The flight to Zarris was not a boring one for Cimmerian, but it wasn't exactly because of any intelligent conversations. No, it was kept interesting by the constant string of questions flowing out of his bodyguards mouth. The mare would not stop talking.
"Oh, I've never actually been on a ship before, have you Cimmerian? I bet you've seen a lot of things, like a lot of cities. I want to see a city. What do you think the Transylmaneia looks like? I hope it haves caves. Do you think they have Vamponies there? Not just ponies that look like them, but actual, immortal blood sucking ponies? Do you think I could fight one? I wonder if they're strong. Can we make a stop in Equestria? I want to fight a manticore! Have you fought anything cool, Isana? What weapons did you use?"
Despite the irritation of several guards, the alicorn and the griffon princess smiled at each other.
"I must say, I've never seen someone so happy to be on guard duty," the griffon said, redirecting her gaze to the flitting form of the changeling. Zelus was still on cloud nine, giggling happily at her newfound freedom. Suddenly the shape shifter gasped, swooping down to the forest below with a warcry. As she disappeared beneath the canopy, a loud crack was heard, followed by the strangled yelp of whatever hapless creature the queen had targeted.
The group came to a halt, almost everyone's focus on the spot in the forest the queen had disappeared into. After several moments, the buzzing of wings was once again heard and Zelus once more rose to their level. She was positively beaming.
"Zelus, what did you.." Cimmerian's question died on his lips, a hoof being rested on his muzzle in frustration. The mare's hooves were spattered with blood; red blood, so it obviously wasn't hers.
"I saw something, I wanted to fight it! Wasn't much of a fight though. I think I broke it's back when I landed on it. I did get this though!" the queen said gleefully, holding up two fangs in her aura. To his surprise, Isana gasped in shock.
"Chubacobra fangs?" Isana said almost religiously. "Those, those are, may I have one?"
Zelus looked questioningly to the alicorn, who shrugged in response, before floating one of the fangs over to the hen. The other she stashed in her bags, giggling at the thought of what was likely her first of many such trophies.
"Zelus, while I know you want to enjoy yourself, you need to have a bit more self-control," Cimmerian rebuked her. The queen's ears splayed, realizing she'd wandered off on the job. Flying closer, he put a hoof on her shoulder. "I don't mind if you have some fun, but remember you're here as a guard. I almost went down there after you, thinking something was wrong. All I ask is you give me some warning, okay?"
The mare nodded, her smile fading a bit, "I will, I'm sorry. I'm just so excited that I don't have to flee from everything anymore!"
With that his guard-queen continued her previous route, flitting hither, thither and everywhither while steaming an absolute tirade of questions.
Isana giggled at the queen's antics, watching her perform a quick loop before the shape shifter tucked in her legs, barreling through a low-hanging cloud.
"She's older than I am, yet she acts like such a child."
"If a child could kill a chubacobra in about three seconds," the stallion said with a grin. "It's the freedom she's been granted in her new role. She has to stick by me, but she doesn't have anyone looking to her for orders. That's all on Pandinus at this point. Zel's free to do as she wishes for the most part, heck, we may stop by the Everfree on business. We're already that close, may as well check on something. She'll get her chance to fight a manticore, I'm fairly certain of it."
The group continued for a bit longer, soon noticing the distant walls and ships of Zarris. The guards also soon spotted a large group of griffon mercenaries approaching, causing Zelus to tense and move closer to the alicorn.
"It's fine, Zelus. They're Talons, they're probably here because Princess Isana took off when Herrick's back was turned." The alicorn said, turning to the blushing princess.
Sure enough, said griffon was at the head of the group, rushing ahead to meet them.
"Your Highness I must say I'm disappointed. I turned my back for a day and you take off in mostly unclaimed territory without so much as a word to me. Your mother would have my wings if she knew I lost track of you."
The princess sighed, shaking her head at the mercenary.
"Herrick, I'm visiting griffon cities and camps to try and raise morale. I asked you several times if I could go to Shadowtalon but each time you gave me an excuse. I needed to do this."
"But we could have set up something, I mean-"
"I just said I've been asking to go there for a while now!" Isana shouted. "You had no intention of letting me go there, and while I understand you're watching out for me and likely distrust the hive at the Temple, that leaves all of those griffons out of my reach. I can't fight on the front lines, nor can I command armies. This is something I can do, Herrick, and fear of changelings isn't going to stop me from doing so. Besides, it was an interesting experience and I had a lot of fun." The griffon princess' smile became a bit strained for a moment. "Seeing the queens was also an uh, interesting experience."
"Queens?" Herrick asked, seeming to notice Zelus for the first time. The griffon turned to Cimmerian. "I thought you mad for keeping one of them, are you telling me you've picked up more of the damn things?"
The alicorn moved in front of the changeling, moving a foreleg in front of her to hold her back. Turning back to the griffon, he gave the griffon a dangerous smile.
"I've said it once, and I'll likely have to say it a hundred times more Herrick. The griffons aren't the only one's the Mad Queen is pushing toward extinction. You're not even the latest; she's demanded the thestrals all submit to cleansing, a process which is likely to kill them outright, or remove their species by turning them into pegasi. Princess Isana was given some information on changelings by Thrisha, and I know she spent some time talking to a few changelings herself. Learn about them before you dismiss them. Besides, there's a saying back where I'm from. Better to have a wolf at your side, than at your throat. Wouldn't you rather have an ally than yet another enemy?"
The old griffon chewed the phrase over for a moment, looking at the alicorn. "That from Luna, or from before you came to Equis?"
"The place of my birth, Herrick," the stallion responded. "The land devoid of magic. We made do with what we had. As I do even now. Adaptability is extremely important to us, and there is no greater form of adaptation than turning enemies into allies. If you wish to see how effective it is, you merely need to visit Shadowtalon. Ask Thrisha about the guard tower. Then think about how that same technique can be used elsewhere."
Isana nodded, "Yes, she explained that to me. We may be able to quickly repair, or even reinforce sections of High-Talon after this war. Thank you, Lord Cimmerian. If there's one thing I managed to walk away with after this trip, it was Queen Pandinus' belief that our enemies are not so insurmountable. She's quite certain that one on one she could crush most ponies of Equestria's guard, perhaps even the Mad Queen's captain. With the aid you've given us, and that we've forwarded to the minotaurs, my mother may yet see her throne again in her lifetime. One of the scary things about battling an immortal being, Lord Cimmerian, is that they can outlast you. Even the greatest griffon warriors fall to age eventually."
The princess gave him a short respectful bow that he returned in kind, an interesting feat to perform a quarter-mile into the air, and made her way back to the Talon compound. Most of the griffons followed suit, leaving Herrick to stare after her for a moment. He sighed, turning back to the alicorn.
"You love complicating my life, don't you?" he muttered. "It's simpler for the smallfolk to accept that their enemy is a mindless monster that is to be put down. It's easier to tell my soldiers that the ponies are evil and need to be destroyed before they wipe out all life, not that they've been betrayed by their ruler."
"The Equestrians haven't been betrayed by their ruler, their ruler was betrayed," Cimmerian clarified. "The Nightmares make promises, offers to make everything better. They say they can solve your problems, while pointing out all of your own failings, everything you've done that they could have done better. They corrode the wills of the unwary, until they finally convince you to cede to their wishes.
"That's when they reveal their true nature. They leave you to watch as a passenger in your own body as they destroy all you love. They mock your existence, leaving even the kindest individuals with a record that puts the greatest criminals to shame. That thing on the Equestrian throne forced its host to watch as it tortured a childhood friend, Herrick. It left Cadance as you last saw her, and let its host watch as her babysitter was plucked on her orders. The only positive I can see is that Twilight never had any children of her own. I can almost guarantee they'd be tortured or dead by now."
Cimmerian shook his head in disgust. "That's why you should always confirm all the facts before you act, or at least all the facts that are available to you. You may find yourself with unlikely allies, as I have with the changelings and the gnolls."
The alicorn then took off, quickly approaching the gates of Zarris with his guards not far behind. The city watch opened the gates for the stallion, recognizing him from his previous trips, but they looked uncomfortable at the sight of the strange bug-like creature that constantly darted about the group giggling excitedly.
"I've never been in a city before! Are there really twenty creatures per building like mother said? Which of those boats are we going to be using?" The queen suddenly gasped, darting off into an inn. The same inn the alicorn had spent the night at on previous occasions. Cimmerian winced at the sound of shattering glass and muffled shouts of surprise.
'Why do I get the bodyguard with A.D.H.D.?'
Before he could walk in and apologize to the innkeeper, Sahkest walked out, wearing an irritated expression and a giggling changeling queen on his back.
"Cimmerian, I expected you to be in town today. Your boat leaves soon, correct?" At the alicorn's nod, the dragon nodded as well. "Yes, just one question." The dragon shifted, causing Zelus to slip to the ground. Before she recovered, he grabbed her by her tail, holding her up to the stallion.
"Is this yours?"
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Madness, that's what it was. Lestidae had seen enough of it.
"Mother, you don't really plan on attempting a coup, do you?" her oldest living son, Kris, asked her with worry. "Queen Pandinus may not live by the old way, but she is powerful, much more powerful than, well, you are in your current state. Perhaps if you waited, just until you recovered-"
"I am not waiting any longer. Every day she descends further into her madness, dragging more and more of our kind with her. We will restart our hive in the jungles and rebuild our empire. I will not allow the old ways to die."
"Mother, please!" the changeling begged. "Where would we obtain our food? Queen Pandinus and Lord Cimmerian would crush us if we attempted to kidnap any of the Temple residents, and they would do the same should we act against Zarris in order to maintain good trade relations with them."
"Are you questioning me, Kris?" Lestidae demanded, looming over the smaller shape shifter. "Has her poison seeped into your mind as well? I see; there is no time to lose, then." The queen's eyes glowed, causing her drones form to stiffen. She looked about the room, and several more drones went stiff, the queen's will over-ruling their own.
"We will take several ponies with us into the jungles when we leave. I will rebuild the changeling race myself if I have to. The jungle is far enough from the Equestrians that they can't find us, so we will use that to our advantage. Once our numbers are sufficient, we will crush this mockery, this desecration of the Old Way."
Lestidae moved her soldiers to the door, opening it with her magic to the room outside, ready to sweep aside any opposition. Following the drones through however, she was surprised to find none. The doors to the storage room were sealed, some strange rune emblazoned on the door that blasted back the changeling she told to open it. Frowning at her inability to raid the larger queens emotion stores, Lestidae moved on, finding most rooms sealed shut with copies of the strange rune on the doors. With increasing agitation she marched through the halls, finding no creatures, no easy targets, not even other changelings she could add to her hive. Striding up to the door to the kitchen she could hear the ponies inside, could sense the one called Slop moving about as if nothing was wrong even as his aides quaked in tantalizing fear. She bucked the wall beside the door, irritation flooding her mind. Finally she breached the door to the outside, storming out ahead of her troops into the waning sunlight.
"Is there something the matter, Lessy?" a calm changeling queen asked her.
The older mare blinked, looking around herself and her newly claimed hive. Pandinus stood before her in the middle of the pathway, the fountain behind her devoid of honey. Instead, Lestidae found her soldiers and herself surrounded by changeling soldiers, all of them glowing with emotion. Among them stood griffons, gnolls and thestrals, all armed with weapons and claws, some even bearing bows and crossbows, every one of which was aimed at her.
"Did you really assume you could steal drones from my hive and I would not notice? Did you think you could plan a coup while connected to me by the link? Come now Lessy, you know better than that. Kris was right, too. Even if you had managed to walk off with some of the ponies here, I'd have you tracked down to the gates of Tartarus itself." Pandinus grinned maliciously at the other queen. "As it stands? Well, you know what happens when a queen loses, don't you? I tried it my way, Queen Lestidae, but if you love your old ways so much, I will treat you as they demand."
With that, Pandinus launched a thick beam of grey energy at the other queen. Les blanched, quickly erecting a barrier and using her drones' magic to reinforce it. Sensing the other queen moving through the link she struck back, damaging the link and dazing all drones connected to it. The attack struck at both of them, causing Pandinus to flinch and stop her attack even as Lestidae dropped her own barrier. It would leave her to fight the mare by herself, but if push came to shove, she was certain she could outmaneuver the pregnant mare.
As she prepared to move, a crossbow bolt buried itself in her shoulder, followed by two more in her neck and foreleg even as several arrows bounced off of her shell.
"What's the matter, Lessy? Forget about them? Or did you assume they'd sit back and watch as their home was threatened?" the larger mare taunted, erecting a shield of her own should the enemy queen retaliate. Lestidae didn't attack though; she knew when she was outmaneuvered. It was how she'd survived this long. Instead she gave a command over the damaged link, one that caused Pandinus to scream in rage. Lestidae demanded her soldiers offer their energy stores to her.
The energy was transferred to the queen, the drones around her dropping to the ground as they followed her final order to them. Some merely passed out, the damaged link preventing a clean transfer, while others dropped dead, no longer even containing the energy to keep their hearts beating. Without even looking back at the dead she took to the skies, flying as fast as her wings would allow.
Blinking away tears of pain as her adrenaline faded and the bolts in her shell made themselves known, Lestidae's ears twitched. She craned her neck around, seeing a blazing pink orb approaching at high speed, surrounded by several smaller dots. As the orb reached her, Pandinus dropped the aura, whipping around and striking the already injured queen with a double-hoof buck that sent her barreling into nearby trees and jungle detritus.
"You couldn't have just left, could you?" Pandinus snarled at Lestidae, stomping up to her. "I wouldn't even have stood in your way. I would have let you and any who wished to follow you leave without a second thought. My only warning would be to be cautious, cautious that you didn't stray too far. Because had you gone outside of Cimmerian's influence, the Mad Queen would have found your hive, bringing her soldiers here. No, it's not that she can't reach us here, it's my mate that protects my hive, that protects you. No more, though."
Din grabbed the smaller queen in her magic, wrenching her free of the shattered trees and vines, the sharp crack of a dislocated leg drawing a scream from the battered mare.
"You spat in the face of my hospitality, you plotted to kidnap my children, and you killed twelve changelings, seven of which were not even yours to begin with!" Din slammed Lestidae on the ground before her, drawing another strangled yelp as a still-embedded bolt was driven deeper into the queen's body.
"If this is what the way of the changeling is, if that is what it means to be a Changeling Queen, than thank the Sun and Stars I didn't go through my metamorphosis until I found Cimmerian."
Lestidae coughed, the bitter taste of her own blood leaking into her mouth. Whether it was because of internal injuries or that she'd bit her own mouth or tongue was irrelevant. Instead, she grinned at the changeling standing above her. Even as the hard landings of griffons and thestrals surrounded her, she smiled. She watched the queen's hooves rise over her head, and still she smiled.
"I die as I should have. A queen of my own." Lestidae muttered weakly. If nothing more, she would stand before the First Mother a loyal daughter. She had not allow herself to be corrupted; she had even saved several of her children.
The larger queen's hooves fell upon her, and still Lestidae smiled.
Din angrily wiped the ichor from her hooves, ordering the guards to burn the body and leave no traces for others to find. While the feral queen had almost instantly fallen apart upon her death, Lestidae had enough emotional stores in her corpse to preserve the body for a few weeks. Unfortunately with the mare's death the stores were sealed from the larger queen, and useless to other changelings.
Teleporting back to the Temple's outskirts she was instantly greeted by the worried forms of Mirage and Cadance, the latter bearing a whimpering Amare.
"Total injuries and deaths?" Din ground out mechanically, passing by the two on her way to the Temple's entrance.
"Seven deaths, all due to total energy depletion." Mirage told her. "Several will survive, but it was a near thing. if not for the quick actions of a pair of griffons and a gnoll, we'd be looking at about five more deaths in the following moments while we recovered from the attack on the link. Luckily they knew enough about changeling biology to administer honey to the afflicted and those changelings are now in the infirmary."
The drone scuffed the floor for a moment, her anxiety causing Pandinus to look back to her.
"I, I try to say Zelus wouldn't do something like that, that she was a sister and too close to me, that mother would never have let it come to such things." Mirage said, looking ahead to the covered bodies of the fallen drones. "It's a lie though. Mother's first priority was her own safety and we all knew it. It's how it had to be. I need to know, though. If she had tried to leave with suppressed drones..."
"I would have stopped her." Din said evenly. "It was one of the first things I promised you and Cimmerian, and I won't let another queen's actions, a queen that I allowed into my hive, to break that promise."
The queen made her way through the Temple, passing changelings and ponies alike that quickly scooted out of her path, even passing Shadow Weaver as the stallion removed wards from doors and released those safely barricaded inside. It was her final offer to the mare, a show of force and a display that showcased how her new way had not left her weak. It failed though. Lestidae would not have it, would not take the final offer of partnership, instead opting to spit in her face.
The changeling queen reached her room, climbed into her bed, and collapsed, levitating the helmet of the Nightmare's armor over to her side. Through her door she sensed the pink alicorn, the mare's concern touching but unwanted at the moment.
'Would mother be able to change?' Pandinus thought, gazing into the holes of the helmet. 'Will I save her just to watch her attack me out of anger and disgust? Will any of the queens even be left with enough mental health to recover, or is this it? Two queens now, two free changeling queens, only one of whom is actively laying and supporting the hive.'
Pandinus stared at her own form, the slight bulge of her barrel drawing a shiver of fear. While Gleam had remarked that the pregnancy was moving along quickly compared to those she knew, it was slow to her, so disgustingly slow. A queen's first mated clutch would obviously contain her first proto queen, but the pony in the dream had mentioned she'd have three hatchlings, two female and one male. Would she have two proto queens, or one and two drones? How would that work? Would the rest of her clutches be restricted to this ridiculous incubation time? If so, she would need to find an alternate solution. Her hive was counting on her, and she would need another source of eggs soon. The mare took a deep breath. She would begin training Amare soon. Between Cadance and herself, the proto queen would have more than enough knowledge to survive. That left only time. Time for the nymph to develop into what they needed. She dearly hoped it didn't come to that, though. She knew childhood was important to most creatures, that it shaped who they would be. If she tried to rush the proto queen's development too much, the young nymph would break.
With a sigh, the queen laid down her head, and reached out to the only other remaining queen.
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The stallion sat on the deck of the ship, staring into the sunset as the boat left on its journey. Once the ship was cleared of the Port's waters, it deployed its main balloon, raising the ship into the air and allowing it to travel freely to its destination, unhindered by ocean waves and the rules of the sea. The crew wandered about, their tasks not distracting them nearly enough to keep them from staring at the odd pair watching Zarris fade into the distance.
Cimmerian shifted, the odd sniffle from the mare to his left drawing his attention. He nudged her, curious even as a tear fell from her face.
"Lessy," Zelus mumbled. "She went through with it. I told her not to, told her if she didn't like it she could leave, but she didn't listen."
"What happened?" the stallion asked, rising to his hooves. "Are they fighting? Does Din need us?"
Zelus shook her head. "Lessy tried walking out with drones that didn't agree with her, suppressing them and intending to take some ponies with her for food. Din didn't let her. They fought, Lestidae was injured and fled. Din followed her, mad that Lessy ordered those she was controlling to dump their energy to her, and..." Zelus clamped her eyes shut, a few tears falling freely. "She killed Les."
Cimmerian moved closer to the crying queen, laying a wing around her in a comforting gesture. "Was anyone else injured?" he asked softly.
Zelus shrugged, not having the capacity for much else at that point.
"A few drones ended up dying because of the drain, but most survived. Din says she's fine, just tired. Anything you want me to tell her?"
The stallion stared at her in thought for a moment, before nodding. "Pandinus told me she could feel injuries inflicted on those on her hive. I want you to transfer this to her. You can have some of it as well." He said with a sad smile. "I know you and Lestidae were close for a long time."
With that Cimmerian pulled her into a hug, wrapping his wings around her comfortingly. Zelus had opened her link to Pandinus, but shivered at the wave of warmth that passed through her from the stallion. She felt a request from the absent queen, and backed away, allowing Pandinus to speak to her mate directly. The moment she felt Zelus' body, the alpha-queen returned the hug, causing the alicorn to let loose a grunt of surprise as his ribs creaked.
"Thank you, Cimmerian. I did not expect her to try to drain the drones, though I feel as if I should have expected that. We lost seven in total, including Kris and Shroud... I'm worried, Cimmer. Two. We're down to two, and one of us isn't even prioritizing breeding at the moment. Take care of her as well. I know we have said she will be your guardian, but if anything happens to me... I want you to guard her like you guard me. Keep my clutch-sister safe. Do you promise me? Zelus, no stupidity. I know you want to have fun, but we need you both to come back from this."
Feeling Zelus' response through their connection, the stallion saw the mare smile. "She agrees. I don't know if she can feel emotions I send her from here, but I want to try this." With that the queen moved forward, smashing her lips against his. He was apprehensive, not sure how to handle the situation but soon relaxed, returning the kiss full force. It was Pandinus, after all. Even if it looked and sounded like Zelus. And smelled like Zelus...
...and tasted like Zelus.
It was still Pandinus though... maybe if he told himself that a few more times he'd believe it.
She stood amongst a rushing tide of emotions, the swirl of energy almost washing her away. She felt the deep, burning desire from the stallion for his mate as it passed through her to its true target, felt the desires of the mare being directed at him even if he received no nourishment from it. She felt it washing over her, drowning her in the most intoxicating blend of energy and flavors she'd ever experienced.
Then there were the mare's words. Clutch sister. Pandinus called her a sister, called a queen hatched from another hive a sister, promised to see her and her nymphs through any adversity. She'd known Lestidae for nearly four years, spent every waking hour guarding the other queen's back and trusting the mare to watch her own, but had their fortunes ever reversed Zelus knew the truce would have been abandoned. Lestidae was an ally. Pandinus however, Pandinus was family, and her sister would guide and guard any hatchlings Zelus left in her care. Allowing the overflow of raw emotions to fill her reserves, the warrior queen of the Shadow Hive basked in the warmth of their love. Perhaps one day she would have her fill of adventure, and wish to settle down as a true queen-mother. She only hoped her mates love tasted this pure.