A few minutes have passed after Alice’s ‘hatching,’ Chrysalis leading our group to a small room for some privacy. I had gotten a tentacle to magic up some clothes for Alice, them ending up being Hinata’s clothes from Naruto and, adding to her embarrassment, she couldn't wear the pants.
“.... So.” Chrysalis began, looking between Alice and I with no small amount of confusion and curiosity. “What did you do?”
Alice gave me a worried look, before getting behind me without word. I gave her a reassuring smile, before looking back to Chrysalis with the biggest grin I could make on my face. “I made a… Sister.” I struggled to find the word, earning Alice a few thoughtful glances sent her way.
Spoon hummed and got closer to Alice, taking a closer look at her face. “I… I think she's onto something…” She blinked, seeing some similarities. “They look pretty similar. Though, the only question I have is how.”
Much to my surprise, Alice spoke up from behind me, shyly poking her head out from behind me and holding up a finger. “I was in her head. Kinda was stuck in there for a little while.”
I gave her an unamused glare, before muttering in English. “Great…. She can speak Equish better than me.” I sighed. “Really, Alice?”
“What? It's not my fault, you're the one that should try to work on your emmunci- enuci- ugh! How do you say it?”
“Enunciation.” I replied dryly, a little annoyed/jealous of her ability to quickly learn and speak foreign languages, yet not be able to say some of the bigger words.
Spoon coughed to gain our attention, raising an eyebrow as she adjusted her glasses. “New girl. Explain. Now.”
Alice gave the filly a small smile, obviously a little nervous being the center of attention. “Dakota and I were… sharing her head for a little bit.”
Chrysalis groaned. “You already said that! We want to know why and how.”
We both fidgeted a little, Alice suddenly finding her claws interesting. “We don't know…. I just woke up in this nerd’s head a few days ago, just after our lovable glasses wearing friend decided to put her hoof into something she shouldn't.” She laughed, making the filly blush slightly from embarrassment. “Couldn't keep ‘em off us, eh?”
Chrysalis gave me a look. “Are you sure you don't know?” She asked me, earning a shrug in response. “Hmmm…. I suppose some strong magic is the cause.”
Spoon blinked, suddenly realizing something. “The keyhole!” She exclaimed.
All of us looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate further. Spoon smiled widely before making me turn around and show off the device embedded into my back. “This is connected to pretty much everything inside of her, including her brain! It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that it can affect memories.”
I blinked. “Well, that's news to me.”
“So I can imagine that we need to use the key to ‘unlock’ the memories.” Spoon continued, chuckling at her little pun.
“That pun was so bad, it gave me chitin rot.” Chrysalis deadpanned. “One of my scouts found a windup key inside some ruins. I suppose we can use it on her little device, if it fits.”
Spoon blinked in surprise, her head snapping in Chrysalis's direction. “Um, I suppose you can give that a try. Does it, er, have some kind of special magic in it?”
Chrysalis's horn glowed for a second, a bright flash blinding me for a moment as a windup key was teleported into the room. “I’m sure it'll be fine. Do you mind?” She asked me.
I, against the urging of my tentacles, decide to let Chrysalis try using the key. I shrugged and lifted the back of my hoodie, giving her a clear view of the keyhole. Shuddering a little, I felt the key lock into place, a cold feeling encompassing my body.
Chrysalis gave the key a single twist, my back now giving off some loud clicking as I moaned a little at the unexpected feeling in my head, the whole world turning white as my mind blanked. I barely registered that I fell to my knees, alarmed voices echoing around me as I tried to ‘wake up.’
“Sleep, young one.” A sultry woman's voice whispered in my head. “Doesn't that sound nice?”
Shaking my head, I blindly tried to stand, only managing to stumble and fall forward onto my face. The presence didn't let up on it's assault, causing my back to start smoking as I twitched on the ground.
“Go! To! Sleep!” It growled, emphasizing each word with another slam into my head.
“Who…. are…. you….?” Thought sluggishly, my whole body suddenly feeling heavy as I heard slow ticking.
“What's that noise?” It sounded confused, the ticking coming to a stop as everything went dark, the voice screaming the whole way.
Inside Dakota's head.
I woke up strapped face down to a bloodied table inside of a vaguely familiar room, a small light hanging off of the ceiling. Worried, I struggled against my restraints, realizing that my small body was covered in bloody bandages. Pain immediately assaulted my senses, making me cry out as it felt like my insides were bathed in acid.
“Uh, girls? Could you help?” I croaked out as my throat burned, focusing on my tentacles, a single small one wiggling out of my back. “Well… that's not good.” I grimaced in pain as it glowed pitifully in response.
“What's this?” A woman asked, a rusty door opening up behind behind me with a screech. “A memory?”
I tried to look at her, only to flinch in pain. “Ah! W-Who’s there?”
“Just…. A nightmare.” She replied, sounding a little hesitant.
I huffed, eyeing my restraints. “Alright, Miss Nightmare, can ya get me outta these things?”
I heard hooves clop against concrete as she came into view, revealing an alicorn with a crescent moon on her flank. “Luna? What are you doing in here? How are you speaking English?”
She glared at nothing in particular at the mention of Luna. “I am not that failure. I am Nightmare Moon, the true princess of the moon.” She arrogantly smiled down at me. “Surely you've heard of me?”
“...Nope. Never heard of ya. If it makes ya feel any better, I am pretty new to this place.” I chucked nervously, before wincing from the sudden pain flaring up in my chest. “Can ya get me out of this, please? I would like to be able to move, if I can.”
“I am afraid I can't.” She apologized, turning around. “I'm going to possess your body for a while.”
“....Alright.” I said after a moment.
She quickly turned around, eyes wide in surprise. “Alright? What kind of reaction is that!?! I just told you that I'm stealing your body!”
“That ya did.”
“...Why?” She finally asked, looking dumbstruck.
I smiled at her. “Ya have this…. What do I call it….. ‘Sesshomaru’ vibe about you.”
“What does that even mean?!” She screamed in confusion, stomping her hooves against the floor.
“A person that certainly has it's evil moments. but…... deep down, after some moments of opportunity and the occasional person beating some sense into him, is a good person.” I smiled widely, causing Nightmare’s face to turn bright red. “So, that's why I'll let’ch ya take over for a bit.” I finish with a wink, not worrying that much.
She cutely struggled for a response, before glowering. “For your information, I tried to bring about an eternal night.”
“So? That's not the worst plan I've heard.” I chuckled, ignoring the pain in my chest. “This one guy, I can't remember his name, wanted to set fire to the sun!”
“That… is next-level idiocy.” Nightmare laughed. “At least my eternal night would've made everyone appreciate the night.”
“Oh, really? What stopped ya? Did a group of misfits came across some kind of relic containing an ancient power that is pretty much the strongest thing in the land?” I deadpanned. “Lemme guess….. There was even a prophecy about it and everything?”
Nightmare blinked in surprise, before she gave me a suspicious look. “That's awfully spot on….”
I chuckled. “I haven't read up on Equestrian history much, but I've seen this kind of thing happen many times. What kind of thing did they use to foil your plans? I'd place my bet on… something someone important had at some point, oh, and each part of it resonated with each person at the last minute. That's normally how any hero story goes.”
Nightmare laughed with me. “Right? It's so cliché! To summarize my embarrassing loss with two words it would be…. Friendship. Beam.”
“Pffft! Hahahahah! Ohmygod! Please tell me it was a rainbow! It will make! my! day!” I laughed even harder at the fact, trying my best to not focus on the flares of pain in my chest.
“It was! That was the most absurd thing that has ever happened to me!” She admitted. “Seriously, why a rainbow? Why not blue, or green?”
Still smiling, I looked at my restraints. “I dunno, but, eh, can ya let me free?”
“Oh! I suppose I can.” She said with a smile, her horn glowing brightly for a second, my restraints vanishing.
I slowly sat up, the action causing every muscle in my body to burn like crazy. I let out little whimpers as I got my legs to dangle off the table, braving the pain like a champ. Some of the bandages fell off my chest as I was moving, revealing the various fresh stitches crisscrossing my body, each one seeping blood as my whole body shook uncontrollably.
“Wh-What happened to me…?” I hissed as fresh air made contact with them.
Nightmare gasped, as if she was finally seeing my state for the first time. “Oh, this takes a special kind of monster to do this to anyone.”
“I...I honestly don't remember all this…” I looked around the room, keenly aware of the various surgical equipment in the room. “I’m pretty sure I don't want to remember.”
Nightmare hummed in thought. “Well, we're inside your mind. If I really wanted to, I can do some digging around.” She giggled a little, suddenly excited. “It's like a mystery! I've always wanted to play detective!”
“Yeah, yeah, it's like a friggin Scooby Doo episode, except darker and more bloody.”
“What's Scooby Doo?”
“Remind me to explain later.”
A few hours later, with Shining Armor. 3rd POV.
“Thou says Dakota is in an underground kingdom led by a race of bug ponies?” Luna asked in disbelief. “Are thou sure?”
“Yes, and there are two fillies there too.” Shining added with a frown. “I think one of them is Silver Spoon, she was reported missing yesterday. Oh, and Dakota made…. Something.”
“Hmmm? What does it look like?” Luna asked, frowning a little at the news.
“Well, er, it's some kind of fusion of whatever Dakota is and the bugs.” Shining informed. “It seems friendly enough, actually hugging Dakota shortly after being… hatched.”
“Hatched?”
“Yup, hatched. She got one of the eggs and did something to it, not really sure what though.”
“Sigh… did anything else happen?”
“Well….”
Luna facehooved. “Just tell us.”
“They used a windup key on the thing in her back and it pretty much melted into her, knocking her out.” Shining quickly told her, looking away in fear. “It had your mark on it.”
“My mark? Are thou sure?”
“A moon was on the side of the key, there's only one pony I know with that mark.”
“That doesn't bode well.” Luna shook her head in disappointment. “We assume thou has made a plan to storm the place.
Shining nervously nodded in affirmative, definitely not liking the way that one of the thestrals in the room was staring at him with its green eyes. “I suggest that we try to find the entrance. It would be crazy to try and dig into the cavern, one wrong move could drop the whole ceiling onto the kingdom.”
“Thus killing everything inside. Hmm… We'll need to borrow General Solaire for this.” Luna put a hoof to her chin, looking thoughtful.
Shining’s eyes widened at the mention of his superior. “You really want that fanatic to help get her back?! He would rather have her die!”
“Where did thou hear this?” Luna asked in surprise. She hasn't really met the stallion in question, but is skeptical of the rumors circling around him.
Shining looked at the thestral guards again before whispering to the lunar princess. “He is the leader of an insane cult called The Solar Imperium.”
“...and what does this cult have to do with Dakota?”
Shining sighed. “Well, they believe that Celestia is the one true goddess and hate you, thestrals and everything else not a pony. It also doesn't help that some of the crazier ponies are proclaiming Dakota some kind of exiled goddess from another world.” He chuckled a little. “That bit of news was like bucking a hornet nest.”
Luna frowned at the captain, unsure if he's lying or not. “How did thou come across this? Why are thou telling us?”
“Solaire tried to get me to join a few months back. The reason I am telling you this is because…. He is more likely to shove a spear through her chest than actually save her.” Shining shuddered, remembering the rumors of sacrifices circling around the group. “I just don't want anyone else hurt by him or any other member. You’d be surprised at how many members there are in Canterlot.”
“Does our sister know of this?”
“To be honest with you, I haven't told her. Solaire is always with her and I don't know who's part of his group in the guard.” He sheepishly smiled. “Let's deal with this Dakota situation first though, then we can try to take down an entire cult based on your sister.”
Luna scowled at him, before sighing. “Agreed. So, Solaire is out of the question… We suppose we'll have to assist in the search for the entrance with thou, without Celestia knowing.” She smiled at the idea.
“P-Princess?!” Everypony else screamed in surprise, one guard dropping his spear. “You shouldn't put yourself in danger!”
Luna laughed. “It would be done in an instant if we come to assist in the search. Captain, thou said they had horns like a unicorn, no?” She looked towards Shining, receiving a nod in affirmative. “Then we can find the entrance easily with advanced magic circles placed on the perimeter of the badlands, they can pinpoint the locations where residual magic is fresh and remove any illusions placed.”
“Can’t a group of unicorns do it?” Shining asked, furrowing his brows.
“They all need to be powered by the same pony for the spell to be accurate.” Luna proudly stated as she smiled widely.
One guard facehooved before Shining deadpanned. “Who’s the idiot that made the spell?”
Luna’s face turned pink as she looked out the window. “W-We can't recall….”
One hour later. Luna’s POV.
It was a simple matter for me to teleport and set the spells around the badlands, the hardest part being that I had to fly in a circle around the place and connect them all with single line of magic.
Team seven greeted me once I finished and flew back to the camp. They are the oddest group of ponies I've ever met. The team's leader, a pegasus stallion by the name of Late Lightning, always wore this strange mask that covered most of his head, simply nodded towards me before pointing to the big tent in the center of the camp.
Shining walked out of the tent as I approached, looking apprehensive about the situation. He gave me a salute when he finally noticed me. “Princess, I assume you have finished with the spell?”
“Thou are correct. The entrance should be easy to find now.”
Shining sighed with relief, before looking at Late Thunder. “Hey! You and your team go find the entrance! If you see any activi-”
“Hello.” A voice interrupted from our left. “I believe you all are looking for Dakota?”
I scowled in the voice's direction, levitating a few spears and pointing them at the empty space it came from. “Show thyself!”
Shining quickly put a magic dome around the whole camp, removing any chance of escape for the intruder. “I don't want a fight on our hooves. Just come along quietly.” He spoke with authority.
The voice chuckled, before a strange bug pony appeared out of thin air. “The whole hive doesn't want a fight either. I am Oculus, it's an honor to meet the both of you.” She introduced herself with a slight bow of respect.
“I assume thou are not the leader? It would be foolish if it were true.” I calmly asked her, moving the spears to flank both sides of her.
She smiled as she regarded the spears with her silvery eyes, seemingly amused at the action. “I am just the guide. One of my higher ups wanna meet you two, so I am supposed to bring you two in for peace talks…. before the whole hive gets arrested and/or executed.”
Sighing deeply, I move the spears so that they were hovering just over my wings and nod. “Lead the way. Dispel the barrier, Captain.”
“Princess, maybe we shou-”
“Now, Captain.” I interrupted with a pointed glare. “We don't want to ruin a chance to get our friend out without conflict.”
“Oh? Dakota's your friend?” Oculus smiled warmly at me. “The little girl has captured the hearts of everyling in the hive. We are willing to let her come and go as she pleases.” She admitted, before wincing as her horn burned green.
“What was that?” Shining asked in concern, removing the barrier around the camp.
Oculus started walking in the direction of the entrance, motioning for the both of us to follow her. “Just someling overhearing what I’ve just said and he wasn't happy.”
Shining raised a brow, nearly tripping on a rock. “He heard you? How does that work?”
The bug chuckled. “My kind, the changelings, are all connected, sort of. It's really hard to explain. If you need the exact details, I'm not the one to ask, I'm just a scout.”
I hummed a little in thought. “Why did thou foalnap young Dakota? That's the one thing we don't understand.”
“She has an endless supply of love, yes, the emotion, for us to feed on.” Oculus blinked at how bad that sounded. “It’s not as bad as it sounds! The hive didn't have that much love to live off of before we… ‘borrowed’ her. After we explained ourselves to her, she was all too happy to give us her love.” She groaned a little, her tongue snaking out the side of her mouth. “And I must say, it is delicious!”
I scowled as we came to the entrance. A small cave in the center of a semicircle of boulders, dim green lights in the back illuminating a stone door on the far wall.
It opened on its own as we got close, green runes flaring up on its surface in tune with Oculus’ horn, revealing another hallway lit by more green globs of slime attached to the walls.
“Okay, you'll need to leave the rest of the guards out here. There's a lot of traps up ahead and I can't lead all of you through.” Oculus announced as the guards that followed us entered the cave.
One guard in red armor, Sarge, growled in her direction. “Ah can take anything you can give! Ah once fought against the evil blue army!”
Another soldier, this one in orange armor, groaned. “That was just a game of capture the flag! And why did you even drag me here in the first place? At least somepony needs to watch over the camp while everypony is here.”
“You just want to stay back and eat all the snacks.” Another guard in red armor mocked. “Just like what happened in capture the flag.” He shook his head.
“See? That's why Simmer is a better guard than you.” Sarge laughed.
“Silence!” I yelled in full royal canterlot, the cave shaking a little from the sheer volume. “All of thou can go back to the castle, or wherever each of thee came from! We can deal with this ourself!”
Oculus dashed in front of me, shaking her head in panic. “Stop yelling like that! This whole place could cave in! Some of our earliest works ar-!” She was interrupted by a loud cracking noise coming from underneath us, cracks spider webbing at our hooves. “Alright, one of tw-” More cracks spread out as some smaller portions of the floor fell in, green light flowing in from below. “-one thing is going to happen…. Everypony, hold onto somethiiiiiinnnng!” She screamed as the cave floor finally fell, taking all of us down with it.
With Six Six, just a few minutes earlier. 3rd POV
“She’s fine, my queen.” Six Six reassured Chrysalis, the mare still in her filly form and crying as she held onto Dakota. “You heard Spoon, this has happened before.”
Alice frowned as she looked at the keyhole. “I am pretty sure keys don't usually melt…”
The commander sighed in frustration. “Luna is on her way here.”
That got everyone's attention. “What!?” Spoon and Chrysalis screeched at the same time, leaving Alice scratching her head. “Who's Luna?”
Ignoring Alice, Six Six continued. “She's dispelled the illusion around the entrance. So I've sent Oculus to bring her and the captain in for talks.”
Chrysalis took a deep breath, her hoof meeting her face. “My mom’s gonna kill me….”
“My queen?”
Chrysalis suddenly smiled, having an idea. “Okay, I can salvage this situation. Six Six, you are going to be king of the hive in front of them.” She laughed at his surprised stuttering. “Keep our shape shifting ability a secret, it would cause panic for everypony.”
“B-But, what are you going to do?”
She looked at Alice and Spoon. “I'm going with them to Ponyville, as a poor little orphan filly that has been adopted by the hive.” The queen smiled, gesturing at her still transformed body. “Just send me messages through the hive link if you need my help in ruling.” She playfully winked at the commander, giving her tail a little swish.
“I guess my Pitt fighting days are over….” Six Six groaned, knowing that he couldn't get her to reconsider. “Fine. Just… Stay safe, alright? Your mom didn’t send me to your hive just so you can die. ”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled evilly at Spoon, transforming her eyes into blazing red ones and adding more fangs to her mouth. “Riiiight? You wouldn't try to rat me out, would you?”
“No! No! For the love of Celestia, no!” Spoon squeaked in fear, jumping behind Alice to get away from the nightmare looking at her. “Why aren't you asking the new girl?”
“Alice.”
“What?”
Alice shyly looked away from everyone, nervously playing with her claws. “That’s my name. It's Alice.”
“Well, it's nice to meet you.” Chrysalis smiled softly at the display.
The whole place suddenly started shaking, bits of rock falling off the ceiling of the room. Alice and Spoon screamed in fright, holding onto each other as they huddled together next to Dakota's body.
“Ahhhh! I don't wanna die crushed by a cave-in!” Alice screamed, her voice being drowned out by the thunderous crashing coming from outside. “I wanted to die from a tragic chocolate cake accident!”
Chrysalis and Six Six almost collapsed from what they felt. On the Eastern side of the hive, most of the cavern collapsed in on itself, taking almost a hundred changelings with it in an instant, their last moments broadcasted with them over the hive link.
Six Six growled when the crashing stopped, the noise almost demonic as it echoed throughout the room. “That princess is an idiot…!”
Chrysalis looked at the floor, tearing up as she mourned those crushed. “I… sniff….. I am sure it was an accident…”
Six Six sighed at the sight, his horn glowing green. “I'll gather some of the tunnelers and dig out those we can save.” He told her with a frown, before smiling evilly. “I'll give the princess and her surviving crew the ol’ Pitt welcome when we dig them out.”
“You shouldn’t, we need her and the guards to know that we are peaceful.” Chrysalis slowly walked to Alice and Spoon, double checking Dakota’s status for a moment and sitting down next to them. “I'll get these three back to the castle and get myself ready to leave. Just…. try to be civil with her, alright? Luna is known for her infamously short temper.”
“Yes, my queen.” Six Six saluted her, bowing a little before he left the room. “Heh, infamous for her temper? Nah, it's legendary!”
With Luna, underneath the rubble. 1st POV.
I sneezed as we waited in the shield bubble Shining had cast as we fell, protecting us as we waited underneath the rubble, unable to make a move for fear of being crushed. Surprisingly enough, all the guardsponies were saved by the captain's quick thinking.
“Well, look at what you've done, princess.” Oculus drawled sarcastically, eyeing the green stains marking the rocks outside of the bubble. “You just smashed the marketplace, are you proud of yourself?”
Shining grunted from exertion. “It was an accident. Eh, is anypony coming to dig us out? I don't think I can hold this barrier much longer….”
All of the guards started whispering to each other at his worrying words, gradually gaining volume as they grew more panicked.
“Oh, I should've just stayed home today…”
“I don't wanna die!”
“Today's a good day to die!”
“Uh, no, it's not! I'm supposed to get married Saturday!”
“Only two days ‘till retirement…..”
These comments continued on for a few more minutes, much to my irritation, until some of the rocks were moved off the top of the barrier. Two changelings peered down at everypony inside the barrier from the small opening in the rocks, looking almost disappointed from their discovery. One of them looked away and yelled something, making more of them flock around the hole and start clearing the rubble with their strong pointed hooves that effortlessly tore through stone.
Shining hesitantly dispelled the barrier when they finished, both him and the guards keeping their distance from the other changelings. “I… don't think they like us…” He noted out loud, seeing the pointed glares sent our way.
Oculus snorted. “Oh, I wonder why? Maybe it's that your princess did just drop the bucking ceiling of a quarter our cavern, our bucking home!” She all but yelled in my direction.
“We apologi-!” I was cut off by a new changeling, this one looking more battle hardened from the numerous cracks on his chitin.
“Apologies doesn’t fix any of this.” He grumbled out, glaring at everypony. “Do any of you have any idea of what just happened? Hmmm?” He asked.
Sarge stupidly spoke up, a stupid smile on his face. “A lot of bugs were smashed.”
Everything suddenly went quiet, everyling’s eyes visibly glowing in rage as they stared at the idiot. “What? You guys are bugs.” He pointed out, his voice echoing throughout the cavern.
“Now he's done it…” Oculus sighed.
Forcing a smile, the leader looked at me. “Just come with me. Oh, and would you please leave that one behind? I think some of the surviving families would like to meet him and…. educate him on insulting things he doesn't know.” He said with an evil smile.
I sighed and shook my head, knowing what my sister would do if I let one of the guards die. “We cannot, even though it would please us to see the fool get hurt.”
“Are they talking about me?”
“Just shut up!” Somepony yelled at the fool.
The changeling finally smiled a little at the display of idiocy, chuckling a little. “Well, it looks like you have quite the band of misfits. Okay everypony, please follow me to the castle.” He said, walking towards the towering black spire
“Wait!” Shining yelled out. “What's your name?”
“I'm Six Six, the leader of this hive.” He introduced himself, flaring his wings a little as he walked. “Yeah, yeah, I know. ‘You don't look like it!’ But, let me tell you, I like to fight a little bit more than the average changeling.” He chuckled warmly, as if remembering something.
We passed some more changelings as we walked, most of them glaring at our group before going on with their business, pointedly ignoring us. Six Six kept quiet as he led us to his castle, not paying any mind to the distrusting comments that some of the guard were saying.
Shining coughed, gaining my attention. “Do you think we can trust them?” He asked me with a frown. “The changelings, I mean.”
I scowled. “They seem to be the secretive sort….” I whispered to the captain, before eyeing Six Six. “And more than capable of defending themselves from harm. It would be wise to stay cautious around them.”
“I heard that.” Six Six spoke up, looking back at us with a small smile. “Remember this: I have eyes and ears just about everywhere in here.” Then he shrugged and continued. “I can understand why you all are cautious about us. ‘A whole new race of ponies? Why haven't there been any records of this?’ Heh, maybe you should check out some of the old pre-tribe unification myths.” He chuckled. “You should find mentions us in some of those.”
“Y-Your kind is that old?!” Shining sputtered in shock.
“Yup.” He simply said, leaving everypony to think on that.
Once we finally arrived at the castle, some nervous changeling guards ushered us inside and led us to the throne room. Six Six took his seat on the black throne, eyeing both Shining and I with a blank expression.
“Oculus, please bring Dakota and her friends.” Six Six ordered, raising a hoof. “Don't forget her pets, I think those are still in the dungeons after that black bat thing ate Nickel.”
“Poor Nickel…. Alight, sir. I'll be right back.” The scout nodded, walking out the way we came.
Six Six then turned to me, frowning deeply as he looked at everypony in the room. “As there is no chance of keeping the knowledge of this hive from the public… All I ask in return is that there will be no hostile measures taken against us.”
Shining stepped forward. “I think we should wait until those taken are here. They should have a say in this, if they aren't harmed.”
“We agree with the captain. Young Dakota is smarter than she gives herself credit, she should have a say.” I said with a small smile, causing the king to wince in response.
“Ooooohhhh….” He groaned, gritting his teeth as he forced a smile. “Yeeeeaaaahhhh, about her….” He said as the doors opened up behind us, some gasps coming from the guards near them.
I turned around and scowled at the scene. Oculus held an unconscious Dakota on her back as two fillies followed closely behind, the two small animals protectively sitting on the human's chest growling at everything that came close. At my glare, the changeling fearfully levitated Dakota, with the animals still on her, to me and setting her down at my hooves.
“What happened?” I growled out, seeing the new additions to her body. “She didn't have a tail before! And look at that fang!”
The filly with the green mane spoke up, shyly walking over to me. “S-S-She h-had a b-bad reaction t-to the p-pink s-stuff….” She stuttered out, not making any eye contact. “S-She d-drank t-too much… S-Sorry…. I-I’m not u-used to n-normal p-p-ponies…”
“What?”
Six Six coughed to gain my attention. “Oh, that's Poison Moss. She's…a special case. Some of my scouts found her in the badlands, beaten and bruised. The whole hive took her in and has pretty much has raised her as their own since then. Right, honey?” Six Six smiled warmly down at the filly.
“Yes!” She almost cheered in reply, before seeming to realize where she is. “I-I mean…..”
Six Six chuckled warmly. “So, why are you here? I thought you would be with the Nectar sisters today.”
“I-I-I wanted t-to s-see what was g-gonna h-happen with Dakota…” Moss admitted, her cheeks turning pink.
“Hey!” A new voice yelled out, a strange creature standing in the doorway, a scowl on its face. “You forgot me!” She said, pointing at Oculus.
“I was going to bring you later, when we get this mess sorted out.” Oculus groaned, facehooving.
The creature blinked at the response, before smiling widely. “But, I'm here now! Is that the princess? ” She asked, not noticing the spears pointed in her direction as she got closer to me. “Hiya! I'm Alice. Nice to meet you!” She greeted herself as she casually wrapped an arm around my shoulders, smiling almost as widely as the bearer of laughter.
“Oh, thou too?” Was all I could say as it thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into?”
Back in Dakota's head. Dakota's POV.
I blinked at the familiar door that Nightmare led me to. “Uh, I am pretty sure I took a peek in this thing the last time I was here.” I spoke up, my stitches stopped hurting a little while ago.
“Really? What was inside?”
“I dunno. Something came running to the door once I opened it, sorta just slammed it shut and never looked back.” I answered with a nervous smile, hesitant to even get close to it. “I… I don't like the feeling it gives off.”
“I agree….” Nightmare hummed, raising a brow as she got closer to the door. “It does feel… odd. Well, it's either now or never.” She said as she opened it, revealing the splintered wooden walls on the other side, bloody handprints smeared on everything like some kind of demented art show.
“Huh….” I slowly limped my way inside, Nightmare following behind me as I examined the damages. “It looks like someone was trying really hard to get out….”
Nightmare stayed silent as we went further down the long hallway, the handprints becoming less frequent on the walls, eventually disappearing altogether once we came to a stairwell leading down. Nightmare and I shared a look, before we went down it.
Then I tripped, somehow bouncing comically on every step, before landing in a heap of pain at the bottom. “Motherfu-!”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Someone chastised me, a red finger waggling in my blurry vision. “Little girls shouldn't curse, Mama doesn't like that.” It said, the voice distinctly Harley Quin-ish, the older animated one.
“Wha-!”
She interrupted me by covering my mouth with a wet hand, lifting my aching body with her other and running away from the stairs. I could faintly hear Nightmare calling out in worry as the girl weaved her way through various doors, making sure that her pursuer wouldn't be able to follow.
“I want to show you my dollies….” She muttered to me, her glowing red eyes the only thing I can see in the dark room she carried me to. “Yes….. Maybe Mama would like to see you too…”
I winced at the sudden bright light that filled the room, revealing everything inside. A tattered and stained bed, an unknown black liquid seeping out from underneath it. Various styles of homemade dolls, from animals to people, littered the dirty floor. To my left, I saw a desk with lots of sewing equipment.
I looked up at the new girl's face, still in her arms. “What the he-!” I almost yelled, interrupted by a swift slap to my face. “Ow!”
“What did I say? No cursing!” She chastised, wagging her finger in my face again.
I blinked at her, thinking to myself. “Why does she look like me? Well, she's taller and more stitched up…. Awww hell naww! Not the whole ‘evil me’ bullcrap!”
“Soooo….” I drawled, nervously smiling as she stared at me with her creepy smile.
She didn't even blink as she kept staring, her smile still there, bordering on psychotic. Suddenly, she started moving towards the bed, humming a little tune as she practically skipped her way there. Dumping me onto the bed, she smiled even wider, revealing red stained teeth as eight thick tentacles burst from her back and lifted me up by my waist.
I closed my eyes in acceptance of my fate, my body being pulled closer to her…..
“I’ve always wanted a sister!” She giddily squealed, hugging me as hard as she can. “And I got a twin! Yay!”
She let go when she felt me pounding on her shoulder, blood dribbling out the corners of my mouth. “Awww…. Why does everyone break when I hug them?” She asked with a frown, her tentacles glowing green as they healed me.
“Ugh… Ya… You're a strong one.” I wheezed out, seeing stars.
The girl smiled, taking a seat next to me. “It's just the way Mama made me!” She proudly pointed out her scars, each one wiggling as something moved underneath. “Oh… Looks like you're not done yet…. Awwwww, I hope Mama doesn't make me break you. She always makes me break the mean ones, and they're always not done…” She said as she poked at my stitches.
“Uh, do I look mean?” I asked her, putting on my best puppy dog expression as she looked at me.
She wrapped me in another painful hug. “Nope! What's your name?”
Da….kota….” I managed to choke out, trying to wiggle out of her grip.
“Mama always calls me Shade when we're out, but I'm her little Honey when we're home.” She told me, still hugging me with that crazy strong grip.
“Shade.” Another voice spoke up, startling us both.
Shade's attitude changed instantly, her smile turning into a blank mask as she turned towards the doorway. “Yes, master?” She asked, turning me around to see the figure that appeared.
It was just a cloud of black in the shape of a person, its form constantly flickering in some unseen wind. One hand held onto the doorway as it stared in our direction with its featureless face.
“Put her down.” The voice commanded, a smokey claw pointing at me.
Wordlessly, Shade gently put me down, offering me a small smile in reassurance as I nervously backed away from the smoke monster. It approached me, coming to a stop a few feet away from me and crouching down.
“... So you don't remember me?” It asked, not moving at all as it stared at me.
I pointed at it, smiling smugly. “Yeah, you're one of those invisible matter things from Aijin.” I then nodded, like it was the correct answer.
“Seems that you kept your sense of humor…” It suddenly grabbed my head with one arm and stood up, squeezing tightly as its claws dug into the sides of my head. “No matter, when I find a suitable vessel, I'll just break the damned thing!” It growled, throwing me against the wall.
“Begone!”
A beam of light hit the smoke monster in the back, making it flinch and turn towards the alicorn that showed up just in time. Nightmare glared at the creature, its arms going wide as it crouched down. It chuckled, the sound coming out like it was choking.
“A pony? That's the dimension she ended up in?” It murmured itself, sounding thoroughly amused as it regarded Nightmare. “Hmmm…. I don't suppose the name Star Swirl means anything to you?“
“The famous sorcerer? You knew him?” Nightmare asked, keeping her horn lit as she prepared a strong spell. “He's long dead and buried. Why do you ask?”
“That's none of your business. I suppose I'll take my leave. ‘Till we meet again, princess…” It spat out, vanishing in an gust of invisible wind.
“I hope I won't meet that guy again.” I shuddered a little. “He seemed a little… off.”
Shade slapped me, frowning at what I said. “Don't talk about our Mama like that! She's the one who made us!” She chastised me, lifting me up with a few of her tentacles as she glared at Nightmare. “And you! How dare you attack Mama like that!”
“Mama? That was clearly a male.” Nightmare laughed as she released her spell, a bright beam of black light speeding towards Shade’s face. “Take this!”
“Gladly!” Shade yelled, opening her mouth wide and eating the beam. “Mmmph, dish ish too schweet.” She shuddered and moaned, chewing on the magical attack like it is candy.
“Did she just…?”
“Yep.”
Shade finally swallowed the attack, giving nightmare a manic grin as her scars glowed brightly, black smoke flowing off each tentacle as they held onto me. “I’ve always wanted a pony. Come on! I'll enjoy making you my new dol!”
“Can’t just put me down first?” I was ignored as Shade launched towards Nightmare, the tentacles holding me squeezing tighter. “Come oooo-aaahhh!”