Chapter 3: Hive
Chapter 3: Hive
Twilight sat in the doctor’s office, the smell of antiseptic invading her nostrils, bringing up unpleasant childhood memories of shots long past.
The unicorn’s mane appeared a disheveled mess, with strands sticking out at wayward angles. Bags under her eyes made obvious her lack of sleep. Being accosted in the early morning by a distraught Fluttershy wasn’t the most pleasant way to start the day.
She gratefully accepted the cup of coffee proffered by the tan stallion who took a seat behind his desk. Blowing on the hot beverage before taking a sip, she winced at the burnt taste—swill compared to what she grew up with in Canterlot.
Doctor Stable gave her few moments to warm up while he organized some papers. “Miss Sparkle, I’m glad you could come. I trust Miss Fluttershy explained the situation.”
“Only how she found Wallflower and his sister unconscious at the edge of Everfree Forest,” said Twilight.
“Under normal circumstances, medical confidentiality prevents me from discussing patients’ cases with you, but we are at impasse and I feel you are the best pony to consult,” Stable admitted, keeping a professional tone.
“I’ll do what I can to help, but I’m a little lost. Medicine isn’t a field I’ve studied heavily.”
The doctor pushed his glasses back up his muzzle and put his hooves together, leaning forward with a serious expression. “Given the... unique nature of the case, you are best the authority we have.”
He clarified matters by sliding Wallflower’s toxicology report towards her. She recognized the compounds listed.
“Scorpio venom?” Bringing her in made more sense now. Given a Scorpio’s celestial nature, its venom was part magic. Consequently, no anti-venom existed yet—that and nopony in her right mind would try to catch one. A sting was a death sentence.
Twilight’s heart seized up. It was her fault. She’d recklessly sent two unprepared ponies into a restricted area. The Princess would have her head!
The doctor read her expression. “They're both still alive.”
Twilight looked up incredulously. “How’s that possible?”
Stable pursed his lips. ‘How?’ was the million bit question. “We have no idea,” he confessed in exasperation.
Ponyville was supposed to be a simple country practice. Mysterious conditions weren’t supposed to pop up, aside from ponypox and the occasional food poisoning or broken limb.
“Mister Scroll came in comatose with signs of polytrauma. We managed the injuries and tried to resuscitate him, but he did not respond. Physical exam revealed multiple bone and soft tissue injuries.” Twilight flipped through photographs of the examination, eyeing the bruising along Wall’s torso as the doctor continued.
“Looking for an explanation for the coma, we did a toxicology screen and, as you can see, it returned positive for Scorpio toxin,” he explained in puzzlement.
“We have checked every square inch for a puncture site but found none. We called you as soon as the tox screen came back. Have you ever seen something like this? The poison didn’t just appear out of thin air.”
The physician reached around and opened another chart. “The venom is systematically shutting down his organs, but something is slowing it down. A barrier, definitely magical in origin.” Twilight stared at the chart, utterly perplexed. The arcane signature was like nothing she’d seen before.
She scratched her chin in puzzlement, levitating astral scans of Wallflower’s body. Her time in the Royal Archives allowed Celestia’s student access to knowledge not privy to the general public. An unknown form of magic piqued her interest, despite the circumstances.
The doctor took a sip of his now cold coffee. “Miss Wind’s condition is even more unusual, given her brother’s state, in that she is relatively unharmed. Beyond a few burs and light scratches—presumably from running through the forest—she’s untouched.
A nurse stuck her head in the office to inform them Mayflower was awake. Twilight followed the doctor out. With Wallflower unconscious, the mulberry mare remained her best source of answers.
Mayflower squinted against the glare of ceiling lights. She tried to move a foreleg to cover her eyes, but the pinch of the IV running from her pink fur limited her range of motion.
Certainly not the Eternal Pasture, she thought, taking in the sterile hospital room.
“Oh thank Celestia you’re awake,” said Twilight. She sat bedside, the relief obvious in her voice.
A purple hoof pressed a glass to May’s lips. The water like fine wine to her parched throat. “What do you remember?” Twilight inquired.
May quivered, running a hoof along her abdomen. “The last thing I remember... is the monster stinging me.” The doctor and Twilight traded a glance.
“I should never have let you go into the forest.” She angrily scolded herself.
“Don’t blame yourself, Twilight.” Mayflower tried to calm her down. “We knew the risks.”
For the first time, Mayflower noticed the doctor standing on the other side of the room, furiously taking notes. He cleared his throat. “Miss Wind, I am afraid what you have described is inconsistent with our findings. It appears your brother, not yourself, was the victim of the attack. Putting aside a few scratches and some dehydration, you’re perfectly healthy.”
None of the doctor’s words made sense. May clearly remembered pushing Wally out of the way. He had to be wrong. She and Wally were fine. Soon they’d continue with their vacation. A lump caught in May’s throat as the doctor continued. “Miss Wind... I’m afraid your brother is in a coma. We are unsure of his prognosis.”
“No! I told him to run. I was stung! Not him!”
“You’re under a lot stress, Mayflower. Isn’t it possible you’re misremembering?” Twilight asked.
May shook her head violently. “I-I didn’t hit my head, Twilight! It pounced on me!” At this point, Doctor Stable quietly pulled Twilight out into the hall.
“A clear case of denial,” he put forth in a low voice. “She’s obviously traumatised.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. The symptoms fit. “She’s also switched places with Wallflower.”
“Likely guilt stemming from her inability to save her younger brother.”
Twilight nodded again. ”Agreed. What’s our next step, Doctor?”
“Normally I’d let her recover gradually, but given time is a factor, I suggest forcing her to confront the truth.”
Here, the knowledgeable unicorn felt out of her depth so she followed his lead.
Aided by nurses, they wheeled Mayflower to the Intensive Care Unit. Mayflower couldn’t believe her eyes. It was like a bad dream; her precious little brother lay comatose, covered in bandages, a feeding tube down his throat. Machines hummed as they kept him alive.
She stroked a stray strand of black hair away from his eyes; his usually shiny grey coat seemed faded.
May held in the choked sob until she and Twilight got back to her room. Father, Mother, now Wallflower. It was too much, too soon.
“We have no idea how long the magic keeping him alive will last. I’m so sorry,” the doctor consoled. “Do have anypony we can contact? Parents? Other siblings?” Mayflower was barely understandable at this point.
“No.”
“What about extended family? Aunts? Uncles?”
“They won’t care!” She spat with loathing, still crying into her blanket. “We’re an orphaned branch.” Understanding the implication. Twilight grasped May’s hoof in her own. Mayflower was truly alone.
An orphaned branch. Twilight was familiar with the practice; she’d seen it many times in Canterlot. Some rebellious young nobles would break away from their overbearing parents and marry outside of their tribe. The offender and their descendents found themselves ostracized, cut off from the family tree. Interbreeding was not tolerated, incidents considered a major scandal among the upper crust. She considered herself lucky to be from a liberal family.
“Twilight, isn’t there something you can do?” May implored. Twilight bit her lip; she hated giving the distraught inventor false hope, but she couldn’t just do nothing. This was partly her fault and as certain as Celestia raised the sun, Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t rest till she found a solution.
“I’ll write to the Royal Academy of Medicine in Canterlot. If we’re lucky, the poison will move slow enough to find a counteragent.” she offered reluctantly, standing up to leave. “I’ll do some research and come by later. I promise to do everything I can to save your brother, Mayflower. If there’s anything more I can do for you, ask okay?”
The librarian’s parting platitudes provided little comfort.
For rest of the day Mayflower cried, her tears staining the white sheets. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to. All emotional control was lost.
As promised, she was discharged the next morning. May spent the following week aimlessly wandering around Ponyville. The residents sensed the dark cloud hanging over her. Beyond a few sympathetic nods, they politely left the grieving earth pony alone.
Twilight’s friends proved to be the exception, the lavender unicorn leading their efforts to lift her spirits with mixed results.
Pinkie Pie’s attempt to force feed May a triple layer chocolate cake was quickly thwarted by the local dressmaker, Rarity.
Sharing a similar background with the fashionista led to a number of pleasant enough conversations. Gossiping over tea about Manehattan fashion and the travails of running one’s own business allowed Mayflower to forget her troubles. These moments were fleeting, however, as depressing reality lay in wait, ready to pounce, and devour her good mood the moment she left the boutique.
Rainbow Dash offered to take her back to the cliffs. May must have gazed over the edge a bit too long for Dash’s comfort because she immediately dragged the inventor back to town. May hadn’t seen the flyer since.
Each day she spent visitors’ hours by Wallflower’s side, reading aloud in hopes he was listening. Twilight checked in daily. The scholar grew more and more haggard, with little progress to show for her efforts. The inquisitive unicorn’s repeated questions regarding what really occurred in the ruins left May exhausted and unsure of her own memory.
The missives to Canterlot proved fruitless, the academy unable to find even the beginnings of an antitoxin or the source of the mysterious barrier keeping the poison out of Wallflower’s nervous system. Slowly May came to accept the inevitable: she was going to lose her last family member.
The final blow came one afternoon. Doctor Stable indicated the barrier was weakening, and her choices now were to let the poison run its course or allow her brother die with some dignity.
So, as she’d done each evening, Mayflower knelt by her brother’s bed, her hooves wrapped tightly around the warmth of Princess Celestia’s feather, and prayed.
She prayed to her princess. The one being who, years ago, comforted her family in its darkest hour. She prayed for her goddess to hear her pleas.
“Princess, save him. I don’t know what to do... Please... help me.”
As fate would have it, someone heard her prayer.
“Sister, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
The familiar snakelike body of the draconequus formed at the foot of the bed. The way various parts flickered reminded Mayflower of a faulty projector. It was an apt analogy as creature’s image appeared to emanate from a necklace suddenly materialized, floating above her saddlebags.
“Discord...? Impossible, you’re supposed to be imprisoned,” she exclaimed in disbelief.
Discord gave a bow. “It’s always nice to be remembered, and yes most of my handsome self is still stone. Technically, I’m just a shard of my greater self. Think of me as a failsafe.”
May pressed the emergency call button only to find it nonfunctional.
“We are quite alone, my dear... well except for mister vegetable over there.” Discord said, pointing to the unconscious stallion.
May clenched her jaw, trying to hide her fear. “What do you want with me, abomination?” Being alone with the patchwork monstrosity made her skin crawl.
He floated languidly about the room. “Now be polite,” he said, giving a snaggle toothed grin. “I’m the only reason Wallflower is alive… for now.” He raised a paw to forestall her response. “And if you want to keep him that way, you’ll listen carefully to my offer.”
He shrunk down and wrapped himself around May’s shoulders causing her to shudder. “How would you like to go on a grand adventure? Just like those books you love. What’s the character’s name? Darling Dodo?”
“Daring Do,” she corrected, wanting this obvious hallucination to be over. “Just get to the point already.”
“Straight to business eh?” Discord waggled a finger, finding her impatience amusing. Really, try to act with a little showmanship, a little panache and did ponies appreciate it? No.
The serpent blinked to the foot of the bed and conjured a blackboard. On it was a crude rendering of Princess Celestia, complete with a frowny face and comically oversized buttocks, crossed out with an X.
“Help me bring down Celestia and I’ll keep your brother from kicking the proverbial bucket. A reasonable exchange, wouldn’t you say?” Of all the reactions Discord expected, a brief pause followed by uncontrolled laughter wasn’t one of them.
Mayflower almost fell to the floor, she was laughing so hard. “You truly are insane,” she jeered.
“I love Wally, but do you really expect me to betray Equestria while you hang the Sword of Dam Oakleaves over his head. Everypony knows about you, Discord, your word is worthless. Besides, Princess Celestia is an immortal goddess, she can’t be defeated.” It took May a few seconds to become serious again.
“My family owes the Princess a lot. There’s nothing you can offer me.”
Discord blinked to Mayflower’s side and a draped an arm over her shoulders. “How about the truth? Let’s take a trip down memory lane.” With a snap of his fingers, they were gone.
Moonlight filtered through the elegant stained-glass windows of the throne room to lay in pools around the regal form of the Solar Princess, the light of moon mingling with the aurora of her mane. Celestia wore a simple smile as she looked down on the grey unicorn kneeling before her; a packet of documents held securely in her magic.
To May it was like watching a movie. She could talk at the screen but the characters continued their scripted motions.
“She's huge,” Mayflower observed. The alicorn was least two heads taller than anypony she had ever seen. Her body glowed faintly in the dim light of the throne room like a magnificent sculpture cut from the purest white marble.
“Yes, she’s let herself go. Too much cake, I’d wager,” Discord added derisively. “Now, see anypony familiar?”
“…Father?”
“Bingo! Now shush, we’re just in time for the good part.”
Celestia inclined her head, indicating for Vellum to rise. “And these are the only copies, Professor?” The stallion nodded. He was justifiable nervous given his host. “And you have spoken to nopony else of this discovery?”
“I’m ashamed to admit, I haven’t, Your Highness,” Vellum answered with a touch of embarrassment. “Mine is a competitive field. I hoped to unveil the Constitution at the next symposium.” He following the Princess to a large bay window overlooking Canterlot. The storm made a drumbeat against the glass. “Is something wrong, Princess?” he asked, following her gaze outside.
“Professor, you know Equestria’s history well, do you not?” Vellum took her question to be rhetorical. She continued before he could answer. “We live in an age of peace and plenty. A state which is fragile.” He nodded, knowing just to listen as his sovereign spoke.
“If made public, the Constitution could break that peace.” Celestia glared at the parchment floating before her. “I had hoped to see that last of this accursed document.”
“Princess, I thought you would be pleased. Certainly controversy is possible, but,” Vellum sounded genuinely put off, the public image Celestia presented was always of serenity. He was unable to comprehend her change in attitude, “shouldn’t your subject be given the benefit of the doubt?”
Celestia shook her head. “No, my little pony, sometimes the past needs to stay buried.” With a flicker, the parchment went up in flames. “This knowledge promises only dissent and disharmony. Equestria can ill afford grievances of old resurfacing. Not when her time draws so close…” she whispered the last set of words under her breath.
“Do you have children, Professor?” Vellum was so shocked by the casual destruction of the priceless artifact he almost didn’t register the abrupt change of subject.
“A daughter, Highness, and a son on the way,” he mumbled slowly.
“And you provide for them, love them, try to protect them from bad influences?”
Vallum wasn’t sure where the Princess was going so he simply nodded.
“I too am a mother.” Lightning briefly illuminated her face as she continued to stare down at the statue garden below. “All ponies are my children, Professor. So you understand why I must protect them from this knowledge.” Vellum finally came to terms with the danger he was in and started backing away.”
The atmosphere felt no longer welcoming as if the warm had fled. “Equestria must not be allowed to slide back into chaos,” the alicorn added, moving one step forward for his every two.
“Yes, but you’ve destroyed the only copy and I’m the only one…” as the Princess towered over him, Vellum looked into two deep mauve eyes, filled with such sadness he almost drowned; a sadness of a mother who’d come to a terrible decision. He dreaded asking his next question. “I’m not leaving this room, am I?” The answer was barely a whisper.
“No.”
“Daddy, run!”
Vellum sprinted to the entrance. “Open the door!” His cries unanswered, Vellum reared up and smashed his forelegs forward. The blows only resulted in blood running down his forelegs as the inset bronze sculpture left small cut into his hooves. The unicorn’s vision inverted as he cartwheeled through the air in an aura of gold. The Princess lowered her captive gently to the floor.
Chains of light tied the panicked scholar down. “Oh, no! No, no, no. Princess, please!” he pleaded. “I won’t tell anypony! Don’t do this!”
Runes of black and yellow orbited, encasing him in a sphere of golden light.
“I am truly sorry, my little pony.” Celestia spoke gently, a mother soothing her frighted foal. Her words did little to stop to unicorn’s struggles. “Please understand I do this for the greater good. Your family will be well taken care of. You have my word.”
With a blood-stopping scream, a blinding flash shook the room. When the unseen watchers could see again, the sphere was gone.
“She killed him!” Mayflower shrieked. Adrenaline washed away her fatigue, she barely kept from tearing her goggles in two, she was so livid. “The entire accident was a lie! We loved her! Trusted her!” She threw up her hooves. “I wrote her a bucking thank you letter!”
Discord flickered as he reclined in a chair, luxuriating in May’s outrage. Truly, he was drinking from a soda bottle marked ‘Mayflower’s outrage’. It tasted delicious.
“Oh please. Celestia never gets her dainty hooves dirty. She only banished him.” He sounded almost bored. “It’s not so bad. Visit far off places, meet interesting people. Think of it like a vacation. Except forever.”
He folded his arms, a little cross. “At the very least she felt guilty about it. She turned me to stone and did I get an apology? No,” he whined petulantly.
She shot him a dangerous glare. “This is just a big game to you, isn’t it?”
“Well yes. I’m frankly surprised it took you so long to catch on.”
Mayflower rubbed her temple. Talking to the Spirit of Chaos was incredibly taxing, notwithstanding her already high level of stress. “Tell me where she sent Father. Now.”
“I like your moxie.” The draconequus chuckled, as if a mortal could do anything to him. “Tell you what, I’m generous.” Mayflower snorted at that. “As a gesture of good faith I’ll save your brother. Consider it a deposit.”
“And if we finish your quest, you’ll tell us Father’s location?”
“You have my word as the Spirit of Chaos.” He vowed with false solemnity.
If Wallflower had been awake, he would have told May of many recorded examples of ponies who made deals with beings like Discord. Such stories rarely ended happily. In her head, Mayflower knew this, but right then walking away wasn’t an option and she could only see one path open.
The lilac pony scowled as she slowly extended her hoof. Discord’s grin widened. “Alright, Discord. We have a deal.” Yellow eyes flashed as he grasped his claw around Mayflower’s hoof. Shining chains swirled around the union of hoof and claw. Discord smiled widely as the chains crisscrossed and tightened around the handshake. The chains faded away with small clinking sounds
“This still leaves how to defeat the Princess. I assume you can’t do it yourself,” Mayflower said, withdrawing her hoof to check it over.
“I’m a shard remember? She’d easily seal me away. Luckily, the world is littered with all sorts of magical doodads and thingamabobs”—with a slight of hand, Discord made a photograph appear—“but first we’ll need some allies.”
Mayflower’s eyes widened. A dark insectoid pony loomed triumphantly over the fallen Solar Princess. Mentally, gears clicked into place. Changelings. “We need to find the hive.”
An unfortunate incident involving a cockatrice had taught Twilight Sparkle never to walk through Everfree Forest distracted. Unfortunately, Wallflower’s miraculous recovery was precisely that, a distraction.
For all intents and purposes Wallflower should be dead, not that Twilight wasn’t happy with the historian’s survival, Celestia knows Twilight was the first by Mayflower’s side when her brother awoke, but it left too many questions.
Mayflower’s sudden refusal to discuss what happened roused Twilight’s suspicions. The inventor’s attitude had turned harsh, insisting on taking her brother home.
The hospital couldn’t legally keep Wally under observation. Scans showed no remaining traces of venom or the unknown magic, and he wasn’t carrying a contagious disease. Twilight briefly considered contacting the Princess for a hold order, but the possibility of answering uncomfortable questions of why and how May and Wally got past the barrier stayed her quill. The student wasn’t about to risk her teacher’s disappointment without tackling the problem first.
Several days of research and an analysis of the magical residue extracted from Wallflower’s bloodstream come back inconclusive. If even Canterlot Medical couldn’t find answers then Twilight needed a more direct approach.
Therefore, it was that the purple unicorn, outfitted in her finest pith helmet, found herself back in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. She wasn’t scared this time. No Nightmare Moon lay in wait and it was daytime. Besides she had the foresight to bring a loyal bodyguard.
“Seriously, egghead, why’d you drag me out here?”
A reluctant but loyal bodyguard.
Rainbow Dash didn’t understand Twilight’s need to tackle this so called ‘mystery’. Mayflower’s turn around made perfect sense. Her brother pulled through so she no longer had a reason to hang around and waste time. Dash could respect her attitude.
The earth pony had dragged her unconscious brother through the forest and survived a Scorpio attack unscatched. That wasn’t just tough. That was Dash level tough. Rainbow mentally shrugged, understanding what Twilight didn’t: ponies like May and Dash simply bounced back from extreme situations faster than others.
She noticed Twilight straying ahead and flapped to catch up, almost hitting a low hanging branch. Rainbow hated the forest, especially during summer. The thick canopy prevented her from flying very high or very fast. Worst were the mosquitoes. The little blood suckers swarmed all over, biting her wings even as she flailed. The irritated pegasus looked at her nerdy friend with jealousy.
Twilight trotted on, oblivious to Rainbow’s discomfort. A liberal dose of pest repellant saved her becoming the swarms’ next meal. She’d learnt something from unicorn scouts.
The siblings had made no effort to cover their tracks, so following Wallflower’s magic trail gave Twilight little difficulty. She squeed with glee on arrival at the library.
Shelves were knocked over; their contents scattered about the floor.
With a grumble, Rainbow Dash resigned herself to ‘guarding’ Twilight all day. She knew the librarian would insist on cataloguing every scrap of moldy old paper. Seriously, they’ve been out here for Celestia knows how long, another couple days wouldn’t’ hurt ‘em. She could be out training the squirt right now.
The little pegasus’s rapid progress filled Rainbow with pride. Doesn’t hurt she’s got the best coach in Equestria. Who is currently trapped in a dusty old library surrounded by moldy old books with, —she picked one up and stared at antiqued language, words I can’t even read. Great!
Dash turned and was surprised to see Twilight hadn’t immediately jumped into the nearest pile of books.
“Twilight, why are just standing there?” she asked.
Her horn aglow, Twilight stood with her eyes closed, overwhelmed by the ambient magic in the room. Somepony or something had left a powerful aura. She picked up a heady mix of magic types. Princess Celestia’s was the easiest to identify. The freshness of her traces left Twilight wondering why her teacher’s bright energy was here. She filed it away for further investigation later.
The other aura, by contrast, felt slippery and indistinct. It felt almost familiar to Twilight, but each time she tried to concentrate, the magic would blur out of focus. She was about to try capturing a sample when Rainbow interrupted her, pointing to stains on the floor.
“Twi, I think this is blood.” The normally cool flyer paced apprehensively, unnerved by the sight. “Do you think the Scorpio is still around?... Not that I’m worried or anything,” she blustered out.
Without forensic spells, Twilight had no way of determining the stains’ age, but given the condition Fluttershy found Wallflower in, she deduced the blood was his. Her eyes followed the blood spatter to a collapsed section of the back wall.
Compacted rubble blocked the passage. Twilight snorted grumpily, a professional excavation would take weeks to set up, she didn’t have that type of time and it was far too compressed to move even with her powerful magic. Besides, if the Scropio’s lair was blocked, she wasn’t about to disturb it without a squad of Royal Guards.
“We need to do more research,” Twilight concluded, gathering up a sample of books. “We need to go to Canterlot.” Ponyville simply didn’t have the volumes she needed and Canterlot boasted the largest archives outside the Crystal Empire.
“What do you mean ‘we’, Twilight?” the pegasus asked slowly. The last thing Rainbow wanted was being stuck in a stuffy library, acting as a substitute Spike. Lucky guy, getting a free vacation in the Crystal Empire. I was there too, where’s my prize? “Besides, I have work.”
“No you don’t, Rainbow, I checked your schedule.”
“What do mean? How’d you know my schedule? Are keeping tabs on me?” That got a laugh from Twilight.
“Don’t be silly, Dash. I wouldn’t just keep tabs on you.” Rainbow sighed in relief. “I’m keeping tabs on everypony. It was Princess Celestia’s idea,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “A good friend always knows what her friends are doing. How else can I plan a proper socializing schedule? I’ve got notebooks, charts and time tables of when all of you sleep, eat and work. Isn’t it great?”
Rainbow was doing her best to hide how stalkerish the idea sounded. She didn’t want to hurt Twilight’s feelings. “Yeah… that’s… uhmm... great, Twilight. Nothing weird or abnormal about that.” She made a mental note to change the locks on her house.
“You’re going to enjoy Canterlot, Rainbow. I’ll take you on a tour of the Royal Museum, there’s an amazing exhibition on the history of saddles. You’ll love it.”
“Yeah… saddles... Woo…”
Wallflower was thankful he and Mayflower could afford a private train car. Other passengers would have complained about the loud yelling.
Since departing Ponyville, Wallflower had been arguing vehemently in favor of turning around and telling Twilight Sparkle everything. He went so far as to throw Discord’s amulet out a window, only for it blink back around his neck.
“You seriously believe this charlatan?” he demanded. “One dubious vision and you’re ready to commit high treason? Are you crazy?”
The living embodiment of chaos shared their sleeper car and sat not three feet away in a plush armchair, enjoying their bickering. Disharmony between family was like wine and he drank it in. He couldn’t help but egg them on.
“You can hop off anytime, I don’t really need you. She’s quite willing.” Discord pointed out. That got a scoff from Wallflower. He completely disagreed with the plan, but abandoning his sister never entered his mind.
Wallflower watched the draconequus with undisguised hostility. Talking with the fragment was incredibly circular. The projection constantly deflected questions, quickly growing bored and leaping off into seemly random non sequiturs.
The half hour ramble on the merits of breeding an army of penguins armed with exploding kiwis was enough for Wall to consider sticking a fork in his eye to ease the pain.
But most all he hated the big childish grin Discord always wore. More of a smirk actually. The sort of smirk that says, ‘I know something you don’t and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
That sort of smile.
For her part, Mayflower didn’t care. She was riding high on a wave of righteous indignation and needed to hold on to its warmth. Truthfully, the prospect of facing the Solar Goddess chilled the usually confident mare to her core. Father’s scream and the blinding flash were etched into her memory. What chance did she have in the face of such power? Children’s stories told of the Princess eating the souls of naughty ponies to stay forever young. Would that be her fate?
Even so, she put on a strong front. Wally never met their sire; it was her duty, as his big sister, to give him that chance.
Their heads pressed together, she stared him down. The intensity made Wall flinch back; Mayflower’s will being stronger. “Celestia sent him away; at least I love Father enough to do something,” she said, jabbing him in the chest.
The jabs hurt less than the accusation. “He’s dead, May. Discord is feeding you false hope. Let it go, he wouldn’t want this.” Wallflower put a hoof on his sister’s shoulder and shook his head.
She brushed his hoof away. “Don’t you dare pretend to know what Father would’ve wanted. You weren’t there! You weren’t curled up with Mother while she cried herself to sleep night after night. You can’t fathom the loss we felt.”
The stallion looked down and scuffed the floor. “Remember in school, the hymn everypony sang each morning?” he quietly asked. “‘Oh Celestia, great Celestia, may your sun shine down on me. Oh Celestia, sweet Celestia, please bring us harmony.’ You always sang with the most faith, the most conviction. Don’t throw it all away for a pack of lies.”
She hopped into bed and turned away from him. “I’m too tired to argue anymore, Wally. When we reach Dodge Junction, I’m heading to the hive, with or without you.
Wallflower knew better than to pursue the conversation, for now. He let out a hollow sigh and closed the room divider, swapping the emotional wall between them with a physical one.
The peril of revenge was something he was well versed in, history was littered with examples of ponies destroyed in its pursuit: Nightmare Moon, the Pax Equis War, the feud between the Cumulous and Nimbus families of Cloudsdale—which left both houses in ruins. I’ll not let her to fall into the same trap.
The couch felt luxuriously plush and Wallflower fell into its embrace, letting his thoughts flow. Before diverting to Tartarus, the trip had started with such promise. The mad escape from the Scorpio had forced the historian to leave behind all his notes. All his findings now lay languishing under several tons of rubble. Only two items survived: Celestia’s feather and Mayflower’s crossbow.
The few bright spots in visiting Ponyville had been meeting Twilight Sparkle and scoring a free bottle of applejack from the local apple farmer. Who knew Navel had such a cute cousin?
Doctor’s orders be damned after almost dying he needed a stiffer. Wallflower took a sip, savoring its flavor, Applejack certainly knew how brew her namesake. He closed his eyes, alcohol made for an excellent mental lubricant. Outfoxing the primordial manifestation of Chaos was going to take all his wits… and maybe another bottle of booze. I’ll have to thank Navel for suggesting I visit her stand. He looked over at Discord. If we survive.
“You know what’s sad?” Discord harrumphed. “You’re angry with me and your sister’s angry with you. Why can’t I ever find happy ponies? If I wanted grumpiness, I could be hanging out with Princess loudmouth and Princess stick up her plot.”
“You want to know what I find sad, Discord?” Wallflower replied, in no mood for Discord’s theatrics. “If you weren’t such a compulsive liar, you’d be considered the biggest gold mine of historical information ever. Such a waste.”
The trickster grabbed his chest in melodramatic fashion, spinning around till he came to rest hovering near the ceiling. “You wound me, boyoh. The stories I could tell you would turn your mane white.
He snapped his claw and Wallflower found himself back under the Everfree ruins, Discord floating near the bas-relief. “For instance, this carving you found, one hundred percent true.” By Wallflower’s cocked eyebrow, Discord could tell he wasn’t buying it. “Even encased in rock I was aware of world around me. Celestia wasn’t always such a goody four shoes. That motherly image she projects, complete hogwash.”
The jolly spirit crossed his arms, pouting at his audience’s lack of reaction. “You know, you could at least pretend to look interested. When else are you going to have access to the living history that is my glorious self?”
Wallflower shrugged. He looked forward to the time when he wouldn’t have access to the glorious living history named Discord.
The bottle of brandy was half empty; he wondered how much more was needed to pass out. At least then, he wouldn’t have to listen to Discord’s prattle.
Suddenly they were in an empty lecture hall. Discord appeared dressed in a tweed jacket with glasses hanging down his snout. “Since my history listen bores you. Let’s switch to magic. Welcome to Professor Discord’s introduction to the arcane arts.”
There didn’t appear to be an obvious escape so Wallflower slumped down in one the many uncomfortable seats. From college, he knew the basics of unicorn magic. It wasn’t his best class. Damn general education requirements.
“Now class, who tell me how basic unicorn spell casting works? Anyone? Come now don’t be shy.”
“We’re the only ones here.”
“Please, raise your hoof and wait to be called upon. Ugh… Freshmen, what a curse.”
A long-suffering sigh escaped Wall’s lips and he raised a hoof.
“Yes, you there, the skinny grey one.”
“Not counting spells all unicorns know on a genetic level, a typical spell involves the caster envisioning a sequence of runes and channeling mana through their horn.” Wallflower spoke quickly, reciting the lecture from memory with little excitement. It was very dry material.
“More complex spells require stringing together more advanced runes in longer chains. The power and duration of the casting varies by the unicorn’s affinity towards certain schools, innate ability and depth of mana.”
Out of nowhere, Discord pulled a hanging chart covered in colored circles and arrows. Wallflower recognized it from class. The diagram displayed all the known categories of magic, from light to dark, solar and lunar, transformation to illusion. Arrows displayed how each type complemented and countered the others. Aside from alicorn magic, no school necessarily dominated. Discord pointed a ruler towards a new addition to the chart, a blob of orange disconnected from the spectrum.
“Behold Chaos, primordial force made manifest,” he announced. “While other schools of magic are just tools to be ordered about, Chaos lives, thinks, evolves.”
“So that’s why it wouldn’t listen to me in the crypt,” Wallflour intuited.
“Exactly! Chaos works for itself, just give it a goal and it’ll do whatever’s funniest.” Discord took in Wall’s flat expression.
“So it’s magic whose main purpose is to annoy ponies.”
“Not just ponies,” Discord defended. “Zebras, buffalo, cows. I’m not racist like some beings.”
He rubbed a claw on his chest with a bit of smugness. “Without the Elements of Harmony even Celestia and Luna combined couldn’t touch me. A tip, try not get blasted by the Elements, stings like the dickens.”
“What’s the point of this lecture, Discord?” Wallflower asked, ignoring the implied accusation of bigotry. He was in no position to refute the charge, having seen it first hoof when visiting Canterlot.
“The point, my skeptical friend, is when you run into Twilight Sparkle, you best have some defense.”
“Or I could jump off the train,” Wallflower said, words dripping with sarcasm. “The result would be same and probably less painful. Twilight Sparkle is the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. If I get in a duel with her, she’ll smear me across the landscape and barely break a sweat.”
“You’re being fatalistic. Sure she’s a talented, book obsessed uber-nerd with a massive reservoir of mana, but even Twilight Sparkle is no match for the power of Chaos. Just get her to waste herself on some high cost spells and voila! Instant victory. With my help, her magic won’t even scratch you.
“If you want the boring sciency explanation”—a rotating sphere uncoiled. Purple bolts bounced off— “the spell matrix is constantly mutating, as a result no magic can produce a reaction, regardless of strength.”
“I almost died, channeling your power last time. You admitted it’s poisonous.”
“Not if I train you to handle it properly. I’ve always wanted a slav—I mean student. Besides, don’t you want to make history instead of just studying it? You’ll get college credit,” Discord sang.
The graduate student opened his mouth to tell Discord where he could stick his credits, but came to a sudden realization. He was being stupid; the route to victory lay in the path of least resistance.
Like all good plans, it was both simple and formed while intoxicated.
Discord wanted him to fight Twilight Sparkle, ergo crossing her path was inevitable. Wall just needed to bide his time then calmly explain to Twilight the situation. She would inform Princess Celestia and the shard would be locked away, nightmare over, Discord loses.
If the historian was really lucky he could recover his notes and get back to his thesis.
In the meantime, all he had to do was prevent May from doing anything too treasonous and keep her out of jail. Heck, in the process maybe I’ll be the first unicorn to learn some concrete facts about Chaos magic.
“You’re thinking of tattling to Celestia, aren’t you?” Discord complained. “Oh don’t look so surprised, it’s written all over your face.”
With a flourish, a puppet stage replaced the lectern. Discord popped up with three sock puppets, colored grey, white and purple. A hastily painted sign declared ‘Discord’s Puppet Theater’ open for business. “Let me show you how that would end.”
“Greetings, my subjects,” said the white puppet in a squeaky voice. “Come listen as I drone on and on about the magic of friendship while barely getting off my fat rump.”
“Not now, Princess,” interjected the purple one. “My friend has an urgent message about Discord.”
“Is that you, Twilight Sparkle? I didn’t recognize you; usually your mouth is firmly attached to my rear.”
“There will be plenty of time for that later, Princess,” declared the lavender sock. “Discord is using my friend to execute a nefarious plan.”
“Easily fixed, my student.” Celestia’s horn glowed, setting the grey sock on fire. It ran around the stage screaming. “Equestria is safe once more. Now kiss me, my faithful apprentice!” The puppets started noisily making out.
“Okay that’s enough!” Wallflower found himself yelling.
“You do realize, no one else can see me.” Discord grinned. “It would be amusing if the conductor walked in. He would think you were crazy… not that there’s anything wrong with crazy.”
Wallflower pinched the bridge of his nose as the train car faded back in. He had a hunch the headache currently pressing against his temple would be the first of many in the near future.
After swallowing an aspirin with a swig of brandy, the annoyed unicorn turned to Discord, who was peeling an orange... filled with potato chips. Why does everything have to be food related with this guy? “First of all, the Princess would never act in such a manner and second, how are we supposed to find the hive? Even the Royal Army hasn’t discovered its location and they’ve been searching since the invasion.”
“But I know.”
“How?”
“Chaos!” Discord merrily declared waving jazz hands as if ‘Chaos’ answered everything. He wrapped around the sitting stallion, who wore a look of skepticism. “Don’t worry so much, boyoh. I have a cunning plan.”
“This is your cunning plan?”
Being captured, tied to a pole and carried between two changelings didn’t fit Wallflower’s definition of a cunning plan.
The trek south from Dodge Junction had been without incident before coming to the edge of the swamp. Wallflower had just decoupled from their caravan— how he loathed pulling it— when a swarm of changelings ambushed them.
The fighting ended fairly quickly. Mayflower slotted two assailants and bucked a third before being overwhelmed. Her brother actually made a fair accounting of himself, lasting a full two minutes, running in circles, screaming his head off till a changeling paralyzed him with a stun bolt.
Discord spent the entire encounter floating above the scene, fast asleep, a stream of winged letter ‘Z’s flying off into the sky.
When asked why he’d not lifted a finger to help, Discord simply pulled his horn revealing a dipstick.
“Sorry, seem to running a little low,” came the disingenuous reply.
Wallflower struggled at his bonds, cursing the changelings, “I’ll scream!” he warned. “I’ll scream like a mare and it’ll be so high pitched your ears will burst!”
An escorting changeling looked down with a predatory grin… a very fanged filled one. She—Wally really prayed it was a she— brought her lips closer to his muzzle. The unicorn’s eyes crossed, as the lips came closer, he could smell her breath, flowery with a hint of musk. Even trussed up and taken prisoner, he was still a stallion and his base instincts betrayed him. Celestia’s teats! She’s going to kiss me. Did she just lick her fangs?
The changeling spitting a glob of silk over his lips cut off his thoughts. From within her mouth, tiny spinnerets stitched Wallflower’s mouth closed, muffling his cries.
Many reasons existed as to why the hive remained unfound by Equestrian Intelligence. The changelings lived in relative harmony with the creatures of the swamp. Any intruders were instantly reported, making stealth virtually impossible. The heavy canopy of trees protected it from aerial surveillance.
The hive’s final defense was its most cunning. Being masters of spells designed to attract ponies, the changelings could cast spells to repel. A particularly brilliant version was maintained over the hive at all times. Any explorer who wandered within its range suddenly found him or herself unconsciously driven in the opposite direction.
Both captives writhed, the spell violating their brains. The moment mercifully passed and the path turned downward.
Much like an iceberg, the top of the changelings’ home accounted for only a small percentage of its size. Most of the structure lay hidden underground, a maze of dark tunnels lined with crystal, a green pale glow barely providing any light. Able to see in the dark, the changelings marched unhindered towards the core.
Discord lazily trailed behind, undetected, dressed in a loud floral shirt and sunglasses, snapping pictures like tourist on a sightseeing holiday from the world’s worst travel agent.
The tunnel abruptly opened up into a massive chamber, well lit when compared to the previous passages. Numerous green orbs hung from the ceiling on winding vines, providing steady green light. Changelings buzzed haphazardly throughout the chamber. At its center arose a throne of darkest green, seemly grown from organic matter rather than made by any artisan. A tall figure languidly lounged upon the seat.
At a gesture, the guards unceremoniously deposited the prisoners. Free of their bonds, the siblings took in their ‘host’.
Chyrsalis, the Changeling Queen. She was a match for Princess Celestia in stature, but whilst the alicorn shone with benevolence and kindness in her countenance, the Queen seemed to radiate an atmosphere of desire and sexuality. She showed no expression other than a coy hunger.
Wallflower found himself instantly smitten. She was so alien, so repulsive, yet so dangerously alluring at the same time. Giving his sister a sidelong glance, he noticed she wasn’t faring much better.
Mayflower shuddered, a moan escaping her lips as a changeling attendant brushed past, lightly caressing her barrel.
“Kneel. You are in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis,” one of the escorts hissed.
Queen Chrysalis rose from her perch with a buzz of her diaphanous wings. She gently tilted Wallflower’s chin up with a perforated forehoof.
“What gifts have you brought me, my children?” Her dual timbre voice sang in her victim’s ear. It was like the most beautiful sonata; Wallflower wished nothing more than to stroke the iridescent membrane which passed for angelic creature’s mane. “One of Celestia’s spies or perhaps poor lost souls, in either case, they will make fine meals. Especially the female, she looks firm and fully packed.” She drooled over Mayflower as tiger would a helpless gazelle. Earth pony stamina was highly valued.
Twisted horn glowing a sickly green, Chrysalis began the siphoning process, searching for the richest deposit of love contained in her prey. The love for friends, the love for their lost parents, and there it was, their love for each other… succulent. Just a little taste, it was her right as ruler.
“Whoa, hold on there, Chrysy. My minions aren’t on the menu today.” Discord flashed into being, interposing himself between the two hypnotized ponies, breaking the hold of the suddenly hostile changeling queen. Good thing she didn’t realize she could’ve stepped right through him.
The chamber reverberated with hissing, growls and the buzz of wings, the changelings agitating in empathy with their queen.
“Discord!” she shrieked. “Legionaries. Dispose of this trickster!” How dare these ponies sully her hive with the insufferable Spirit of Chaos. Only one penalty would suffice.
“Wallflower. Shield. Now.”
The unicorn’s horn glowed orange. With a POP, an oversized orange gelatin dessert came into existence— the Manehattenites suspended within like fruit.
Discord nodded in approval. “Not the funniest of shields, but an excellent first try.”
Funny or not, the jello proved effective. Bolts of green magic bounced off, sending ripples of wobbliness through giant dessert. Heavily armed changeling legionaries quickly surrounded them.
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Discord encircled an increasing angry Chrysalis. “Back off or queeny gets it!” The swarm advanced eager to free the imperiled monarch. “I’m warning you, I have a tangerine and I know how to use it!” he threatened, holding a citrus with a suspicious fuse growing out of it.
Unwilling to risk harm to the Queen, the surrounding legionaries withdraw but kept their spears trained on the draconequus.
Wallflower dispelled the jello mold with another pop, freeing his sister who immediately crouched in a defensive stance.
“Now, Crysy, is this any way to treat guests?” Discord scolded, still tossing the ‘tangerine’ up and down in his claw.
Chrysalis figured it best to remove the unstable apparition and get him out the hive. There was no telling the damage he could do if he hung around. The hive was already in dire straits following the disastrous invasion. Adding Discord to their list of woes would be catastrophic.
“Say your piece and be gone, Discord,” she fumed, returning to recline on her throne. “And be quick about it.”
“No need to get snippy. My friends and I are just here to ask some questions.” He brought up a hazy window replaying the short lived duel between the two leaders. “You faced Princess jiggly butt and survived. How did feel?” Due to his nature, Discord had never truly felt Celestia’s magic in all the times he’d battled her and was honestly curious as to the Queen’s answer.
Chrysalis’s smile curled upwards, revisiting her moment of triumph. “It felt… like staring into the sun. A light which promised to blind me, burn me and render all my subjects to ash…” she trailed off reliving the brief second of panic. Celestia’s beam closing in, threatening annihilation. “I don’t believe she was using her full power. When I struck her down, for a brief moment; I felt her connection to the sun. The power she commands, so vast, never ending. I was a fool to challenge her directly.”
“Hmm… so if someone was to say… cut Celestia off from the sun, you could… hypothetically take her on?” angled Discord, stroking his beard. “Well this is your lucky day because my colleagues and I are going to liberate the sun!” he announced merrily, not waiting for a confirmation.
The chamber erupted into peals laughter. The Queen tightly held her bands as a wizened old changeling barely kept standing, he wheezed so much. Once the laughter subsided, he steadied himself on his staff of office.
“Impossible,” he croaked. “The Sun Tyrant can never be ripped from her charge. No magic exists in this world to do so.”
“Not in this world,” Discord was quick to correct, “but there are other worlds, other planes of existence, hiding all sorts of mystical doodlybops.”
“You speak of Tartarus,” the Vizier scoffed.
A loud ding sounded. “Bingo! Though I can’t seem to remember the way in for some reason,” the shard added tapping his chin.
“The Royal Archive,” Wallflower blurted without thinking. “The Palace houses restricted texts gathered from all over the kingdom. If there are clues to be found, they’ll be stored there.”
“That‘s a highly restricted wing. Sneaking in will be very difficult,” commented Mayflower.
“And who do we know who’s really good at sneaking in out of places undetected? Begins with a ‘C’, ends with a ‘G’… on the tip of my tongue.” Discord wondered aloud.
While the Queen and Discord talked, Wallflower noticed Mayflower fidgeting with her goggles. Whatever animosity she held towards the Princess, opening Equestria’s defenses to another invasion couldn’t sit well. He shot her warning look, fighting out of the hive, pursued by hundreds of changelings wasn’t a winning prospect.
Deftly maneuvering the conversation albeit unintentionally towards heading to Canterlot meant one step closer to the Princess and eventually ending this farce.
“Even if you succeed, and Celestia is removed, Princess Luna still poses a formidable threat. Come nightfall she would descend upon us.” Chrysalis pointed out.
“Free the sun and Luna will be rendered just as powerless. Celestia likes to pretend they’re on equal footing, but we all know who’s really in charge. The rays of the Moon are but a reflection of the sun’s light. Celestia’s always been stronger than her sister and always shall be.”
“I have little reason to trust you, Discord. In any case, our own plans are already in motion.”
“Listen carefully, she won’t be able to help spilling her ‘brilliant’ scheme,” Discord gleefully whispered in Mayflower’s ear. “As I remember, Chrsy, your last plan ending with your army getting its flank handed to them by six unarmed mares with no military training.”
“The pink one bore a cannon!” the Queen protested. “Conscripts. If they’d faced legionaries, the battle would have ended quite differently,” Chrysalis spat.
The success of the Elements of Harmony still grated on her carapace. The hive simply hadn’t enough fully trained soldiers. The importance of the invasion’s success to the hive’s survival necessitated conscription of untrained civilians. The plan was simple: overwhelm Canterlot’s defenses with mass numbers.
Unfortunately, Shining Armor and his accursed fiancee’s love wave resulted in massive casualties. So many of her children dead or maimed. She still wept, remembering feeling each death through the gestalt. She’d cut herself off, lest the pain drive her mad.
“We will have our revenge on the Elements of Harmony soon enough, Discord. Even now, my best assassins are maneuvering into place.”
A slow condescending clap met her pronouncement. “Base violence? Ugh… Dull, dull, dull.” Discord grumbled. “Don’t you wonder why I simply didn’t drop a boulder on their skulls?”
“Because you’re an over confident buffoon stuck in a rock for a thousand years?”
Discord appeared nonplussed by his audience’s laughter.
“No… It’s because they’re the Element Bearers, not the Elements themselves. An easy mistake to make. If its bearer dies, the Element will simply find another one. Trust me; I’ve taken a friendship rainbow to the face on two occasions. I know how those trinkets work.” It’s certainly why Discord went the corruption route, that and watching Twilight Sparkle emotionally disintegrate was simply priceless.
“But I digress,” he continued, “Can you imagine Celestia’s reaction if even a hair on her precious little student was harmed? She’s not trying to find you right now, but murder one her favorite ponies… Well, I’ve had the pleasure of making Celestia truly, truly angry. Fun for me, but quite, quite fatal to anyone else.
“Picture it. Fireballs the size of boulders raining upon this place. Leaving nothing but a barren wasteland with no hope of life for generations.
“The griffons cook a lovely dish called a crawfish boil. A tasty shelled sea critter boiled alive with a basket of veggies— be right back.”
He reappeared a moment later wearing a soiled crawfish dib, licking the excess butter from his fingertips before belching in satisfaction. “Ahh… love Neigh Orleans, highly recommend visiting. Now where was I?” The serpent blinked, reboarding his train of thought. “Oh right, crawfish analogy.
Take what the crawfish experience and multiple by a thousand. At least the they keep their shells; there’ll be nothing left of yours. Your precious hive will be rendered a smoking cinder, all traces of the changeling race wiped from existence.”
Discord floated close to the Queen, relishing the fear and uncertainty in her emerald eyes. Normally petty threats felt base to the con artist, unsubtle and blunt. But when he could ruin someone’s day with the truth, well that was just too delicious to resist.
“Oh and she won’t stop there. Pray your agents are well hidden. Celestia is relentless when she wants to be—a perk of being immortal. It could take a few days, it could take a hundred years, but she won’t stop till each of your kind is dragged into the light of her day and made such an example of, that no mortal creature will ever dare lay a hoof, finger, claw, what have you, on her little ponies again.
Silence reigned, broken only by the occasional plink of dripping water.
Then pandemonium broke loose; the chamber lit up with shouts.
“The Queen has brought the sun’s wrath upon us!”
“Our children will burn!”
“We must flee!”
“ENOUGH!”
The chamber quieted to a dull murmur of discontent at the Queen’s outburst.
“Very well, Discord, you’ve made your point. I’ll rescind the kill order… for now.” Chrysalis stammered, doing a poor job sounding as if she’d done Discord a favor.
“A wise decision, O Great Queen of the Changelings”
Chrysalis bristled at his mocking bow, but kept her temper in check. Best to be rid of the nuisance. “Legionaries, return the ponies’ possessions and see them safely to the edge of the swamp. My agent will meet you there.”
“My Queen, I must protest, you cannot trust this creature!” The vizier's warning went unheeded.
“Enough, Façade. I’ve made my decision. Get them out of my sight.”
The advisor deflated, his old wings tucking under his shell in submission. “As you wish, My Queen.”
Only after her new found ‘allies’ left the chamber did Chrysalis relax and drift into the hive’s gestalt. The guards moved quickly, she observed through the link.
Now whom to send?
++Façade, your thoughts?++ she sent.
++Our agents are spread thin, many lost their lives during the expulsion. With each sunset our numbers grow fewer. In all my years I’ve not seen such dark times. Extinction nips at our heels, My Queen.++
++I’m well aware of the hive’s position. I was referring to the chimera’s chances,++ she sighed through the link. The old changeling, while sage, tended towards over dramatics.
++Insignificant. The Lord of Chaos is not to be trusted.++
++Yet, if successful, the advantage to us is tremendous. But you are correct. We cannot afford to waste valuable resources on a fool’s errand. So why not send a fool?++ She projected the profile of the chosen agent.
++My Queen is aware of this one’s... defects, yes?++ Façade felt her affirmation as the link ended. The entire exchange lasted less than a few seconds.
An expendable asset for an impossible mission. She will be just perfect.
The HiveNet was abuzz with news concerning the disruption caused by the Spirit of Disharmony’s visit. A recording of Discord’s audience quickly became the most discussed topic since the Great Expulsion —or as quieter circles referred to it: Chrysalis’s Folly.
Facsimile simply called it what it was. A mistake. A mistake which cost most of her friends their lives.
Waking up alone still felt weird, changelings were meant to share chambers. A healthy hive echoed with the hum of many workers, nymphs and drones.
The hive wasn’t healthy.
At least no one was around to complain about her choice of decor. Framed Con Mane movie posters hung on every wall. The one exception being a Wonderbolts poster signed by the entire team, her second most prized possession, it held pride of place on a wall all its own. A clear shallow pool served as the chamber’s wash basin.
Stepping lightly into the shimmering water, Fax went about her daily bath. The little changeling had never really grown out her nymph phase. Some called her a runt, Fax preferred the term ‘petite’.
Bath done, she shook her light blue frills. It had grown back out, since the Expulsion. During the planning phases of the invasion, the higher ups explained uniformity in the ranks would unnerve the populace, so everyone shaved their frills.
Fax gave the membrane another shake, letting a porous strand fall over a rich blue eye. It looked pretty, she supposed, but pretty wasn’t what she wanted right now.
Standing in front of a full length mirror she struck her most fearsome pose.
Head low, teeth bared wide, eyes narrowed, wings flared. She looked fierce. She looked ferocious. She looked… like a tiny kitten hissing at a ball of yarn.
In a word, adorable.
Giving up with a disgusted, but cute, hiss; the ‘adorable’ changeling blew a raspberry at her reflection. Infiltrators weren’t supposed to be adorable. Infiltrators were supposed to be dangerous, suave, debonair; changelings of action and romance.
Turning away from the disappointing reflection, she grabbed a novel off a nearby shelf and tightly hugged it to her chest. Oh, Con Mane, she gazed longingly at the handsome tuxedo clad stallion adorning the cover. Why can’t I be like you?
Not like the higher ups ever gave her an assignment. Not since the ‘Incident’.
It wasn’t fair! She passed her exams. Wasn’t she a fully trained infiltrator, with all the skills of her classmates? She lived while most of her classmates were dead, wasn’t that worth something? She even learnt to play baccarat. No one else in class bothered to learn baccarat, but did command care?
No, bitterness colored her thoughts. They only care about the past. I’d show those old stiff wings, only if—
++Facsimile.++
Fax stopped midthought. HiveNet messages didn’t usually barge in unless…
The infiltrator quivered, wings humming in anticipation. A Hive Command Directive meant only one thing: A mission. Finally, a chance for redemption.
This is mission going to be perfect!
Academics referred to pocket dimensions as artificial and unstable sub-realities, suitable for garbage disposal, adding an extra room to one’s home, or hiding an illicit gambling den from the authorities.
To the pair of draconequus, sitting on opposite side of a chessboard, theirs served as more of rec room. Chess was always most satisfying against an equally skilled opponent, and who was more equal than one’s self.
For the statuefied Discord the game served as a welcome respite from the tedium of standing on display with no one coming to visit.
The evil tyrant she is, Celestia stuck him in the center of the hedge maze. Nopony bothered navigating to center anymore. Worse, she only ordered the Royal Cleaners to wash him once a month. Didn’t she understand the quantity of poop those flying rats produced every day?
Oh, when he got out, those birds were going to pay. Maybe turn the world upside down, bring all statuary to life in glorious rebellion against the winged oppressors! Then we’d see how they liked getting pooped on.
“The bird revenge fantasy again?” asked the more mobile of two Discords, politely setting up the chess set.
“Oh, how dreadfully rude of me, Discord,” the statue sincerely apologized. “Here I am, head in the clouds, while we have a game to begin. You go first, I insist.”
But this was no ordinary game. Normal chess was far too limiting. Rules were for mortals and the Discords eschewed rules whenever possible. Multiple pieces moved at once, sometimes switching allegiance or leaving the board altogether. And time limits? What use did immortals have for time limits?
And were the pieces colored the typical boring black and white one would expect? No, from the lowliest pawn to the mightiest queen, each piece carried far more personality, far more pizzazz, every color of the rainbow making an appearance.
The first move saw the advance a trio of pawns—pink, grey, and black.
“So, are your pawns cooperating?” the statue queried, contemplating his first move. “And how is Queeny? I imagine it wasn’t a pleasant meeting.”
“One may be a problem,” admitted his opponent with a shrug. “But nothing I can’t handle.” He waved off the concern. “As for Crysy… let’s say the satisfaction in deceiving the deceiver is its own reward.”
“You’ve never let me down before, Discord,” the statue complemented. A light blue knight and a purple bishop jumped forward. An aggressive opener, the pawns were in for a hard time. “It’s your move.”
And the game began in earnest.
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Dat synopsis...
Sounds like an interesting plot, I love a good 'chase' story if you know what I mean.
Wait a minute, are you that guy who asked for help in the fic's title in that author support group??
I must read this.
... As Discord plays Celestia's Elements of harmony against His own pawns, most likely fine with any outcome, so long as it's a SHOW.
1972255>>1970799>>1970388>>1974736
I'm really glad you liked the opener. Here's hoping I can keep this momentum. I do have the entire story outlined and I intend to finish.
1971020
Why yes, that was indeed me.
1970737
Chase sequences have been outlined and will be coming.
1971671
I really enjoyed writing that part. I wanted to explore the theme of great powers and abilities having a price.
1970396
Ha! I had to rewrite it 5+ times!
1972146
Strawberries and basil are an excellent combination, especially when coupled with a balsamic reduction.
1975158
Couldn't have done it without your support.
1973556
Basically what happens when you play chess against yourself.
1977068
Exactly what I was going for. Though, to be truthful, I never watched any of previous generations. Didn't realize they looked like that. Chilling!
Wow, this is pretty damn good. I really like your portrayal of Discord, getting the right combination of silly and diabolical. It's a shame this fic will be completely screwed over by next Saturday.
1977294
Thank you. Basically trying to go for a bastard covered bastard with bastard filling, in my portrayal of Discord. I'm not too worried about canon breaking the story. Kinda why I submitted now. Besides, I can always slap on the alternate universe tag later if it becomes a problem for people.
1979115
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cog
Definition of cog
noun
a wheel or bar with a series of projections on its edge, which transfers motion by engaging with projections on another wheel or bar:
the cogs and springs of a watch
1.bp.blogspot.com/_zid4eRSgKBw/TH2VptK7_4I/AAAAAAAAAsw/h_w9X57pgZA/S748/329px-Counterclockwise_arrow.svg.png
You're welcome
1979115
According to the articles I read online, modern hang gliders can indeed do some crazy tricks. You just need to be a skilled pilot. Still pretty dangerous though, and the propulsion canister is a real thing.
Hope you enjoy. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contribute them.
1979651
We must be using different dictionaries or something.
There are also cogwheels.
But gears are
These are copypasta'd from Dictionary.com. Now, it might be a British term for a gear, but every source I know of describes cogs as the teeth on a gear. Also, that picture clears up the "counter-clockwise arrow thing. I was picturing a straight arrow, rather than a curved one. Including that in the description might be a good idea. The curved nature, that is, not necessarily the picture itself.
1980171
I did not know that. I would have thought that the airfoil shape would be ruined by a barrel roll, and have never heard of using propellant canisters to get speed. Neat stuff. Awesome story, so far. Can't wait to see what happens next. I really find myself sympathizing with Wallflower, though he'd better be careful about "going with the flow", that he doesn't fall into some sort of trap Discord has planned for him.
I see what you did there. It makes me happy to see something I created take hold like that.
1981139
Okay, I will make some slight edits to clarify those bits, curved arrow makes sense.. I'm just used to saying cog because I played as a Tech Priest in W40K rpgs. Yes, I took Dam Oak leaves. Originally I had written Sword of Damocles, but then you came along and I felt the need to 'borrow it'. Icarus, Damocles, I like using mythological references.
1979651>>1981139
Here we go: a cog.
api.ning.com/files/W1cw20bMpwspzOrZTW*RhND25Rr6cZaGjR8CIL3P2aGWhV6VQg62lC5Cmzj9E9G9cI1AVB6ymyAfHPJ3jj9FPzg7WGbQJtTZ/Cog_512x512.png
1981139>>1981156
OK, ok, for the sake of world peace, let's get this sorted:
A cog, in proper machinist's terms is the word used to refer to one of the teeth of a toothed wheel.
However, in general usage a 'cog' can refer to the entire wheel.
Some dictionaries specify this dichotomy, and some are either vague or ignore common usage.
Wrabbit, your definition was from Dictionary.com. The one I quoted was the Oxford-English dictionary's website. There are dozens of current dictionaries we could turn to ... and that's just counting the ones online.
We could argue about exact definitions or the relative merits of various sources of authority, but in the end it comes down to common usage versus strict interpretation. That, however, is a matter of personal preference, and I won't tell someone that their sense of taste is wrong - that's a meaningless thing to say (like telling someone they shouldn't like strawberries).
I've learned something new today, and to me that's the most important part.
1983304
I apologize if I came off as high-handed; that was not my intention. I just found it odd to refer to a gear as a cog, as I had never heard of it before. Maybe it's a regional thing? In any case, I agree with you that we should let this lie and move on.
Is it bad that I want this version of Celestia to be exposed to all of Equestria?
1973556 I'm in full agreement here.
This can end in a lot of ways, but all of them are awesome.
2004569
Thanks, wanted to keep the story focused and not do the traditional OC's go around town, and meet every member of the Mane6 thing.
Interesting flashback. More or less as expected, though who knows how edited it was by Discord.
I love Facsimile. Is HiveNet her nickname for the gestalt? That name somewhat threw me off for a minute or two until I realized she was the only one who used it.
2009978
I meant to imply that the younger generation of changelings called it that. I should probably clarify that, but it will be mentioned again in later chapters.
2010005 Oh, that makes sense in the context it was used.
FEATURED ON EQUESTRIADAILY.COM!
Congrats, Seether! You've earned it!
Saw this on EqD and basically thought "Well I'll be damned if that's not the best-sounding thing I've ever heard." Will be reading once I've caught up on my other follows. Sadly, I have a LOT of backlog in my other follows. I blame Skyrim.
*Checks EQD*
Wow, congratulations!
...guess that means you'll have to write a few more chapters, eh?
Urgh, I hope this isn't going to lead into Celestia being a tyrant. I'll just have to read it and find out, right?
I saw the synopsis on EqD: color me interested. I shall take a look-see most definitely.
This is going great so far
must read more...
Congrats on getting on EQD, you deserve a moustache.
Sounds very intriguing. Will read when I have the time to!
I thought of this while giving this a looksie.
Oh wow, amazing!!! This is really well written and very imaginative. Rainbow and Twilight are my two favorites of the Mane Six and your characters are really developed. I can't wait to read more!
This fanfic deserves to be on Equestria Daily.
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/2187822469248781769216847.gif?1320350270
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/tumblr_llba7jrQS41qdum5r.gif
please sir can i have some more?
2034066
How did you make your text so big?
Just so we're clear on this you have every intention of finishing this fanfic, right?
2049484 Click on the "A" in the bar above your comment box.
2037258
Thank you. It means a lot coming from one of my fave authors here.
2049487
Absolutely. I spent a lot of time outlining before writing even the prologue. It's not a spontaneous work there is plan behind everything.
In terms of percentages, (ex:10%) how close is the next chapter to this fanfic to being completed?
2132669
At the 6,000+ Mark now, so I would say ~50% rough draft. Still got two more scenes to write then off to editing.