Itinerant Kingdom

by Istaran

Chapter 15: Fighting words

[You know the Text's challenge!] I poked Wind Chaser in the chest, starting to panic. [The spiders can only be within me and my subordinates. Not some random corpse!]

[He implicitly agreed to be your subordinate by accepting the invitation to come here. Also, he is now your undead servant, which makes him your subordinate,] she reasoned back at me, unphased.

[And what if the Text doesn't agree to that rather liberal interpretation? I mean, it'd be one thing if he had sworn the oath..]

[The oath is a formality you came up with, and a reasonable one in general, but in this case he accepted the invitation Mirror gave him to come work for you. Anyways, he has my spiders, not yours,] she argued.

[They're the same damn spiders!] I said.

[No. They originated from the same concept, but yours descend from the fractal spider the Text gave you, and mine descend from the fractal spider the Text gave the alternate you in the time that was undone. The Text only challenged you to keep your spiders out of everything else, it didn't say anything about my spiders.]

[So, what, are you going to start spreading them everywhere now? Are we going to have an undead army now too?] I asked, exasperated.

[No. Don't be hyperbolic. We have one zombie cyborg changeling. Don't make this a bigger deal than it is.]

[Can I be a zombie cyborg changeling?] one of the new recruits asked groggily as he woke up. [I mean, after I die!] he hastily clarified.

[Damn it they're even contagious. You made a memetic zombie virus. Way to go. Now they're all going to be asking 'can be zombeez?']

[If it helps, I don't want to be a zombie.] One of the others offered.

[Good. Cause nopony can be a zombie. Only your corpse gets to be a zombie, once you aren't in it.]

"This is weird." Null said. Now that I paid attention again, I noticed its subnet showed up as 'null - hosting Fossil'. The voice sounded like a two-toned changeling version of Midnight Oil. "Hey, Wind Chaser, can you help me out?" The subnet briefly showed as 'null - hosting Fossil and Turbine' until a wave of green magic transformed it into Midnight Oil's form. "Thanks! So looks like we have a spare body to use as an avatar. So we won't have to use you every time, Mirror."

"That's good," Mirror said, sounding disappointed.

"Rule number 2. No using the changelings as avatars without their permission," I said as the remaining changelings were awakening. "Unless I directly order it," I added. There could be emergencies, but I didn't want the ponies just using the new recruits as their personal puppets without considering their feelings on the matter. "And don't let anypony pressure you into it."

"You'll still be my avatar, right Mirror? It's kind of.. uh.. lonely in here," Midnight said, earning a smile and nod from Mirror.

There was a poof of green magic as Mirror took on Midnight Oil's form, his subnet now registering and 'Rorrim - hosting Fossil'. At least they weren't trying to mislead their own king anymore. Mirror/Midnight looked over at null, now a lifeless copy of Midnight just standing there idly, and made an excited sound as she started getting a good look at her self from all angles.

"This is.. kind of all very weird." I said.

"It's important," Wind Chaser countered. "We need to know our new assets' capabilities. Already we have determined that null can't use magic without it being pushed from somepony else, but otherwise it has no need for love to feed it. It will require physical food to maintain its body, however, as the spiders have already noted a steady depletion of nutrients. Also of note is that it can detect the presence of changelings, but cannot be sensed as such by the rest of us."

"That's.. very valuable, actually. We can have it sweep an area before we send in our other changeling agents," I admitted.

"I recommend you send it out now and begin scouting, immediately, my king," Wind said. "With so many changelings to feed, you need more ponies to provide love. Especially if you want to have them well fed. And double especially if you want them to lay your eggs."

"Who said anything about them laying my eggs?" I asked.

Wind Chaser and Mirror both raised their hooves. One of the new recruits added. "We were promised you could give us each an egg. That was why I signed up." A couple others gave that one odd looks, making her blush. "What? Don't tell me you don't want your own egg."

Wind Chaser spoke up. "To clarify, this initial egg required using the love shockwave in Canterlot as a catalyst. We won't be able to reproduce those circumstances, so we need to find an alternative way to trigger fertility. But I have faith that my king will ultimately succeed."

"We'll wait," the changeling said. At least they weren't about to riot. I really needed to recruit some more stallions. Somepony that didn't want to bed me. You know, just for variety. It's not that I didn't like sex, but being passed around by all the mares in my life was a bit much.

"Okay, so here's the plan then. We'll send null out on a sweep to find out where we have changeling free areas we can look into. I'll start with Citrus Hills, since we know there are issues going on there with the corrupt local government. Then we'll send in changelings to infiltrate the towns, identify ponies that need to be rescued, and offer them a chance to join the Kingdom. Alright?"

We set our plan in motion immediately. The clock was ticking. Now that I focused on it, I could feel the drain starting to affect me. 13 changelings was a lot for two ponies and a disguised human to feed.

Comments

[drone_r0m-3]

can be zombeez?

[Istaran]

5925650
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/254708/2/the-equestria-diaries/chapter-1-starting-positions (after the first HR)

Related? Dun dun dun...

[BronyofMeddlers]

Hmm, now we have to wait.

[Canary In The Coal Mine]

Zombie Cyborg Changeling. Will they also recruit a Ninja Pirate who would remotely operate the Changeling for the full title?

I'm liking the direction this story is heading. Out of curiosity, is there a companion piece? It almost feels like there are events occurring in another story that complement this story. Besides canon MLP episodes that is.

[Istaran]

5926545
Friends like these.. sort of. It's alt timeline, specifically picking up from where Wind Chaser left to go back in time.

Other than that, what other missing threads do you feel need attention?

[Istaran]

5926545
Also:
we've already shown that two operators can share the same avatar at the same time. It can get confusing if they're trying to do things without coordinating, but the spiders can smooth out the bumps if they're trying to work together.

My point being that if they conscript a Pirate and a Ninja, they can both control null at once and make him a Ninja Pirate Zombie Cyborg Changeling. No need to find an elusive Ninja Pirate in the wild.

[Istaran]

5926083
Actually.. hmm.
The next bit needs a bit of forethought and preplanning, and so there will be some delays in getting it out.
So.
Yeah.
Now we wait. :(