Imbalanced: Legacy of Light

by Nameless Narrator

26-1: Good news? Never!

Faint green glimmer of a bright, clear changeling love crystal carved into a smooth pillar reflected off of the smooth walls of what had to be unique architecture for a changeling hive. Of course, considering changeling love crystals were made of their goo, it had zero load bearing properties, and it was merely shaped as a round pillar around a real stone column.

The place was rather similar in craftsmanship to the dreamling hive in Pine Hills, but the walls were even smoother, carvings on them vastly more intricate and actually decorational, and in short this hive couldn’t be called comprised of caverns and tunnels, but rather of halls and real underground houses. Without the love crystals and some changelings depicted on the walls, no one would think this place was indeed a hive, and not some ancient city that had sunk underground eons ago.

The equine wearing istrium mask and a robe touched the love pillar, felt it warm up his hoof, and eventually spread the soft warmth into his body.

“A non-changeling absorbing love,” said a changeling approaching Flow in voice surprisingly calm considering who stood before him, “Now I’ve seen everything.”

The changeling was much taller than Flow, rising to the height of the alicorn princesses. His dark blue, neck-long mane was styled backwards into a rather stylish spiky do corresponding with his long, whipping tail ending only in a slick brush of hair the color of his mane. The ultramarine theme didn’t end there, as his slit pupils were of the same color as well as his short, smooth, pointy goatee. However, unlike most high-tier changelings, the secondary plating around his barrel wasn’t a simple chitinous construct. More like, it resembled the smooth, segmented armor made of the finest refined istrium much like Bucket’s main body. However, despite his overall smooth look, a deep scar crossed his chest chitin from his left shoulder all the way down to the istrium corset.

“Energy is energy,” replied Flow simply, adding, “So?”

“We discovered another seal key,” said the changeling, clearly not happy about the success, “It’s inside princess Cadance’s treasury.”

“That’s the penultimate one,” Flow breathed out slowly, “We’re almost there… almost.”

“Speaking of keys, how are things in Zebrica?”

“The last two pieces of the puzzle are on the way. How it’s going to work out is up to you.”

The changeling nodded.

“It took some persuasion, but Seven has already joined Celestia’s wizards preparing the tactical spell strike. She had to admit she didn’t have a better mage than he is. Harmony’s touch is a blessing and a curse at the same time, but he’s doing alright.”

“And are you absolutely sure he will be able to change the scale of the spell on his own? Celestia will be involved, don’t forget that.”

“From what he explained to me, Celestia will be there as a power source. They will use her divine power to invoke magic so complex it will need all those wizards to weave it into the right spell. Seven is the best at recognizing patterns and magic theory. He’ll know where to put his hoof on the scales to tip the balance. But...” the changeling paused, and then just shook his head, “Nevermind. The spell will hit everyone - refugee camps, cities, the gathered armies. It will be a massacre on unprecedented scale. With all those refugees packed so tightly on the northern coast, it’s going to kill tens of millions, maybe hundreds, and make a third of Zebrica completely uninhabitable for millennia. Pony-griffon wars will be a drop in the ocean in comparison. The plan is… horrendous,” he breathed out, turning his head towards the pillar so that he wouldn’t have to look at Flow.

“Just do your job, and your hive might survive,” growled Flow. A void rift opened in front of him, he stepped into it, and disappeared.

Left alone in the exquisitely crafted room, the boss sighed, and rubbed the love crystal. Even if the plan worked out and his hive got lucky enough to continue living, they would have to leave all this behind, because they were going to make a lot of very powerful enemies.

It was a lose-lose situation he’d been turning around in his head for a long time now, unable to solve it.

***

Flow reappeared inside a room made of crystals, and next to a rather startled crystal pony pointing a spear at him, whose death in the next instant was quick and painless.

“Good thing they haven’t moved the vault since last time,” Flow muttered to himself.

The Crystal Castle treasury was vast, filled with gems, gold, and magical artefacts, none of which interested him in the silghtest until…

...until he found a gold ingot in a pile of other gold ingots which felt different, lighter for one. Under the rub of his hoof, the upper layer of gold disappeared, revealing the same stone with carvings which adorned all the other seal keys. It felt more magical than the others, though.

Flow realized too late that it had to be because of numerous alarms and other spells which had been prepared just for this occasion. Namely, he realized it just as the “ingot” disappeared from his hooves, and reappeared hovering in front of a pink alicorn standing by a tall, horseshoe-shaped mirror by the wall.

Cadance stood alone, facing the masked, blue-eyed death. She wanted to say something, but couldn’t as her legs started shaking. It took all her self-control to simply keep her telekinetic grip on the seal key. She had read the reports and analyses, she knew how far Flow’s presumed “zone of death” could reach, and she knew she probably wouldn’t leave this room alive. That’s why no other guards teleported in here with her. Flurry Heart, Shiny, and Spring would be able to rule the Crystal Empire without her, which was why she had Twilight’s new alarm spells directed strictly only to herself.

None of that, however, meant that she had resigned herself to death. Despite what surprising amount of ponies thought, she wasn’t some bimbo trophy figurehead, even though she had the figure of a goddess even the other alicorns were jealous of. She had a plan, and she had calculated the risks beforehoof.

Flow was walking towards her, his mere presence making it hard to breathe.

Three… two… one…

Cadance threw the seal key against the horseshoe mirror. Contrary to normal properties of glass, it didn’t shatter. Instead, it absorbed the bricky object with a flash of light.

Seeing that, Flow growled and, as Cadance backed away, he jumped through the portal mirror as well.

“Let’s see how you like walking on two legs for the rest of your life,” Cadance levitated a magical sword from one of the pedestals scattered around the treasury, and shattered the mirror, “Now just to tell Twilight to destroy hers, and only then I can faint.”

Her horn flashed again, and Cadance disappeared.

***

A burst of purple glow lit a different, hexagonal, underground room with shimmering blue crystals set in the walls as torches. In the center of the room stood two poles set in the floor between which the glow originated, and after some wild pulsating it stabilized into a big, square portal. Several equines led by a tall, blond changeling queen without secondary plating but with thin bronze veins adorning her carapace like a network of veins were already waiting.

Guiding Light looked at the opening gateway, face impassive. Behind her stood a cage with thick floor holding a slowly shifting black mass of tentacles. By the sides of the cage stood two amazons and two dreamlings, the latter of whom were watching the cage with bared fangs.

A group of robotic unicorns similar to Bucket’s simpler bodies with horns made of red crystals walked out of the portal first, and fanned out around Guiding’s group. A solitary figure walked out next. It was Twilight Sparkle, a tall unicorn with greying purple coat wearing a violet robe decorated with golden sigils. The undead Empress of the united mirror world looked at the cage, and smirked.

“I’m impressed, Guiding,” her voice was lower than alicorn Twilight’s, commanding and clearly used to being obeyed instantly.

“Empress,” Guiding only nodded.

“I miss the old you,” Twilight walked over to the cage, examining it from all sides, “You were fun to talk to.”

“Did you get it?” Guiding ignored mirror Twilight’s jab.

“Yes, we did. It took some time, but we gathered all the keys, and we’re ready to use them as soon as you start the ritual in your world. From my research, we will feel the resonance and know when to proceed. We already have a base built in the northern tundra, so the ball is in your court,” she nodded to the robots who surrounded the cage, and loaded it onto a low trolley, “Is it safely contained?”

“It’s under my control, otherwise my dreamlings wouldn’t let this Corruptor filth inside my hive. Recast the stasis spell when you’re on the other side. If you want to voluntarily release corruption into your world, that’s your choice.”

“Not exactly a choice, my dear queen,” mirror Twilight patted Guiding’s cheek who wasn’t bothered by the Empress’ cold, undead hoof, “It’s my last hope of saving my world, an inhospitable graveyard destroyed by endless war. I’m willing to risk some tentacles and insanity. You’re killing a good chunk of a living world, and I’m supposed to be the evil undead. Heh...”

Guiding sighed.

“I guess that when you destroy a whole world in the service of Nightmare once already, the second time it’s a lot easier,” she turned around, “Don’t forget to release the Corruptor quickly, I don’t want to have to chase that monster around my hive. Once the gate closes, everything will return to our world, but as soon as the Corruptor melds with your soil, it’s yours to keep.”

The growling of dreamlings stopped as the Empress of the mirror world entered the portal with her retinue, and took the Corruptor with her.

Comments

[Two_Madmans]

The place was rather similar in craftsmanship to the dreamling hive in Pine Hills

QUESTION!
We have Guiding and alive not corrupted dreamling in Cloudsdale. Can we increase the population of dreamlings? Will offspring of normal changeling and dreamling have the attributes of last one?

“A non-changeling absorbing love,”

Or it is his void thing as he manipulating this, or people is right and it is Blaze, using his special talent\past changeling abilities.

However, despite his overall smooth look, a deep scar crossed his chest chitin from his left shoulder all the way down to the istrium corset.

Priests?

Harmony's touch is a blessing and a curse at the same time, but he's doing alright.

Wait, Seven have Harmony's touch?!

“I miss the old you,” Twilight walked over to the cage, examining it from all sides, “You were fun to talk to.”

It's my last hope of saving my world, an inhospitable graveyard destroyed by endless war.

Hm. News from mirror world. Long didn't... hell, at least some contacts with it. Still don't see how it can help her. Making enemies corrupted? Probably, but surely will not work well.