To Serve the Hive

by Minds Eye

Chapter 11

“I told you to get up.”

He heard, and his body tried to obey, pushing himself up on quivering legs, away from the puddle of blood that had pooled under his head. A drop trickled down his face and dropped on his tongue. He retched, aggravating the bruises covering his body, and he sank back down to the cavern floor.

“After all this time,” Chrysalis said, her hooves clacking on the cavern floor as she drew closer to him, “all the training... all the tests... my weapon can’t follow a simple command?”

He tried to stand again, but the pain forced him down.

“You have failed me. You have failed the Hive. Is this what you wanted?”

---

His head throbbed with the pressure of his transformation—his body not fully recovered from the punishment of Shining Armor’s final blow—and the pegasus guard glided down into the gardens. He spied a troop of guards heading towards the gate from Cherry’s shack, mostly pegasi with a few unicorns following them atop the ramparts, and he swooped in to land behind them.

One pegasus looked back at him. “Where’d you come from?”

“Looking for my patrol. I had to go inside earlier, and we got separated.”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “So you know what’s going on?”

He noticed the change in tone. Challenge everypony. “I saw the signal for changeling orders, then I saw the group here. No one travels alone.” He shrugged. “That’s all. Is this a drill?”

The question sparked a wave of disjointed murmurs through the group. He gathered they had been ordered to investigate the shack, but not one of them knew why, nor what they were going to do next. He wondered the latter himself, though at least the group could lead him to someone who knew the guards’ plan.

They turned at the gate, and joined a mass of pegasi that had assembled in the courtyard at the castle’s front entrance. One took wing, hovering above the crowd with his front hooves raised. “Listen up! All of you!” He waited until the only sound was the running waters of the fountain. “If you didn’t see the flares, the Captain has issued changeling orders until further notice. We have one bug confirmed!”

Excited whispers ran through the crowd, and all the pegasi tried to step closer, jockeying for another position in the mob. He let them have his space, and he crept around the back.

“Knew they’d be back...”

“...it’s our turn!”

“Bet I squash more than you.”

He sneered at their whispers until the officer above clapped the metal on his hooves together.

“Enough! We have another target: Cherry Blossom is helping the bug!”

He cursed as he ducked behind the fountain, under the murmurs of disbelief that sounded around him. More problems kept forcing their way forward, and he hadn’t solved a single one yet, nor could he even climb the white stone stairs to enter the castle and begin his own search with all the guards still there.

The noise died with another clap of metal. “Captain Armor is leading a sweep of the castle from the top down to flush them out. We don’t know how many more bugs are out there, so any and every pony that tries to leave is to be questioned and detained. Stick together, keep an eye on each other, and stay alert! Move out!”

At the command, the guards gave a collective shout, and the sound of beating wings filled the air.

Now!

He dashed up the stairs and into the castle, turning back every other step or so to make sure he wasn’t followed. At the end of the entry hall, he stepped around the corner to get out of sight from the courtyard.

The Grand Hall waited in front of him, the foot of its regal staircase inviting him to climb again.

Again.

After all his stress and efforts, he had managed to go in a circle.

He slumped against the wall, shaking in mute laughter. This is what he had abandoned his mission for. He turned away from the final threshold to chase down a mare and repay a debt, and all he accomplished was ending up exactly where he started the entire fiasco.

Any semblance of a plan still eluded him. Rather than allowing Cherry Blossom to serve as a distraction for his purpose, he had thrown himself into the fire with her. Every eye in the castle was on the lookout now, and any effort to help her would only give him away.

And it was too late to go back. Whatever madness possessed him to leap from that window set him on this path, and the only way out was to see it through to its end.

To what end?

Cherry had betrayed her Hive, but so long as Celestia lived, he had a chance to serve his. She had no such opportunity.

So we hide together in Canterlot until I finish my mission, or until the guards track us down?

He snorted. It would be hard enough keeping a step ahead of the guards with Cherry in tow, much less trying to hide any attempt on Celestia’s life from her at the same time. Staying in Canterlot only delayed the inevitable.

So we leave. Together. Where would we go?

Only silence answered him.

Maybe he could help her prove her innocence. He could play at kidnapping her, or attacking her, show himself as the monster the guards saw him as, and pushing her into being a victim for them to protect.

Any thought of the future was irrelevant at the moment. He needed to find Cherry Blossom first, and he had no idea where to even look.

She was still in the castle—of that much, he was certain, because of the search party by the gates. If she had already left, they would have bolted straight to her doorstep like they had to her shack. But they didn’t know where she was.

They don’t know where she is! Shining Armor had ordered a guard to follow her, but the rest had no idea where to find her.

A smile slowly split his face. That sly girl…

The guards didn’t know where she was because her follower didn’t know where she was, either.

He stood up straight, still grinning like an idiot. Cherry Blossom was free, and he had a chance to find her before the guards. Whatever came after, that first step was the only one that mattered.

One issue remained. The castle was massive, and he had one pair of eyes against an army’s worth. They had the numbers, the familiarity with the castle, and time on their side.

He paced in front of the stairs. How did Cherry lose her guard? He dismissed the thought. Let the guards worry about that question. He needed to be a step ahead of them, not following them. They were all trying to find where she was, but to beat them there, he needed to know where she went after escaping.

What would be so important to make her stay? What is she looking for?

Fool!

He charged up the stairs, cursing himself with every breath, every step, and cursing Cherry Blossom as well. She would look for him, and he had taken himself out of her path. With Shining Armor sweeping from the top down, she was walking right into his net.

If he was fast enough—

If.

He shook his head clear as he raced for the third floor. He was going to be fast enough.

A shout echoed down one of the halls he passed.

He skidded to a halt, perking his ears up, trying to pick up another wave of the sound. A voice, he was certain, but it had been too deep for a mare and too vague to make out.

A startled guard. A startled servant. One of the officers giving an order.

So many possibilities streamed through his mind. So many reasons to keep going, but he lingered for precious seconds, even taking a slow step down the hall, waiting for another clue. Finally, another voice reached him.

“Let me go!”

He shot forward before Cherry’s voice finished its sentence, lowering his head and sprinting full speed over the silent carpet.

A deeper voice next: “We don’t have time for games, Cherry Blossom! Tell us where he is!”

“I... don’t know...”

Louder, despite her softer tone. He slowed down, pressing against the wall and peering into the next hall.

Three unicorn guards surrounded Cherry Blossom, the one in the middle holding her face still with his hoof, glaring at her. “You helped a changeling get into the castle!” He shoved her back, and Cherry stumbled, falling to the floor. “Where are you hiding him?!”

Cherry tried to stand up, but the other two guards flanked her, holding her down. Her head lowered to the floor, eyes held shut.

The leader leered over her. “Do you realize what you’ve done? What your friend was trying to do?”

Cherry trembled. “I didn’t know—”

“You’re lying! Or are you one of them?” He pounded a hoof next to her head. “Answer me!”

He stopped himself from leaping out—barely. The guard mask was just another guard. He needed to overwhelm these three, and he focused on the one form he had seen that might do that: Shining Armor. “Enough!” He stormed towards the startled trio, letting his inner anger and the renewed pain in his head fuel the expression of his new face. “What is the meaning of this?!”

The three backed down, their leader trying to stammer an answer.

“Not a word,” he snapped. “My orders were to find Cherry Blossom. Find. Not this pathetic display!” He stepped between them and Cherry. “Leave her to me. You still have one more target to find.”

They circled around him, eyeing him warily, and fled down the hall he came from.

He studied his surroundings as Cherry sobbed under him. They were in a corner, and a row of windows adorned the opposite hallway. A possible escape route, but he had a more pressing concern.

“Come on,” he said softly, reaching out to her. “Let’s get you out of here.”

She snatched his hoof, holding it to her face, and her body shook heavily.

He sighed. “Get up. You’re not in the clear yet. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

Cherry smiled up at him, face stained with her tears. “I knew you would come back for me.”

Another voice cried out, “So did I!”

He spun around.

Shining Armor marched towards him, followed by half a dozen unicorns—three of them the smirking guards he had chased off—and a squad of pegasi flying overhead. “I knew you would need a recharge after our fight.”

He glanced the other way, and several doors swung open with more guards—both pegasi and unicorns—exiting the rooms.

“Drop the charade,” Shining Armor said, coming to a halt. “It’s pointless.”

The pegasi flying over him landed at his sides, and their line ran from one wall to the other, unicorns waiting behind them. The guards in the windowed hall mimicked the formation, those unicorns lighting their horns, and covering the closest windows in a shield of magic.

He let Shining’s form go, studying their faces—all of them, from Shining Armor to the front-line pegasi to the few unicorns he could see in the back—as he took his own again, baring his fangs. Not one of them flinched.

Cherry stood up, and laid a hoof on his shoulder. “You—”

“Stay behind me,” he whispered, stepping back and stretching a foreleg to pull her with him.

Shining Armor took another step forward. “It’s over. Let her go and surrender.”

He snapped his jaws, but their was still no reaction, no uncertainty or hint of weakness in the trap. “No.”

Cherry wrapped a leg across his chest, trying to tug him farther into the corner while looking out at the guards. “L-let me talk to him. Please, just give me a few—”

Shining Armor growled. “You’ve done enough.”

He dropped into a crouch, his wings flared out and fangs bared again in a snarl.

The guards smirked this time, some pegasi even inching closer.

Cherry shrank behind him, whimpering. “D-don’t do this... please... all of you…” No pony showed any reaction to her words. “This doesn’t have to...”

He opened his magic and stood alone between the piercing chill of the guards, and the warmth of Cherry Blossom behind him. Whatever Dawnbreaker had been to her, she still cared for him—the true him—enough to keep her fire alive in the face of her own punishment. He welcomed her strength, drinking as much as he could. Not as powerful as it had been in front of her apartment, but every second the guards delayed, he grew stronger, and one goal solidified in his mind.

I won’t let them hurt you again.

One pegasus charged, and he dropped the connection in time to shove him back towards the windowed hall, toppling over more of the pegasi standing between him and the stallions shielding his escape route.

He fired a bolt at one of the the exposed unicorns, but a violet shield materialized in front of the whole squad. His eyes snapped over to Shining Armor, whose own showed a flash of surprise. He fired again at the Captain.

Shining Armor deflected his shot, grunting from the exertion. “Flyers, go!”

Both rows of pegasi collapsed, swarming over him in a heartbeat. The first few drove into him—trying use their forelegs to drag him down after he withstood their tackles—but he spun away, easily ripping free of their grasp with his newfound strength. They were thrown down, but more soon replaced them.

Cherry Blossom screamed behind him. “Stop! All of you! Just stop!”

He fell back under the assault, keeping as many in front of him as he could, and then made his move. His hoof struck the chin of the closest guard, stunning the stallion, and he followed that with a blast of energy that sent the dazed pony flying back into his comrades.

Turning and grabbing Cherry Blossom, he took flight before the pegasi could recover, charging for the windows with a blazing green aura surrounding him.

Flashes of light caught his eye, and he turned his back to the volley of shots from Shining Armor and his unicorns, shielding Cherry Blossom behind him and his armored plate. Cherry screamed as the bolts hissed by, but he felt each one that hit its mark bite into his remaining power. He hit the magical barrier at full speed, and it bounced them away.

They hit the ground, rolled to a stop, and Cherry poked her head up. “Are you—” She was stripped out of his grip by a pegasus swooping by, and the guard threw her aside.

He jumped to his feet, but the other pegasi swarmed over him. Their blows rained down, each one feeling heavier than the last as they chipped away the last of the endurance Cherry’s love had given him.

One pegasus wrapped a leg around his neck. He raised one of his own to protect his throat, and the pegasus pulled him off-balance, and down to the floor.

Immobilized, his magic spent on his one chance to escape, and exposed on his side, the unforgiving metal of the guards’ hooves beat his flesh over and over again. His three spare legs thrashed around, trying to ward off what blows they could while his fourth wrestled against the grip on his neck.

One guard pinned his last foreleg down, and another slammed a hoof into his unprotected face. He went limp, watching the hoof pull back into the blur of his vision while he tried to push away the high-pitched tone ringing in his ears.

“Stop! That’s enough!” Cherry’s voice drowned out the tone, and a pink shape barreled into one of the golden ones standing over him. “He’s not fighting back!”

The guard shoved her down. “He’s getting what he wanted!”

He lunged forward, wrapping one leg around the distracted guard’s back, but the leg draped over his neck held firm. More blows fell on his head and struck his ribs, and the guard squirmed free, glaring back at him before whipping a hoof across his face.

Cherry Blossom latched onto the pegasus’ leg, yanking his hoof before he could strike again. “Stop it!”

The guard shoved her towards the unicorns. “Could one of you grab her, already? Keep her out of the way!” He pointed down at him. “And him! Where did that come from? I thought you had him down!”

He snapped his jaws, and the guard sprang back.

Laughter came from the unicorns. “You boys having trouble? He’s a changeling, remember? They get stronger off of love.”

Another hoof grabbed his head. “Then we stop the magic!”

The world spun, freezing again with a loud CRACK, and with his face pressed flush into a wall. Something rolled on the ground under him, black and curved, and something hot flowed down his face. A scream tore from his lungs, stopped by the choke put on him by the guard.

He was yanked back. “Look at this! They bleed red!”

Pain. Hot and cold. Nothing made sense. The pain centered above his brow felt cool exposed to the air, yet heat flowed from the cold. Another wave of pain shot through his body. He was on the ground, and he never knew he was falling. The red pool next to his head grew, spilling over the plush carpet and flowing towards his horn on the floor. He closed his eyes.

The red pool next to his head grew.

“Get up.”

He watched it grow, watched his own blood spill onto the stone. It was all he could do.

Chrysalis screamed, her hoof lashing him with every word, “You! Will! Get! Up!”

He gasped, his chest burning with the sudden intake of air, and the cavern vanished. The pain remained, and a dull noise buzzed in his ears. He was alive. He was alive, and he still had breath in his body to obey his Queen. He planted his front hooves and pushed himself up, holding back the hiss of pain every inch of the way.

The noise faded away.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

“How is he up?”

“Stupid bug doesn’t know when to quit.”

He looked away from his blood, locking eyes with Shining Armor. No words passed his lips, nor did any come to mind. He only lurched forward a step.

Shining Armor stared right back at him. “Unicorns.”

The pegasi backed away, and the unicorns stepped up to join their Captain.

He heard movement from the guards to his side, but he never looked away from Shining Armor, baring his fangs as the guards’ horns lit in spectral fury.

Shining Armor hesitated, eyes glowing under a violet light, searching his for something.

His horn, gone. His body, almost unresponsive. But he was on his feet. He had failed the Hive, but one order could still be obeyed.

For the Hive. I’ll never see you again.

Resolve returned to Shining Armor’s look. “Fire.”

He kept his eyes open, watching the bolts fly for his heart.

Cherry Blossom slammed into his side, falling over him and covering him with her body as debris from the walls rained down on them. Shouts of disbelief erupted around them, but none of them registered in his mind. Tears streamed down her face, and she brushed a shaky hoof on his cheek.

“Quiet! All of you!” Shining Armor stormed up. “Get back, Cherry.”

She shook her head, lips quivering.

Shining grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up. “I said get back!”

Cherry twisted out of his grip, her hind legs snapped under his jaw, and Shining Armor staggered back. The guards surged forwards, but stopped as Shining held up a hoof.

He was limp as Cherry sat beside him, cradling his head to her chest with one foreleg, imposing herself between him and the guards. “Let me go.”

Her body trembled against his. “Shut up...”

Shining Armor rubbed his muzzle. “Cherry Blossom—”

“Shut up!” She glared over her shoulder. “You’re animals. You’re acting like nothing but a pack of animals!”

“He’s a changeling!” Shining thrust a hoof at him. “How many ponies did they hurt in the attack? We’re still repairing the damage to the city! And that’s just here! How much pain have they caused? How much blood do they have on their hooves?”

“The only blood I see is his!”

He rattled out a breath. Two guards walked into his sight, more of them undoubtedly behind him, surrounding him and Cherry Blossom. “They won’t let you win.”

“Shut up,” she whimpered, pressing his head to her chest. “I’m not going to watch you die. I can’t...”

The two guards looked back at Shining Armor.

Cherry tucked his head under her chin. “It’s enough.” She shook her head. “It’s enough!”

The veil of her hair fell over his face, blocking his view of the world behind it. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Shining’s voice pierced her protection. “Take him.”

The world shook under pounding hooves, and Cherry’s legs tightened around him like a vice.

“HOLD!”

Cherry whirled around at the sound of the booming voice, and he peered around her body after a few moments of silence.

Princess Celestia made her way towards him, wings spread wide, her horn blazing gold, appearing as she had in a moment of glory brought to life from one of the paintings in the museum. She towered over every guard in the hall even before she reached them, and especially over the sheepish looking ones following in her train.

Shining Armor stepped towards her. “Your Highness, we don’t know how many changelings have infiltrated. For your own protection—”

“As much as I respect you and your position, Captain Armor, I will not be ordered about in my own home.” Celestia’s gaze flicked away from the Captain, and she looked over his face. She shook her head, her eyes refusing to show him anything, no matter how hard he stared into them. “I expected better from you. All of you. Step aside, Cherry Blossom.”

“N-no.” Cherry gulped. “No! I won’t let you hurt him! Not even you!”

Celestia blinked. Her wings folded to her body, and both her face and voice softened. “Cherry, please stand aside. I’d like to speak with him.”

He drew a breath and whispered in her ear. “You never had a choice.”

Cherry opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She eased him down, laying him on his side. Her hoof lingered on his face. “D-don’t hurt him.” She backed away, his crimson blood wetting down her pink coat. “Please... it’s enough...” Two guards instantly moved in front of her.

Celestia smiled warmly at her, and though it faded as she turned her attention back to him, her face kept some pleasantness. “What is your name?”

He didn’t answer.

“He doesn’t have one,” Cherry said. “Or... at least he wouldn’t tell me it.”

“Dawnbreaker!” Shining snapped. “His name was Dawnbreaker, and she brought him inside our gate. She helped him get this far!”

“No name? Interesting,” Celestia said, stepping closer. “Now then, why are you here?”

Coughs racked his body, send white hot flashes of pain through his consciousness.

Shining Armor cut Cherry off before she spoke two words. “He’s after you, Your Highness! He attacked me in your chambers. This is why I wanted you to stay put.”

Celestia ignored them, taking another step and lowering her head. “Can you speak for yourself?”

He opened his mouth, and drops of blood fell into it.

The taste of blood filled his mouth as Chrysalis glared down at him.

“You were supposed to protect us. Everything you are, everything you would ever be, was all in service to the Hive. And you can’t even stand?”

She lifted her hoof again.

Celestia reached a hoof out to him, lifting his face from the ground. “Where are your friends?”

“H-he’s alone,” Cherry said.

“He had you!” Shining shot back.

The Princess craned her neck back to shush the pair with a look, and he gazed up at his target’s throat—only hooves away, fully exposed, her not even looking his way, but still too far to strike.

Her black hoof swung down. He twisted away, letting it strike the stone floor, and he rolled over it. Chrysalis’ leg contorted under him, and she fell to the floor.

He summoned his last reserves of strength and lunged for her throat, only to stop cold in a green haze, the sound of laughter filling his ears.

Chrysalis smiled and whispered a single word. “Good.”

Celestia’s hoof moved under his muzzle, and they studied each others’ eyes, her head tilted to the the side in a thoughtful pose. “Are you truly alone?”

A scent he couldn’t name wafted through his nose from her coat. Her leg was right there, a possible line to drag her down, drag her throat to his fangs. He needed strength to topple a pony her size, and the speed to leap before the guards closed in.

He had neither.

His magic stirred, desperate for him to find the power he needed. To his surprise, one last source filled his heart, its warmth trickling through his veins in spite of the fact his horn lay somewhere behind him. He closed his eyes, ignoring his guesses of how it was possible, just letting his instincts take over. One last chance.

Chrysalis wiped the blood from his face. “You can never give up.”

Celestia’s voice cut in. “You have a story to tell.”

“Your brothers and sisters need you to fight.”

“If you would speak, I will listen.”

“The Hive needs you to survive. We are exposed without you standing for us.”

“Will you talk, or will you fight?”

The Hive was already exposed. Nothing he could do could change that, but the weapon still had the strength to strike. His hoof inched closer to Celestia’s.

Please!

His eyes snapped open, his heart tearing asunder from the cry. Pain chased after the power flowing through him, a cold fear that sapped at his will and left nothing in its place. No. Not nothing. A longing for what had been there.

Silence hung over the hall. Celestia was smiling at him. No one gave any reaction to what he had heard but him. But the voice... He looked to Cherry Blossom, tears streaming down her face, and her hoof covering her mouth.

Please...

Her voice played across his heart once more. He saw his blood on her hoof, and knew more stained her chest behind the two guards keeping her away. She was marked because of him. Exposed.

He would never see the Hive again. Yet he had a role to fill.

He wrapped his hoof around Celestia’s, and he rolled onto his back, smiling.

Celestia squeezed. “Alert the infirmary. Now.” She held out his hoof, and Cherry rushed in to take it.

He smiled up at her. “It’s over...”

Cherry Blossom smiled back. “No. No, it’s not over.” A hoofcloth floated over to her in a golden aura, and Cherry took it, using it to clean his face. “You’re going to be fine. They’re going to send you to the doctors, and you’re going to be fine. I promise.”

“I know. It’s over.” He started to laugh, shaking his head. “My life is over, but I’m still alive!”

Cherry began to laugh as well. “Yes, you are.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. Her cheek rested against his, and he heard her voice in the breath on his ear.

“Welcome home.”

Comments

[Father Figure]

This is really good, and I'm kinda bummed it's about to end. I think it really should have more views.