• Published 17th Apr 2015
  • 13,693 Views, 2,028 Comments

Reformation of the Hives - law abiding pony



War has ravaged the changeling jungles while Queen Twilight Sparkle and Queen Rainbow Dash remain aloof of the conflict. However they will be thrust upon center stage, whether they like it or not.

  • ...
27
 2,028
 13,693

10: Needs More Twilight Sparkle

If there was one thing that Night Light had missed other than the smiling face of his former wife (before her descent into madness), it was the laughter of children. The Sparkle Manor’s dining room rang with the woefully missed cheer that had been absent for far too long.

Night Light was perched on the edge of the long mahogany dining table with the bubbling little unicorn filly spouting baby babble and waving her hooves around trying to catch the spoonful of applesauce.

The bright sunny morning was a very welcome change, even if the angle of the sun was causing a glare that stabbed into Night Light’s eyes. Yet it wasn’t enough to make him move as he focused entirely on the infant. “Here comes the airship, make way at the dock!” The filly opened as wide as she could as the small spoon came closer, right before Night Light was going to give her the food, she lunged forward and snapped it up.

He was mildly startled, given that neither of his children would leap at food with such gusto. “My, you must have been hungrier than I thought.”

The child only giggled and beamed brightly at the caring stallion. She tried to wiggle out of her highchair, something Night Light had kept from Twilight’s childhood, in an attempt to get at the rest of the bowl of applesauce.

Clopping hooves upon the stone tile floor heralded the family butler’s arrival. “Might I suggest letting the little miss have the bowl, sir. She looks about ready to gnaw the spoon.”

Night Light let off a happy chuckle that only Azure Skies could ever bring out of him lately. “Perhaps you’re right, Pranceston, she must have had it very rough to be so snappish towards food.” As suggested, Night Light brought the bowl over to her high chair. The little filly gave a long, almost childishly evil, cackle at the bowl that was as big as her head before dunking her muzzle into the sweet fruity mush.

Pranceston’s unflappable flat expression was marred by a single raised eyebrow. “The young miss is a spirited little one, isn’t she?”

Night Light’s fatherly instincts forged a glowing smile at how happy the filly was. “That she is.”

“Have you selected a name for her yet? If you’re serious about the adoption, I shall need one for the paperwork.”

Night Light’s answer was cut off by the approaching hoofsteps. Azure Skies looked like she had grabbed hold of a Tesla coil. Her hair was sticking up all over the place with sleepy bags still under her eyes. “Foooood.”

Pranceston hummed in mild disapproval. “I shall see that the kitchen is alerted to your request.” He turned to Night Light. “Your morning paper, sir.”

“Thank you, Pranceston,” Night Light replied before addressing the disheveled mare. “I heard you kept little Stellar Drift nearby while you worked last night.” Pranceston picked up on the name on his way out, and made a mental note of it.

Azure slumped heavily in her chair and leaned against Night Light while humming affirmatively. Night gently wrapped a foreleg around her, pulling the sleepy mare in tight. “She didn’t fall asleep until-” *yawn* “well after midnight. Just glad I don’t have to go into the observatory today.”

The middle aged mare nuzzled against Night Light while keeping one eye on the foal currently annihilating the applesauce, spilling it everywhere in the process. “I’m so proud of you, Nighty, for taking in Stellar like that. Ginger Slice’s behavior was horrendous.”

Night Light sighed sadly at the memory of last night. He used his magic to pull some of the applesauce off the highchair and Stellar Drift’s coat and put it back in the bowl only for her to repeat the process. “You really didn’t meet Ginger at her best, Azure. On any other day she’s the kindest mare one can be, albeit with a mild arrogant streak, but… She gets paranoid when she drinks.”

“Still though…” Azure glanced about to see none of the servants were in earshot, then leaned in conspiratorially. “Thinking changelings poisoned her unborn child and then tried to push Stellar on her as a replacement?”

Night Light had to remind himself that Azure didn’t have an aristocratic upbringing, and had little reservation about speaking of such scandalous topics. Actually, scratch that, the noblemares are worse by far. I can only imagine the scandal they’ll bring up after this adoption becomes widely known.

Even so, he wasn’t going to hold it against her, there were just some battles not worth fighting. “It does seem rather farfetched. While it is true that there are other queens out there, apart from Rainbow Dash and my daughter, that doesn’t mean they are the source of all our ills. Besides,” he added dismissively, trying to change the subject, “everypony scanned Stellar Drift with the latest disguise countermeasures posted by the Royal Guard. Cadance and Shining Armor proved to all that Stellar is just a normal little unicorn.”

“I thought I felt my ears burning,” a gruff voice called out from the dining room’s open entrance. All eyes turned to Prince Shining Armor who had a small tray with a steaming coffee pitcher and a few cups. Azure Skies licked her lips at the tantalizing aroma of Neigher’s Coffee. Shining walked over slowly with a confident swagger.

Stellar Drift looked up from her bowl, face completely covered in applesauce, and spouted happy baby babble while fidgeting in her restrictive chair, trying to get to Shining Armor. Night Light eased Azure back into her chair before getting up for a hug. “Good morning, my boy, how’s your better half? She’s usually up before you are.” he asked teasingly with a wink.

Shining Armor had the biggest grin on his face, and wasn’t fazed in the slightest as he put the platter down and gave his father a massive hug. “She’s feeling a little under the weather at the moment,” he replied with a sudden down turn in his expression, though Night knew his son well enough that the frown was forced. “And is probably cursing my name at the moment.”

Stellar Drift had not left Shining’s field of view, and the little filly was starting to rock the chair trying to free herself, shouting all the while. Brotherly instincts jumped to the forefront, allowing Shining to bypass his father’s confused grimace. Shining freed the excited filly from her chair with his magic and brought her over for a hug. “You making sure that applesauce knows who’s boss?”

The filly peeled off a girlish squeal fumbling in the air until Shining gently placed the messy filly on his back. Years of watching over Twilight and the filly’s clingy nature made it easy for him to take the spreading mess of applesauce across his back with little more than an amused snort.

Night Light wasn’t going to let his son’s last comment go by unanswered and flashed a disapproving frown. “I didn’t see Cadance drinking last night, so why is she sick?”

“Let alone cursing your name?” Azure Skies added.

“YOU!” Shining’s reply was cut short by Cadance leaning against the doorway. “I’ll get you for this!” Night Light and Azure Skies took an involuntary step back from the irate alicorn. The ill mare raced forward and grabbed her husband by the neck, nearly causing Stellar to lose her grip, and planted a massive kiss on him. “I can’t believe you made me wait so long!”

Night Light was at a loss, but Azure Skies recognized the twinkle in Cadance’s eye. “Wait... are you? Really!?

Cadance let her husband go, if only to make sure Stellar didn’t fall off. “Yup, just tested myself this morning!” Cadance picked up Stellar Drift in her magic and spun in circles. “You’re going to have a niece or nephew!”

Applesauce started flying everywhere as Stellar giggled madly at all the attention. Night Light originally thought the news of a pony grandson or granddaughter might have been deadened by the sheer number of changeling grandchildren. He silently thanked Celestia he wasn’t so jaded yet. With a deep belly laugh, he clapped Shining Armor on the back. “Congratulations to both of you! Don’t hesitate to ask for any advice, Celestia knows your sister never bothers to ask,” he added with a harmless grunt.

Cadance imagined Stellar as her future foal and squashed the little unicorn in a big hug to which the child eagerly reciprocated. “Thanks, Nighty. Knowing him,” she said tilting her head at Shining, “we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“Psh,” Shining huffed dismissively. “I’m an awesome big brother, and going to be an awesome father, just you wait. Besiiides, we’ve got a castle full of staff to help out, we’ll be fine.”

“Passing the buck as usual I see,” Pranceston drolled from behind a food cart laden with breakfast dishes. He wheeled the cart over to the table with the ever present professional air about him. “It’s a wonder you ever made it into the Guard, let alone it’s captain.” Shining rolled his eyes as the butler turned to Cadance. “You have my congratulations, princess. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer mare.”

“Thank you, Pranceston,” Cadance replied with a playful smirk directed at her husband. She grabbed a wet washcloth off the side of the cart with her magic and sat down to start liberating the apple sauce off of Stellar Drift.

Azure Skies levitated a cup of coffee and a scone before sitting down next to Cadance and Stellar. Cadance had to fumble with the towel as Stellar kept trying to run away to play. “You mind if I help, princess? She can be a hoofful.”

“Yes, thank you.” Cadance couldn’t help but to smile at how much the astronomer was trying to learn the ropes. She really must be more serious about Nighty than I thought.

As for the stallions, Shining armor took a seat near his wife while gathering some food as his father did the same. Pranceston ducked under the food cart and rummaged around. Night Light pulled his eyes off of the giddy filly when his butler brought over a yellow trimmed piece of paper. “Sir, it seems the Canterlot Times has just sent out a breaking news insert for today’s paper, with a rather interesting article.”

“Really? They usually don’t do that unless it’s something big.” Night Light latched onto the news insert while nibbling on some toast. Shining Armor scooted over to read over him. Night started reading aloud for the mares’ benefit.

Even with the morning coffee only barely starting to jump start her brain, Azure was intrigued by such a rare thing as news that couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s paper. She listened in while finishing up Stellar’s grooming with Cadance. “Breaking news from Phoenix’s Roost. Pony volunteers to be reborn as a changeling, and her request is… accepted?” Night had to admit he was rather stunned by that.

“I thought Twilight said she didn’t want to do rebirths,” Shining Armor commented in between sips of coffee and bites of a bagel.

“I thought so too,” Night replied as he took a seat to keep reading. Both mares let Stellar Drift play around the room with Twilight’s old toys as they joined Night Light in reading the article. “Ever since the Equestrian Alliance was established, the stance of the two changeling queens has been to deny all requests for rebirth, citing personal reasons. However this newspaper has just received confirmation that this ‘closed door’ policy has changed. There is currently no statement regarding the reasons for this sudden change in policy which has reporters clamoring for answers. At present, both Proto-Queen Blitz and the pony volunteer, by the name of Lyra Heartstrings, will be holding a limited press conference tomorrow evening at Canterlot Castle. No official statement has been given by the princesses, except for the fact that they approved of Lyra Heartstring’s request before she ever approached the queens on the matter. No date as to when the rebirth process will begin has been given.”

Azure Skies scratched her head trying to make sense of it all. “I was wondering when they were going to cave in and start doing that, odd timing though.”

“Very odd,” Night agreed. He sighed while continuing to read silently. “I was planning on telling Twily about Stellar Drift but if this little stunt is what I think it is…”

“Might be best to hold off for a while?” Shining Armor asked already suspecting the answer. “With both her and Rainbow Dash going off to confront that rogue queen, Stellar might be too distracting.”

“That might be for the best,” Cadance concurred reluctantly. As much as the sisterly instinct told her otherwise, it was Cadance’s leadership experience that made her agree. “We’ll tell her after she returns. But this rebirth stunt seems rather dangerous doesn’t it?”

“This has Rainbow Dash written all over it,” Shining Armor huffed as he downed the last of his coffee. “I better go tell the Guard to add more security around the house. Just in case they try to get to Twily through us.”

“Better add some escorts to Rainbow’s parents as well,” Cadance suggested while trying to find out where Stellar Drift ran off to. A quiet filly is a destructive filly. At least until she’s old enough to read.

“You don’t really think that’s necessary do you?” Azure Skies asked worriedly. She shrank a bit at the stern visage Shining wore. “I mean, they only dislike changelings right? They’ve never bothered us before, right?”

Shining Armor painfully recalled that first day when Twilight returned to her pony family after her rebirth, and shook his head. “Maybe not, but they never attacked the Equestrian Navy before either. It pays to be prepared.”


Arkmane Asylum was a cold metallic complex carved onto the side of an unnamed mountain far to the northeastern territory of Equestria. It clung to the snow swept mountainside like an iron blister. Howling wind blew ice crystals all along the walkway leading away from the open air train station. An aging grecian sphinx padded along with a thick furred jacket wrapped around him. An earth pony physician cantered along side him, ever wary of being swept off his hooves and cast down the side of the frozen mountain. He too wore a furry jacket covering every inch of him as he guided the sphinx to a metal door at the far end of the walk way. Against the strong wind, a whistle pierced the late evening sky as the train departed for warmer climes.

The pair reached the sealed door that lacked any obvious means of opening it. The earth pony waved an unwieldy enchanted wand half the size of his foreleg over where the door handle would be. A loud hiss and heavy clank of screeching metal made the door seem to pop off its frame, allowing the pony to push the door open and admit himself and the sphinx tom inside before closing it behind them. They found themselves in a small receiving room that doubled as a security checkpoint with a one way mirror along one side..

With the warmer air of the facility being pumped into the receiving room, the earth stallion pulled his mask off and used his mouth to rummage in a front pocket. From there, he produce a large identity slate and held it up to the mirror for a few moments as the security guard within check it.

“Not many places are so cold in the Federation, Doctor...” the sphinx announced idly.

“Clear Mind,” the stallion answered through chattering teeth. The click of the interior door allowed the earth pony to return his slate to his pocket. “Don’t worry, Doctor Arvatus, it’s much warmer inside.”

The rush of hot air confirmed this as both new arrivals shed their warm clothing, except for their white doctor’s coats.

The hallway was quite short, but had many sliding panels that Arvatus assumed concealed security barriers. “I’m sure I could do a lot of good here, but I cannot leave my patients back in Phoenix’s Roost for very long. So many of them still require weekly or monthly sessions.”

Clear Mind nodded sympathetically. “I fully understand. It’s difficult to leave good patients in the care of another, even if you know the other physician is competent.”

The pair cleared the hallway, only to make a detour to a door on the left instead of going straight. Within, Arvatus found several wooden lockers and flickering lamp lights. Clear Mind turned the fuel up on a few of them so they could see. He guided Arvatus towards a locker on the far left side. “Here we have your identity slate, please don’t lose it, and a key to your new office; two oh eight in the C wing.”

“Office?” Arvatus asked in surprise as he gathered the two items from the otherwise empty locker. “But I am only here for one patient, or do we hold therapy sessions in the office as well?”

Clear Mind chuckled briefly. “It’s not recommended, doctor, the offices are for your privacy and paperwork. As gracious as our accommodations are around here, we don’t get as many physicians as we would like, so we have plenty of office space available.”

“I see.” Arvatus placed his cold weather coat, hat, mask, and tail protector inside a locker while taking the key and identity slate. “How is the patient anyway? Has she been allowed to remain aware of world events?”

“She is currently in her cell up in B wing. Patient 2409-B is a low flight risk so long as her magic is dampened. As for world events, we felt that allowing her access to her favorite newspaper would assist in alleviating her paranoia, so she’s probably reading that as we speak. As per Doctor Kevorkian’s original orders, we’ve allowed her access to uncensored news to keep her condition from deteriorating any further. However…”

Arvatus adjusted his doctor’s coat to be more comfortable, but it didn’t take him long to realize Clear Mind was hesitant to continue. “Has the patient gotten worse?”

“Yes and no.” Clear Mind shook his head as he spoke in a defeated tone. “2409-B has well… You’ll see in her file and in person.”


An hour later, Arvatus stood before cell number 2409-B. The hallway had a frigid feel to it seemingly at odds with the warm air. The cold tile flooring wasn’t doing Arvatus any favors and the small barred windows to the outside were completely whited out with snow. Had the facility been a resort, Arvatus had no doubt it’d be a successful one. Clear Mind told me the individual rooms have a heat vent. I hope he wasn’t exaggerating.

He gave the patient file one last review before placing it in the slot next to the door. At least the staff told the patient I was coming.

Steeling himself with practiced resolve, Arvatus unlocked the door and pocketed the key before stepping inside. “Miss Twilight Velvet?”

As the file had outlined, Velvet occupied a padded room that was completely covered in torn out newspaper clippings. Arvatus already knew each and every one of them were about Phoenix’s Roost and Twilight Sparkle in particular. Each one had a string held up by glue connected to the vast collection in a twisted mess that Arcatus was sure that not even Velvet could follow anymore. They let her have string? Either it’s easily breakable, or she must not be a flight or fight risk… I hope.

Arvatus heaved a quiet sigh of relief that the rooms temperature was quite conformable, but the same could not be said for the mare hunched over her bed. Velvet was tearing out another article with a small brush coated with glue waiting near by.

Velvet had not reacted to the door opening, and continued muttering just shy of being audible to the aging sphinx. However, she turned her head at the unfamiliar voice when Arvatus repeated his greeting. The act revealed her deeply suspicious half-crazed eyes and deep tear troughs below her eyes. Her mane was a ragged mess and her coat disheveled, but the absence of body odor convinced Arvatus that her physical state was not due to negligence by the staff. “Who are you supposed to be?” she croaked in a dry raspy voice as she eyed his white coat. “Another shrink telling me I’m twisted and sick, hmm, hmm? Not my fault none of you can see the evidence when it’s smacking you in the face.”

Not wanting to let all the hot air out, and seeing she wasn’t overly hostile, Arvatus fully entered the room and closed the door behind him. “I am Doctor Arvatus, formerly of the Federation.”

Arvatus remembered bittersweet tales involving Velvet Sparkle from some of the older drones back at the hive. This was not the proud aristocrat, nor was she the deranged criminal mastermind some of them had made her out to be. Still, she’s not the worst I’ve seen.

“So, Doctor Arvatus, why don’t you just skip the charade for once and just tell me you’re really a changeling here to replace me? All this talk and sitting around is a waste of my time.” As if that were the end of it, Velvet returned to her newspaper clippings.

“Please, Miss Velvet, I am simply here to help you through your situation,” Arvatus admitted freely. “However, it is my personal code that I only assist those willing to accept my help in regards to my… unique talents.”

“Ha!” Velvet exclaimed without facing him. “Unique talents indeed. How can they be so unique if all you changelings are alike, hmm? Hypnosis, body snatching-” In a flash of violence that caught the old hunter off guard, Velvet burst from her bed and nearly impaled Arvatus’ chest with the point of her horn. “And dying!” The only thing that kept him alive was the blue shield that was wrapped around Velvet’s horn, stopping her in her tracks and canceling out any magic flow. “But I suppose you can’t even do that right.” It was only now that Arvatus saw a pair of blue glowing crystals on the ceiling undoubtedly responsible for why he wasn’t skewered on her horn at the moment.

Scratch that, definitely a fight risk. She’s right on par with the average Federal when they find out I’m a psyker. Leveraging his decades of experience with the unstable, Arvatus stood his ground and spoke peacefully. I truly hope that string snaps easily. “Miss Velvet, if I was truly here to harm you, don’t you think it would have been easy with the restraints active?”

Velvet pulled away from him which caused the barrier to dissipate. “I don’t know what your game is, changeling, but rest assured I will fight you and that imposter daughter to my dying breath!”

Seeing that normal tactics were getting him nowhere fast, Arvatus switched gears to a technique he used often against anti-psyker zealots. He pulled out a small runestone, no bigger than his thumb and caused it to brighten with psionic energy. “What if I told you, I represent the P.C.E. and have come to extract you from this prison,” he lied smoothly through his teeth. “This stone will keep our talks private.”

Velvet sized the doctor up and down. He’s big, too big for an average changeling disguise. Special breed maybe? Some news reports said sphinxes hate mind bullet throwers, and changelings are a whole race of them. “You’re a P.C.E. agent? Yessss….” She waggled her hoof out of barely contained glee. “That makes more sense. Why would a sphinx side with those changelings, you hate their kind, that’s what I’ve seen...

“Wait! How do I know you’re truly with the P.C.E?” Velvet inquired with resurging suspicion. “That voice fritzer could have come from anywhere! If you’re not a changeling, then bring me lemon juice.”

“Lemon juice?” Arvatus asked with carefully veiled confusion.

“Yes! of course, lemon juice!” Velvet screeched angrily. “I’ve seen it with Clear Mind and that quack Doctor Kevorkian. They broke out in hives and swelling, just like all changelings must!” Velvet cackled at the memory, and fiddled with an empty cup that smelled of citrus. “The rest of the imposters always cower when I throw the juice at them, they fear it, they don’t let me have lemons anymore, mongrels. Bring me some of the pure stuff, not that swill from the cafeteria. I want to test to make sure it’s real lemons before you rub it on your face. You pass the test, and then I believe you!”


“Very well.” Arvatus let the runestone go dark. “I will return shortly, Velvet Sparkle.”

“You best! More time means more chances of discovery!” Fearing imagined eyes behind the walls, Velvet went back to continue covering them with news reports.

Out in the hallway, Arvatus put as much distance between him and Velvet’s cell as quickly as possible. Insane sphinxes I understand, but lemon juice? Really? These ponies are a different breed to be sure. Either way, if I can just gain enough trust, hopefully I can peel away the logic fallacies in her mind, and let her see the truth with unclouded eyes. This is the least I can do for Queen Twilight Sparkle for all she’s done to save my kin.


Lyra Heartstrings busted through her bedroom door and flopped on her bed with a tired laugh. Her bedroom in Ponyville was mostly in order with only a scant few items out of place. A few dresses here, a sock on the lampshade over there, and a music stand was toppled over by the bed.

Lyra kicked her legs up in exaltation that her plan worked, causing heavy shadows to fall on the two others walking through the doorway. “Hands! Bon Bon, I finally get my hands back! Woo Hoo!”

Bon Bon let off a dismissive huff at the expected eccentric behavior. Intel followed after her, taking in the room, it was always a new and exciting experience for Intel since she fully believed the owner’s personalities were reflected in their domiciles. Messy, but charming. Just like Lyra. I might have to get momma to start looking into expanded personal living space after things settle down around the jungle. I’d love to have a place this big.

“I’m happy for you Lyra,” Bon Bon said, masking her pang of worry for her friend’s impending rebirth and memory loss. “But you’ve been repeating that ever since we left Canterlot.”

“Hey,” Lyra half shouted at her friend while rolling over to her belly. “I know that tone. Don’t worry, Bonny, I won’t forget you after all this. A year’s worth of memory is all I need.”

Intel turned away from a fresco painting of Ponyville to give the musician a disbelieving frown. “How do you figure that? It takes a lifetime of memories to make you who you are.”

“Yeah, true,” Lyra conceded as she got up to canter over to her closet. “But nopony remembers every second of their lives right? All I gotta do is record all the important stuff, like our friendship, why I wanted to be reborn in the first place, my music lessons, and my life from beyond the mirror.”

Intel had no real idea in what context a year’s worth of memories worked since she had never been reborn, and decided to not speak of it. “So why did you drag us back down to Ponyville anyway? The press conference is going to be held at Canterlot Castle.”

“To start packing of course!” Lyra replied as if it was obvious. “There are two things I want to do here before we head back. First off, I need memorabilia to remember as much a equinely possible, ‘cause as they say, touch and smell are strongly linked to memory. Plus, the sooner I get ready, the sooner I can get those delicious hands.”

Bon Bon looked at Intel and shared a shrug. “Fair enough. Just pick out what you think will help and I’ll box them up and ship them to PR for you.”

“Good idea,” Intel nodded as she joined Lyra by the walk-in closet as the unicorn lit the room with a horn-light. The closet was almost a separate room in and of itself, an addition Lyra ‘had to have’ when she first moved into town. Now however, only the hanging dresses were in any semblance of order while the floor and shelves were crammed with boxes and loose junk. Thanks to her telekinesis, Lyra never had to actually walk very far in. “...We have to be on the evening train back to Canterlot if we want to be rested up for the conference.” While Intel liked to think she avoided her mother’s OCD, the sheer pigsty on the floor and shelves forced her to back away. Thankfully, a question bubbled up to distract her. “So what is the second thing that you needed to drag me down here for?”

Totally oblivious to Intel’s repulsed reaction, Lyra started to pull out all kinds of odd and ends from her closet after pushing the dresses aside. The items were mostly loose memorabilia from her concert tours along with boxes of assorted junk. “The Lyra of this world suggested that we bring special stuff from each of our worlds and take them through the mirror. My father was a hippie, but he was always drawing, what I know now, were structural engineering blueprints. I figured that there would be some stuff in there that you technophiles could use.”

While Intel’s focus was militaristic, she recognized the value. “Interesting. Even if we can’t use any of it, I know mother would love to study the architecture of another world.”

Lyra already knew that, but was glad to hear confirmation. “Cool beans. The other big thing I’m looking for is my old photo album from my life in Canterlot. It’s got to be in here sooomewhere.” She scowled at the prospect of her prize being buried in the dense clutter.

Bon Bon ducked under a flying pair of socks and a rubber duck as the unicorn haphazardly tossed the junk out of the closet. “I told you you should have cleaned this out years ago.”

“I know, I know. I just never got around to it. It’d be my luck that the album and books are in the back where all the moving boxes are.”

Intel caught most of the flying junk with her magic before they could knock over any lamps or other breakable things. “I can understand the books being in storage,” for ponies that don’t love them, “but if the album is so important to you, why didn’t you keep it somewhere more accessible?”

Lyra stuck her head out of the closet and pointed at a thick book on top of her wooden dresser. “I have a different photo album of my life after moving to Ponyville. Please make sure to pack that for me, Bonny.”

“Of course, Lyra.” Bon Bon took the album and placed it on the bed which she was treating as Lyra’s ‘take it with you’ pile. Yet before returning to the closet she hesitated and started looking through all the memories her friend captured on film. Pictures of Bon Bon’s confectionary store, photos of various friends, and some sneak pictures of Bon Bon herself that made her snicker. She’s such a scoundrel. I don’t care what it takes, I have to make sure she remembers as much as possible.

The onslaught of flying clothing and junk from the closet went unabated for almost half an hour until Lyra finally pulled out a big unlabeled cardboard box. “Oh my gosh, Bonny, I think this came from Canterlot! See? It even has the little doodle of my cutie mark on the side.” She gasped excitedly. “This is it! I knew I brought the books with me!”

She wasn’t sure? I wonder if momma knows who exactly we’re bringing into the family. Intel huffed from amongst a knee-high pile of clothing and refuse and extracted herself so she could witness the box opening. “You didn’t unpack everything?”

“Duh, I’m a musician, not an engineer,” Lyra replied with harmless teasing. “What would I do with architecture drawings?”

“Point taken.”

Dust and stale air popped out of the box as Lyra opened it, making everyone go into a short-lived coughing fit. Lyra and Intel used their magic to blow the dust away. “No. Way! It’s my old backpack!”

Lyra pulled out a bright green school bag that rattled with an attached keychain. Her mood and heart sunk as a strong moldy smell erupted from within. The backpack was in tatters with holes chewed through several parts of it. “Wha- what happened?!”

Bon Bon examined the holes with untrained eyes. “Looks like a Munch Moth or something. Did you clean it out before packing?”

“I thought I did… maybe.” Lyra’s eyes misted over as she gave it a hug and stroking it gently. “There there, I’ll get somepony to fix you up, I promise.” She gave it to Intel with care. “I think Rarity’s Carousel Floatique is in Trottingham right now, but I bet someone in PR can fix it right?”

Bon Bon and Intel gave it some weird looks as Intel rotated it in her magic. “It looks bad, but I’m sure we can do something for it.”

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief, much to Bon Bon’s amusement at her friend’s antics. Honestly, she can be so sentimental, but I love her for it.

Lyra began sifting through notebooks, pencils, a trapperkeeper, and a few other items, all to locate the engineering drafting papers. However, she paused at the trapperkeeper for a moment after seeing the mirror world’s version of a unicorn printed on it. “Hey Bonny, check out how weird my old world’s unicorns were.”

Bon Bon snickered at the absurdly long face, while Intel scoffed at the silliness of it. Not wanting to suffer boredom, Intel returned her attention to the bookbag once Bon Bon placed the trapperkeeper on the bed. Intel examined the whole bag, finding little of interest, except for the jingling keychain offering a glimpse into the mirror world’s culture. Most of the objects on the keyring were tiny cats, dolls who had long since lost most of their fake hair, plastic covered slips of paper with inspirational phrases Intel couldn’t read, and a single long metal object that starkly stood out among the rest. She was about to dismiss the bag and toss it on the bed, but the long metal object stuck out to her on how alien it looked compared to the rest of the keyring.

It was the heaviest thing on the ring with a flat circle on one end that tapered off in what looked like a narrow brass cone. The wide cylinder part was pierced so the keyring could hold it. The strange item was longer than her hoof and she could see lettering on the flat circle.

“Nooo!” Lyra cried as she pulled up ruined blue paper that flaked off from her magical grip. “It’s ruined! All my daddy’s drawings!”

Bon Bon fanned her hoof over her nose. Well that explains the smell. “Sorry Lyra, I think the mold monster from two years ago must have had a few spores left.”

“But - but - daddy loved those, I thought being in an out-of-the-way box like this would protect them from all the crazy that happens in this town!”

Intel examined the bottom of the box’s exterior and saw a big discolored spot that was starting to spread onto the carpet. “Move out of the way, We have to kill the fungus now before that thing reforms.”

The two ponies backed away as Intel took her powder horn and poured some black powder on the patch of mold. She weaved a hard shield shield dome over the mold and sparked the gunpowder, letting it burn through the mold and into the box. “Somepony get a few buckets of water. The last thing we need is a house fire.”

“I’ll go get it,” Bon Bon announced as she rushed from the bedroom.

Intel looked to Lyra who was crying as the flames licked at the bottom of the box. Her sympathies went out to her. “It looks like the mold only damaged the paper instead of infesting it, since it didn’t have much access to oxygen. We’ll need to call in a pest pony just to make sure nothing’s infesting the inner walls.”

Lyra wiped her tears away, but more soon replaced them. “O - okay.” This is horrible! First daddy’s drawings are ruined and now I can’t pay for my hands.

With the fungus destroyed, along with a big chunk of the carpet, Bon Bon returned with a water bucket. Lyra insisted that she put the fire out on her own while Bon Bon fetched some cleaning supplies. Intel eased up with the danger passed, and wanted to brighten the mood, if only with a minor distraction.. Lyra didn’t deserve this. She’s weird, but a good mare all the same. Intel searched the room for something to talk about as Bon Bon returned with cleaning items. The two ponies started cleaning together, sharing a few brief words as they got the ash off the ruined carpet.

Eventually, Intel’s gaze returned to the backpack she had discarded at the foot of the bed. The long heavy cylinder thing returned to her attention. Intel brought the bag back over and pushed the object forward. “Hey Lyra, what is this thing?”

The mare in question looked up from her work with a sunken face. “That thing? It was a gift from my Uncle Robert. He was an army snip…” Lyra trailed off as her irises shrank to pinpricks. “Holy cow,” she shrieked a cheer. “I can pay you guys after all!”

“Didn’t momma already tell you, you didn’t have to pay fo-” was all Intel could get off before Lyra reclaimed the backpack and used her magic to pry the object off.

“No way hozay!” Lyra’s energy returned in full force. “I said I was going to pay, and I am! ...Just not with daddy’s books like I thought.” Lyra pushed the sadness away for the moment and plastered a massive grin on her face. “This my future sibling is a bullet.”

“A… bullet? This big thing?” Intel asked incredulously as she pulled it back to examine it with far more scrutiny. She rummaged around her utility harness and pulled out a small lead ball out of her ammunition pouch. “This is a bullet, I don’t know how something like that can be a bullet unless it’s fired out of a cannon or something.”

Bon Bon was at a loss and kept her peace as Lyra took the cartridge back. “No no no, that’s not how they work.” She opened her mouth, but shut it again to think. Darn it, I was only nine when Uncle Robby was telling me about these things. How do they work again? “Okay, I think this part right here,” Lyra began as she pointed a hoof at the brass cone, “is the part that flies out and hits things. This big ol part here holds all the powder and stuff. And… I believe the weapon kinda pops the big brass part out of the gun all by itself after it fires.”

Now Lyra had Intel’s undivided attention. “This thing holds both the bullet and the powder all in one ready to go package!? How does it fire though?”

Try as she might, Lyra couldn’t remember and shrugged. “Sorry. I’m sure my uncle showed me at one point, but I can’t recall how. But you guys are smart, with that, I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Intel studied the cartridge for a few more seconds before pocketing it. Gotta admire the mare’s willingness to adhere to her own sense of obligation and honor. “Yeah, I bet we could. On behalf of the queens, we consider this your payment in full.”


The swath of jungle was burnt and charred. Scattered around Chrysalis were the broken bodies of changelings and numerous reanimated creatures of the jungle, both large and small. The stench of cooked meat and the nose tickling fallout of heavy spellfire permeated the air. The skies above were dry with grey clouds mixing with several columns of black smoke as vegetation fueled several fires.

Even the very ground was blackened, but not all of it was ash. Necromantic energy had sapped the life out of the very soil for a whole mile. Even for the jungle, it would take decades to heal. Chrysalis herself bore such scars upon her muzzle and all along her torso, but a vindictive sneer creased her face all the same.

A halting cough came from Polybia whom she held underhoof. A razor sharp blade, torn from the body of a drone, slowly sliced into Polybia’s neck. Chrysalis applied just enough pressure to start cutting through the chitin, but no where near enough to kill quickly. Polybia’s horn was snapped completely off and was oozing dark red blood. “You surprise me,” Polybia spat out with blood oozing from her mouth, “Chrysalis. I never thought you would take to the field in person. Especially when half your army died in the first hour.”

“Adaptation,” Chrysalis sneered as she used her blade to lift Polybia’s head. “That is what we live by, is it not? You can not imagine how long I’ve wanted to hold your life in my hooves, Polybia. I’ve always hated your holier-than-thou façade.”

A blood-flecked laughing cough shuddered through Polybia’s broken body. Much of her discoloration from necromantic use had faded. “You really think you’ve won?” Her one good eye tracked up to leer at Chrysalis. “The battle maybe, but hardly the war. I will return, and the dead will serve me once again.”

Chrysalis didn’t show it, but she knew very little about necromancy, outside of what Polybia had shown through battle. “Perhaps I should just keep you here then, if you can return after death. You can’t return if you never die.”

“You really think we’re talking right now because you’ve taken me alive?” Polybia spat with smug dripping from every word. “The only reason we’re speaking is because I was so sure you’d cower and hide until the technophiles came to save your worthless shell.”

Chrysalis’ anger flared and she almost stabbed Polybia in the neck, but she checked her flash of rage. “I never needed anyone outside of my sisters, and I certainly don’t need Twilight Sparkle or her little airships to crush you! But if you can truly leave at any point...”

Finding several charred branches and severed limbs, Chrysalis drew the diagram of the teleportation nullifier she engineered after watching Celestia’s version. “You can never suffer enough for what you did to my sister Yeelindrus, but let’s see what this does to give you a taste of justice.”

The moment the diagram was complete, Chrysalis stabbed the makeshift chitin sword deep into Polybia’s chest. As Polybia’s soul was being torn away from her dying shell, the diagram flashed with Chrysalis’ green magic. The diagram barely detected the soul transfer and flared to life, trying to rip Polybia asunder.

While Polybia’s soul easily slipped through the spell, it slowed her down just enough so that she felt every inch of her old body being shredded by the diagram trying to keep her trapped. The pain was so deep, so soul scarring that Polybia was writhing in agony for an hour after her new body reformed.

Chrysalis watched as Polybia’s body was shredded to a bloody smear on the dead ground. “If you really do come back from that, I hope you felt every last bit.” I better burn the bodies too, just to be safe.

She sent the order out to what remained of her forces, which was far too few for her liking. A puppeted drone flew over while Chrysalis used her magic to counteract some of the poison flowing in her veins. The queen could mitigate even necrotic poison for hours, but she too had her limits.

Chrysalis prepared herself for a fight, but realized it was Kreesus’ drone. She made a show of dropped her building spell, but she could never truly lower her guard in the presence of the ‘traitor’. “I trust you’ve kept the salvageable drones alive.”

“Of course.” Kreesus spat out a large glob of salve and presented it to Chrysalis. She might have snubbed the gift any other day, but the sheer number of small cuts slowly sapped her strength. With none of her drones being close enough to apply the salve for her, Chrysalis took the glob in her magic to apply it to herself before it dried. Though Kreesus kept her expression neutral, she took mild satisfaction in seeing Chrysalis having to use another hive’s salve. That’s what you get for ruining it for the sake of sticky resin. “Thanks to Fluffy, I’ll be able to reconstitute all the biomass that wasn’t tainted by necromancy into new drones.” Of course, that accounts for less than a tenth of the bodies.

“You better make sure you return any drones of mine that you recover. We need every blade and horn should Polybia resist the grave again.”

“And why would she fail to escape it this time, compared to the five other times we’ve killed her?” Kreesus said between dispensing more salve. Even though Kreesus’ salve was designed specifically for her own brood, it could at least stop the bleeding.

Chrysalis looked off into the distance, hoping it was in the direction of Polybia’s hive, and flashed a cruel fang-filled sneer. “Before she escaped her broken body, I gave her a little parting gift. If we’re lucky, it’ll have killed her. If not, she wouldn’t dare enter the field of battle again.”

“Were it so easy,” Kreesus grumbled distantly. “I have news that Twilight’s fleet has finally decided to move south on our position. Typically slow, just like her mother.”

“Cold metal has always been slower than flesh,” Chrysalis replied absently. “They are like a lumbering giant. Slow to act, but powerful when active. I say we let her do the lion’s share of the fighting from here on. No need for us to bleed anymore while she’s still in top form, sans one warship.”

“Agreed. If the so called Longshot is half as resilient as the Deception she can weather the brunt of Polybia’s forces. All the same, we better pin down Polybia’s hive location before Twilight arrives. Those airships are notoriously fuel hungry, and I doubt she can scavenge for coal.”

“Wood burns just as well, does it not?” Chrysalis retorted with a dismissive snort. “Worst comes to worst, we can at least defend her supply lines. For now though, you search along the Tiamese River, and I’ll scout along the Behemoth’s Jaws Gorge. We’ll flush Polybia out eventually.” And when we do, I’ll personally send her wretched soul down Cerberus’ gullet. Let her come back from that.

Author's Note:

Will Velvet discover the CIA radio frequency to her teeth? Can Polybia stop eating Necro chips at just one? Will the Munch Moth ever find social acceptance, or is it doomed to munch forever? Will Lyra bring about a changeling cultural revolution?! Will Star Wars 7 be a repeat success of the prequels?!!?

You definitely won't find any of these answers on Wikipedia, but you might find them here! Next time, on the Reformation!!!!!!