//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Trying to heal, but I don't know where this blood is coming from // Story: The Fungus Among Us // by Xain Russell //------------------------------// 5 days after initial infection "Well Mimic?" Chrysalis asked as she stood in the middle of of a large library. "Have you found anything?" "Unfortunately not my Queen." Mimic said as he flitted about the shelves, pulling about a dozen different books out before landing and placing them on a desk with many others. "I started with medical and botany texts, thinking that this might have been something the ponies had known about, but there was no mention of anything, fungus or otherwise, that sounded close to this plague. I've since moved onto more indirect sources: history books, legends, even the occasional old mares tale. So far, nothing even remotely close has even been mentioned at all." "Somehow I doubt the Ponies would know about this, unless they somehow caused it." Chrysalis said as she started walking down the shelves, eyeing the books as if to try and intimidate them into giving up their secrets. "Not entirely improbable," Mimic said, skimming through another book. "There are definitely ponies out there who wouldn't think twice about unleashing this sort of thing on us. The question isn't 'would they' but 'could they?'" Chrysalis scrunched up her face in thought. She ran through the myriad of reports she'd read in the last few months, trying to remember anything that might have hinted the ponies were planing to launch an attack in this way. Nothing came to mind, but like Mimic said, it might be possible. The doors to the library flew open as a drone burst inside, carrying a scroll with him. "News from our Canterlot Spies!" He cried as he skidded to a halt at the desk Mimic was occupying. Chrysalis turned her attention to the messenger, curious as to what Celestia was up to now. Mimic took the scroll and began reading it, and as he did his eyes got wider and wider. "Who sent this report?" He asked. "One of our spies within the guards! He's stationed at the dungeon they were keeping her in!" "Is there a problem Mimic?" Chrysalis asked as she approached. The drone flinched when he realized his Queen was there and dipped into a low bow. "I'm afraid so." Mimic responded somberly, hoofing the report over to her. "I fear the fungus didn't feel like staying in the main hive." Chrysalis snatched up the scroll and started reading it for herself. She almost got sick by the end of it however. One of her nurses was in the custody of the royal guard, half dead due to the fungus rapidly growing out of her head. Worse, she was being kept alive on Celestia's orders. Chrysalis screamed in frustration as she tore the report apart, stomping her hooves to the ground and cursing for all it was worth. "Is this some sort of joke?!" She howled. "Is this abomination truly that desperate to eradicate us from the face of the earth?!" "My Queen, Please!" Mimic rushed to her side and tried to reign in the Queen's rage. "Compose yourself!" Chrysalis spun about and gave Mimic the nastiest snarl she could muster, causing both him and the messenger to bolt backwards in fear. "My subjects are being eaten away by a plant, and you want me to compose myself?!" Neither of them had a response, and after a few moments of glaring, Chrysalis turned back around and started to pace. "Send a message to your spy. Tell him to kill and burn the infected changeling at any cost, even if it means blowing his cover." "Yes my Queen!" The messenger bowed once more and left as quickly as possible, leaving Chrysalis and Mimic alone once more. Silence reined in the library for some time before Mimic finally spoke. "It might be difficult for our spy to carry that order out my Queen." He said. "Celestia rotates her guard on a frequent basis, he might not get a chance. We might have to send a changeling in to specifically handle the matter." "You mean an assassin." Chrysalis said bluntly. "Yes my Queen." Chrysalis sighed and let her head sag for a moment. "Come with me Mimic, I need to converse with my children on this matter." Canterlot Celestia was fuming with barely restrained anger at the moment, stepping out of the Grand Council room, slamming the door shut behind her as confusion and annoyance needled at her mind. Celestia had expected a lack of enthusiasm to help the quarantined changeling, she had even expected the desire to simply banish the creature and its fellows to Tartarus. What the Solar Matriarch had not expected was the Council's collective agreement that a creature in the midst of pain and suffering was an opportunity for a more violent and despicable mode of gaining peace with the Changeling Swarms: Extermination. Everyone in Canterlot who knew about the quarantined changeling seemed determined to use this fungus as a weapon, without even for a moment considering the moral and ethical ramifications of such a thing. Talk of unleashing the afflicting spores to root out Changelings was abound, and what truely saddened and angered Celestia was that her sister of all ponies was agreeing with them. "They are our enemies," Luna had said to the Council. "Worse than that, they feed on us, like a spider would a butterfly. It seems clear to me that neither race can live while the other still draws breath." "You are all talking about genocide," Celestia had responded, looking about the hall with revulsion. "You have no right to end an entire race in such a horrific way, none of us do." "I'm sure Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight Sparkle will disagree," Prime Minister Iron Gavel had said. "After what happened to the two of them during the royal wedding, I'm sure they'd be all for insuring that the changeling menace never troubled them or their subjects again." Luna nodded solemnly at this, but Celsetia's hair had visibly begun to flicker like a growing flame. She inhaled deeply and made her motion. "Fine then. Send a message to both to have them convene with us here in Canterlot. This is not a matter we should take lightly and all of Equestria's rulers should have a say in the matter." Luna shook her head, as well did several Council members. "Very well, but you are merely delaying the inevitable sister." Celestia had adjured the Council at that point and stomped out of the room before anypony could approach her. Now she was left to wander and think to herself about how blinded by fear her dear subjects were becoming. 'Would they have been like this if we had gone to war with the gryphons?' she wondered. She hoped not, but this attitude toward the changelings wasn't very indicative of that hope. When the Changeling Invasion was thwarted last year, Celestia had devoted much of her time to try and find out as much as she could about them. To her shock and dismay, changelings were almost completely missing from the Canterlot archives, save for a few mentions here or there. There was no explanation of their culture, or their anatomy, or anything else that could have given her a basis for understanding them. Such a lack of information had set Celestia on edge and made her wonder with increasing anxiousness what could push them to such desperate actions. Her only indication to their motivations was the Queen's words when she had revealed herself after being confronted by the true Princess Cadence. The only thing that could be gleaned from her boasts though was that she was trying to feed her subjects, in addition to wanting to concur Equestria. 'Were they starving?' Celestia had wondered at the time. The thought had actually made her a little sad. To her slight surprise, Celestia's musings had brought her back to the dungeons, where the infected changeling, as well as the uninfected ones, were still being kept. She stood and stared at the door, a plan formulating in that fifteen hundred year old brain of hers. She sighed, knowing full well that no pony would be happy with what she was about to do. She entered into the dungeons, passing several guards as she went by the cell of the infected changeling, who was still pacing about. She arrived at the cells containing the healthy changelings, none of them looking up when she passed by. She stopped at the cell with the changeling who had been open enough to speak with her before. "Sun Princess." The changeling hissed. "Have you burned our suffering kinsman yet?" "No." Celestia responded. "And I don't intend to until I know what's wrong with her and know you're telling the truth, that she can't be saved." The changeling tched and turned away, clearly not wanting to talk anymore. Celestia sighed and stepped closer to the bars. "Who is the fastest flyer in your group?" She asked, surprising both the changeling and the guards behind her. "I have a message for your queen and I have no other way to contact her aside from you four." The changeling squinted his eyes and glared at Celestia. "What message would you give to my Queen?" "That help will always be found in Equestria for those that ask for it. I can tell that you and your kind are in the middle of a crisis, and I am willing to assist you in any way I can. All I ask is that you put down the swords and come forward in the name of peace." The changeling gawked at her for a good minute, its mouth hanging open in disbelief, before it suddenly smiled and started to laugh huskily. The other changelings joined in as Celestia simply waited patiently for an answer. "Are you serious?" The changeling asked. "Our Queen would never accept help from someone as weak as you! You are her prey! Not her friend! Why do you care anyway? Are we not your enemies?" Celestia sighed and lifted the keys off one of the guards. "I value life in all its forms. If that is weakness, then I hope I never know strength." The keys rattled as she unlocked the door to the changeling's cell. The changeling frowned, stepping forward until he was standing in the doorway. "You ARE serious." he said, looking at Celestia. He shook his head and then turned back into his cell. "Silver Gloss." He said. "Send him, he's the fastest. Silver, return to our Queen and let her know the sun princess's message." "Yes Sir!" Came a call two cells down. Celestia smiled at the small victory. "Thank you. Might I have your name?" "My Mother dubbed me Swallowtail." Was all he said. "Your mother." Celestia said with a curious voice. "Changelings have a family system?" "No." Swallowtail said bluntly, obviously not ready to just start flapping his gums off to the leader of the enemy. Celestia sighed, though still felt elated that she at least got far enough to get a name. The cell door was closed and Celestia moved to Silver Gloss's cell to open it. "Guards." Celestia said to the ponies present as the keys rattled and the cell door creaked. "If my sister asks what happened here and why she is one prisoner short, feel free to tell her what I have done." "Y-Yes Your Majesty!" The guard in charge said as Celestia and Silver Gloss departed. "If you feel the need to have a disguise, you might want to take one now." Silver didn't respond, but a flash of green fire turned him into a pegasus guard, complete with a set of armor. They took a side hallway, going the long way around so that they could avoid the infected changeling and the other group of guards. When they left the dungeons, they headed straight for a window large enough to fly out of. "Do you need me to repeat my message?" Celestia asked as she threw the window open. "No." Silver Gloss responded. "Then go now." The disguised changeling let his wings flap a few times before he launched out the open window and into the cool autumn air. Celestia watched him go for a while before shutting the windows and heading for her personal quarters. When she arrived she took a seat at her drawing desk and pulled out a blank scroll and her favorite Phoenix quill. After a moment of thought, she began to write, hoping that her plan would be set in motion before Luna or any other member of the Council had a chance to try and put a stop to it. The Western Hive The quarters Chrysalis had commandeered from Mimic were on par with what she imagined the Pony Monarchs had in their lofty castle. Garish, impractical, and reeking of self importance. Still, even she was impressed with how comfy the bed was. Her children had gathered around her as she lounged on the mattress, occasionally poking at the almost cloud like pallet while they waited for the last few members of the changeling royal family. "Viceroy." Chrysalis said suddenly as she flipped onto her back with a very serious look on her face. "Make a mental note to see about acquiring or making beds such as this." "Yes my Queen." Her child known as Viceroy responded. "Might I inquire why?" "I slept like a larva last night." Chrysalis said, just as the doors opened. "And when I awoke I felt ready to properly think about our situation. I want that feeling every morning, and I think the rest of you might benefit from it as well." "I can provide you with a list of materials my Queen." Mimic said as he walked in with both Monarch and 88. "I'm pleased you approve of at least one of my 'unneeded comforts.'" "A good night's rest is hardly unneeded." Chrysalis said, straightening up. "I can hardly say that for the rest of your... decor." She eyed the painting on the far wall of her standing proudly atop an onyx black spire. "If it displeases you my Queen, I can have anything you deem irrelevant removed." "That would be advisable, Mimic. Now, enough chit chat, down to the matter at hand." Mimic, Monarch, and 88 took their seats amongst the others and waited for their queen to speak. "My children, it has come to my attention that one of your sisters is alive and kept within the castle of Canterlot, under the captivity of the ponies." Several frustrated hisses followed this. "'Alive' however, might not be the correct word. As I understand it, she has fallen to the fungus that claimed our hive in the Badlands." The looks of anger turned to looks of fear and confusion. "At present we do not have any idea how she survived this long or why the fungus drove her to leave the hive entirely and head for pony inhabited lands. I do know that she is most likely suffering greatly, and the longer she goes on without her body being destroyed, the greater threat she poses to us. I have already sent word to our informant to kill and burn the infected, but the odds of him succeeding are unfavorable. As such, I have decided to send an assassin, to insure that the job is done." Chrysalis took in a deep breath, eyeing each of her spawn and Mimic before continuing. "I am asking that one of you infiltrate the Canterlot dungeon, and put an end to your sister's suffering." The room was quite for a long time. No one was eager to volunteer, especially if it meant risking exposure, but they still felt sick at the idea of one of their own being in such a state. After a while, Monarch finally rose and stepped forward until he was standing before his queen. "Mother... I will go." Chrysalis stared in consideration at her son before nodding. "Very well. Mimic, you will provide Monarch with whatever he requests. Soldiers, equipment, rations, information, whatever. I am counting on you to insure he succeeds." "Yes my Queen." Mimic said as he too stood up. Monarch was about turn and leave with him before Chrysalis placed a hoof on his shoulder and pulled him close. She lowered her horn to Monarch's and gave him part of her stockpile of love. "May the ancestors guide you. Be safe my dear." "Of course my Queen." Monarch said before he and Mimic left the room to prepare for the coming mission.