My Son, My Soldier, My Hero

by That_Random_Pony

An Army Fueled by... Love?

"This is a bad idea," Cadence said, flying beside her older aunt and the Loki'irian warrior.

"The changelings have an enormous hive. With them we have another army," Celestia told her, turning to Jaqeluu. "Can you sense them?"

The Oracle closed his eyes and tuned into his abilities. He felt nothing but the vast emptiness of the Badlands. With a bit more searching, he could make out ruins beneath the sands. Beneath the ruined lands he could make out faint energies. Small creatures like the ponies, but one that radiated... strangely. He reached out, trying to understand how this energy behaved. Hatred and anger were abundant, so much so that Jaqeluu felt his connection shake. These creatures were... energy-starved. They felt weaker than most Loki'irian newborns. He felt himself urging to help them, and he hoped to do just that.

"This way," he called. He directed his Nera'ak down to what looked like a hill. They landed on top of it, then saw that past the hill was a cave entrance. "Here... this must lead down there."

"I can't feel any of them... you're sure you're sensing them?" Celestia asked, slightly worried he could feel them and she couldn't.

"I'm certain. Please, both of you, I know there is bad blood between your races, but your nation is not asking for help. Remember this." The two princesses nodded, pulling up their hoods and following him into the tunnel.

Jaqeluu had decided to look for them after seeing a window in the castle. Twilight Sparkle explained their incident, which sounded very similar to an Arthanian strategy. Numbers triumphed over the abilities of the ponies. He had a sort of dislike and respect for them. But now he had to come for a pact... one that they desperately needed. He knew it wouldn't be easy for them to talk peace after what had transpired, but if it wasn't an ally - a known one, anyway - then they could have a chance of convincing them. It was worth a try, what with their time running out.

Jaqeluu rose his head as small trills and tittering reached his ears, followed by energies moving around erratically. The hive was awake, and they were coming. He looked around for some sort of motion detector or enchantment, then glanced up at the ceiling. His trained eyes spotted a sleek form among the hazardous rocks.

"Can you lead us to your Queen?" Jaqeluu questioned.

The princesses looked up, and the drone recognized their coat colors before hissing and buzzing down the tunnel. Jaqeluu took off after the changeling, the princesses right behind him. The alicorns lit their horns to see in front, but the Signa had gone ahead of them. Jaqeluu mapped out the system in his head, feeling the hollow earth as he followed the little bug-pony. The drone hurried down a path, and Jaqeluu skidded to a halt when he reached a ledge. The tunnel opened up into an enormous space, dozens of drones buzzing around chambers running through the hive. The drone he had been chasing let out a high pitched screech, and the entire swarm turned to him. Their energies were small, but they were still willing to fight him, and he could sense that willingness.

Celestia and Cadence rushed up to either side, prepping their horns as their hoods came off. The swarm clicked and hissed at them, their horns dousing them in green flames before they dove. The alicorns put up a barrier around them, making the bugs slam into their magic before trying again.

"How are we going to convince them to let us see Chrysalis?!" Cadence shouted, wincing as her barrier took another hit.

"We have time, Cadence," Celestia said. "Jaqeluu?"

He was quiet as he observed the changelings, watching those who did not attack and listening in to something... strange. Their minds were linked together, almost like an Ina bond. He felt extremely rude and dishonorable, but he listened in to their thoughts. Clicks and chirps mingled with words, which they had a rough concept of. They were talking to each other. He waited for some time, ignoring their assault and his companions as their talking branched out to more minds. They were there for some time, the changelings halting their attack when they realized it was pointless.

"What now?" Cadence asked, watching the swarm closely.

Celestia glanced up at Jaqeluu, who was staring blankly at the force in front of him. "He must be doing something," Celestia sighed. She examined the changelings, noticing how weak most of them looked.

Jaqeluu clicked his tongue twice, then drawled out a hiss. The changelings were taken back, their mental chat going berserk as they tried to discover who the outsider was and how he knew their language. Jaqeluu rose his brow when the entire mental room went silent. A drone left his swarm and flew closer, snarling at the ponies before facing the behemoth. The princesses heard some clicks, each about the same, and some tittering. Jaqeluu replied in kind, clicking his tongue and imitating some of the small noises. The hive voiced their loud and aggressive clicks and hisses, one pointing to the alicorns and angrily repeating the noises.

Jaqeluu's voice turned demonic and deep, his Rites coming to face. The swarm moved away in fright, fear in their eyes. He clicked loudly, for all of them to hear, then reverted and crossed his arms.

"What was all that?!" Cadence whispered, leaning up to him.

"I've told them to either take us to their Queen or to bring her here," he told her. "She's weak, and they don't want outsiders near her. Especially the two of you."

"And what did they say?" Celestia questioned. The warrior looked at the drone he'd been speaking to and waited. After more clicking, he received his answer.

"We're going with them. Put your barriers down." The two looked to one another and reluctantly released their spells. Jaqeluu waited for the drone, then the three flew after it into the hive.

The swarm followed closely, keeping other tunnels and chambers blocked off. "They're kind of paranoid," Cadence murmured. A bug hissed at her venomously, and she turned away as her aunt received similar gestures.

"You and Shining Armor took out their entire force," Celestia reminded her. "With both of us here it would be difficult for them to handle us both. And Jaqeluu is with us."

"But do they sense his power?"

"No, as a matter of fact," Jaqeluu sighed, wondering what the little bugs thought of him. "They're too weak... they lack enough energy to sense outside of their own connection."

They saw a larger tunnel entrance up ahead, with a dull green light pouring out of it. The changelings around them hurried past, just as they reached the enormous entrance. Laying around were dozens of infants and young changelings, each whimpering and groaning in slight pain. Jaqeluu held his emotions together, saddened at the sight of so many weak children. The drones clicked at him as he approached what looked like a bed, though made of stone, with cocoons sitting around it. There was a form on it, and the alicorns kept back as Jaqeluu was led closer by a small group of changelings. They waited patiently after clicking to the form, and soon it moved as hooves made of chitin lifted it up.

Jaqeluu watched Queen Chrysalis weakly stagger to her hooves, her eyes opening in a daze and locking onto the alicorns. More specifically: Cadence. "You... what... are you doing here?" she hissed, baring her teeth.

"They are with me," Jaqeluu said, stepping the way of them. "I needed them to help find your hive." The changeling queen eyed the giant with a curious eye, feeling a lack of emotion flowing from it.

She pushed her glossy mane back and stood to her full height, getting down from the bed and glaring at the warrior. "I don't help ponies... or anything that helps them," she snorted. "What could you possibly want? My hive? You tracked us down to finish us? And this is your help, I'm assuming."

"We're here to negotiate," Cadence replied, mixed between anger and sympathy.

"You want my help?" Chrysalis sneered. "I wanted help. I needed help! And when I came to you I was thrown out!"

"That was long ago, Chrysalis," Celestia stated, stepping forward. "You know why we separated you."

"Because of the actions of a few!" Chrysalis screeched, stomping her hooves angrily. The drones in the room buzzed and clicked frantically, more and more surrounding them. "You doomed us to starve, so I did what any mother would do."

"You would have won, too." They went silent as Jaqeluu scratched the side of his face. "The only flaw in your plan was not disposing of her. Even then, you should have kept Twilight Sparkle in a separate chamber. But otherwise it was a sound plan."

The queen was speechless, although Cadence and Celestia were a bit more shaken by what he'd said. "...what do you care? They wouldn't be with you if I had succeeded," she said, trying to gauge an emotion.

"I understand why you did what you did, and I'm sure they do as well," he began, crossing his arms, "but that doesn't excuse the matter of diplomacy. That doesn't excuse you destroyed any hope of help that these ponies could have offered."

Her snarl returned, followed by a flash of green from her eyes. "What would you know?!" Chrysalis shouted, baring her teeth at him. "You don't have to watch your own children starve to death! I barely held enough love to feed them, and when I run out we'll all die! Don't speak to me with false sympathy!"

Jaqeluu felt the anger and hatred blinding her mind, her attempts at reading him ceasing. "If there's one thing I know, it is that you didn't have an option." He thought to himself for a moment, letting out a sigh as he sat down, much to the surprise of them all. "I am here to negotiate, and I think you should at least be concerned about the survival of your kind."

The queen backpedaled, but recovered with a firm gaze. "So you are here to finish us," she hissed.

"Actually, I'm here to make sure you survive, along with the others." He removed his blades from his back, then tossed them behind his back. "Now that I know where this hive is I'll be able to position troops to defend. If our opposition doesn't completely ignore it."

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"There is an army massing against this planet. The nations have agreed to help us fight them, given we are arming them, but we need every bit of help we can find. This isn't about the ponies, Queen Chrysalis. Should we fall, they will find your hive or you will starve. An Arthanian does not know love," he warned, gesturing to her sick children. "We can help them. My kind will allow you to feed as long as you have every able body fighting with us."

She looked from him to the alicorns, then turned away. "I don't even know if there's enough time to save half of them," Chrysalis admitted bitterly, clenching her jaw. "Our drones don't leave the hive because moving would drain them of what little love they have left. How would you move my entire swarm before they died?"

He looked to the infants and thought quickly, feeling many energies getting dangerously low for their size. For a minute, he thought of having Agner rush them back to Equestria, but he needed some way to prove to them that he could be trusted. Her hate still hadn't died down, and she still distrusted their kind. He had to make his first gesture of peace as a Signa, and as a Loki'irian.

"...how do you feed off of love?"

The Queen grinned slightly, then pointed to Cadence. "We absorb it wherever we may find it. Whether it's two ponies moping over one another," she said with a disgusted tone, "or two ponies rutting to their hearts' content. As long as it's in the air, we can......."

"..."

"..."

"...what are you doing?"

Cadence felt it as well. A massive amount of love, pure and genuine, flowed in the air around them. It was so concentrated and abundant some of the younger changelings started feeding from their beds. Jaqeluu knew it broke the oath of an Oracle, but tradition was flying out the window at this point. He smiled as his memories flowed with images of his family; all the times he'd spent with his brothers and parents. The memories of his beloved flowed through his head, and in turn another glob of love entered the air. The drones around slobbered and shook as the free love wafted into their nostrils, but they looked to their queen. She was hesitant, not knowing just what he was trying to accomplish. He wanted to feed them... but why?

"This is much more painful than it looks," he laughed, keeping out darker thoughts. "Have your hive feed. I have time."

The queen of changelings felt herself succumbing to the free meal. It had been months since the last drone found enough love for a family, but this love felt... stronger. She didn't know how, but it was much more focused and controlled. Her weak body finally decided for her, and her horn lit up as she absorbed the pure emotion in the air. The swarm around them started to feed as well, sucking as much of their food as they could before it wasted. Chrysalis felt herself rejuvenate, the flow of love not stopping in the slightest. She felt herself reach her peak and beyond, surpassing the love she had fed off of Shining Armor.

The hive chatter blew up, happy clicks and cheers resounding throughout their connection as they feasted in what felt like a lifetime. Chrysalis felt ready for a fight. With this much power she could easily fight both princesses, with the help of her hive. She readied an order... but she felt something else among the sea of love. There was pain in it... a longing feeling that hid beneath the happiness and joy. This love wasn't fresh... it was an afterimage... he was just reliving that love, and it hurt him to do it.

Cadence knew this pain. Not herself... but she knew one day she would. The times she stood over a grave of a guard that had given his life in service. The constant ponies in the streets that had lost somepony dear to them. It was a bittersweet type of love... knowing they would never see those they held in their thoughts again. Jaqeluu felt himself crying, but he didn't stop until every energy had gone up considerably. The atmosphere shifted when he concealed his emotions once more. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes. There was a softer expression on the queen's face, as if conflicted. He felt as much.

Jaqeluu sniffled and dabbed his eyes with a finger, laughing as he stared at the wet droplets. "It's been so long since this has happened... forgive me, but I couldn't stand the sight of you all so weak." He straightened out and nodded to Chrysalis. "My kind tend to love once, and only once. It makes our love... special, in a sense. There are plenty of pairs and partners to feed your children, but we ask that you provide us with soldiers to train. The fate of this planet relies on you all."

Chrysalis glanced at her alicorn rivals, but paid them no mind as Jaqeluu reached a hand out. "You'll feed my kind... correct?" she questioned sternly.

"Of course. We will train them, and possibly you, to fight our adversaries. The other nations will need to be briefed, but we must come to an agreement now." He waited with his hand extended. The changeling looked at his hand curiously, prompting him to laugh softly. "You are supposed to place your hoof in it. It is a sign of trust."

Chrysalis slowly lifted her hoof to his hand, then placed it inside. She twitched when he wrapped his fingers around her chitinous hoof and shook it firmly. "I have a question," she said, pulling her hoof away. Jaqeluu nodded for her to continue. "...what is it that you lost?"

His emotions sparked, but his training kept it on a leash. It was a very harsh thing to do to oneself, and Cadence couldn't understand what could be gained from bottling up one's own emotions. But the cap slipped, and she felt his loneliness... his sadness... but also the overwhelming joy that clashed with it. Jaqeluu stood up, then headed towards the alicorns and nodded for them to start to the exit. He glanced back to the queen, then gave her a small smile.

"My family."

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Sorry for the lull in chapters. I was busy with work all week and I screwed up my leg, but I'm okay! I'll try to get the next one out soon, so until then, remember to like, fav, comment, and have an awesome day or night! Peaces!

Comments

[enderbrony_563]

Dem literal feels bro