Chapter 13: Substitute
Chapter 13: Substitute
May 8th
“Good morning, mommy!”
I awoke with a jolt, looking around the basement in a panic. “Huh?” I blinked the sleep out of my eyes to notice Digit sitting in front of me, a wide grin on her face.
I frowned; she was noticeably bigger than last night. She’d grown from kitten-size to about the size of a three-month-old labrador. Her wings seemed to have lengthened, yet not quite enough to allow for flight. “You sleep a lot!” She giggled.
Smiling, I nuzzled her. “Where’s Shift and Echo?”
“Shift’s playing with the old lady under the stairs,” Digit said cheerfully.
My eyes widened; I sprung up and ran towards the stairs. “Shift!!” I peered under to find him pointing his horn at the comatose Bedford, his eyes shut in concentration.
Much like Digit, Shift had grown, almost to Ray’s current size. I was under the impression he’d have a specific job as a soldier for the changeling hive, given his size and steely resolve. His horn had a faint, pulsing glow as he kept it aimed directly at Bedford.
“Shift,” I said loudly. Shift immediately opened his eyes, turned and bowed to me.
“My Queen,” he said, kneeling. “How may I serve?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I said to leave Bedford alone. What were you doing?”
“Apologies, your Majesty…” Shift said; I found it somewhat upsetting he didn’t seem to want to refer to me as his mother. The fact that I was upset by that was even more upsetting. “I was merely feeding; it appears to be our only source of food if we are to stay down here while you… figure things out.”
I furrowed my brow. “How are you feeding off of her? She’s basically in a sticky coma.”
“I can show you,” came a voice behind me. I turned to see Echo approaching from the shadowed corner, unnoticed until now. She seemed more inclined towards going unnoticed. Her mane seemed to lengthen, reflecting her growth spurt. Echo walked towards the comatose Bedford and beckoned for me to approach. I sat beside her, curious.
Echo lit up her horn and pressed the tip into the cocoon surrounding Bedford. The amber glowed softly; Bedford’s eyes, kept open in an unseeing gaze, seemed to glass over a little bit. “Why don’t you try, mother?” Echo asked.
I hesitated, but curiosity won out. I pressed my horn into the amber and lit it up.
My mind suddenly reeled, like it was being wrenched from my brain and hurled through worlds, galaxies, realities…
In an instant, it was over. As my eyes regained their focus I suddenly found myself sitting on a bench on the edge of a lake in an unfamiliar park. It appeared to be a fall day, judging by the color of the leaves and somewhat chilly atmosphere. I was soon aware that I was in human form, in the shape of an older gentleman wearing a sweater-vest and what appeared to be a golf cap. Someone was holding my hand…
I turned my head and nearly yelped. Sitting beside me, with a look of adoration that looked completely alien on her, was Bedford; she was younger, by at least a decade. Her hair was brown and tied into a neat little bun, and she was wearing a casual business-looking outfit with a lengthy skirt and high heels. She actually looked rather… pretty.
I noticed a warmth in my hand, the one she was gripping; it seemed to flow through my hand, into my--
Oh my god, I thought, piecing things together.
I was taking part in some kind of romantic fantasy, or memory… Flooding her with the love she’d felt so long ago, and feeding off of it. She was being forced to live a lie, just to feed me and my children…
It horrified me. Was this what changelings did to survive? I wrenched my hand free of her grasp and clasped my head. “No, no, NO!” I yelled. I could see the world around me fading into darkness. “Echo, stop this! Let me out! LET ME OUT--”
With a feeling like my mind was being suplexed back into my head I came back to reality. With a yelp I stumbled backwards, away from Bedford and the perplexed Echo.
“Mother?” She asked, concerned as she stepped towards me.
“Echo…” I said, my voice shuddering. “Echo, I don’t want you, or your siblings,” I turned to address Digit and Shift, both equally concerned. “to feed off of Bedford like that again, you hear me?”
Echo blinked, baffled. “B-But how else can we feed…?”
“We will find a way,” I said, loudly. “I’ve fed off of Liz’s love for me for the past few days; it’s completely possible for a changeling to earn its love rather than feed like…” I nodded towards Bedford. “Like that. I’m sorry, but that is just… wrong.”
“It’s how our kind has fed for generations…” Echo said, perplexed.
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “How do you know this?”
“I just… do…” Echo said. “All Royals know this upon birth.”
“Royals?” I asked, becoming more and more confused. I laid down, ready for a long discussion. I felt a weight fall on my back; I turned to see Digit laying on my back, a cheerful grin on her face.
“Royals; they are a rank in the Hive, second only to the Queen herself,” Echo explained. “The other breeds are Soldiers,” she motioned towards Shift, standing guard as always some distance away. “and Drones,” she motioned towards Digit, who was humming to herself. “Queens typically imprint a piece of themselves- memories, skills, traits- into the eggs they lay. Royals, however, are born with a link to their birth-mother, which allows the Queen to expand her influence throughout the Hive. In most cases it is a Royal that ascends to lead a Hive, should a Queen fall.” Echo tilted her head to the side. “Do you not know this?”
I shook my head. “No, I… I mean I knew the basics- feeding off love, shape-shifting, but I only became a Changeling a week ago…”
“But how can this be?” Echo asked. “If you didn’t know this, neither would I…”
I put a hoof to my chin. “Could you… tell me what you know, Echo? I’m rather curious…”
- - - - -
Present Day
“Could I at least get a book or something?” I asked the lone goon standing outside my cage. I’d lost track of how long it had been since the ‘Boss’ or whoever had left, leaving me alone with a single guard who stood off in the darkness.
He shook his head. “Sorry.”
I groaned and looked around the cage. It had a fair share of sizeable wooden crates, pushed off to the side to give me some room. With nothing better to do I walked over to them. They were, of course, nailed shut; even if they weren’t I doubted they’d lock me in a cage and just leave something in here that would let me escape. But boredom and I never got along, so I was just willing to do anything to keep from…
He-llooo… I thought, spotting one crate in the corner that had its lid slightly ajar. Squeezing between the wall and another crate I moved towards the open crate.
“What are you doing?” The guard asked.
“Just curious…” I said innocently. I grasped the loose lid of the crate.
“I wouldn’t…” the guard warned; there was something in the playful manner he’d said it that disturbed me, and even more so when I saw what was in the crate.
I lifted the lid.
I screamed.
- - - - -
The rain was heavy on the Augusta Airfield. I’d driven Liz’s car to the airport, as the voice on the other end of the phone had instructed. Ray had objected, said it was a trap, but I chose not to listen. If this would get Liz back, I had to try.
I pulled the car towards the gate to the employee parking lot. The gate rolled to the side thanks to a sharp-dressed man in the booth, who didn’t give me a second glance as I pulled through onto the airfield.
The hangar in question wasn’t hard to find, since it was wide open and lit up. I drove carefully, so as to not make the kidnapper or his goons nervous, and slowly pulled into the hangar. It was empty save for three black, featureless cars. I parked a short way in, shut the car off and got out. While the outside was lit up, the inside of the hangar was fairly dark, with only a handful of lights around the edges.. I could barely make out the shadowed forms of several more suited men. The hangar door behind me slid shut, but I kept calm; so long as I didn’t irritate him, things would go smoothly.
“So,” one of the men said; I recognized his voice from the phone.
“So,” I replied.
“I hope you didn’t dress up on my account,” he said, moving his hand expectantly.
I rolled my eyes; I was enveloped in the familiar green flame, and I stood before him as Chrysalis. “Happy?” I asked.
The man said nothing; in fact he seemed to be swaying a bit.
Then one of his cohorts suddenly stomped forward.
“T-Travis…?” The man said dizzily before falling over like a drunk. I dropped into a defensive stance and lit up my horn, but, with impossible speed he was on me, a hand gripping my horn, causing my magic to die out like a match in rainwater.
The man lifted my head up by my horn, furious. “You’re not her. Where is she??”
I blinked.
Then I shut my eyes. Mother...
- - - - -
Just like before I removed the piece of wood blocking Dane’s sliding glass door with my magic. Peering through the door I couldn’t see anyone in Dane’s living room. He must be in bed, I thought as I carefully slid the door aside. I crept into the house, my horn lit in case Dane was about. Peering down the hall I could see a kitchen at the far end; at the counter stood a suited man, with his back to me. He was a few inches taller than me, horn included, and about five times as thick.
Bodyguard, I thought. Dane’s dad must want him out of the way for a while. I tip-toed (if you could call it that) down the hall, peering carefully into the doors on either side. I finally found the douche’s bedroom; a stupidly decorated affair with sports posters, another overly-sized TV and a bed that could comfortably hold a baby elephant. And in that bed slept the douche of the hour.
With a cruel grin I carefully shut the door behind me and locked it. Then, to be safe, I took a nearby chair and propped it beneath the handle. “Just you and me…” I hissed, fluttering over to his bed and standing over him. I gave him a rough prod. “Wake up.” He snorted in his sleep. “Wake up, dipshit,” I said, smacking him across the face.
Dane woke up with a yelp. He blinked several times then looked straight up at me.
He opened his mouth to scream, but I shoved my hoof into his gaping jaw. “One noise. Please, I beg you, make a noise,” I hissed, leaning in towards him. “Now, I’m gonna let you talk, and the words that come out of your stupid-ass mouth had better be where Liz is.”
“Hmmph?” Dane said, which I interpreted as “Liz?”
“Yes, Liz,” I said impatiently. “My girlfriend. The one you your asshole dad kidnapped this morning. Where is she?”
Dane was quiet for a moment. Then his eyes widened with realization. “Yes, it’s Chris. No, I don’t know WHY I’m like this. Now where’s Liz?”
I tentatively removed a hoof. Dane immediately sang like a bird. “She’s in a warehouse on the docks!”
I gave him a deadpanned expression. “...Which docks, genius.”
“T-The docks off the railroad tracks, on the east side of the river, just off the bridge!!” Dane whimpered. “L-Listen, I don’t know why dad took her, I just heard he was there and I wanted to, you know, learn about how he did things, then I see her there and…”
“Dude, whatever…” I said, climbing off of him and heading for the door. “If I see you again, you’d better--”
Mother…
I stopped.
“...I’d better…?” Dane said.
“Quiet,” I said. ...Echo?
Get out of there.
The door was suddenly smashed off its hinges, knocking the chair aside and smashing to the floor. The brick-shithouse of a guard from the kitchen stood in the doorway. He looked at me; to his credit, his eyes only had a glimmer of surprise before he immediately stepped into the room and drew his arm back for a punch.
With a yelp I leapt back from his swing and lit up my horn. I fired a blast into his chest that sent him flying back into the hallway where he smashed into the wall. “Watch it, man!” Dane yelled. “This is my house!!”
“Dane. Your mouth. It is making noise,” I said warningly as I stepped towards the doorway. The man was slumped over; his suit had a smoking hole from where I’d zapped him, but otherwise he was none the worse for wear… not even a singe.
The man suddenly lifted his head. “You have grown weak.”
“Uh…” I said, tilting my head to the side.
The man brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. The sound of a door slamming down the hall made my heart skip a beat. I backed up as the man stood up, cracking his neck as he entered the room again. He was joined by another two overly-sized men. “A true Queen would have left nothing but ash...” he said.
“What the hell are you talking about…” I said, bewildered.
“Whatever the case, she’ll appreciate us bringing you to her,” the man said with a cruel grin.
His eyes flashed green.
“UH…” I said loudly.
The men were suddenly engulfed in green flame.
When the flames vanished, three vicious-looking changelings stood in their place.
I blinked several times. “...Well, fuck.”
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Well shit.
Another hive?
Oh, nice twist! I thought Discord or Sombra.
Wow, didn't see that one coming...
I wonder what will happen next?
Plot twists FTW!
Hmmmm quite a twist there!
So, my theory's either another Queen's out there or After the argument Shift has decided the queen needs to be replaced and hatched the others using Bedford to make it happen. Another good chapter can't wait to see what happens next!
And to quote SE7EN: "WHAT'S IN THE BOX? WHAT'S IN THE BOX??"
I don't understand what's going on anymore!
I AM SO BUCKING CONFUSED RIGHT NOW!
I need MOAR!
Wunderbar.
EDIT: I am REALLY looking forward to seeing where this goes from here, and especially looking forward to seeing how Chrysalis reacts to finding out the truth. I am also interested in seeing how living the last 25 years as a human as well as genuinely falling in love will effect her outlook in the future if/when she gets her old memories back. Specifically, she is clearly horrified by the "traditional" Changeling manner of harvesting love, and she also legitimately cares about Liz. I wonder what effect that will have on Changeling society...
EDIT2: Called it on the ancestral memory thing!
That is alll.
And just how would he know how to treat changelings and tell one from another?
Adding onto the total amount of shit way too fast.
3440905 My sentiments exactly.
Well, then. This is certainly interesting.
DAMNIT I gave you more feedback.
Anyone else picture Scooby Doo-esque sneaking?
3550751 He's a changeling?
whoah whoah whoah, what? another changeling? another queen? Oh, buck! I sure as heck didn't see that one coming!
I am very confused....
Well shit that was a very surprising twist at the end.
And the plot thickens. Surprisingly, not Celestia's.
8426922
Celestia's plot is always thickening.
Too much cake.