//------------------------------// // The Mad Hive Vs. The Shadow Hive // Story: The Substitute Demon // by Reykan //------------------------------// Cimmerian and his group silently trudged along, the dripping of water echoing through the cave and their own steps being the only sounds piercing through the darkness. He blinked the fuzziness from his eyes. He, and many of the others as time wore on, was desperately in need of sleep. The battle against Spike was surprisingly brutal, even if he only remembered half of it and knew he never really had full control of himself during the entirety of the fight. What he did remember was blood; lots of blood, mostly the drakes, but those wounds seemed to heal near-instantly. He'd struck the blasted dragon so many times, and yet the damage it was suffering from, the thing that had left it knocked out and reduced in size, had been shoving a simple support pillar on the damned lizard's head. 'When in doubt, go for the classics I suppose.' The zebra never wavered in her path, always certain of the route she led them through. It drove some of them nuts, as he could hear the griffons muttering and ruffling their feathers, he saw Rainbow Dash nervously looking around, her wings fluttering anxiously at the feeling of claustrophobia. It wasn't as bad for the changeling queen or the alicorn, the former being a cave-dwelling species and the latter not having wings most of his unaltered life. Everyone else seemed put out by their current location though. After what amounted to what the stallion figured was somewhere between 'way too long' and 'oh my god, I miss the sky' the Zebra began leading them in an upward direction. Cimmerian sighed in relief, soon spotting a light ahead of them in the darkness. 'Normally you stay away from the light, but after being down here? Fuck that noise.' They came to a cave entrance and, after Zecora had checked the outside for dangers, moved out and found themselves on the edge of the forest. Zelus opened a bag and quickly put on her bracers, muttering about the cold weather. As they cleared the forest proper, Cimmerian saw a pair of ponies walking by, these not wearing the armor of the Royal Army. In fact, they appeared to be Talons, complete with the three white marks on the front of the armor. The alicorn sighed, approaching the group easily and calling for them to wait up. The ponies jumped, turning and getting ready to draw weapons, the unicorn mare's horn flaring with magic. Seeing the group, they blanched. "The-the Night-" the unicorn's exclamation died on her lips as she noticed the others being carried by the group. The element Bearers. "We're in need of shelter. Herrick mentioned safe houses in each area. Is there one nearby?" the stallion asked, moving ahead of the group. "W-why should we, I, I don't know who you are..." the earth pony stallion stuttered, looking from the alicorn to the changeling queen. Zelus snorted at the fear radiating off of the two, while Trixie rolled her eyes. The hybrid mare couldn't feel it personally, but her connection to the changeling queen had only grown stronger over the past few days, and she was subconsciously pulling enough information to be able to feel their emotions. "We have no time for your doubts, ponies," Zelus growled at them in frustration. "The alicorn you speak to is the one who provided those runes you bear, as well as coming to you bearing both the Element Bearers and Celestia. We need a place to rest from our ordeal, and you will provide it!" "But, but I" Zelus hissed, bearing her fangs at the two and the stallion fainted, leaving the mare alone against the group. She looked back from the stallion to the alicorn, who's eyes kept drifting off to either side as he stared at her. They did look pretty bad, and she could always claim she was... no, Talons didn't work that way. It would be on her either way. Hanging her head, she levitated the stallion onto her back with a defeated sigh. "This way." <-(0)-> The safe house was almost invisible without knowledge of the markers used by the Talons, but the mare led them into the underground bunker and they quickly set about laying the Element Bearers into various beds and rolling out blankets and mats for the rest of the group to sleep on. Cimmerian himself had claimed a carpeted area that currently also contained a blanket and pillow. Despite his fatige, a pink-maned Pegasus was slowly inspecting him and going over his injuries, refusing to let him sleep. "Con, concussions are not something you uh, want to go to sleep with, Mr. Cimmerian, sir," She stuttered, using a cloth to clean another cut. Most of the punctures and rends in his pelt had been from the armor being struck with enough force to twist it into his skin, and thus it had been difficult to remove. Now he was bound in scattered bandages ranging from the tip of his muzzle (a broken nose apparently, or at least a bad cut as it was covered in dried blood), to the middle of his barrel, where the Pegasus was currently at work removing another shard of rock. Fluttershy had already gone over both the alicorn and the dragon for life-threatening injuries, before beginning to work on the individual who would need to be awake during his discomfort. Spike would likely sleep long enough to not be bothered by them till the mare could get to him. The alicorn's eyelids drooped again, the day not leaving him feeling very good. It was approaching sunset, and they'd already torn through a good portion of the Talon's supplies, both medical and food. The de-petrified mares had eaten several rations each, desperate for something to eat after such a long time in stasis. Trixie was looking herself over in a mirror towards the showers, asking Crescent murmured questions, likely about just how badly it looked while the changeling queen Zelus... "Are you done with him? I need him for a few minutes," the queen nervously asked the Pegasus, shifting in place. Zelus had already tried demanding the alicorn's presence the moment they'd entered the safe-house. A quick application of some sort of Pegasus mind-control had the queen cowed quickly, as Fluttershy went on for a full minute about needing to check the injured parties for life-threatening injuries. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice, I didn't mean to leave you in discomfort like that. He doesn't have anything life-threatening, though I still need to finish with him later. Go ahead. If you'd like I can-" "No! I mean no, thank you. I, I can't have anyone else in the, the room. Besides him and Trixie." Zelus explained, her horn lighting as she lifted the alicorn from his reclined position. Cimmerian rolled his eyes, following the mare towards a back room as Trixie entered behind him. "What's the matter Zelus? I'm sure Trixie has enough control now to wash your wings if you need it." "I, I'm going to be laying soon, I need, I need a sense of, of safety," the queen muttered, eyes darting nervously about the room. "What." Trixie snorted, trotting over to the door and opening it with her magic. "You're her sister's mate. You're literally the safest thing on the planet to her. What did you expect? Trixie is going to need a bucket and towels, and this better be something else I lose after the fact, Zelus, I don't need this rolling around in my head later!" Cimmerian watched her go, looking back to the queen as a muscle spasm rocked her. He winced, remembering what had happened to Din when she'd tried to hold the eggs for too long; they'd almost forced her to lay them on his bed. Still, it didn't seem like it was that long, and the other queen seemed perfectly content to lay in the- 'In the middle of the hive she was digging out," the alicorn realized with a sigh. There wasn't anything familiar about the area to her, and not only that, he'd remembered seeing the changeling drones in the throne room. The queen might have been shaken up by the contact with other drones. "You're gonna be fine, Zel. You're among friends. I'm proud of you by the way. You did wonderfully back there. I'm still not really clear on what happened, but we got out with everyone except a pony that didn't want to go." "There was, there was a crystal in the castle." Zelus whispered. "It spoke to me, it was terrifying. I heard it, and it was trying to make me listen to its promises. It already had a queen, but it was calling to me, demanding I start laying eggs for the drone army the Equestrian Queen has. I, I think that's why I need to lay now, otherwise I'd be fine for another week. I need you to make sure, Cimmerian I need you to make sure the arrays don't have any lock on them, I need you to guard them. I know they're true drones, but, but I can't have them belong to her, can't-" The queen's rant devolved to sobbing, the stallion pulling her into a comforting hug. "I think I got it, Z. I'll help you, I promise," Cimmerian consoled her. "We'll get back home, and you can stay there for as long as you like. We're not going to force you to do anything. Now, what do you need me to do?" "You, alicorn, will be standing there looking pretty like you should," his answer came from behind him, Trixie returning with her supplies. "Trixie is unfortunately the one who will be tasked with this, and she will likely be taking a long, hot shower afterwards. Alright, in position, queeny. The 'nest' is ready. "I, are you sure you don't need, uh, me to leave or-" Cimmerian stuttered, before the queen began laying her eggs right before him. He blanched, looking away in embarrassment. Still, he flushed, hearing the complaints from the blue unicorn and the grunts of effort from the shape shifter. "You can look now, you squeamish little colt," the hybrid mare chided him. He turned to see the queen now on her side, panting with effort but still staring at him, focusing on him while Trixie used her muzzle to push the metal pail to the queen's flank. The queen nodded in acknowledgement of her drone's presense, shifting the plates to allow the eggs to be placed into the safety of her chitin when the blue mare squawked in surprise, followed by a heavy impact on the floor. "Zelus, focus on me!" he shouted, grabbing the queen's muzzle with his hooves. She was already tensing up to look, her eyes flashing with a feral need to defend her clutch. "But-" "Focus, focus on my aura, safety, focus on me, this is your hive, you're safe, close your eyes and lay down," he gently commanded. The queen nodded despite her tense body, and Cimmerian never turned from her. "Trixie, take care of, of it. I'll take care of the eggs." "But, but it, she, and-" "Do it, Trixie. Now!" The blue unicorn squeaked and took off out the door, dragging a pink maned and coated mare out the door. How that pony managed to get inside the chitin compartment, much less without Zelus realizing it, he'd never know, but right now it wasn't important. Zelus was extremely agitated when Scootaloo approached her when the queen's wings were exposed. He could only imagine what would happen if Zelus noticed the strange pink mare right next to her eggs. The door slammed shut, and the alicorn sighed, giving a gentle nuzzle to the shaking queen. It wasn't fear that was causing her to shake, it was her fighting the instinct to protect her clutch from, from anything that wasn't of her hive. He circled her, using a towel to gently lift an egg and move it into the slotted compartment in the queen's chitin. "You don't want them wiped down?" he asked cautiously, levitating the second with the same towel. "The, the amnia helps transfer emotions through the shell. It, would hurt them to remove it," she answered, still not lifting her head or opening her eyes. Cimmerian nodded, gently depositing the other two eggs into the chamber one at a time before dropping the towel into the bucket and returning to her head. Nuzzling her once more, he pulled her up and led the still shaky queen out into the halls. He laid her down by his own blankets, reclining on the carpet and resting with his wing over her back. She began to settle down at that point, the eggs safe and safety literally draping over her back. "How is she, Trixie?" "The, surprise, is currently comatose. I don't know how she did, uh, that but she's none the worse for wear, at least compared to the others," the unicorn responded, moving closer to the alicorn and changeling. The blue mare sighed, moving under the wing and laying against Zelus, drawing a hum of contentment as the larger mare curled around her hive-mate. It wasn't much, but it was a bit more safety for the queen, and would hopefully help her relax after that incident. Cimmerian's eyes once more wandered the room, taking in the recovering ponies and dragon once more before a grin broke out on his face. It was the first major mission he'd run knowing full well what he was getting into, or at least most of it, and it was a success. A brush against his unoccupied side drew his attention, a white alicorn smiling at him from her place on the floor. "There's a bed for you over there, you know," he muttered, laying down on a pillow. The mare just hummed in acknowledgement, enjoying the physical contact as she tucked deeper into the stallions side. Lowering his other wing over the alicorn, he relaxed, the soft breathing of those around him lulling him into a deep sleep. Fluttershy would yell at him later for sleeping, but he'd just have to live with the consequences. <-(0)-> The day was dawning when Amald was woken by a racket. He jumped from his cot in the barracks of Shadowtalon Port, changelings and griffons alike calling the town to arms. He donned his helmet, having slept in his armor as many griffons had opted to, and charged out into the cloudy morning. It was still dark, the pegasi, sending storm after storm out to sea by using every cloud they could find. It would play merry havoc with the local weather in the near future, but currently their survival was a bit more important than a quick dry-spell for the jungles around the town. "Sir, the hive has detected a large presence moving in from the sea. There doesn't appear to be any large driving presence, but that is just making the queen more suspicious. She has ordered any and all units we see to be treated as lethal-on-contact unless otherwise advised," a single drone reported, buzzing along after the griffon as he made his way to the town hall. It was currently serving as the command post, most non-coms moved out of the town and into the Temple's underground tunnels. 'I'm sure it's playing merry havoc with the minds of some of those griffons, but I honestly don't think I'd have that much of a problem with it at this point. We certainly wouldn't have been able to fortify this place this quickly without the 'lings.' "Captain, we have the first reports from the fastest scouts that were riding the edge of the storm," a griffon lieutenant reported with a salute. "A large force of about ninety drones is slowly making its way to us and about fifty more are moving to Zarris. A runner has already been sent, warning them of the danger as well as Queen Pandinus' word of caution. We've got everyone ready to move when you give the word. The bugs won't know what hit them; we've got them outnumbered 2:1 at least." A few changelings scowled at the remark, earning a few chuckles and cuffs delivered around the room. Amald sighed while shaking his head. A multi-racial base was certainly not without its hiccups. "Alright, the towers are occupied and the archers are ready, right? I want everyone in position, including the ambush squads. One changeling at least with each group, and one by me at all times. We have a nice thing going here, as Lord Cimmerian pointed out. We can communicate faster and better than any force out there besides a full hive of changelings. I'd say we're going to show them what happens when you mix griffons military with changeling coordination, but not a single one of those things will be surviving to make the reports, much less complete their mission." The group moved out, spreading out to deliver their messages personally. They had time, and some things were just better done in person. It would help moral to hear their commanding officers giving them the information, if nothing else. Amald took his place at a tower towards the middle of the line, watching carefully as a dark mass approached through the storm just beyond the beach. They were once more the sickly drones he remembered attacking his own home, over-running Stone Talon Peak. Even the growing buzz- Amald blinked, looking to the drones beside him. They were buzzing their own wings, actually leaving the incoming force sounding much quieter than it was. The griffon nodded a moment later, returning to his vigil. At the very least, he may be able to hear himself think during this battle. The swarm finally cleared the storm, and the first few volleys of arrows were loosed from hidden ambush points. One drone began to drift to the ground, then another, then two more. He knew the chitin would protect them, but he could see several changelings out there that looked like pincushions. The only reason those few drones were falling was due to wing-damage. A horrid screech suddenly emanated from the swarm, a single drone bearing down on a group that had strayed too close for a few extra shots. The drone latched onto a griffon, the two beginning to fall when- The next thing he knew, there was a bright flash, and the concussive force of an explosion. The changelings around him began to chatter about 'sacrilege' and 'the bastardization of feeding'. A lone drone turned to him and answered his unvoiced question of 'What the hell did I just see'. "The drone drained the griffon on contact, using the motions to power a cascade. The drones seem to be living bombs, using the emotions of their victims to cause destruction. If, if they reach the feeding chambers, there wont be anything left of this continent. That kind of feeding only nets the barest of emotional energy, and the stuff at the hive is pure, freely given love. You may as well toss a ton of fire rubies and storm crystals into a volcano, the damage that would result would be easier to survive!" Amald growled at that. He'd be damned before he lost this position as well to the Mad Queen's armies. "Fire at will, but don't let them touch you! If you have to, pull back, they're useless without a source of emotion to power them! Aim for the wings when you can while they're over the water, then finish them off from a distance, preferably from a safe height!" The griffon turned to the drone, the strange lessons and strategies the alicorn had offered him already setting his mind racing. "I want several teams of drones to drop jars of liquid emotion on the swarm, we'll get a few of them to dive into the ocean, or maybe even take out those around them. Go!" Less than a minute later the drones were taking off, several jars of concentrated emotions attached to their bags. The first enemy drone came in range, screeching as it flew towards a tower, it stumbled, falling short and hitting the wall with a wet crack, a soft detonation not even enough to shake the wall as it died. Three more dove at the defenders, as the first jar of emotion gel was dropped from above the swarm, six drones dove for it, their horrible screeching continuing until they broke the waters surface. The three that had made the dive for the wall all fell, one bouncing off the ramparts right next to a defender. "Scatter, leave the walls and spread out!" Amald shouted, the order being relayed through the drones. The defenders all took wing, the unicorns teleporting or hitching rides with griffons as the kamikaze drones began to reach the wall, unleashing horrid screams of, what? Hunger? Anguish? The griffon didn't know, he just knew that the mad queen really was trying to incite a war of attrition, one he couldn't afford to fight. So as the alicorn had instructed him, he fought back in other ways. A few more jars of emotion fell into the swarm, one of the suicide drones actually managing to consume the thing and detonating like a star right in the middle of the swarm. Several cheers rang out over the buzzing, even as he heard a single griffon shout in fear. Another griffon tackled the enemy, bearing it down into the empty town below and into a building, the explosion blowing out the windows and doors. Another of his soldiers, this time a changeling, let out an enraged chitter, the enemy drone attempting to sap its energy already glowing with power. The allied drone flew right into the swarm, causing the ensuing explosion to take out even more of the encroaching army. Amald watched the battle, firing his own crossbow into the swarm at every opportunity. He had to hold this point. Had to- "Sir, about fifteen of them are moving straight to the Temple, the rest of the remaining drones are giving chase to the defenders. We've broken off as many as we can, but between keeping our distance and the swarm flying all over, I'm not certain if we'll be able to pursue effectively." Amald watched the fifteen drone flying at top speed over the jungle, cursing under his breath. Turning to the drone that he'd assigned as his 'Radio-man' as the dark alicorn had described them, the griffon received a nod of confirmation from the Shadow drone. "Queen Pandinus has already been notified, and is preparing to repel the attackers," the drone said, relaying his queen's commands. "She commands that the defenders not pursue any plans that will result in unnecessary deaths. We will need all the able bodies we can get our hooves on to repair, rebuild, and recover. She also sends her thanks for a job well done, and excellent use of changeling resources." Amald nodded, reloading his crossbow and taking off in pursuit of a few nearby berserkers. The fastest griffons and pegasi had already learned the trick of drawing the attention of the monsters, leading them past groups of armed griffons to be picked off safely, while he also saw a single griffon bearing down on a door, another griffon firing his crossbow at whatever was pinned underneath it. A unicorn teleported out the path of a drone, having it spear itself on a wall of pikes, while a armored gnoll ambushed another, crushing it before it could sap any emotions. The dead drone exploded, but the weak detonation didn't even knock the warrior off of his paws. "Once this is over, I'm going to take Thrisha up on her offer," the older griffon muttered to himself. "A candle-lit dinner sounds wonderful. I'm getting too old for this." <-(0)-> The alicorn sat at the top of the Temple of the Shadows, several weak drones scattered around her in a final defense. The ones beside her were a last ditch effort, having very little in the way of energy to be drained in the case of the alicorn's shield failing, so the enemy hive wouldn't gain much from draining them. More defenders were outside the shield, armed with crossbows, arrows, and spells, but Cadance and Pandinus had already seen a problem with their defensive shield. It was powered by emotion. The bright pink shield that was currently covering the Temple was the result of a day-long bath in some of the last remnants of pure love, the rest of it being spread throughout the hive in preparation for the assault. The changelings would be able to survive on other emotions in the meantime, and Din still had a bit of love to keep for herself, the drones refusing to leave the queen without in her current state. As a result, the alicorn mare was glowing with power, her eyes blazing as the love-bath along with her desire to protect her new home left her infused with enough pure love to feed a small hive for a year. She grit her teeth, her ears flicking as her array picked up the emptiness approaching. It wasn't the emptiness of space though, of a place where there simply wasn't any living thing. It was a void, a black sense of yawning hunger that seemed to suck the life out of the world as it passed by. Din had already tried grabbing a drone, hopping to turn them to the use of the hive, no matter how disgusting they were. At the very least, it would leave them easier to dispose of at a later time. Instead, Cadance had heard her swear, feeling the energy of the hive being sucked into a yawning abyss as the drone drew from the source of love, using the energy to power its own destructive arrays. The drone was disconnected almost instantly, a light explosion being seen in the distance. Cadance shuddered. It had pulled a lot of energy in the short time it was connected, leaving her feeling slightly dizzy despite her tightened connection to the queen. She focused, watching the fourteen remaining drones approach. They ignored the defenders, flying straight to her shield. One, then two latched on, soon giving off large explosions that threw back both the defenders and the other drones, but barely dented the shield. Cadance winced as four more went off, sending a few cracks that the changelings around her moved to repair, using their own limited reserves to repair. A single drone fell to the combined fire of the defenders, but it just wasn't enough. Six latched onto the shield, drawing long and hard on the energy powering it followed by two more. A defender hissed, driving another down to the ground, carrying it into the base of the shield where it detonated weakly, barely able to drain the defender before it's neck snapped after an awkward impact with the shield. 'For my hive, my life' whispered across the weak link, though she knew it was more of a battle cry. She hiccupped, having heard many such oaths from the port before Din had closed her off from most of the link, seeing how it was hurting her. Cadance still felt them, still felt the drones disappear from the link. Voices that had been so kind, had wished her well when she was hurting and that had given her support when she needed it, gone forever. Another two drones latched onto the shield even as the other seven detonated, and the alicorn recoiled, the power of her own shield being used against it. Large cracks ran up and down the shield, but she held it firm. She had to keep the Temple safe. Another large explosion shattered the shield, the alicorn's horn cracking from the effort of channeling so much power into failing spell. The recoil surged through her, and she screamed in pain. She heard a voice cry out in fear; she looked up to see her defenders diving at the remaining drones. Her defenders rose from their places, rushing the remaining three even as the other defenders swarmed through the growing hole in the crumbling barrier. They tackled two, carrying them away from the alicorn, but the last one reached her, reached he source of so much love. She screamed in fear, seeing it starting to glow as it pulled at her energy. Her horn sputtered and sparked, the still-smoking cracks leaving her unable to teleport away. With a strangled scream of fear, instinct overtook her, and she twisted it off of her, crushing it's skull beneath her hooves. She flailed, wings flapping as she tried to get away from the increasing intensity of the cascading drone. A twist in her stomach, a flash of white, and she knew no more. <-(0)-> Cadance felt no pain as she returned to consciousness. She blinked groggily, feeling the odd texture of a hospital bed as she stirred. It didn't feel right though. She raised her head, noticing Pandinus across the way, the pregnant changeling staring into a pod, one of many that were currently occupied by injured griffons or changelings. The occupant caused her to freeze up though, fear in her eyes. "She loves you more than I though was possible, dear. I didn't even think such a sacrifice was possible to make," Pandinus said softly, running a hoof along the side of the pod. Cadance scrambled out of the bed, her chitinous hooves clacking as she rushed up to the pod and stared in terrified shock. In the pod floated her own body, the right foreleg badly mangled while the bone of her muzzle was visible through the burns, burns that tracked down the entire right side of her body, leaving not a single feather left on the right wing.. The mare choked back a sob, staring at her own injured body as the true meaning of that last sensation occurred to her, that twisting pull in her stomach before the insane drone had detonated. "Amare, why. Why did you do this," Cadance whispered, the queen pulling her close as she broke into tears. It wasn't right. A child shouldn't have to suffer that kind of pain, especially one that had been through so much and yet remained as happy as she had. "She'll survive, but we can't transfer you back until she comes out of the pod, and doing so now may kill her," the changeling queen explained. "Your hatchling has given you a gift, Cadenza. Do not squander it by mourning those who are not dead. We will need all the help we can get to rebuild. In the meantime, I will be relying on you to be my eyes and ears, as you have been for the last week. You represent us changelings now more than ever. I want you to go to Shadowtalon tomorrow. Find out what they need, an actual list preferably, as opposed to continuous requests. We're sending a large supply of medical supplies as well, and a few prepared pods for those who can't be moved. Calm Cloud will be going with, and she's been instructed in the use o the pods. A runner will be reaching Zarris shortly, and will return with any news of damages they have. You did wonderfully, Cadance. The temple roof was a bit damaged, but considering the numbers and what you needed to use, you did well." "But, but Amare-" "-Will be fine," Pandinus cut her off. "I spoke to her before we put her under, and her only concern was for her 'mommy'. Go and rest, and remember to pack some honey of your own before you leave. You need it in your current form, and changelings are expected to bring at least enough to feed themselves. If you have any questions about the quantities, ask Mist before you leave." With that the queen slowly lumbered out of the room, giving a loving nuzzle to several of the drones she passed and even one to a griffon hen who smiled weakly at the affection. Cadance took one last look at the pod before taking a few cautious steps towards the door, remembering the differences in size and weight. She followed the queen, intent on finding her bed. She'd rest and do what she needed. Din was right; she couldn't waste this.