• Published 6th Aug 2013
  • 20,589 Views, 1,216 Comments

Hive Alive - BlackWater



Twilight saved Chrysalis from a bitter end, thus changing her own fate and that of the Elements of Harmony. As she learns the power of redemption, Twilight gains power never before recorded in history. Equestria itself will never be the same.

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13 - Discovery is Foreboding



The strutting of the train against the tracks as well as the occasional blare of the vehicle's horn were well past the point of rhythm. Both sounds were lost to the few passengers aboard except for one which was fast approaching hearing range of the alicorn, pegasus, and changeling. The fourth passenger, the guardpony, would likely hear it first since it was his job to be alert of such things.

If there was one pony that was ever questionably capable of stealth then it was the one who was now making her way forward across the train cars in a black ninja suit so that she could get a better look at those she was shadowing. Of course, shadowing was a very loose term to use because she was currently giggling about Celestia knows what as she bounced merrily along. She must have forgotten that she was supposed to be a ninja or else she had vividly remembered that she was Pinkie Pie. The latter might even explain the former as far as she was concerned.

When the pony was only one car away from her target, she finally slunk along more covertly. How she was able to slink around so fluidly, irregardless of anatomical restrictions, was irrelevant. She slammed her head against the car door without making a sound, which should have also been impossible. Somepony was saying something on the other side. It was hard to make out through the old metal of the door but she thought she heard a “yes” and a “we already talked about this.”

What conversation those things were supposed to be a part of she hadn't a clue. But then again, she didn't need one. What she did need was her special super-spy night-vision goggles. Ninjas were basically spies, right? She didn't mind the differences between the two. One pink hoof whipped the goggles out of her mane as if it was some kind of limitless inventory container. With the goggles on, she could see through the door that separated her from her “goal.” Or at least she assumed she could see through it. Pitch blackness had to mean that the next car had all the window blinds closed. Immediately, Pinkie Pie was suspicious.

“Now why would they all be talking together in the dark? Very fishy...” she whispered in her best covert voice she could whip up on the spot.

It was a good thing she had set out on this investigation. Or was it supposed to have been her saving them from something? She couldn't remember but it didn't matter anyhow. She was having tons of fun and that was all that registered in her mind at the moment. Now where was the lever to open the door? Her spy goggles were supposed to highlight it in red so she knew she could “interact” with it. It had to be nearby.

Pinkie Pie twirled around, half expecting some bad guy to be sneaking up behind her but there was still nothing but darkness. That could only mean somepony had now closed the blinds in her car as well!

“I'm not alone,” she remarked with a furrowed brow and dark tone of voice.

However, when she tried to get in fighting posture, she tripped over something on the floor and then tumbled over something else that might have been a passenger seat. A bump in the train ride made her head crash against something else on the floor and she was left then to a throbbing headache. She promised revenge on her assailant, whoever it was, as she passed out as gently as anypony could ever do so.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Pinkie Pie, the train car she had knocked out in was just a normal passenger car with no bad guys. And the blinds were not shut because the whole place was bathed with afternoon light. One day the pink Earth pony might think to read the instruction manual on her night-vision goggles or, at the very least, take the black protection caps off the lenses on the front. But alas, today was not that day.

Princess Twilight Sparkle nuzzled her friend Fluttershy lightly. “Goodness,” she continued to remark, picking up from the answer she had given. “You just don't stop worrying about this do you?”

“I'm sorry,” the yellow mare squeaked apologetically. Rainbow Dash would be pulling her cheeks down in a mix of frustration and boredom by now, which was probably a good reason why she wasn't with them. Chrysalis on the other hoof...

“Ugh,” the changeling groaned. “Fine. We'll do this later. Now what are we going to be doing when we get to your brother's empire?”

Twilight stopped her ministrations with Fluttershy, much to that mare's disappointment. Her eyes moved as if gears were turning behind them. “I,” she spoke with a stutter. “I guess it is technically his empire. It just sounds...weird when you put it that way.”

“So?” Chrysalis insisted while Fluttershy pressed her lips firmly together in anticipation.

“I looked up some special detection spells before I left – we left. I'm hoping to get some measurements on King Sombra's residual magic.”

“I thought he was defeated...?” the sunny pegasus spoke softly.

“Chrysalis thinks he might still be around,” Twilight answered her. “I'm not about to take her lightly on this.”

The changeling smiled faintly at the idea that her queen would have some manner of faith in her.

The pony royal continued as the deep emerald trees from Mt. Canter's summit raced passed the windows and sunlight faded gradually as they started encountering more cloud cover. “She said he mastered many unknown magics and even some changeling ones. Equestria could be in danger next if he decides to give up on the Crystal Empire.”

Fluttershy sounded a quiet “eep” as the train jolted along the tracks. They really needed to keep those things maintained. “Is this trip going to be dangerous?” the pegasus worried.

Midnight Strike was listening intently because he needed to stay alert, be aware of the nature of the trip, and figure out whether that last sound was just from the bump in the ride or if there might be an occupant in the next car over, which should have been empty. He eventually decided, upon hearing no more ruckus, that it must have been the train.

“It's okay, Shy,” Twilight assured her friend as she extended a wing around the other's shoulder once more. The physical contact had been working out as a sufficient means of calming the mare, so Twilight had no problem with doing it. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

Whether it be the fire in the new queen's eyes or the way she said those words, Fluttershy believed her. She believed every individual word and her heart was at peace in a way it had never been before even when she was with her animals. For all she felt now, Twilight Sparkle was the only one she cared about in that moment.

What Chrysalis would give to be in Twilight's head at that moment. She even voiced that thought, carefree of any social consequence. “What have you been planning?”

Twilight turned her head smoothly to the changeling with a serene look upon her face. “I can show you what after we get back. There are a lot of things that I've been realizing since last night. Every minute I understand a little more and I can feel something strange yet calming...”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and peered deep into her queen's eyes. There really was something in them that wasn't there before, which made the changeling develop a pit in her stomach and not for a lack of love. Whatever was happening to Twilight was happening because she had more or less tricked the alicorn into her experimental plot with the hivemind.

“Twilight...” Chrysalis spoke suspiciously. “Are you feeling alright?”

“What are you talking about? I'm fine. Same old me,” the purple pony responded with a tick movement at the edge of her mouth.

Chrysalis was starting to think that maybe it wasn't the same old Twilight. “When we get back,” the changeling decided, “you must allow me to connect with you directly so I can confirm that for myself.”

“Oh?” Twilight's eyebrows raised. “Because I thought you had some punishment scheduled when we got back.”

Chrysalis scowled. “Many things are awaiting then. Now what about these light detection spells?”

“Well,” the queen began again from earlier as she gave a little pull with her wing to comfort a Fluttershy who had gone back to fidgeting. Other ponies might call the pink-maned mare over-emotional or needy but Twilight accepted her for who she was and was well resolved to the idea of taking care of her. On an unrelated note, Twilight didn't question how Chrysalis had guessed at the light spells she had gone over before. The changeling was usually just quick on the pick up.

“King Sombra,” she continued to explain, “may have an extensive knowledge of dangerous and foreign magic but power itself can be a critical weakness, as one great pre-Equestrian scholar once said. It is difficult to mask the inevitable residual traces left by transformation magics if one is specifically searching for them, especially when attempting to make a hasty retreat and not having the time to properly apply the best of dissipation techniques. We may have nothing but outright speculation at this point, but I find it reasonable to assume that...”

Thus did Twilight's bloated explanation ramble on in an answer far longer and more technically accurate then Chrysalis had meant to receive upon request for information. In fact, the alicorn continued giving detailed descriptions of theoretical magic and detection techniques thereof that would make even the Canterlot professors run for their money and hide for weeks in hopes of the mass of spoken words deciding to pass them by safely. Fluttershy, after about an hour of this, had fallen asleep against one purple wing with a look so tranquil that one might believe she had died happily with absolutely no regrets. Chrysalis may or may not have drooled at some point, her little love-hungry soul long since evacuated from her poor hole-ridden body.

Twilight should have needed a drink of water after the first half-hour, but that was another thing she was apparently capable of overcoming. Only the full and complete stop of the train was enough to make her wrap up her endless speech. The trees of Mt. Canter had long left them and outside was now painted with the green fields and crystal spires that characterized the Crystal Empire. The place would normally be a sparkling and shining wonder of a place to be but it was not so much so at the moment.

The sky had become overcast with gray clouds that seemed content to move overhead at a snail's pace while at the same time refusing to release their liquid load. A cold breeze added a biting chill to the moody gray-lit air that the clouds created. The crystal ponies were out and about just the same, though. It became apparent that no threat of foul weather concerned them after the occupants of the train disembarked.

“We're here,” Twilight announced as she stepped out of the car and onto the boarding platform of the station. It was just the sort of thing one said out of habit and not because anypony actually needed to know that the destination had come upon them.

Chrysalis mumbled a “thank goodness” and Fluttershy's eyes darted back and forth nervously as she followed the others out. Midnight Strike was only a step behind her with the stone-solid expression of his position etched upon his countenance. He was, perhaps, the most invisible one among their party since guards were not such a strange sight in an Empire so recently recovered from tyranny and led by a prince who happened to be Captain of the Royal Guard.

A few ponies did seem to recognize Twilight Sparkle and, thankfully, made no big show of it. Thanks to Spike being unintentionally immortalized in the story of the Empire's salvation and also in part to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's ascension to the throne, Twilight's name took a backseat as far as the public was concerned. She may be a princess now but she had always been Shining Armor's little sister, which made her eternally the minor sibling of the prince. It was like being royalty twice removed.

Having not announced her visit by intention, there was nopony there to greet them. It hadn't come to the minds of her companions that none of them had brought luggage of any kind else they might have asked about such things along the way. Twilight had everything she needed already in her mind and any physical supplies relating to comfort she was content to be without. It wasn't going to be an extended trip anyways.

There was one quick little thing that needed to be done and the princess saw to it that it was done in just such a matter. She hurried over to the nearest ticket booth and explained her situation regarding the mistake of paying for three tickets when she needed to purchase four. The ticket pony, recognizing the royal mare, insisted that no such bother was required and even offered to refund the three other fares. Twilight, however, managed to insist even more to the opposite and finally won the argument when the stallion realized he was in a losing battle. Chrysalis' unpaid ride was thus resolved.

“Where...?” Chrysalis began to ask when she noticed many a hard stare of interest directed her way by passing ponies. One might think they had never seen a changeling before, which made Chrysalis suddenly wonder if they actually ever had. Perhaps only if her grandmother had intervened those many years before.

“We need to get out of here,” Twilight deadpanned as she too noticed the stares and slowing paces of the crystal ponies. The alicorn motioned for Chrysalis and made sure Fluttershy was right behind her before she led them off the platform and out of the train station. It might have been faster for them to fly just then since the crowd was thick on the main road in front of the station but that would have just gotten them more attention that she didn't want.

With a strained remembrance of the place, Twilight made way as soon as possible onto a less crowded road. She had come here a few times now and with less ponies around her she was able to think more clearly, which got them onto yet another less crowded road and onwards to the outskirts of the Empire. Eventually they hit open trails, which she figured was as good a place as any to begin work.

“So cold,” Fluttershy remarked as a sudden draft of a breeze sent shivers down her spine.

The dim gray tones cast from the cloud cover above gave the place a somber feeling. Rolling green hills now surrounded them, the grass bending in the breeze every time it passed. The queen lit her horn in a mysterious glow of purple, green, and black in an attempt to multi-cast magic as the passing wind made her mane wave to the side of her face. She grunted only a second before succeeding.

What happened next was both comforting and upsetting. The comforting part was the clear bluish light that her horn emitted brightly and the warmth that began to remove the chill from her body. She tried directing some of it to Fluttershy, who had come up to her side. Chrysalis was quite obviously unconcerned with the temperature because her eyes were on the same thing as Twilight's.

The light from her horn was only a side effect of the heat spell, but she had also cast a spell to highlight residual magic. It only stretched out about twenty hooves in front of her but that was, unfortunately, enough. What she had hoped not to find was highlighted in purple glows before her and her companions.

Crystal-shaped scars marred the ground where before there only seemed to be untouched grass. The revealing spell was showing what had been when King Sombra had tried to retake the Empire. This itself would not be so troubling since it was inevitable that such residual energy would be left after such an ordeal. What was troubling was that the left-over magic was still pulsing with life.

Chrysalis stiffened and moved her eyes across the surrounding fields suspiciously. Twilight stretched out a hoof and breathed deeply to reset her calmness. Fluttershy was thankfully enjoying the bliss of ignorance since she didn't know what the highlights of magical energy meant.

For Twilight to find such strong and immediate traces on her first try in a place that shouldn't have been any stronger a suspect than anywhere else could only mean that the situation was worse than she had hoped it to be. King Sombra wasn't just still alive as Chrysalis had indicated. He had not lost his strength and he was near. Not wanting to frighten Fluttershy without good reason, the queen refrained from asking the changeling anything obvious.

“You have any magic that might help out here?” Twilight heavily insinuated a second meaning.

Whether because of the mare's emphasis or her own reading of the highlights, Chrysalis got the hint. “We should start with those light spectrum spells first...”

The alicorn nodded seriously and wrapped a wing around the pegasus next to her just as a means of assuring that she would be close and protected in case things took a sharp turn for the worse. When she closed her eyes, she could see the spells still written on the pages of the books she had read. Memorization was a breeze for her and had carried her through many difficult tests. Even as her eyes were still shut, her horn completed the steps to the incantation so that new glowing magical highlights had combined with the others when she saw with her eyes once more.

The new green highlights were faint and revealed nothing except for the usual traces of that light spectrum that would be expected to exist where she had cast the spell. With a frown of disappointment and the ghost of an idea, she tried something else. Fluttershy's momentary shiver was a minor distraction since the mare was now pressing up against her for warmth. Twilight tried to direct more heat magic towards her friend and then resumed her next casting.

This time she recalled some basic compass magic and combined it with the light conversion spell all within her mind. Not that it was an easy thing to do. Princess Celestia had praised her in her early years for her ability to combine incantations with nothing but her own imagination. She was, after all, the Element of Magic. To be capable of less would be a disappointment to her title.

The new cast succeeded and Chrysalis grinned as she peered down to her queen. “Quite resourceful,” she remarked proudly.

“I do try,” Twilight returned as she interpreted the new display. It had become quite the light show before them now that an entire hill was bathed in a multitude of colors depicting various magic energies and aspects of the light spectrum for analytical purposes. What was important now was the purple-pink arrow that shined in the center. It pointed to further hills.

“What does it mean?” Fluttershy finally questioned with a slight chatter of a chill in her voice.

Twilight's eyes narrowed darkly in resolve. “It means we've got questions that need answers,” she put it rather politically. In her mind, she solidified her course of action and all contingencies thereof that she had drafted earlier before they had left on the train. If King Sombra really was a master of end-all transformation magic, which the analytical incantations supported, then the Elements of Harmony would have little effect on him. He couldn't very well be defeated if he could dissipate and reform so quickly. It appeared now that was exactly what he had done to survive the blast from the Crystal Heart.

Fluttershy saw a strained look cross Twilight's face as the alicorn thought deeply in the cold breeze. “Twi...?” she worried at her special queen.

Was the dark stallion in the realm of immortality and invincibility? He may very well be if nothing could keep him down. Twilight had often been praised for her creative solutions to the most difficult of problems in her academic life, but her best plan was really nothing more than a play for time. She had to eventually come up with something else if Equestria was to be safe from the tyrannical villain. With an ounce of brainpower she could spare, Twilight nodded reassuringly to the yellow female under her wing.

The colored light show that had been cast on the hill before them finally wisped away on the next breeze since the spell time was up. The direction of the arrow was a remembered survivor among the sorry casualties of the informational results. Perhaps time would present better options to the pony queen. Twilight took her first step in the path that foreshadowed a foul destination. Nothing would get accomplished by standing around and thinking the whole day out.

Before they could move on, however, Chrysalis tried to speak her mind. It may have been overly egotistical of her to think before that she could outdo Sombra in a test of strength and, now that she was faced with that possibly impending reality, it was important not to continue the sham. She had to make sure the royal knew that she couldn't assure a win in a fight against the dark gray stallion. “My queen, I'm not absolutely certain that I can-”

Twilight stopped her before she could finish and possibly worry Fluttershy or get Midnight Strike in a fight mentality. “I won't be needing those spells,” she forced her hidden meaning to come through her eyes and tone of voice. “I've got a plan so that it won't come down to anything too hard.”

The guardpony who had kept his peace was standing at attention behind them. He had been thoroughly impressed by the things Twilight had done with her magic but, then again, he had often been impressed by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's own abilities as alicorns. It was a new experience with a princess so young and the difference somehow made him proud to be one of her protectors. The way she told him to call her “queen” was both odd and strangely exciting at the same time. He just hoped he'd live long enough to speak the title a few times. Twilight's recent mood was giving him reason to wonder about that.

“Huh,” Discord hung his mouth open dumbly. “Well this bites.”

His plan hadn't necessarily failed. But it did kind of limp along with less pizazz than he hoped for. Maybe it would perk up in the future. In any case, that didn't mean he couldn't have fun in the meantime. But what was he going to do now? He tapped a claw to his hanging tooth in consideration.

“Time for something else,” he spoke into the darkness of the dimension he was in. Before him, a few extra Discords puffed into existence. Each of them was dressed in a stiff military suit. “It must be big. It must be grand!” the original explained to his new minions.

“It must be Celestia-approved,” one of the copies added. This one was wearing a thick pair of glasses unlike the rest, which he pushed up like some kind of stuck-up librarian.

Original Discord scowled and floated up to his inferior. “Just because I do one nice thing for Fluttershy doesn't mean I'm going to kiss Celestia's flank. Dismissed!”

With a flick of his lion's paw, the draconequus extinguished the copy into a puff of smoke. The others all stiffened in fear, the original's sudden and intense gaze only strengthening their stance more.

“Now,” Discord resumed as he floated back from the line and crossed his arms. “Let's see...”

He thought first of doing something with the changeling but then that might mess up his deal with Fluttershy. Then he thought of the royal sisters. It would be fun to rattle them around a bit but what were the odds he could get away with that? At first, the notion of reigning in his chaotic nature was beyond the point of frustration. But time moved on and he started to rather enjoy the challenge of finding ways to mess with the world while adhering to the little petty wishes of the inhabitants thereof. It was an invigorating game that made him feel ridiculous for playing on “easy” for so long. Orchestrating events was far more intriguing now then random bouts of pointlessness even though both could be equally hysterical.

“How about changing the whole world? The whole thing. Not just Equestria,” he suggested as he peered over to his copies. Each gave a curt nod and one of them took an Equestrian flag out of nowhere and started burning it.

“No, nothing so unfriendly,” Discord shook his head. After reaching to the end of his tail to pop off the tuft at the point, he turned it into a teacup and began drinking from it. He made sure to extend his eagle's pinkie finger for full effect. “And besides,” he drawled in a fake accent, “it would be too easy. I could have done that if I had just ignored the whole redemption non-sense. I need something more.”

Two of the faux Discords suddenly lit up with an idea. They literally shone with a yellow luminescence as they made one banner pop into existence for each of them. The one on the left was a bright yellow banner with ancient sketches of the sun. It was obviously the royal banner for Princess Celestia. The Discord copy on the right held the opposing black and purple banner that was adorned with the moon and stars. Each of the banners were waved over to each other until the poles clicked against each other.

“Hm,” Discord mused.

The banners were waved back and then clashed together again.

“War? No,” the draconequus frowned and sipped his tea again.

A third time the banners were moved only to click against each other for a final sound.

“Coming together and...” Discord whispered deep in thought.

Like that one time he had made the clouds strike him repeatedly with lighting just to know what it would feel like, he had an epiphany. Oh, what an epiphany it was! It was like nothing he had ever done before in his thousands of years. Great sizzling chaos, it was something new!

“That's it!” he exclaimed as he threw the teacup over his shoulder. Even though the dimension he was in had no flooring or other boundaries, it still managed to break brutally against something. “I simply must give you two a raise,” he gestured to the two copies that made the suggestion. Of course, they were really himself in duplicate form but no matter that small detail. He liked giving himself raises.

It was decided as he made each of the Discords pop out of existence with a jerk of his lion's paw. Floating screen panels shot past him at record speed and he caught half a hundred of them that he would later need. He had much work to do. Much work indeed!

“It's the ultimate chess game. With real ponies for pawns and the world itself for stakes,” he laughed merrily. “Those adorable little sisters won't be playing either. They'll even thank me!”

Oh this was just too good. He always enjoyed messing with reality but, for some odd reason, it had never occurred to him to marry chaos and order. The balance would be critical. Too much chaos and the plan would fail. He would probably be encased in stone again and the sisters would likely use that very imprisonment to come up with some more painful punishment. Too much order would obviously be boring and he couldn't dare have that.

“Fluttershy will be ecstatic, Twilight Sparkle will be elated,” Discord enthused. “The sisters will have their own little happily ever after where they'll never want to bother me again.”

One screen stopped in front of his face and blew up to theater proportions. It displayed a time that had not yet arrived. A time still in the making.

“No more sun. No more moon. One light with no boundaries...an altogether new presence in the skies.”

The draconequus inhaled deeply, drawing up magical powers he had not tampered with since his youth. It would take much of his terrifying power to pull this off. It would take time and it would take great care. It was the challenge of a lifetime, which meant much for one of Discord's age.

“Prepare yourself, my little world,” he laughed a deep and scary laugh. “You're about to find out that what you always wanted is not at all what you thought it must be.”

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