Once Bitten

by Damaged

Light

Thorax looked down the hall, then back to her pail, although now her mind was thinking the word "hive" instead. "Sky Soar, you follow me closely. The rest of you keep back but don't lose sight of us. Scythe?"

"Yeah?" Scythe kept her distance from Thorax, unsure exactly why she did, only knowing that being near her made things hurt in her head. "Look, if you are going to kill me and leave just do it!"

"You said earlier that nobuggy deserves this." Thorax took a step closer to Scythe, then another. "And you are right, nobuggy does. Not even you." She saw Scythe look up at her in shock, then take a hurried two steps back. "Can you bring up our rear? We need a good fighter just in case…"

Scythe took another step back when Thorax took another towards her. "You're taking me with you? But I could betray you!"

"Will you?" Thorax stopped moving towards Scythe, and held her ground.

"No." The one word drained all of Scythe's anger to say. "No I won't. I wish she… Buttercup…" The name sparked more memories for Scythe, memories she couldn't let get in the way of taking care of the nymphs. A terror hit Scythe, a horror that anything would harm her pail or pledge. What the hive was doing to them was real harm, and it helped solidify her view. "I don't know what you are doing with them, but almost anything would be better than what this place will."

Thorax almost took a step back at the fury and dedication that burned in Scythe. She held her ground, though, and gave the other changeling a firm nod. "Then protect them with everything you have, because I don't think we are likely to get away without a fight."

Scythe saluted Thorax sharply, but she waited for the changeling to walk back to the head of the group before she returned to the rear of the strung-out group of nymphs. "I am going crazy. Why am I doing this? And why does Thorax seem taller than normal?"

"The world is already crazy." Shining Armor grinned over her shoulder to Scythe. "You are doing this because the nymphs need protecting, and she seems taller because she is. We are pretty sure she is turning into a queen."

"A… A queen?" Scythe's eyes widened and she looked to the nymphs of her own pledge. "This… this is something big. I have never heard of another queen in the hive."

"Scythe, will it be dangerous?" Mint Paradise, one of Scythe's pledge, paused and looked up at Scythe. "You said you would protect us…"

"She will." Shining poked the stalled nymph with her snout, trying to get her moving. "Come on, we have to keep up with the others. Scythe is right behind us." Thanking everything that she had been given the lying lessons, Shining made sure her vision could always see their rear guard.

Thorax's voice ahead of the group caused the whole pail to bunch up. "… flying lessons. You know how it is." She risked a glance back, and only nymphs were visible. "Need to get this lot trained up, I can't wait to see what Queen Chrysalis plans for us next!"

"Yeah, yeah. How long are you going to be out with them for? My shift ends in an hour." The changeling on guard was suddenly bored again once the group seemed to be mundane.

"Oh, well we were planning on a long session, we brought the whole pail out you see." Thorax lifted a hoof and tapped her chitin. "Hey, you know what? I will send one of the other teachers in just before we return, that will save you having to keep track of us."

Blinking, the guard pondered the plan and gave a huffing breath. "I guess. I wish our Queen would have taken us all to Canterlot."

Shining's blood ran cold at the words, and she turned to Scythe. "Have they already started the attack?"

Scythe's first reaction would have been to snarl at the nymph, but she bit back the angry answer. "They are keeping most of us in the dark, but we know a lot of changelings left the hives, headed north to Canterlot. The normal tactic is for our Queen to go in first, disable any defenses that the town or city might have, and then the hive floods the place."

The world seemed to crush down on Shining, and she stared past Scythe. "I was meant to be the shield." She whispered the words so softly that noling apart from Scythe would have had a hope of hearing them. "I… I'm not there to defend them…"

"How old are you?" Scythe got a strangely adult vibe from the nymph, and knew from experience that sometimes adult ponies were brought in.

"I'm a Royal Guard…" Shining finally noticed the pail moving, and walked beside Scythe. "… the Captain of the Royal Guard." Knowing she shouldn't have said it, that Scythe's best chance of giving them away was coming up, Shining made ready to change shape and fight.

Scythe saw the guard cave, as they drew closer to it. Most of the nymphs were past, and if she yelled now the drones on watch would yell and bring the whole hive down on them. She took a deep breath and walked calmly along.

They drew level with the guard station, and Shining looked up at Scythe, trying to gauge her intent. "It is going to be so fun to be able to fly again!" She knew that walking beside one of the pledge leaders would usually mean they were talking about something. "I mean, I have buzzed my wings and hovered a little, but I want to fly again!"

Flashing an apologetic glance at the one guard visible, Scythe gave a groan. "Look runt, you are the same as every other drone I have ever put up with. Flying is a means to an end, and nothing more." She gave a sharp chirp with her wings. The sound of laughter from behind her told Scythe that she had managed to fool the guard. "We should be clear, now."

Shining giggled openly. "That was awesome, you sounded just like you were really annoyed with me. How do you get that edge to your voice?" She felt a huge weight shift from her back when Scythe hadn't sold them out.

"Right now? I am thinking of whatever the really nasty thing is that makes me get confused sometimes." Scythe shook her head, mention of the mental image brought it up. "Grr, this is the worst thing ever!"

"Huh, I don't have anything like that." Shining was about to ask another question, when she was blinded. "What is that?!" She lifted a hoof up to shield her eyes, and then realized the frivolity of that considering the holes in her leg.

"Calm down." Scythe blinked a few times. "You have an extra set of eyelids. You need to close those to filter out the bright light." She reached a hoof up to touch a particular spot on Shining's forehead. "Think about this spot here."

The touch helped, and Shining focused on it and blinking. Sure enough, between her blue eyes and her regular eyelids, a new set of clear lids closed down. "What the…?" She opened her eyes to see the Badlands. "Why didn't anypony tell us about that inside?"

"Two reasons." Scythe could see Thorax, Sky, and Sunset ahead; going among the nymphs and helping them adjust. "First is that any nymphs that try to run away will get stunned by the daylight." She pointed at the milling group of nymphs, most of them still blind. "And the other is that we forgot."

"Since you're answering questions, why won't you go close to Thorax?" Shining found herself huddling a little closer to Scythe as they neared the group.

"She makes me feel funny, and I am not sure about everything yet." Scythe walked up to Hyacinth—one of her own pledge—and tapped the nymph on the forehead where she had Shining. "You have extra eyelids here, try to close them.

"Scythe!" Hyacinth stepped closer to Scythe and promptly fell over. Blinking, she felt those other eyelids close, but quickly realized she could see through them. "Oh!"

About to help Hyacinth stand up again, Scythe quickly jumped back as Thorax approached. "Stop there!"

"It's your pheromones, Thorax. She doesn't like them." Shining walked closer to Thorax and put her little hoof up against the growing queen's chest. "She is alright, leave her be and she will be good."

"I just want to help you." Thorax looked down at the Nymph holding her back. "Scythe, you can remember everything if you come closer!"

"So that is what it all is? Something that messes with our heads?" Scythe's instincts suddenly flared, and she shifted to a fighting form and huddled her pledge behind her. "I will not let anything harm these nymphs!"

"She is trying to undo what Queen Chrysalis did." Shining glared at Thorax once, then trotted over to Scythe. "She isn't doing anything more than make us feel good and clear headed. But you don't have to go near her if you don't want to," she looked back at Thorax, "does she?" There was only one answer to the question, and it was obvious what it was going to be."

"Of course not!" Thorax stomped a hoof. "Oh blast it, I am just doing my best to fix all this. I don't know what Chrysalis is doing to everybuggy, but getting these nymphs out is the first part of stopping it. You are helping with that, Buttermilk, I don't want to make this worse for you." Thorax lay down on the hot sand looking more upset with herself than with Scythe.

Scythe felt an ache to go and comfort Thorax, and she started to take a step towards the young queen when a little hoof pressed to her chest, the same one that had stopped Thorax just moments ago. She looked down at the nymph, and smiled. "Thank you." She took a step back, putting more distance between her and Thorax.

"It is everypony's choice to make." Shining smiled at Scythe, then turned back to Thorax and did what Scythe couldn't, she trotted over and hugged her queen. "And you respected her choice, which makes you infinitely better than Chrysalis."

Thorax blinked. "But… forcing other changelings to do things would be…" She trailed off, her eyes widening. Gingerly, she hugged Shining Armor, and felt a warmth bubbling from her. "Thank you for helping me not be evil."

"It's alright. Shouldn't we be moving soon?" Shining pointed north, or where she thought north was.

"We will, but we just need to wait for something first…" Thorax looked to Sunset, and got a nod back from her other half. "… the guards from the hive just checked on us. Now we start moving as fast as we can." She climbed up to her hooves and turned around. "Come on everybuggy, let's get out of here."

Sunset passed Thorax as she headed to the back of the pail. "Shining? Vinyl?" She found the nymph she was looking for with Scythe. "There you are. Would you like to come and join us up near the front?"

"I think Scythe needs more company." Shining's heart was too big, and she knew it. But despite being aware of the fact, she didn't stop from sticking with Scythe. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! Assemble!" The cry startled nearly every changeling present, except for three nymphs.

"Cutie!" Apple Bloom slid to a stop before Shining.

"Mark!" Sweetie landed beside Apple Bloom.

"Crusaders!" Scootaloo was the last to fall in. "Uh, where is the emergency?"

"Yeah, we said only to use that one if there was an emergency!" Sweetie Belle pouted at Shining.

"There is an emergency." Shining lifted one of her little hooves to point at Scythe. "This changeling is in dire need of hugs!"

Apple Bloom caught on quick, and gasped in shock. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, hug givers!" Giggling as her friends fell in with her, all three of them dove at a bewildered Scythe, clinging to their forelegs and hugging her.

"You might not want to go all the way with this, Scythe, but don't for a minute think that stops you from being a great friend, an awesome changeling, and an amazing pony." Shining gave her best lop-sided grin and joined the other Crusaders in hugging Scythe.

Author's Note:

Scythe: "Are you feeling okay?"

"I just remembered that I am a copy of a pony, that my real self is dead, and that the Queen I loved and adored has been using me." Scythe took a deep breath and let it out, trying to control her anger. "I am doing pretty well, considering."

~~~~~+++++~~~~~

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and I they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, I they will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! I They will pick one question per chapter.

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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Boulder
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ian
Javarod
Jeffh4
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And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Cross Lament
Jeffh4
Vutava

Comments

[Mortefleur]

Question for Thorax: "Was trying to force Scythe a conscious effort, or was it an instinctual thing?"

[tsaukpaetra]

it's nice that Scythe has decided to fight the conditioning naturally. Makes it that much more personal, and her loyalty with be stronger for it.
To Chrysalis: where's the groom? Is it really going to be that easy?
Keep going! ;)

[Boulder]

This is starting to resemble this pic more and more!
pre12.deviantart.net/4b6c/th/pre/i/2014/196/b/f/the_times__they_are_a_changeling__by_pony_berserker-d7megom.png