the broken chain. Now, why in the world would Celestia give me some magic-proof arrowhead necklace only to have it be attached to a cheap chain? It was supposed to protect me from magic, but I guess the broken chain meant broken magic. It was weird feeling the pull in my mind to do the queen’s bidding. Somehow I knew she was exercising some control over my movements, but was letting my mind be free from her influence. It was as though she knew of my ordeal. How did she know who I was? Did she have some sort of spy network in Equestria? Why did she bring me here? Why would she tell me she was dying? None of it made sense yet. My thoughts were focused on those poor changeling foals.
I found changelings didn’t use chairs. They seemed to prefer some sort of raised couches made of the same material as the walls and floors and covered with cushions. As they were roughly the size of ponies, they were a bit small for me. There was nothing else to sit on, so I made due. I guess I was waiting for the queen to finish whatever royal things she had to do. She wanted to show me something else and I had a feeling there was more going on than just a simple tour of her home. The place had the feel of being prepared for an evacuation. Either that, or changelings were very spartan in their furnishings.
Another thing I noticed about changelings was distinguishing males from females. Not only were the ladies a bit larger, but they also sported manes. The males had a sort of spiky looking fin growing from their heads. It looked strange, but then again, all changelings had holes in their legs. Chryssie was no exception.
As my thoughts strayed towards my daughter, I realized she was more than likely going to be in a bit of a rage over this. How did I know this? Call it a father’s intuition. Call it knowing your child’s tendencies and temperament. Chrysalis Spriggs had an explosive temper. There was a lot about her childhood that was cringe worthy from my point of view. Our relationship had been pretty good; we had been close and developed an unspoken and unquestioned trust with each other. It was the rest of the world that had no idea about her and her desire to destroy things which might pose a threat to her daddy, when she wasn’t frightened half to death.
The minute she holds on to that self confidence I’ve always hoped she’d develop, there’s no telling what she’d be capable of.
Suddenly this hive disappearing beneath the shadow of a mushroom cloud became a very real possibility. I might have been exaggerating Chryssie’s magical ability, but her temper alone would melt the Antarctic ice cap. She knew my anxiety in this world. Chryssie knew my emotions very well and it often times confused her. Still young, still inexperienced, I was suddenly dreading what she might do. There was no question she would try to find me following our link.
“Yes, she will come,” came that dreadful voice I was beginning to fear. Anisophira appeared from the shadows. “But not before I impart upon you some knowledge. Your meeting with the Empress is inevitable. She has proclaimed all queens and their hives forbidden from imparting knowledge of changeling ways to outsiders. As I am dying and my hive will quickly become nothing more than a gaggle of Gray changelings, her edict means little to me.”
She beckoned me with her mane. It undulated like a swarm of snakes, the tips crooking at me like a hundred fingers.
“Come. You will see the nymphs that were not harmed in the attack. You will give them some of your love.” She did not offer any other options and I was inclined to acquiesce to her command.
I rose and followed, like any idiot would do and I fit the mold perfectly. I don’t think anything I’ve done to this point since coming to Equestria has made a lick of sense. Stupid is as stupid does. I just hope my daughter doesn’t wind up like me.
Yay me.
“We found a shipment of human children bound for the Old World,” Annie was saying. My attention immediately focused on her voice. “Somehow they were brought from your world and here. If Leviatan has found access to a forgotten portal, then this does not bode well for my world.”
“Kids? How many?” I blurted, hurrying to catch up to her. “What do you mean kids?”
“We intercepted a ship— stolen, mind you, and stuffed full of human offspring. The dragon’s pirates intended to sell them for profit. Slave labor. Pets. Food.” —Wait, food?— “My scouts had been watching the dragon’s lair for some time as we have been skirmishing with the pirates off and on for the past three years or so. They were in a magical slumber when we came across them.” The queen flicked her eyes at me for a moment, chancing a quick fanged grin before continuing. “They thought we took them, having little to no memory of their abductions.”
“I have a hard time believing that story,” I grunted, jamming my hands into my pockets. I rolled my shoulders into a slump and slouched as I walked. “Tell me you didn’t harm any of them.”
“I did not and had no intention of such a thing,” sniffed the queen. “Bah! Preying on children is only useful when posing as one of their parents. Far too much effort for the reward, if you ask me. Better they be handed over to the Equestrians. One of the male children had been told to steer the ship by something called a computer. A tool of your world?” She cocked an eyebrow at me expectantly.
A nod was my reply. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure civilization as I know it would collapse without them. Computers are responsible for a lot of the technological advancements on Earth. All of the developed countries have them.” I was actually surprised Annie handed the kids over the Celestia, unless… “You used them to bait us into paying attention to the ship they were on while you slipped on board our ship.”
Her smile was shameless. “Most astute, Mr. Spriggs.”
“So why all the cloak and dagger?”
“My pride prevents me from flat out asking for assistance. By giving the human children to Celestia, she will see they have come to no harm at changeling hands and be more willing to see my hive’s dilemma from a less aggressive standpoint.” Something told me she wasn’t telling me the whole story. If there was anything I could count on in this madness, it was my skepticism.
“If that’s the story you want to go with.”
“It’s rude to not address a ruler by her proper title within the confines of her home,” she told me rather sternly. “I tolerate your rudeness because you amuse me. The amusement is wearing thin.” The flash of emerald in her eyes was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“I’m sorry, your Majesty. I really don’t have to deal with kings or queens where I come from, not including my daughter.” Why can’t I just keep what I say simple and to the point?
Anisophira flicked an ear and buzzed her wings. I had lost track of how far we had walked, but definitely felt we had been going up an incline. The hall had a gradual turn to the left, passing by other passageways and rooms. This place had a real organic feel to it. We kept on passing other changelings as we went, all of them making some show of loyalty to the queen. I was beginning to notice a lot of them were bearing signs of combat.
“Queen Annie,” I began, only to be hissed at. Clearing my throat apologetically, I tried again. “Queen Anisophira, there was not just the dragon who attacked, was there?”
There was a moment of silence before she chose to answer. “No. He brought a small force to fight their way to the chambers for the eggs and hatchlings and take them. What adults were able to resist were not enough to stop them. Leviatan employs his lackeys to go where his bulk does not allow him. How he discovered my hive can only mean either one of my changelings was followed home or I was betrayed. The former option is highly unlikely. The latter would suggest one of my sisters is behind this.”
What a nice family, sarcasm implied. “Why would they do that to you?”
She stopped in front of another entrance and peered within. Satisfied at what she saw, she smiled a little before sternly regarding me. “I’ve been replaced. As the weakest of the changeling queens, the Empress declared my replacement just yesterday. Queen Felu’s daughter is to replace me. In accordance to ancient tradition, there can only be twelve queens. There are many princesses, the offspring of the queens and considered queens in their own hives, but queens such as myself are the most ancient of all the changelings.”
The explanation only served to give me a headache.
She chuckled upon seeing the confusion on my face. “Enough of such talk. Come. This is what I wanted you to see.” Annie glided through the threshold. I followed and found myself in a bright room filled with simple toys from brightly colored balls to carved wooden figures of painted changelings. Three changeling mares watched over a gaggle of changeling nymphs of varying ages playing together or alone. Some napped, others snacked.
All stopped what they were doing and stared at me. They caught my scent. Even the sleeping changelings woke up as a rapid succession of chirps assailed my ears. The chattering noise were questions, each one directed at the queen, who only laughed as she waded into the milling swarm. She answered patiently, lowering herself to the floor and folding her legs beneath her regally. A very small nymph waddled over to her, fearfully eyeing the bipedal giant gaping like a moron at the scene. The small army of dark cuteness all continue to stare. I even saw one of the nymphs lean to the ear of another and whisper something. There was a nod and much hushed whispers in the form of whatever the hell they have for a language.
“Wow,” was all I could say. “Why trust me to see your children?”
“Chrysalis grew sleek and beautiful from your touch. I should like for your love to flow into these children. They have been through much. Love is good for the young, don’t you think, Mr. Spriggs?” She nuzzled the little nymph, her eyes locked on mine. The young changeling made an adorable little sound. It was an unafraid and courageous little hello directed at me, I think. Huge blue eyes fixed in an upward gaze as she had to lean back to look up at me. I saw something there I didn’t think was possible after everything I had witnessed in this place.
I saw the flicker of hope there and saw the first days with my daughter so many years ago within them. I did not care much for Queen Anisophira, but the foals (nymphs, as she called them) tugged at my heartstrings and played them like a symphony. After a moment of watching me intently, Annie buzzed something. The whole room buzzed with tiny wings as little bodies hurled themselves at me happily, their glee-filled shrieks filling my ears as I was swarmed over by an ‘army’ of nymphs.
Celestia, take a note: If you want to show a human a fun, wholesome time, put him in a room full of kids who just want to be loved.