//------------------------------//
// Heart Of Old Equestria: Twilight's entry II 
// Story: Corrupted Lands 
// by Nameless Narrator 
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I hated myself so much, seeing nearly hundred ponies dragged away before my eyes by the Ponyville Corrupted. I wanted to fight, to use all of my alicorn power to destroy the hive and Nightshade as well, but it was just a wish, like any other day. I was still too young to understand how my alicorn divinity worked, and me using my magic recklessly would only lead to a complete disaster.

The enclave was at Nightshade's mercy.

I cursed every event that had led to me being forced to make the decision. I boiled with fury when the mare took one of my sons and turned him into a Corrupted... poor Mana Burn. Sadly, my mind still worked despite the pressure and kept yelling at me all of that was my fault - the inability to kick Nightshade out of the enclave after her return, the great need for knowledge making me ask her to perform an experiment on Mana, the desperation and the pressure of hungry and terrified ponies nagging me inside. 

Sadly, I made the right choice.

Over the next weeks we reclaimed most of what used to be Ponyville fortress we lost some thirty years after the corruption started spreading. With the new farmland at our disposal we expected to be able to grow our population to three or four thousand, almost doubling the enclave's amount. Peace with Ponyville hive gave us so much, yet I still regret it even now, weeks later. Mana Burn and Knowldge eventually drifted apart, when Knowledge came to the realization that his brother was no more and that blood ties meant nothing in the face of loyalty to Nightshade anymore. However, what sort of mother would I be if I broke contact with Mana Burn?

Being a mother and a ruler is a difficult task to balance.

We gained so much. I doubt any words can express what that little spark of hope that ponies might grow in number again meant to me. Not only the farmland and access to the surface, but the information and knowledge Nightshade allowed us to gain by performing many more experiments on various kinds of Corrupted and semi-corrupted ponies. Granted, she denied us any invasive surgeries and such, and we had to consult her before performing anything even slightly uncomfortable on one of her "subjects", but I could understand her feelings more than well. 

I would do the same.

We now had proof about what had been only guesses and observations before. The Corrupted are more plants than ponies after transformation. How or why their mind works in a similar matter we do not know, but their bodies can regenerate tremendously fast when in their native environment, like trees, only drastically accelerated. They can regrow any appendages aside from their heads, which explained Chilly's method of disposing of the enemy Corrupted quickly. To combat that "weakness", the Corrupted host three tough tendril-like tongues embedded in their thicker necks, making decapitating them less likely. As far as we know, the land the Corrupted transform into their habitat becomes something like mycelium to them, making even a decapitated powerful Corrupted reform fully in the matter of days. The only way Nightshade showed us to eliminate strong Corrupted completely was either luring them out of their habitat and killing them in an environment untouched by them, or taking their "essence" for oneself. Remembering her companion Chilly's despair when locked in a sterile laboratory and its transformation into a frozen forest after he gained power, I realized the first method was a time-limited one, and the second one worked only in battles between Corrupted.

Luckily for us, the common Corrupted are not capable of twisting their surroundings to such degree on their own.

We had time to gather samples and study everything we wanted. At first, my Hex Guards were strongly against walking among Corrupted, even when assured by Nightshade they will not be attacked, so the first expeditions around old Ponyville were performed by queen Chrysalis' changelings, our Black Ops. Chrysalis liked the sound of the nickname belonging to Griffon Empire Intelligence Service, don't ask me why, and she called her soldiers that way. Speaking of griffons, they helped us immensely during the first years of corruption, providing weapons and reinforcements. Unfortunately, when the Corrupted spread past Canterlot to the east, we lost our supply routes to the coast, and after some time even the bravest of caravaneers dared not travel through the infested territory. As for the CORRUPTED griffons, however, they are terrifying, even to me. I have to thank the stars every day for so little griffons being Equestrian residents pre-corruption. Normal Corrupted look for ponies to mate with when provided with the opportunity, and are mostly just doing their business which is walking around, sleeping, and breeding. Corrupted griffons, just like their ancient carnivorous nature dictates, hunt for ponies tirelessly, savagely torturing their prey before eating them alive.

Granted, other Corrupted do the same sometimes, Corruptors especially, but each time it seems the ponies enjoy it in the end. Not with the griffons, definitely not.

Speaking of the common Corrupted:

The lowest ranked, and the second least dangerous at least in terms of physical capabilities, are Drones. They are pony-sized, some even as small as changelings, and completely incapable of transforming the areas around them which means they cannot survive on their own. Their combat abilities should pose threat only to completely untrained civilians and foals. Even a strong stallion can make one or two Drones run away. Of course, their weakness is also a trap for those ponies who, let's say, cannot control their desires enough. Even these days, with corruption becoming a thing to study rather than a very rational fear, there are ponies who wish to have sex with Corrupted just to sate their lust for something ponies cannot provide. Those usually easily overpower a Drone, male or female, and lose themselves in rutting frenzy. Solely for that reason, Drones are not to be underestimated as they secrete pheromones taking advantage of that kind of ponies. Their appearance is the most similar to a pony's, aside from the black, oily coat and two tentacles on their back which are not useful for grabbing, but measure temperature, air flow, and other environmental attributes. They don't even have sharp teeth.

The second kind, the physically weakest, are Breeders. Regrettably, they are the biggest cause of our loss of young ponies freshly allowed to walk on the surface. After the age of sixteen, ponies are allowed to join surface missions and gain experience. Young colts and mares with hormones leaking out of their ears quite often fall for the sweet scents of Breeders, and try to explore a new world with their nethers. While Breeders pose the least threat to a level-headed pony, giving in to the pheromones they produce and mating with them is the end, no matter gender or capabilities of the fallen. Females offer those looking for them wide hips, slick coats, and overall plumper appearance topped by a set of huge, hanging teats constantly dripping black milk. It, just like all their bodily fluids, is supposed to be delicious. I have yet to ascertain that. Male Breeders are similar to earthpony stallions in shape and slightly bigger in size. Aside from their remarkable scent, what ponies immediately recognize about them are their enormous testicles. Their genitals, however, are moldable and transform to perfectly fit females they mate with. Both Breeder genders also seem to possess limited amount of mind-reading abilities allowing them to "fit with" their prey better. They can be both submissive or dominant to bring out the appropriate response from those mating with them, ponies specifically. Among Corrupted, there is no submission and dominance, as both genders desperately need each other. The exact purpose of Breeders, however, is a strange thing. As observed, Corrupted can grow in egg-like sacks sprouting out of the ground as well as being given birth by a female Breeder. A mare impregnated by a male Breeder will lose her mind and give birth to a Corrupted before transforming herself. These three methods seem to be redundant ways of spreading in case some were unavailable, but that is only a guess sice even Nightshade could not give me an answer. More tests are pending.

Hunters are the third "weakest" kind of wild Corrupted, although here the term weak starts to lose its meaning. Both males and females are lean, toned, and extremely athletic-looking. They are the lowest ranked Corrupted possessing the thicker necks and the grappling mouth-tentacles, and the ability to shift their bodies. As far as my experiments went, they can change their hooves to talons or claws, they can lengthen their teeth to a small degree, making me believe they are capable of taking down a manticore. Their natural advantage when hunting lies in their whip-like tail capable of grabbing or being changed into a a sharp-tipped whip. While the Hunters don't look like it due to their natural prowling posture, they are on average about twenty percent bigger than ponies. Their muscles are tough as ropes and serve well to protect them from blows of both blunt and sharp weapons. Still, two or three well-trained ponies can deal with a Hunter without sustaining casualties or sometimes even injuries due to the Hunters' animalistic and primitive fighting. Nightshade's companion Chilly proves, however, that such a theory still needs testing, and that ponies transformed into Hunters can retain some of their training, especially ex-guards. Meeting those could result in a very threatening encounter.

I have yet to perform extensive testing on a Protector, a Corruptor, and a Queen.


- Twilight Sparkle, first notes after the reclaiming of Ponyville.