• Published 26th Apr 2015
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The Substitute Demon - Reykan



Right before the Elements struck, the Nightmare unleashed a spell out of desperation. A substitution spell. Otherwise known as the correct use of Kawarimi.

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Hive Exploits

Cimmerian really wasn't certain if he should be frustrated or amused at the current situation he found himself in. After heading back to bed and finding Zelus still present(in fact, she'd sprawled out to take up most of the bed) he'd had to wake her to move her out of the way. This led to her asking his intentions, which in turn led to her asking to tag along. After all, the connection to the hive at their current distance was extremely weak and only allowed for the most basic of information to be sent(Cimmerian had already been working on teaching the queens some form of Morse code, but since he couldn't remember half of the letters and the code was made for a different written alphabet, it was only a few simple messages that were transmittable, most being devised by the queens between themselves).

So it was that he'd dragged the other queen along, silently curious as to whether Pulmonus' claim was true. Sure enough they'd added a nice bed to rest on to the dream-hive, had him lie on his back, and proceeded to curl up on his wings while they chatted mentally, only the barest hints of their conversation reaching him. It wasn't that he couldn't hear it, but that they were communicating so damn fast.

It was probably a good thing they were only in the dream-hive. With two queens, one on each wing, he'd get pins and needles all over the already-sensitive appendages. In this way it was just his dream-image. He'd wake up, stretch out his wings, and then sit his flank back down in the command tent.

'Perhaps someday in the future we could visit as guests. Stay in the palace, see the cities fully occupied.' Zelus thought at him, bringing him from his musings. 'I never managed to see Canterlot, though I heard many speaking of it.'

'Wouldn't need a disguise either,' Zelus giggled. 'With such high exposure and the way things have played out, a few of the ponies have less fear of changelings than alicorns at the moment. Oh it's a rare thing, but there are a few.'

The alicorn leaned to his left, the side Pandinus had claimed, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
'How are you feeling?'

'Bloated, irritable, disgusted with my loss of mobility, vulnerable...delirious with happiness. I can pick up on some faint signals now and then. Two seem to be someone brushing against the hive, two are faint emotional sources inside of me...I think one will be a, a combination. Radiating emotions and yet connected to me. One will not though, and I just can't help but feel like it will be lonely.'

Cimmerian couldn't help but think of the arrays at his queen's sorrowful thoughts. Both had immediately flinched at the thought, but Din had perked after calming. It would let her be closer to her hatchling, to her foal.

If you do want to try that we're going to have to be extremely careful with them, Din. Maybe something that can be removed and reapplied. Twilight knows the arrays backwards and forwards so maybe she could find something. Maybe...'

'Would you let us in?' Zelus asked, seeing where his thoughts were going.

'If I'm even thinking about using them on a child I better be willing to try them myself. I'll think about it, ask Twilight if she can figure out a simple way to connect to just one or two others. Until the kid's older though, you'll have to make due with physically cuddling them, not both. I don't know what that would do to a baby and I don't want to think about it. We're not built that way and I don't know if we can adapt.'

The queens nodded, returning their heads to the bed and giving each other the full report of what each had experienced in the other's absence. Curious, he looked at one, then the other.
'Are you comfortable?'

'Yes' they responded almost immediately, both sticking their tongue out before settling back into his sides.

He chuckled, but his mind was mulling over the words of the older queen earlier that morning. That they were mixing and melding every time the two queens were together. He could still tell which was which both physically and through mannerisms. Pandinus was still taking lessons from the griffon matron, even if it was sometimes by proxy, and they showed through in a more eloquent form of speech. Zelus however had only learned a little of that through proximity to the other queen, preferring a more physical form of problem solving. It was why she was currently his bodyguard in fact. She wanted to travel, to have a bit of adventure queen's usually didn't crave. That wasn't so unusual, as even Pulmonus had admitted to going out and sightseeing after several centuries of ruling a hive.

Mothers didn't get vacations, after all.

Din interrupted his musings by moving to rest on his belly, scooting up to look down into his eyes.
"Out with your troubles. You were so quick to demand such of me, yet you cannot reciprocate?"

"I was talking to Pulmonus earlier," he said, rolling his eyes. "She said some...she said a few things that worry me. In a way I noticed some of it but to hear her get all excited about it was a bit unsettling. She said that the two of you are likely the first queens to experience this level of blind faith in each other and thus the only queens that have, what was her phrasing... that you had basically shifted from two queens to two parts of a larger whole."

Zelus was staring in confusion while Din merely shrugged.
'Ours is a unique situation. What is the problem?'

'The problem is the you and I/we boundary we've muddled,' Zelus realized. 'If we are becoming closer, two parts of the same whole, what does that mean for him?'

'Ah. I see.'

"I just don't know how I feel about it. On the one hand I was the one who pushed for this, even if it was without realizing it," Cimmerian sighed. "On the other, it means that all of my arguments from before were null and void the second I asked you to help them."

'You're a frustrating creature,' Zelus thought. 'Even Pulmonus has not heard of this happening. She's making guesses and assertions based on what she knows. If a changeling queen old enough and powerful enough to not only be known to Celestia but refer to her as a younger being is left making theories, then no matter how sound they are there is no way a stallion from another dimension would have been able to foresee this.'

"Being able to predict it or not doesn't change the facts."

"You are correct but not in the way you think," Din said, grinning at him. "You believe that this leaves you with the same issue as when this topic was first broached, but several things have happened since then. You have become acquainted with Zelus, and have thus become more comfortable around her. Our...bond wasn't something we really thought about as such. We only considered the idea of your connection to the hive. Zelus and I did not consider the fact that we ourselves may be subject to some changes as a result of our acceptance of each other.
"The other thing that has changed is how we perceive your relationship with us."

Shifting herself to lie on his barrel, Pandinus nuzzled his neck.
"When this first came up we thought to use you as a resource for the hive. Not uncommon, as queens and proto queens even consider themselves resources for their hives. The difference is that we are aware of our importance to the hive. We also are able to allot more comforts to ourselves because of that importance."

"No longer are we trying to assign a resource for the hive, nor are we really thinking of changelings in terms of a 'resource'. With the freeing of my sister and Mig, as well as Heart's attachment to the drake...that will be two or three other hives. We are shying away from the fear of extinction you two instilled in me. We do not need to produce as many queens as possible, though I would still prefer a few more queens."
Zelus scowled, looking at the wall.
"I never thought I would be wishing for more queens in the world. My mother only ever told me that if I met one I should be ready to kill them before they find me as they would be looking to do the same to me. It instilled a paranoia in me, as I'm certain was done with others."

Din nodded in agreement causing Zelus to smile.

"I was told to strike quickly and from a safe angle. My safety was more important than any drone, as they could be replaced fairly easily. The death of another queen was a good thing as it meant less competition, and the best way to eliminate another queen was quietly. Could you imagine the rioting that would occur if changelings battled in the streets over who could harvest from ponies? So if you did make a mistake, either make sure they couldn't find your hive, make it look like another queen attacked, or get out of the area."

Pandinus chuckled, shaking her head.

"Now I'm inviting other queens into my hive and hoping a few more survived. Actually, Zelus and I were discussing trading for a little bit. I've gotten tired of overseeing things in the Temple and Zelus is getting worn down by the constant combat. Mentally, at least, since most of the exhaustion is easily healed with affection."

"Trading," Cimmerian repeated before his eyes widened. "Wait, as in bodies? You want to come to Equestria while Zelus watches the Temple?"

"Yes. I would also like to both speak with Heart as well as see Pulmonus. She sounds...interesting."

The stallion stared at the ceiling for a little, crossing off most of his outright denials. Din could fight, there was no doubt about it. Add the fact that they were trading information like sisters trading clothes and Din may be as good as Zelus in combat in a few days. The minotaurs were pulled back into their own lands, the arrays were down...

"I'm going to regret this."

<-(0)->

While it was nice to have Din nearby for a change, it was a little jarring for everyone. Many of the ponies were spooked by the queen’s sudden change in mannerisms and the explanation really didn’t do much to calm them. Then again, it was pretty strange to Cimmerian, and he helped set this up.
‘Actually, does that mean-‘
“Din? can changelings learn dream walking?”

The mare, currently in Zelus’ armored form, turned with perked ears.
“Not as far as I know. Something about our connection to the hive. We don’t technically dream, but the hive tends to be close enough to a dream for dream walkers to enter it. Oh, if I could do this on my own Zelus and I could trade at any point, no matter the distance! I suppose I’ll have to ask about it. Is Luna nearby?”

“She should be. Luna is still recovering as we haven't had the time or resources to dunk her like we did with Celestia and Cadance. I'd still like to get her back to the Temple before all is said and done just to make sure she's gotten a bit of a boost. With how things are going she'll need it."

"Actually, what I was curious about was if you could enter another queen's hive with dream walking."

Pandinus stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in realization.

"I, I could infiltrate any hive at any time with that kind of ability."

"Or you could be infiltrated at any time," he whispered quietly. "This could be as dangerous as it could be lucrative. keep that in mind."

"I understand. I actually almost forgot about that, thank you. Mother always said I should be aware of both offensive and defensive capacities of any technologies or magics I learn as some spells leave an aura on the caster that can be tracked. That likely should have been the first thought I had."

Moving off again, Din smiled.

"It does not change the fact that I will need to speak to her. And it will be nice to do so in the flesh for once."

"So to speak," Cimmerian chuckled.

"Oh don't be like that. It's not that strange, is it? You've known we could do this sort of thing for a long time."

"I knew changelings could swap, but neither you nor Zelus ever showed interest in swapping, at least with each other. That's likely part of this whole trust thing you two have been developing though and I hadn't really thought you two would do it. The closest you'd come before that was..."

"When I shared my senses with her; I remember. I am still not certain why, but it seemed like the only way to make her understand my reasoning. You weren't the only one learning about yourself, after all. I told you what queens have always done, and the only reason I trusted you enough was because you'd taken care of me and even emitted love to me. Not a disguise I used, but my base form. I have never heard of a creature doing that for a queen, not that a pony has ever gotten that close to one."

"A negative of all the paranoia when you need to feed on others, right?" Cimmerian asked with a chuckle, opening the door to the meeting room. Sure enough, both alicorn mares were present, though Luna once more looked like she should have been in bed.

"Luna, you need rest."

"That is what I keep telling her, but she refuses to sleep," Celestia sighed, looking up from the latest reports. "She does not wish to be left out of the loop, though."

"I must also-"Luna began, interrupted by a yawn"-see to the damage to Cimmerian's mind at some point. Pulmonus has been harassing me about such."

Looking back to Pandinus, he saw her mouthing the word 'damage' with a growing look of horror.

"That's right, I don't think you were there for that. Pulmonus said I need to get checked by a professional or something, separate the jumble of memories that are Luna from myself. I'm uh, not really sure what that will mean. Memories are supposed to be kind of important to a personality."

"It should not be anything too destructive. It will be mostly unnoticeable from your perspective though. The best judge of any changes would need to be Pandinus and the ponies who were with you at the Temple for the longest time, those who came to know you. It is an issue with working with memories."

"It would not effect his emotions too much, would it?" Pandinus asked, stepping closer to the stallion.

"It could, I do not know. It would depend on how deep the memories blur. If it was just a recent injection, I would say no, but considering he has been marinating in them for years..."

"I think the best you can do for him is just be kind and patient," Celestia said, a smile worming its way onto her face. "That should be no trouble, seeing as you and your hive sister have had plenty of experience in that field."

"What, my putting up with a bunch of weird bug-women who didn't know what personal space is doesn't warrant any sympathy, but their dealing with me when I have my head fixed does?"

“Of course. Males are the more difficult ones, anyway.”

Cimmerian’s jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before he settled on a scowl, causing both alicorn mares to burst into giggles.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that you two are still recovering I'd thump you both.”

“You strike ladies?” Celestia gasped.

“No, but I haven’t run into one since...Thrisha? It’s been a while.”

“Ach, his words cut us deep, Tia,” Luna lamented, throwing a foreleg over her face.

"Not yet I haven't," the stallion chuckled. "By the way, this is Din."

Even as the changeling pouted at her ruse being cut short he could see the other two mares working over the information. It was Celestia who managed to figure out what he meant though.

"As with Cadance...they swapped forms so that she could spend time with you. That is...sweet in a strange way."

"This is she? The queen that was the focus of your first blood-rage backswing?"

Even as Luna moved to get closer, Celestia did a double take.
"Wait, he experienced a blood rage? But he's only been an alicorn for a few months!"

"Oh come now, Tia. It isn't how long one is an alicorn but what one experiences. We had already decided we needed to stop Discord well before we ascended so nothing he did truly upset us any more than usual. In fact I find it impressive he didn't even break anything. Didn't you kill the dragon that incited your first rage?"

"I, yes I did. And you ended up causing a small village to engage in a large...didn't they start a fertility festival in your honor after that? I seem to remember a statue of you being erected somewhere with special attention given to your-"

"Anyway. As I said Cimmerian, yours was hardly the most destructive blood rage experienced by an alicorn. I daresay that Twilight would cause thrice the mess of all three of us combined if she were ever to experience such a state."

"-and then I asked them how they knew what you looked like back there, and then they asked if I wanted one as well. I think that statue of me was what prompted the nobility to pass that decree about any artwork involving us," the white mare rambled on, her eyes staring into the distance. "I think I still have that statue in the vault somewhere..."

Luna shook her head as Celestia giggled to herself and began muttering about looking for the rest of the works of art involving her own image she'd collected over the centuries. Which, as could be assumed when you ruled a country for centuries and were viewed as a paragon of beauty, amounted to a sizable number.

As Luna approached, she took in Zelus' form, noting the differing posture.

"You are certainly not quite as uncomfortable around others as Zelus sometimes becomes. While it shows she is paying attention, she quite obviously has never done such a thing before and does not know how to react when her charge is in a crowded area."

"You also walk a bit more tenderly. I assume the pregnancy is going well?"

Luna and Cimmerian both stopped dead at the thought.

"Wait, Zelus is carrying the kids now, isn't she? Is she okay with that?" the stallion asked.

"I'm certain she fine with it," Pandinus chuckled. "Especially when she comes across the other surprise I left her."

<-(0)->

Zelus felt strange to suddenly be so weighted down. The small creatures growing inside her hive-sister were getting a bit heavy, leaving the smaller of the sisters a bit bloated and weighed down but it wasn't a bad feeling. In fact, Zelus thought it would cause the queen to be even closer to her daughters...children. One was supposed to be a male, right? Odd, since most drones chose their gender and queens were always female. Was the male the alicorn, or the hybrid Din was expecting?

Shrugging it off as inconsequential for the moment, she continued on her way, greeting those she passed by with an easy smile as she relaxed for the first time in a while. She was home, in her own hive where she could truly breath.

She opened a door to what seemed to be some sort of nursery, only to have a clutch of hatchlings latch onto her legs the moment she entered. After staring at them for a moment, she realized who's nymphs they were.

'My babies! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!'

Scooping the nymphs up into her legs, she giggled happily as they chirped and clicked in either joy or irritation, their minds now clearly present to her in the Hive.

'Mommies here. She's been waiting to see you for a long time. Have you been good for Queen Pandinus while I was gone?'

Closing the door to the nursery behind her, Zelus was certain that carrying a little extra weight for a few days would be well worth the break and a chance to hold her first clutch. It wasn't even that bad by her estimates. Maybe five extra pounds at the moment? It would give her a chance to bond with them properly, to allow the nymphs a chance to connect to her as deeply as her mother had with her first clutch.

She stopped, sitting there with her muzzle pressed against her nymphs as another presence touched her in the link. It was faint, so very faint she nearly missed it. But it was there, reacting to the sudden burst of chatter her own nymphs had been broadcasting at her when she'd arrived. A mind that was nearby, yet not fully...
Looking to her enlarged belly, Zelus sent a light probe to the area Pandinus had described as holding the foals. Something pushed back, confirming her suspicions.

"I, I suppose that makes us even," Zelus chuckled nervously as the presence began gibbering at her in the Hive and a second presence began to awaken as well. There was also the smallest points of emotion deep inside her, one that she felt reluctant to even taste. Would feeding on such undeveloped individuals harm them? Would the more changeling-like foals harm the other one with unrestricted feeding?

The queen shook her head, mentally sending for a bit of love to keep herself topped off. That had been Din's solution to any possible issues. Keep herself fully fed and make sure the foals are all well fed, pushing emotion to them if needed, and watching for any oddities she would need to report to the doctors.
As she cuddled her foals, her stomach began to gurgle, reminding her of the other change Din had warned her of. She set them on her back smiling brightly as she walked to the door.

'Come on, dears. Mommy needs to get something for your...'

The queen stared emptily ahead as she walked, her mind unable to find the proper answer.

"What would their relationship be? I want to say Hive-mates but it just doesn't sound right for this situation."

<-(0)->

Discord floated idly nearby as the ponies that had once petrified him walked into the abandoned city of Ponyville. Okay, maybe abandoned wasn't a good word for it. There were a few ponies here and there, mostly individuals who had returned home as soon as they were told the area was clear. Not all were that brave though, so the Elements were some of the first back.

Rarities boutique had been closed long ago, the fashionista's Ponyville site not having anyone to run it after her disappearance.

The large crystal Friendship Castle was still present, though it just didn't shine like it used to. Twilight asked that the group explore it last, as the site of her fall wasn't a place she wanted to wander. There was no telling what madness she'd subjected the castle to.

The cloud house Rainbow Dash had built herself was still present surprisingly, and relatively unmolested due to the minotaurs being unable to even reach it. The only damage was a bolt in the bottom of a dresser, one that didn't even belong to the pegasus as the house had apparently been sold off to another pony in her absence. It wasn't surprising, but it was another sign of how long they'd been gone.
Sugarcube corner was also still present, as was City Hall and several shops the girls recognized even if a few seemed damaged in some way or another. The biggest surprise though was at Fluttershy's cottage.

The moment Fluttershy was even in sight of it, there was a flurry of activity. Creatures could be seen scampering left and right and Discord could even see the glint of armor and weapons in the distance.

'What in the world?'

Fluttershy meekly slipped ahead of the others, trotting up to what looked like a small contingent of bunnies in armor.

"Um, yes...Oh, that's nice of you. Do you think- no, that's a friend of mine. Like who? Oh, the- yes, I met her as well."

Discord chuckled as the mare was distracted by the bunnies, watching as a larger group came down the well-cared for lawn. In its center was an older and larger rabbit, this one wearing the amulet he'd given Angel years ago. Apparently it was a sort of heirloom now. Odd how things work out.

"Greetings, most blessed Caretaker. The Guardians of Cott-Age welcome you! It brings joy to my heart to know the dark ones were successful. Please, come! Our harvest was good and we have plenty to share. Come and we shall celebrate your return!"

The bunnies began cheering and dancing, some even throwing flower petals down on a fiercely blushing Fluttershy as she was practically dragged into her still-pristine home.

"Wow, everypony else's homes are sold or broken and Fluttershy comes back to find a bunny civilization watching hers? How does that even work?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching as a few more armored rabbits approached them and ushered them into the living room. "I don't even see any dust. It's been, what? Decades?"

Pinkie was too busy giggling as she watched the bunnies, though. She leaned over and poked Discord before pointing to a particularly scruffy looking rabbit.
"Hey, hey Dissy. What do you call a bunny that's also a pirate? A Coarse-hare! Bahahahaha!"

Discord chuckled, ruffling the pink ponies mane as he floated to what was once his seat. He sat down, noting that the chair could still easily support his weight, as could the couch across the way. Everything had stood the test of time, just as he'd hoped. The spells he'd placed had worked. Looking to Fluttershy, now garbed in flowers and reeds as the rabbits continued to celebrate the return of their goddess, he couldn't help but wish such spells would work on living things as well as they did on furniture.
'But that's why we spend time with them,' he told himself, repeating Celestia's words from a conversation the pair had shared before his trip. 'You spend time with them and burn their memories into your mind. As long as you remember, they're never truly gone.'

He looked up, accepting a bunny's offer of tea as he relaxed. No place he'd been had ever felt as close to home, and he'd likely never find another place like this in all the worlds.
'And I can say that with certainty, having seen so many.'

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