//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: I don't know who I'm Fighting // Story: The Fungus Among Us // by Xain Russell //------------------------------// 6 days after initial infection The morning found both Chrysalis and Mimic back in the library, dozens of books stacked in a pile after they decided none of them were of any use. They had been looking all through the night, leaving only to feed and see to necessary functions within the hive. To their growing frustration however, their search was in vain. Not one book, of any kind, bore any mention whatsoever of a fungus that grew and spread in such a violent and repulsive fashion. "This is ridiculous." The Changeling Queen snarled "How could such a despicable little plant remain so elusive throughout hundreds of years of recorded history?" "The same way it took decades for the Parasprites to be discovered in Equestria." Mimic said, tossing another book to the towering discard pile. "From what I heard, Celestia never even heard of the wretched little insects until they nearly destroyed Ponyville and Fillydelphia." Chrysalis allowed herself a small smirk at that. "Seems like bugs have a way of getting under Celestia's skin." "Yes," Mimic said with ill retained annoyance and disgust. "And this fungus has a way of getting under ours. My Queen, I'm afraid there's nothing to be found here." "So it would seem." Chrysalis said before disdainfully pushing over another stack of books, completely disregarding Mimic's whimper at the sight of his precious books having their spines and covers bent. "We need a new angle. A fresh mind to bounce ideas off of perhaps. I'll speak with a few of my children, we might be able to think of some other way of learning about our foe." "My Queen, I implore you," Mimic said as Chrysalis began to walk out of the library. "If we could get a sample of this fungus, I could possibly devise a way to counteract it." "I've already forbidden it Mimic," Chrysalis said sternly. "That fungus shall not enter this, or any other hive, so long as I draw breath. And besides," She looked back to Mimic and did her best to drive this last point home. "You'd be the fungus' next victim if you got it anywhere near you." Mimic twitched his bottom lip slightly and flickered his eyes back and forth. "Well..." He said quietly. "Not necessarily." Before Chrysalis could question that statement, a loud banging came from the library door. "My Queen!" Came a shout. "I come with news from Canterlot!" "So soon?" Chrysalis asked to herself. Monarch and the help he'd requested from Mimic had left only last night. There was no way they'd have gotten to Canterlot, eliminated the infected Changeling, then sent word back so quickly. She swung the doors wide open with her magic, revealing a very tired looking changeling, who still seemed to be gasping for breath, as if he'd ran all the way from the Equestrian Capital. The changeling took one more big gasp of breath and then stood up straight as best he could before going straight into a bow. "My Queen." He said. "Silver Gloss. Scouting sentient. I come before you with a message from Canterlot." "Did Monarch send you?" Chrysalis asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Mimic hadn't sent any scouts with her son. The Scout looked rather confused as well as he looked up at his queen. "Prince Monarch? No My Queen. I and several others, including Prince Swallowtail, were caught in the exodus from the main hive. We were brought to Canterlot and placed in their dungeons." "Swallowtail was with you?" Chrysalis mused, tapping a hoof on her chin. "I knew the risk of being discovered by the ponies was great, but out of all the evacuees I would have thought my own children would go undetected." She started to pace back and forth, running scenarios through her head of what happened... and more importantly, how this would effect Monarch's mission. "That may be a blessing in disguise, surely both he and Monarch could handle themselves. Very well, proceed with your report. However, I am already aware of the situation with the infected nurse also in captivity at Canterlot. I sent Prince Monarch there to settle the matter." Silver Gloss nodded and then continued. "The condemned nurse was brought in not long after us, she'd been caught in the pony settlement of Appleoosa. My comrades and I, to our shame, started to panic. They moved us to cells several halls down, and then the Sun Princess came before us." "Celestia." Chrysalis growled. "We demanded her to kill and burn the infected Changeling, but she would not take heed. Yesterday, she returned to our cells and..." Silver Gloss paused for a moment before snickering. "The Sun Princess wanted one of us to deliver a message to you." That actually managed to surprise Chrysalis. Celestia had a message for her? And she was willing to let a prisoner go in order to get it to her? Her eyes narrowed as she looked down at the scout. "You weren't followed were you? You don't have a tracking spell placed on you?" "No my Queen." Silver Gloss said. "I made sure of both before I got more than a mile out." Chrysalis was still wary however. If Celestia wanted to know where she was, this would have been the best opportunity for the Solar Matriarch to try and do so. But regardless, there was nothing more that could be done if that was the case. "Very well, what was the message?" The Changeling scout snickered again. "She said, quote, '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.'" Chrysalis didn't move or react in anyway to that for almost a full minute, she was too busy trying to register the fact that Celestia, her sworn enemy, had just invited her to Canterlot. In the name of peace no less. Eventually she started to smile and snicker herself. The idea was ludicrous. Why in the world would Celestia invite the Changelings to Canterlot for 'Peace Talks?' What possible reason could she have for doing so? There was nothing to gain, except for putting the Changeling Queen in the perfect position to be captured and tried for the crime of trying to feed an entire race. "What gall Celestia has!" Mimic said, joining in on the laughter. "Anyone can see that this is an obvious trap! We have no need for her 'help' my Queen, of that I can assure you." "Quite right Mimic." Chrysalis said, settling down from her small fit of giggles. "She'll be the one begging for help one of these days. Scout Silver Gloss, please show me the moment she told you this message! I'm in a laughing mood now." "Of course My Queen." Silver Gloss said, drawing closer to her. "Though I must admit she did not give the message directly to me, but to Prince Swallow Tail." "No matter, just hearing her insipid voice spout such nonsense will be enough." Chrysalis placed her horn against Silver Gloss' and they both glowed green as the transfer of memories began. Chrysalis closed her eyes and she saw a vision of the inside of what she assumed was a cell in Canterlot. She then heard the voice of her son Swallow Tail ask for Celestia's message, then the Solar Princess herself spoke. She offered help to the Changelings despite their past conflict, which was met by laughter from both the Changeling's in the memory as well as herself. Swallow Tail balked at Celestia, and then she responded with another clique and pious quip about the sanctity of life. It almost made Chrysalis gag...except, now that she was hearing it for herself - in Celestia's own voice - she couldn't help but notice something strange. Celestia's voice was bereft of any scent of deception, and even Swallow Tail seemed to notice this. It was as if there was sincerity in Celestia's voice, and genuine worry for another race. The vision ended, but Chrysalis didn't feel like laughing. She took a deep breath and started walking past the scout. "I'm going to step outside the hive. I've been stuck in this stuffy palace for too long." "I'll see about getting better airflow my Queen." Mimic said as the doors closed between himself and Chrysalis. Chrysalis walked through the halls of the hive in silence. She barely noticed when changelings bowed to her as she passed, her thoughts were cloudy and unclear. There was no possible way that her going to Canterlot was a good idea, and yet some small part of the changeling queen continually whispered "What if?" Answers to their problems wouldn't be found sitting around looking serious and praying for a miracle, but they also wouldn't be found if she and her children were all captured or dead. "I've lost so much already." She thought sadly. "Seven of my children within the span of a day, along with more than three fourths of the main hive." She walked into the entrance cave and past the guard, who closed the hidden door with nary a bow and a whisper of "My Queen." She didn't even bother with a disguise as she walked to the cave mouth and sat down. She looked across the land of Equestria, its emerald fields, its violet mountains, the sky as clear as could be. It was a magnificent view, one without peer anywhere except for perhaps Canterlot. Chrysalis felt cheated at that moment, all of this could have been hers to rule. All the beauty and lushness, it would have been a paradise for both her and her swarm. But instead they were forced to make do with the arid and lifeless badlands, a place so depressing and stagnant that there wasn't even so much as a roving band of monsters. Well, unless one were to count the changelings as monsters. Chrysalis sighed as she looked to the east, where the mountains dominated the horizon. She could only just barely make out the spire that was the tallest peak in Equestria, where Canterlot stood as the seat of power. It was there that her children were suffering, and she begged that her ancestors would bring them back to her, safe and healthy. ~~~~~ Canterlot It was midday when Monarch and three of Mimic's infiltrators arrived in Canterlot. They went in by train, boarding in different cars and disguised as surreptitiously as possible. Monarch had only a few things in his saddle bag, most of which were there to supplement his disguise as a wealthy tourist, but he also had a few Flash Crystals to use in case of emergency. One zap of his horn and the crystal would emit a blinding light to stun any pursuers he might pick up should his true identity be revealed. But he wasn't truly worried about that, same went for his companions. They'd all been trained to get into whatever needed getting into: buildings, organizations, minds, everything. The world's greatest thieves would be envious of their talents, but even they would think that sneaking into the Castle of Canterlot would be a fools errand. Even Queen Chrysalis had needed every ounce of tact and cunning to even get close enough to have a chance at taking the place of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But if she could do that, Monarch was reasonably confident they'd be able to get to the much less protected dungeons. But first, he had a contact to meet. The Spy within the Royal Guard was currently on his off shift, which gave Monarch the chance to meet with him without going anywhere near the barracks. The spy, known as Silence, was spending his time off at a cafe five blocks down from the castle, and that was where Monarch met him. "Corporal Silence! Ten hut!" Monarch called out as he got close. Immediately the changeling disguised as a generic white coated, blue haired guard sprung up to attention, before Monarch entered his field of vision with a smile. "Oh come on!" Silence shouted with exasperation. He sat back down as Monarch laughed and joined him. "Good to see you cousin." Monarch said, falling into his roll while still preparing to get information. "How's work been?" "Abysmal." Silence said, glaring up at the castle for a moment before looking back. "They took me out of my favorite watch post. Now I can't watch all those tall mares walk by at night, the ones that work at the hospital. You know the ones? The mares with legs that go right to the sun and moon?" Translation: They took me off of dungeon watch and now I have no idea what the princesses have in store for the infected nurse. "Sorry to hear that." Monarch said. "Any sign of getting back to see your lovely nurses?" "Not for a while. They got me working the outer wall now. But I think I got a way back in." Silence smiled as he leaned in close, Monarch doing the same. "Turns out, one of the guards that took my spot ain't a big fan of nurses. Might be able to get him to switch with me for a few nights." "Well that's good to hear, think me and some friends might get to see 'em?" Silence pursed his lips and squinted his eyes. "How many friends we talking?" "Just three man. You don't need to worry about your nurses, I'm sure there's enough to go around for all of us right?" "There's just one I'm worried about." Silence said, nearly breaking character as he leaned backward with a frown. Monarch looked intently at Silence. He wasn't expecting that their spy would already have a way back in, but then again, Royal guards don't just swap shifts willy nilly. No, unless this one guard with a dislike of nurses was truly desperate to get away, the garrison wouldn't let Silence back into the dungeons. Monarch looked up at the castle as the gears in his blessed mind whirred around, planning out their first move. "Well, either way," Monarch said. "You ought to go see about changing shifts. Even if we can't see the nurses, it doesn't mean you can't." Silence chuckled under his breath as he stood, giving Monarch a curt nod. "You're right cousin. I'll go see about that right now. I'll meet up with you and your friends later, we'll have a drink or something before I have to start work." "Sounds good, we'll be at the Plaza Hotel, room 333." ~~~~~ Just outside Canterlot Castle Celestia and Luna stood side by side at the front gate to the Castle as two chariots descended from the sky. One was crystalline and drawn by four equally crystalline pegasi guards, the other was more mundane looking but no less regal. The two landed almost in sync with each other and came to a steady halt right in front of the two princesses. From the Crystal one stepped the ruler of the Crystal Empire and Princess of love, Princess Cadance, and from the other arrived the newly inaugurated Princess Twilight Sparkle. The four princesses stepped closer to each other and bowed before they rose and proceeded with more familiar greetings. "Good to see you again Aunt Tia!" Cadance said as she embraced Celestia. "And you as well Cadance." Celestia responded. "How have things been in the Empire?" "In comparison to the excitement of the Equestria Games? Surprisingly quite. Shining's having a hard time finding out what to do with himself now that he's not training athletes. I suggested doing actual royal duties and his face turned redder than a tomato!" "That's our Shining." Twilight said, rolling her eyes before letting Luna out of their own embrace. "I bet he misses running drills with the guards here in Canterlot." "Like you wouldn't believe." Cadance said as she took her turn hugging with Luna. "And how have you been Aunt Luna?" "I have..." Luna started, before her smile dipped slightly. "Been better I'm afraid." Her gaze darted to her sister. Cadance and Twilight exchanged a glance with each other before looking back at their elder co rulers. "Is this about what you needed our help with?" Twilight asked. "It is." Celestia said with a hint of trepidation before turning and leading the other three into the castle. "Come. This will be easier to explain if we show you." ~~~~~ An hour later, the four princesses were sitting alone in the council room, arranged around the center table. Twilight and Cadance were both in a state of quiet horror, having just had the situation explained to them by Celestia and Luna after their visit to the dungeons. The two had an understandably terrified reaction to seeing the infected changeling, who's head was now almost completely covered in the fungus. It no longer mumbled and sniffed out for its 'Mother', but now it made a sound similar to air being quickly blown through a tightly rolled up sheet of construction paper. Twilight asked the obvious question of what could have resulted in such a creature, and seemed more horrified by the lack of an answer then of the changeling itself. "It's not right." Twilight murmured as she looked at her mentor from across the table, her eyes locked in a permanent state of shock. "I've seen so many different species of fungi, read about three dozen ones not native to Equestria, but none could do something like this. It's like something out of a horror story." "I assure you Twilight." Luna said. "This is not one of H.P. Heartstopper's works. It's real, and we have to do something about it." "And what, pray tell." Cadance said, nearly yelling. "Do you suggest we do? That...thing... is an affront to nature! It... we..." she mumbled as her voice caught after every other word. She was so distraught that she actually looked like she was going to be sick all over the round table. She breathed in slowly before muttering in quite, almost cold fear. "We should just destroy it." "Cadance!" Celestia said indignantly. "That thing is a living creature. It's sick and needs our help!" Cadance looked at her aunt like she had suddenly groan three more heads. "Celestia... have you seen that thing? It's already dead! its cell is filled with a cloud of what I can only guess is innumerable spores! If it weren't for that quarantine spell, then I shudder to imagine what effect it would have on ponies!" Cadance paused to look at the other two princesses before turning back to Celestia, tears forming around her eyes. "Just put it out of its misery and be done with it aunty." Celestia sighed and looked down at the table. Luna then spoke up. "Cadance, surely you see the benefits we could gain from this fungus." "Benefits?" Cadance scoffed. "What benefits?" "This fungus," Luna started as she stood up. "So far, it hasn't shown any ill effects towards ponies. The Appaloosans who found the changeling that carries it have not reported any sickness or, indeed, any change in health. Mentally or Physically. It leads me to believe that perhaps this fungus only affects changelings, and that ponies are in fact immune." "Even if that were the case." Cadance said. "I still don't see the upside." "Don't you? Think about it Cadance. A fungus that only harms the changelings. If we could find a way to utilize it against them-" "You mean a weapon?" Cadance said, stunned realization creeping across her face. "Yes." Luna said, smiling with what she must have thought was kindness. "Finally, we can be rid of these monsters for good! You and Shining Armor and all of your subjects will have one less threat to worry about. And what's more, you can finally have vengeance for what was done to Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, and yourself!" "Vengeance?! Have the both of you taken leave of your senses?!" Cadance yelled, flicking her eyes from Luna to Celestia and back again. "You want to kill them all." she looked back to Celestia. "You want to try and save them. How could you possibly want either of these things?!" "Because they're our enemy!" Luna yelled back. "They're monsters! We're nothing but food to them! We have everything to gain by destroying them! It would ensure the protection of each and every citizen of Equestria! Have you forgotten what they did to Canterlot? What they did to you?" Cadance, eyes now filled with anger that none of the assembled mares had ever seen from the Princess of Love, slowly rose to confront Luna. "Oh, I remember." She said quietly. "I remember spending almost three days in the caverns alone and hungry. I remember the horror of seeing the love of my life led around like a dog as that bug fed off him. I remember that feeling of hopelessness when Twilight and her friends were captured before they could reach the Elements of Harmony." Cadance was now almost nose to nose with Luna. "And I also remember that you were completely absent from the events of that day, instead of being there to insure that Shining Armor, his family, and yours, had one of the most important days of their lives go absolutely perfectly." "Step away from me and stop speaking nonsense, Cadenza." Luna said coldly. "If you'd been there, like you were supposed to be, Celestia would have defeated the Changeling Queen." Tears started to fall from Cadance's eyes as she started to shout again. "But you weren't! So you have no room to talk about 'vengeance!'" "Why you disrespectful spurious little pegasus!" Luna shouted as she clashed her horn against Cadance's. "Self important hypocritical laggard!" Cadance shouted in response as she forced her horn back. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Celestia yelled as her horn flashed brightly, wrapping both Luna and Cadance in her gold magic and dragging the two apart. "I will not have two of the ponies I love most in this world fight like foals and point hooves at one another over past tragedies! We are here to discuss the problem right in front of us! Preferably with the dignity and poise that is expected of us! Do I make myself- Luna?" Celestia stopped in her rant as her eyes fell on her sister. Luna looked absolutely horrified at the moment, tears rolled down her eyes as her mouth opened and closed rapidly, muttering the same quite phrase over and over again. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Celestia dropped the magic surrounding the two and they both fell to the floor with a clattering of their hooves. She looked from Luna to Cadance, who seemed to be in just as much shock over her actions as Luna was. Luna, with one last look at Cadance, quickly rushed from the room, leaving the doors wide open behind her. "I..." Cadance muttered as she looked at her fore hooves. "I have no idea what came over me... I... I think I'm going to be sick." And with that, Cadance was out the door as well, leaving only Twilight and Celestia. The two of them stood in silence for a long time, looking at the door where their fellow princesses had left. Eventually they turned to look at each other with confusion and despair. Celestia sighed and shook her head. "I guess I should have seen that coming." "Seen that coming?" Twilight said in disbelief. "I've never seen either of them act like that! They were ready to go to blows! How could you have 'seen that coming?'" "Twilight, you've been in Ponyville for the last two years, so you haven't noticed this, but those two have been at odds with each other since the day of Luna's return. Imagine for a moment that you are my sister, Luna. You come back from banishment after a thousand years. You're afraid that nothing has changed, and you fear that your subjects still have no love to give to you. Then you meet Cadance, a pony that ascended to royal status not by birth, but by your sister's hoof. The same hoof that banished you in the first place. What sort of feelings would you harbor for this new princess?" Twilight had to think for a moment before the depressing realization came over her. "I... I'd feel like I'd been replaced." Celestia nodded and continued. "I'm afraid tensions have been on a never ending rise between the two. But that does not excuse their behavior here today. We are Equestria's rulers. And the ponies of Equestria look to us for guidance. What sort of example do we set when we squabble and fight like children?" Celestia and Twilight looked to each other for another stretch of time, before Celestia let out another sigh of air. "Cadance wants to bury and forget about the problem, Luna wants to turn it into a weapon, believing our subject's safety lies in the destruction of another race. And I want to try and fix a bridge the Changelings destroyed before they could cross it. What would you have us do, Princess Twilight?" Twilight looked about the room at this, unsure of what the answer could possibly be. All she knew was that the fungus down in the dungeon, slowly eating away at its host, was an anomaly, something she didn't understand. How could she possibly make a decision when such a big part of that decision was a complete unknown. "I don't know what we should do." Twilight admitted to Celestia. "But I think a good place to start would be to understand what it is we're dealing with. Princess Celestia, I move to begin study of the fungus and its host. We learn about it, and our decision of how to deal with it might become that much clearer." Celestia nodded at this. "I had a feeling that would be your choice. Very well. You may begin your study of the Fungus and its changeling host. However, before you do, I would like to ask a favor of you." "Yes Princess Celestia?" "Please go to Cadance and talk with her. I will do so as well, but I feel I must go to my sister's side first." Twilight nodded. "Of course, Princess."