3: The Phantom Menace
Twilight and her brood recoiled at the psychic scream that attacked them. The entity within the archive wrapped itself around Twilight’s hive mind and immediately tried to wrest control from her.
The immense pressure of the psychic command barely registered on Twilight, but her drones were writhing and clutching their heads in a desperate attempt to retain their sanity.
<Make it stop!>
<Get out of my HEAD!>
<Kill th—no!!>
<My queen is Twilight Sparkle, NOT YOOOOOU!>
All of her drones started falling out of the air and thrashing on the ground as they tried to keep the psychic wail from dominating their minds. Twilight watched on in horror as her children writhed in agony.
The psychic command tried to lay claim to Twilight’s mind, but her royal blood made her wholly resistant to it. Before she could even think on how to save her drones, the booming voice roared again over her hive mind.
<THE CHANGED? WE THOUGHT WE MADE SURE YE WOULD NEVER SEEK THIS PLACE!>
Twilight was momentarily stunned by her drones’ pain. <Please, stop hurting my children!>
<THINE? THE CHANGED ARE OURS BY RIGHT! THOU WOULDST DO WELL TO REMEMBER THAT FACT!>
Twilight could feel her drones’ pain as they tried to cry out for mercy and relief. Tears started streaming down her face. <Please, stop hurting them! Just tell me what you want!>
Tia’vil’yet paused a moment, and her voice sounded strained. <WHAT WE WANT? SIMPLE, WE WANT THEE TO DIE!>
Twilight gritted her teeth. <Let. My. Children. GO!>
<THOU SHALT NOT DARE TO COMMAND US, TRAITOR! WE ARE THY BEGINNING, AND WE SHALL BE THY END!>
Twilight dug her hooves into the ground and stared daggers into the open archives. <If you won’t stop, then I’ll make you stop! This is my hive mind, and you are not welcome in it!>
Twilight steeled herself and squeezed her eyes shut to summon a tidal wave of psychic willpower, and she launched it through the hive mind with a growling roar of effort. Tia’vil’yet’s superior chuckling died in an instant as she reeled from the wave front, costing her valuable ground in the chaotic mindscape. <We see thou hast some talent, traitor! But we are as old as Equis itself. Thou canst not defeat us!>
Twilight started sweating profusely, and her heart was booming in her ears as Tia’vil’yet redoubled the pressure on the Link. <Why do you keep calling me a traitor? I was welcomed down here!>
<It matters not! The moment thou didst violate the sanctity of the Chamber of Chitin, thy life and the lives of thine hive were forfeit!>
Twilight saw an opening and sent a lash of psychic energy to strike Tia’vil’yet directly, causing her to cry out in pain. Twilight smirked with satisfaction as her drones stopped squirming in agony, but were still too befuddled by the battle over the hive mind to regain lucidity. <If that’s your attitude, then I will defy you with every breath. And I’m winning.>
Dark laughter echoed through the local hive mind. Queries from those aboard the Phoenix and Cadista were hastily silenced by Tia’vil’yet. <Thou hast power over thine own hive mind that we lack in death, but we need not use thine own brood to kill thee. The faithful shall see to that.>
Sweat fell from Twilight’s straining face as her eyes scanned the area around her. The stairs were twenty yards behind the archives, and several Home Guard drones were crawling over the archives with a murderous gleam in their eyes. Tia’vil’yet used the distraction to repay the injury with a scalding lance of energy that pierced Twilight’s defences. The lance left its mark upon Twilight as blood started oozing out of a fresh wound in her belly. <We know not why thou didst search out this place, traitor, but none shall ever know the secrets we took to the grave.>
A dozen different plans cycled through Twilight’s brain as she backed away towards the far wall, deflecting other psychic bursts while barely managing to send a few of her own. Tia’vil’yet chuckled at the trapped queen. <We would offer thee a quick death, traitor, but it have been so long since we hath had anything to do besides sleep.>
With Tia’vil’yet’s constant pressure over the hive mind keeping Twilight’s drones incapacitated and the Home Guard marching towards her with lethal intent, Twilight was quickly running out of options. That is, except for one. <If I can’t push you out, Tia’vil’yet, then neither of us will control them!>
Twilight’s horn flashed brightly as she short circuited the control structure of the hive mind, denying Tia’vil’yet of her ability to control Twilight’s drones, and thus robbing her of her prize. The act lifted the painful fog from the drones’ minds, with many of them shaking their heads to clear their thoughts.
<What was that!?> Tia’vil’yet raged, before scoffing. <Dost thou really think that shall help? Without thy control over them, those drones have not the wits of a Ca’vekar,> Tia’vil’yet sneered as she moved in to cut off any attempt for Twilight to reestablish control over her brood, making it impossible for either of them to control Twilight’s drones.
<Heh, I wouldn’t be so sure. Children, defend your queen!>
Tia’vil’yet would have laughed at the lack of control magic in Twilight’s command, but a fearsome battle cry erupted from behind the Home Guard closing in on the hybrid queen. In a wave of purple fur, Twilight’s drones descended on the Home Guard, brandishing fang and wrench to protect their queen.
Twilight used to the distraction to vault over the battle and fly towards the archive. <Don’t kill anypony, they are not themselves!>
That was a lot easier said than done. The only thing most of Twilight’s drones had to contend with the Home Guard’s weapons were engineering and archeology tools. Knowing this, Twilight raced for the archives, only to hear Tia’vil’yet fly into a rage.
<INSOLENCE! WE SHALL HAVE YOU!> Tia’vil’yet abandoned the battle over the hive mind to launch a salvo of psychic spikes. The lavender queen deflected half, but three spikes struck home and paralyzed Twilight. She fell out of the air and tumbled to the ground between two Home Guards. She was so focused on keeping Tia’vil’yet’s follow up attacks at bay, that she didn’t even notice the black drones’ swords slicing the air towards her neck.
Twilight cracked an eye open to see a wire cutter and a wrench wreathed in lavender-orange magic fly over and thwack both black drones in the side of the head, knocking them out cold. Twilight felt like she was standing against a hurricane, searing and blasting against her in every attempt to dislodge her lockout on the drones’ minds.
Aegis and Intel slid their way through the skirmish and helped Twilight climb to her hooves, but the war over control of the hive mind dominated nearly every iota of her consciousness. Aegis tried to rouse Twilight, while Intel pilfered the swords off the two Home Guard and gave one to Aegis, right as two more Home Guard dove in for the kill.
“Mother, we need to get you out of here, but that banshee’s done something to the Link. I can’t call the ship for help.”
Twilight screamed as Tia’vil’yet dragged a hot serrated axe across her mind, blinding her from everything but the pain. Twilight wildly lashed out, sending freezing energy in all directions. Several drones on both sides were momentarily paralyzed by the frantic defense. One wave of psychic energy managed to ram into Tia’vil’yet, numbing her long enough for the searing axe to dissipate. Capitalizing on the opening, Twilight heaved a massive cold front at her opponent, buying her precious seconds to study the physical world. “Get…me in… the archive.”
“Roger that.” Aegis heard a feral growl above her and took Intel’s offered sword in her magic and brought it to bear just in time for Thoran to slam down on her. Only by adding her physical strength to her magic, was Aegis able to shove Thoran away from her, and jumped into a low hover between him and Twilight. “This is a bit of an overkill for all those jabs about your job, isn’t it?”
Thoran’s eyes were glowing much brighter than normal. His voice carried an edge as sharp as his sword while he slid into an aggressive stance. “You never should have come here.”
Thoran slashed left, only to be met by Aegis’ hasty parry. The captain pivoted the blade away from Aegis’ own and cut a deep line across her muzzle.
With a savage roar, Aegis blasted back with a kinetic pulse, knocking both blades away from them. That gave her the opening she needed to body check Thoran, knocking him back and buying Twilight some breathing room. “Is that right?”
Aegis scowled at the murderous glances Thoran kept stealing towards Twilight. You’ll never have her! Aegis found her sword and swung it at Thoran, only for it to be easily batted away by his own.
Thoran surged forward with his blade flashing towards her throat. Aegis tried to skewer him by throwing her sword, but he easily flew over it. Smirking at his victory, Thoran carved the air to remove Aegis’ head from her shoulders.
*Clank* Odd, that was not the sound of iron cutting flesh. A strange cylindrical weapon stood between Thoran’s sword and Aegis’ throat.
Thoran jumped back into a defensive posture. “You throw away a perfectly good weapon for that toy? And there you were, mocking me all week.”
Aegis smirked at him and brought her strange weapon to bear in a manner totally alien to the captain. “A sword’s all well and good, boy-yo, but a pistol’s better!”
<Aegis, DON’T!> Twilight was too slow. Chitin splintered as the shot tore through Thoran’s right foreleg just below the knee. He howled in pain as his sword dropped to the ground, along with the rest of him.
Ignoring Twilight’s protests, Aegis backed up to her queen to reload. “Intel! Stop horsing around and help move Mother!”
Intel had both his pistol and stolen sword dancing before him. “In case—” he ducked a vicious swing, “you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit—” he flattened himself on the floor to avoid a third guard’s sweeping spear, “preoccupied at the moment!”
Twilight punished Tia’vil’yet with a fuselage of bug bites, momentarily gaining the initiative. “Aegis, if you so much as fire that weapon again!”
Ferrum flew over and bashed one of Intel’s attackers away while disarming the second by ripping his spear away with his magic. That left Aegis alone to heave the large queen on her back. “You can punish me later.”
Three more lavender drones broke off from the fighting behind them to guard Twilight as Aegis hefted her to the archives. With the rearguard established, and most of the Home Guard bogged down by the rest of the expedition team, it was a straight shot to the archive.
Tia’vil’yet saw it all through the the eyes of the enslaved drones. <Stay away from us!>
<Fat chance!> Aegis snarled as they made it into the Chamber of Chitin. There was a large, diamond-shaped, acidic green crystal with an encased brain sitting on an iron pedestal in the center of the room. “Mother, what do we do?!”
Twilight surveyed the crystal and the iron pedestal it rested on. “Push it off; she’s drawing mana from the floor!”
Aegis nodded and set Twilight down to obey, but Tia’vil’yet lashed out with everything she had in a desperate psychic scream that blew everyone off their hooves long enough for the room to be enveloped by a green array. <Don’t you dare touch us!>
Everyone in the whole chamber was teleported to the stairs in a massive jumble. The mound of changelings was mostly incapacitated by the forced teleport, with only Aegis, Twilight, and three Home Guard remaining conscious. The act taxed Tia’vil’yet immensely, and she was forced to recede all attempts to take control of Twilight’s hive mind.
Ratchet poked his head out from behind the inactive trio of Clockwerks, catching Twilight’s attention as Aegis quickly pistol whipped the three semi-lucid Home Guard before they could become a threat.
Once Twilight extended her psychic protection over her consort and last remaining bodyguard, she faced the archives. <Is that the best you can do, Tia’vil’yet? I can stop a forced teleport; it won’t work twice!> As if in response to Twilight’s readying herself for another assault, a pale green shield dome erected itself around the archive. Twilight’s attack bounced off the barrier without so much as a tingle on the shield. <That won’t work for long either!>
<We admit that the tenacity of thee and thy brood was… unexpected. But now it matters not. Our spell shall keep everyone else unconscious for hours. Hours which thou dost not have.> The sound of thundering hooves and buzzing wings from the top of the stairs started filling the chamber. <The rest of our loyal children shall be more than sufficient to finish the job. Thou wast a fool to come here on thine own. When thou art dead, the rest of thine hive shall scatter, and the secrets of this place shall remain with the dead.>
<Not likely.> Twilight faced the robots. “Clockwerks: Instructions: deny all entry into this chamber.”
“Directive acknowledged.”
“Mother, those things weren’t designed for combat, steel chassis or not.”
“It’ll be enough.” It’ll have to be. “Ratchet, you’re with me.”
The three of them sprinted to the archive’s entrance as a massive crash of metal on metal resounded through the cavern from the direction of the stairs. The archive door was still open, but the green barrier served as better protection, at least in theory.
Twilight extended her senses to permeate the barrier, while Aegis and Ratchet cast weary glances at the throng of black changelings trying to hack their way through the three metallic bouncers. <Come and try to attack us now. We designed this shield ourselves. Neither thy magical nor psychic power can harm us now. For there is a world ley line running under this mesa, feeding it unlimited mana!>
Twilight tried to block out Tia’vil’yet’s taunting, but the disembodied queen was relentless. <Thou shouldest savor these last moments, traitor. Thy living armor golems shall not hold back the tide of death that awaits thee. None shall remember thy name, and the world shall go on, and we shall still be here to ensure—>
Twilight stole Aegis’ pistol, wrapped the lead ball in a swath of magic and shot the barrier. The enchanted bullet wedged itself inside the shield and started spitting teal arcs of electricity through the barrier and into the surrounding crystals, fracturing them into dust. The barrier fizzled out at the same time the Home Guard managed to break through the Clockwerks. With a telekinetic fist, Twilight slapped Tia’vil’yet’s brain crystal from its pedestal. In a snap, the magic surrounding the archive vanished, and the surging Home Guard dropped out of the air in a daze.
The archive fell dark, with only a few toppled flashlights outside casting erratic shadows upon its walls. Without the pedestal’s magic, Tia’vil’yet’s grip upon both hive minds evaporated. Ratchet poked his head in and whistled in astonishment. “That’s the mare I love! How’d you break the barriers?”
Twilight lorded over the crystallized remains of the long dead queen. “It wasn’t that hard. Celestia taught me quite a bit about old magic. This particular barrier was created before mages learned how to combine magic wards and physically resistant barriers. Both spells’ mana patterns cancel each other out, so all I needed to do was enchant the bullet to act as a conduit. Once both spells started feeding into each other, it resulted in a feedback loop that destroyed the emitter crystals.”
Ratchet joined her by the dimly glowing crystal of Tia’vil’yet. “Huh, well you can’t argue with results.” He eyed the odd crystal as Twilight levitated it to her face for inspection, and he pulled a flashlight out to help her. “So this was the thing that made everyone go crazy?”
“Seems so.” Twilight mused while turning around to see Aegis standing at the entrance. “Aegis, tell the ship to send down help and bring medical attention for the injured. I want a casualty report within the hour for both sides.”
“Yes, mother.”
As she ran off, Twilight focused on Aegis. <We’ll talk about your insubordination later.>
A tremor of fear shot through Aegis, but she ignored it to follow orders. With everything soon to be taken care of by her hive, Twilight restored her subtle control over her drones, thus bringing the Link back to normalcy. With that done, she returned her attention to Tia’vil’yet’s crystal. <Now that that nasty business is over with, I’d like to have a little chat with you. I never got to introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle.>
She made sure her introduction was heard by both Tia’vil’yet and Ratchet. <Th—thou thou thou, t—traitor traaaaaitor. Ch—ch-chamber of of of arc-archives o-o-off off off l-l-l.>
Tia’vil’yet stuttered for a few more seconds before Ratchet laid a hoof on Twilight. “I think you broke it. What is this thing anyway?”
Twilight moved the flashlight around to take a closer look at the crystal, while moving outside into the cavern for better light. “…If I didn’t know any better… I’d say this was a mind imprinting prism.”
“In Vespid, please.”
“What I mean is, I don’t think that this is actually Tia’vil’yet’s brain in a crystal diamond, but an imprinted one. Probably from a drone or maybe even a royal daughter.”
<Thou—thou—de—de—danger…> Twilight shook her head sadly at the sorry state the consciousness was in.
“Looks like the only thing holding it together after all these years was that pedestal. I can’t put her back on there or she might try to attack us again.”
“Well good riddance to her,” Ratchet spat. “Somepony that can attack any nearby hive mind like that is just waiting to cause trouble.”
Tia’vil’yet’s presence over the Link faded completely, causing a few motes of green mana to fall away from the crystal as the bound magics finally lost cohesion. Twilight gently rubbed the crystal. Imprint or not, she was still a changeling in spirit. I’ll have to give her a proper burial. A terrible thought struck Twilight. “The Home Guard!”
She flew over the archives to find both groups of changelings milling around the base of the stairs. Medics from the Home Guard had arrived and were patching up the wounded, with some of Twilight’s drones assisting. Those still able to move were trying to organize themselves.
Twilight saw the black changelings were out of sorts, but otherwise no worse for wear. The same could not be said for her brood. Seven of her children were in critical condition, with four fatalities. The last thing Twilight wanted was to be reminded of their loss. It was hardly the first death among her hive, and it would not be the last. Stay strong for them, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll have plenty of time to grieve on the next Day of Mourning.
After shoring up her emotional strength and tying her grief up for another day, Twilight returned her attention to the Home Guard. They certainly don’t act like they’ve been severed from their hive mind.
She searched for Thoran, found him surrounded by two medics, and flew over to him. “Captain, are you alright?”
The medics were in the middle of surgically removing his foreleg’s chitin to get at the bullet wound. “Please, my queen, we need space to work.”
She nodded and backed off. <Take good care of him.>
The archive was pushed out of Twilight’s mind as her brood worked to bring everything to order. She knew Aegis was trying to avoid her by sequestering herself in the Chamber of Chitin, but she was focused more on Thoran’s recovery.
After a few hours, Twilight made her way to Thoran’s quarters as one of her nurses exited the room. “How is he, Resta?”
“He’ll be fine, my queen,” Resta replied while double checking her clipboard. “The bullet shattered his chitin in two points and ripped a nice clean hole through the rest of him. It’ll take time, something I wouldn’t recommend using magic to accelerate, but he should make a full recovery in a few months once his new shell grows in. Until then, his subordinate will be taking over.”
“Can I see him?”
“Briefly, please. He lost a lot of blood before somepony could get some salve on him.”
“Thank you,” Twilight croaked as she made her way into the bedroom.
Thoran was propped up on his bed with a ledger, but he was barely able to keep his eyes open to read it. He might have jumped at Twilight’s entry, had his fatigue not kept him from it. “Your Highness, what can I do for you?”
“I came to apologize for the mess I made, and for what Aegis did to your leg.”
“She certainly caught me by surprise with that weapon of hers,” he admitted lightly.
“You’ll be glad to know that the source of your hive mind was not the ghost-clone of Tia’vil’yet, but the pedestal she rested on. You shouldn’t have any lasting effects upon your Link once my children finish double checking for any last minute surprises that may have been left for us.”
Thoran sighed in relief. “Good. When she had taken control of us like that, I thought we had at last been granted a queen to serve. Not that she gave any of us a chance to serve her willingly.”
“Sorry about that. Had I known knocking her crystal off the pedestal would have killed her, I would have found another way.”
“Please, your highness, you do yourself a disservice. Whatever that was that took control of us, it had no right. You know as well as I that a queen is far more than just a leader.”
Twilight nodded with a ghost of a smile. “We queens rule solely by our right as mothers.”
“I knew you’d understand, Your Highness. A queen who cannot produce drones is no queen at all. I’m just glad she wasn’t the source of our hive mind.”
“Even so, that doesn’t excuse what happened to your leg. Not when we managed to avoid shooting anypony else. So I’ve sent down several engineering teams to help you catch up on your restoration work while I see what the archives can tell us.”
The thought of guilt tripping Twilight into helping with that did cross Thoran’s mind frequently. If for nothing else, than as payment for the hailstorm of questions he had been bombarded with over the past week. It’s even better since it was her idea. “Thank you, Your Highness. I know there are several weakening structural supports all along the eastern wing and in the Summit chamber itself.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Thoran sat up a little straighter as Twilight stood to leave. “Oh, and our hatchery could use some renovating. I’ve been meaning to assign—”
“Alright, captain, I’ll get a crew for that too.” She eyed him warily, some of her pity falling away.
“Any chance you can install one of those air conditioning units Ferrum was talking about for the living quarters?”
“Captain!” Twilight interrupted tersely. “I will see to it, but I feel you should get some rest.”
Thoran erred on the side of caution and fell back into bed. “I feel you’re right, Your Highness. I trust whatever you find in the Chamber of Chitin was worth it.”
“It’d better be.”
Aegis was horn deep in her team’s thorough combing of the archives. Now that the room had decent lighting, the actual layout was finally visible. Most of the archive was filled with scroll cubbies, with a large desk at the far end. The cast iron pedestal upon which Tia’vil’yet rested was covered in sigils of humming power. The wooden desk itself was covered in mold and other rot, and most of the scrolls had mostly broken apart after the moderately fresh air from the cavern rushed inside.
All that was left was being meticulously investigated while Aegis was left to probe the pedestal itself. <AEGIS!> The drone nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around to find Twilight glowering at her from the entrance. <We have some things to discuss.>
Aegis quickly prostrated herself in front of her queen while the rest of the drones redoubled their interest in their work. <I offer no excuse for shooting Thoran.>
<Nor should you,> Twilight replied coldly. <Come, I’d rather not block the door.>
Aegis followed Twilight to the far end of the cavern with flat ears and her tail between her legs. Never seen Mother this angry before.
Twilight stopped abruptly and turned to face her daughter. “I had expected better of you, Aegis. Even without genetic enhancements you are my best soldier. You should have been able to disarm Thoran without nearly costing him a limb.”
“Yes, my queen.”
Twilight’s anger abated at Aegis’ obvious repentance. Best soldier my hoof. She’s spent more time digging in the dirt with me than in the training yard. My entire personal guard does… While Aegis couldn’t see it, Twilight’s face fell into a self-blaming frown. I’ll need to rectify that if I’m going to survive out here. If I had gone up against a living queen, her brood would have been more than a match for me. She regained her composure to address her daughter. “For the crime of disobeying a direct order, you are to help nurse him back to health for the duration of our stay.”
Aegis’ face fell. “What!? Can’t I be sent to the brig or given menial duty or something, please?”
Twilight arched an eyebrow at her daughter groveling at her hooves. “After you’ve razzed him all week about being a glorified custodian, and then feel like you needed to fire your weapon to subdue him?” Aegis wilted and she hung her head in defeat. “Now report to Resta, she’s overseeing his recovery.”
“Yes, mother.” Aegis moaned before taking to the air. That’s because he is a custodian.
<I want to hear you two becoming the best of friends by week’s end.> Well that takes care of that. Twilight flew towards the archive to find Intel taking a dinner break. <Intel, we need to talk business.>
He instantly dropped his steak sandwich. <It’s about how piss poor we did in the fight, isn’t it.>
“To put it bluntly, yes,” Twilight responded once she was within speaking distance. “Ferrum and Riposte got seriously injured,” she glanced at the salve covering his cheek, forelegs, and ten other places along his body. “You’re not much better off, why haven’t you reported to the medics yet?”
His first response was to grunt dismissively, but reigned it in. “Because I’m a member of the Jevruun Vrunningee. If your personal guard is lounging around in bed with these paper cuts, what does that say about the rest of our soldiers?”
Twilight gave him a weak smile. “Given how badly the day went, I’d say we still did poorly.”
At this point, Intel’s pride was as badly wounded as his body. “To be fair, my queen, you did order us to use non-lethal force. Our options were limited.”
“Be that as it may, I still think there’s room for vast improvement. Since Aegis is busy with… other duties, I want you to contact Cadista’s captain of the Guard and work up a new training program. And I want you to triple my personal guard.”
He bowed his head. “As you command, so shall it be.”
With Intel flying off to carry out his orders, Twilight made her way into the archive to find Ferrum leaning on a crutch while inspecting some partially intact scrolls. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
Ferrum merely shrugged. “If I’ve got time to rest, I’ve got time to work… at least during business hours anyway. That is… unless you order me, my queen.”
Twilight shot him a knowing smile. “Are you kidding? I kept trying to study Pinkie Pie once with worse injuries than that. So what did you find?”
Taking the indirect praise at face value, Ferrum felt his injuries become less troubling. “Only as much as we expected. Most of the paper documents are useless, but oddly enough, there are a lot of writings carved in chitin. Guess that explains the name of the place.”
Twilight entered the archive to find Intel at the desk. The chair had broken into several pieces after he tried to sit in it. “On chitin? That’s kind of morbid, don’t you think?”
Intel glanced at Twilight before returning his attention to his work. “Aye, but for all we know, this could have been our ancestors’ only way to preserve their records. Unfortunately, the only things I’ve translated so far are a bunch of day to day activity. Nothing about where we came from.”
“Then it looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
<So that’s the long and short of it, Mother.>
Cadista could barely believe what she was hearing. <To think we’ve been genetically programmed to ignore our past.>
Twilight spent half of her attention translating more texts. <It would explain a few things.>
<Indeed. But have you found out why the First Mother did that to us?>
<Nothing concrete. The record that explained what was done to our minds was incomplete, so I’d imagine the alchemy used to change us is lost forever.>
<Well, it doesn’t seem to affect you, Twilight. Perhaps leaving your brain mostly in its original state prevented that from happening to you as well.>
<Heh, seems like it. I’m just glad Thoran was reasonable about the whole thing. The last thing I needed was him calling the other queens down on me for killing Tia’vil’yet’s clone. Even if it was unintentional.>
Cadista’s tone was far more dour than her daughter’s. <I would still take caution, young one. The Home Guard have always been moderately pragmatic, but they are honor bound to inform the other queens of what transpires within the Ebony Castle. Any one of them could take your actions as heresy.>
Twilight’s thoughts drifted to one queen in particular. <Polybia. She already has it out for me. I should be safe here in the castle, at least until I know where to go next.>
<My thoughts exactly. I can’t spare many, but I will have my scouts keep an eye on her and the other fanatical hives.>
<Then… oh my.>
Cadista felt Twilight’s growing excitement. <Did you find something?>
<Possibly. What do you make of this line.>
This… famine is worse than we ever anticipated. All attempts to grow the Carn fruit in the valley below the Lone Spire have proven successful, but something is wrong with us. We drink of its nectar day and night, and we still thirst, whither, and die. All Arcanum efforts to reverse what has happened to us have failed. We must find something to slake our thirst again, or we shall surely perish.
<Sounds like the early stages of prolonged love deprivation,> Cadista commented. <Strange that our ancestors wouldn’t instinctually know on what and how to feed.>
Twilight tapped her chin as she contemplated more text. <Agreed… makes me wonder how they survived long enough to figure out what they needed, but the Lone Spire is what I’m interested in. I have an idea as to where that is, but I want to verify it first.>
“Excuse me, my queen.” Twilight turned to see Pepper, a drone that took every last scrap of bookishness from Twilight’s genes and doubled it, hovering nearby with a clipboard. “You might find this of interest.”
Twilight broadened her link with Cadista so she could listen through her daughter’s ears. “Go ahead.”
Pepper cleared her throat.
Fifth year of the Nocturne Moon, Twelfth day of Sun’s Height. That our luck could turn from horrid to blessing in one fell swoop surely must be a sign from the Night Mother that we have been forgiven for our terrible sins! Two fortnights ago, a snap blizzard, in the midst of the growing season, ravaged the land. We had long seen the frozen lands to the northwest, and we feared that whatever dark magic kept the sun’s rays from that lightless land would someday come for us. To punish us for our hubris.
The blizzard came upon us one day, shockingly swift. As if Gethar’s vorpal blade has cut the Spirit of Sumar in twain. The worker caste managed to retreat to the Lone Spire out of fear. Strangely, the blizzard and snow vanished as quickly as it came. But we feared it was a ploy by Gethar, for he is as much a trickster as he is vile.
When we finally risked stepping out of our crystal caves, we found them. Equids, like us! They swarmed over the surface of our Lonely Spire and declared it their own. I wanted to warn them that Gethar might return, that they were all in grave danger, but the Seer Council, what was left of it anyway, decided to let the sun worshippers suffer whatever fate Gethar had in store for them, lest we invoke his wrath again.
Pepper put her clipboard down. “And that’s all I got; the rest of the journal is missing.”
“Equids, right after a sudden blizzard? Are you absolutely sure that’s what it says?!”
“Yes, my queen. I always triple check everything.”
“YES!” Twilight couldn’t contain herself and jumped over to plant a big kiss on Pepper’s forehead. “Do you know what this means!?”
<That you know where to look,> Cadista quipped.
<Darn right I do! Lonely Spire, crystal caves, and a snap blizzard followed by the appearance of Equids? All crews listen up! Pack your bags, because we’re going to Canterlot!>
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Editor's notes: Writing in ye olde English is more difficult than I thought.
And let us all take a moment of silence in memory of the best characters in this entire story, who met an unfortunate end in this chapter. You will be missed.
I am, of course, referring to the clockwerks.
Huh, sounds like they used to worship the precursors to Luna or something. At least that's what I get from those comments about the Night Mother. Maybe Gethar is Discord? Also looks like the Wendigos had little interest in them.
3769124
I always saw them as the cannon Automaton from Scrolls.
They look better smaller...
hydra-media.cursecdn.com/scrolls.gamepedia.com/2/23/Cannon_Automaton_%28unit%29.png
Twi in canterlot. Damn. Imagine faces of nobility when she will come riding her majestic city.
A fun little gem, and hearths warming eve? Huh, very nice touch.
This is going to get interesting.
Also? Fun fact: Twilight, as a natural born citizen of Equestrian, does not need any more permission for establishing a residence than any other natural born citizen. She could just move in and set up a home, and there would be no basis under which she could be denied.
Depending on the specific applicable Equestrian laws, her children are likely also Equestrian citizens by right of birth.
She doesn't need to ask for a grant of land unless she wants it to be free; if she doesn't care then she can simply buy the land, build a hive, and establish it as a township.
Actually, another option for getting the land for free would be homesteading the Everfree castle due to it and the land its on being abandoned. That would likely be the best option, as it's near Ponyville and thus reasonably close to Canterlot.
Is TODAY THE MOST AMAZING DAY EVER!!!
First, Season 5 of pony is announced.
Second, For The HIve gets an update!!! YAY!!!!!!!!
I stayed up really late to read this and I was NOT disappointed! Good work, soldier!
Woo chapter update! So she is going to search the cave system under canterlot now?
Nice chapter as always. The only thing I thought was kind of off was the mental attacks. A series of psychic mental bug bites? How does that even... what?
3769301
Why not? it fits better than it did for episode 1
3769256
I could see her getting up to about 45% of all equestrian industry... things like forgeries, large open pit mines, machine shops... etc. being sourced to twilight and her brood. Technically it would not be outsourcing either. In-house cheap labor can only be a good thing.
Then again I see Twilight and her hive as more of the research and development powerhouse of the country than operating industry. Maybe a mix? Donno.
Maybe I've been playing too much La-Mulana. I shivered a bit every time they said Mother.
3769301
That's my fault.
I regret nothing
Canterlot! The sights, the sounds, the glamour.
Give every drone twenty bits and send them forth to buy stuff. All the merchants will love you, and so will their employees, and soon all of Canterlot, then Equestria.
3769124 Crunch all you want, she'll make more?
The Chapter has been nothing short of amazing!!! Kudos to you!
AND they are going to Canterlot!!!!!!!!!!
I am waiting for this with baited breath. This is gonna be rich!
And I am saddened that Twilight has already had the misfortune to experience loss of her children. I hope, you will go into some details about this fact.
3769256 Actually, legally you DO make a good point! Kind of an obvious fact, looking a it, but I did not think about it!
The Phantom Menace.... is that a marvel reference?
One google search later
Oh, right! Star Wars. So, wait.
Bug's Life
Phantom Menace
...
Disney references? Lol, I'd like to see if you could do a full book's worth of Disney titles. That's craftiness right there.
Gotta admit, I can't wait for the next chapter. I'd love to see what Tia and Luna think of Twilight's flying fortress. And this business with the crystal caves has got my mind running around, trying to figure out what could have possibly been right under Twilight's nose for most of her Equestrian life.
DUN DUN DUNNNNN
"Dear
PrincessQueen Twilight,Today I learned..."
3769489
Star Wars. Star Wars reference.
So the Changelings are pre-Equestrian ponies that underwent a massive, unexplained dietary shift? This is just screaming "Indian burial ground".
Well I think I can confidently surmise this much:
The pre-changelings, possibly flutterponies and/or possibly Luna's, were cursed, possibly by Discord, and starved until they discovered or created the love eating thing. Moved to the jungle, blotted out their history for some reason, and the rest isn't history.
Of course, with that many "possibly"s you might argue I'm not really that confident
Yay! Twi's is going to Canterlot!
Was that a reference to lexx I read?
I think that was a reference to lexx.
The ancestral home of the changling race was Canterlot you say?
This won't end well.
Looks like Queen Chrysalis might have been right all along...
Ah, well then. That's an interesting twist. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Hmn, so Carn fruit grown in the valley below the Lone Spire. Zap apples? Heart's Desire? Poison Joke? Okay, that last one seems unlikely unless it was also cursed.
I'm really looking forward to another Canterlot visit, here's hoping we get there next chapter and see some fun reactions to all that Twilight has accomplished.
Very nice, as always! Not too sad about Tia'val'yet, she got what was coming to her.
Hmm, aside from the obvious connection with the uniting of the tribes, I wonder who this 'night mother' the early-changelings worshiped was. Hmm? *nudges* Hmm?
3769256 depending on how equestrian law is, buying enough land for her fortress might require permission from the princesses.
3769928 It said they drank the nectar, so I would say Heart's Desire, if it was any thing we would know about.
1 word on where she can most likely settle. Everfree Forest.
Blueblood is going to be digging a bunker
anyways, good story
Oh. Canterlot.
I thought the clues were leading to the Crystal Empire.
Pointy spire + snow fits the empire, right? I completely missed the thing about the caves.
Food and equipment for a hive of ~2000: A lot of bits.
A half-kilometer long mobile aerial hive: Even more bits.
The collective faces of Canterlot nobility when Twi rolls into the city with all of the above: Priceless.
3770131 They can sing "At the Gala" while they arrive!
And so... the jorny begins to find the secreat of the past.
Night Mother and Gethar = Luna and Discord?
3769432 I hope she'd have ~60000 bits to spare in that case.
3770472
I hope not, or lings history will be to boring.
Dear princess Celestia
WE COMIN' FOR YA!!
Your changeling student,
Queen Twilight Sparkle.
3770472 nope, this is the night mother this is the link
3769530 Cue shipping. ACTIVATE THE SHIP-CANNON!
static1.fjcdn.com/comments/Hey+_e5db274b630acee06d5288b4aa301bd9.jpg
and then things happen.
i1.ytimg.com/vi/9j2ta9Scgmg/hqdefault.jpg
3771730 excuse me while i punch you THROUGH the face.
3773326
Keep up the good work. Thanks
So yeah, lots of amazing things happened. I was kinda put off by the term psychic attacks, even though there isn't really a better term for what was being done. Magic driven Link interference and override transmission just doesn't have a nice battle term.
We're wondering if perhaps the reason for averting history gathering is due to shame? That would be a good way to destroy guilt over time, but what would she feel guilty for?
At first we were assuming the crystal empire and the crystal heart, but I'm certainly interested in Canterlot; those caves weren't explained nearly well enough, and it should prove interesting how the royal pony sisters figure into all of this.
Keep going!;)
3773329 ...That emoticon is to be used only for "oh god someone is going to kill me and i need to murder them quick" situations.
3771730 O...kay, that's just weird!