• Published 19th Nov 2012
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Integration - Raugos



For once, a pony wishes to join the changelings instead.

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Chapter 11

Four months before Integration…

Sassaflash running away might not have been a totally bad thing, as it turned out. Caramel had done a little more research since the night she visited, and he’d found that the authorities had been quite busy tracking down and exposing changelings. There were over fifty cases of infiltration in Ponyville alone, although most of those were only in the weeks leading up to the wedding and only involved temporary impersonations and not actual kidnapping. There were much fewer cases of long term impersonation or replacements.

Many of said changelings had disappeared after the attack, but a few had actually been caught and tossed into the dungeons. And that was something that he didn’t want to happen to Sash. He had already given up trying to rationalise his feelings on the matter; he knew that he loved her, and as far as he could tell, she had already proven herself to him by risking that visit and telling him the truth. The thought of her spending the rest of her days in a cold, dank cell was unbearable, and he’d already had a couple of nightmares where Shining Armour had been the one to drag her off.

Still, those dreams had given him an idea.

“You sure you want to go in there?” asked the royal guard as they trotted down the stairwell beneath Canterlot’s streets. “I mean, I know that it—err, he was your, um…” He frowned and looked at Caramel.

“We were friends in high school,” Caramel supplied. “He did me a big favour once; I can’t believe that he’d just turn his back on us like that.”

“Join the club,” the grey unicorn muttered. His expression softened, and he added, “But seriously, don’t get your hopes up. You’re not the only one who’s visited these guys, and none of them came back happy. They’re kinda good at acting; everypony’s been fooled into thinking their love was real.”

No, not Sassaflash.

“To be honest, sometimes I’m afraid that they would actually show some sincerity,” the guard continued.

“Why?”

“It would… complicate things.”

Yeah. No kidding.

Just before they reached the cell, the guard stopped and said in an undertone, “I’ll give you two some privacy, so long as you follow one rule: don’t go near the bars. They are enchanted so no magic leaves the cell, but that won’t stop him from reaching out and grabbing you and I would prefer to avoid an incident.”

Caramel nodded. “Got it.”

The cell had a heavy wooden door with a tiny slit near the top. Once inside, he saw that it was roughly square, and was divided into two by bars running from the left wall to the right side. The deeper half was for the prisoner and the outer for visitors.

“I’ll be standing outside. If there’s trouble, just holler,” said the guard as he shut the door.

The prisoner’s side of the cell housed a single bed and a bucket in one corner. Surprisingly, it didn’t look as miserable and filthy as he’d pictured before coming. There were no rats or bugs skittering about, and it was pretty dry and warm. In fact, he might have considered it cosy if it weren’t for the iron bars.

The changeling was hanging upside-down from the ceiling above the bed with its eyes closed.

“Hi there,” Caramel greeted.

One ear twitched slightly, so he knew that the changeling had heard him. But there was no answer.

“Come on Corny, don’t be like that,” he said, slightly louder than he needed to. Although the guards had already scanned him with a spell to ensure that he wasn’t a changeling in disguise, he still wanted to give the impression that he was the prisoner’s friend. Or rather, a friend of the prisoner’s pony disguise.

The changeling opened one eye and said, “Do I know you?”

No. Caramel had lied to the guards about knowing him personally. Acorn Nut was actually an acquaintance of Lyra. She’d spoken of how he was dragged out of his home by the guards when somepony reported his suspicious behaviour after the attack on Canterlot. Many reports ended up being nothing more than paranoia, but Acorn’s case turned out to be real, and like Sassaflash, his identity was completely made up.

Caramel raised a hoof and brought it low, motioning for silence. Then, he said in an undertone, “We haven’t met, but I was hoping you could help me.”

This time, the changeling opened both eyes and appraised him. After a moment, he let go of the ceiling, thumped down onto the bed and lounged there lazily. “Oh? And what exactly do you need help with?”

“Can you tell me where your, uh… hive is?” Caramel wasn’t sure if hive was the right word, but he’d heard the term from some of the guards and hoped it wasn’t offensive to the changeling. “I kind of need to go there.”

Acorn looked incredulous for a moment, but his surprise soon turned into a glare. “Wow. You’re the first one to open with that.”

Huh?

“Sure, I get that it wasn’t enough that you guys stomped us flat at the wedding, but can’t you just give it a rest? I’m not telling you where the hive is!” Acorn growled.

The guards had apparently been busy. Caramel wasn’t sure of the specifics, but he guessed that they’d been fishing for information so they could keep a better eye out for future attacks. This wasn’t going how Caramel had imagined it would.

“What? No, I’m not trying to interrogate you or anything!” he blurted. “I won’t tell anypony else, I promise!”

“Wow. Again. You must be pretty new to this, or your superiors are running out of ideas.”

“No, I’m serious!” Caramel was starting to get a little irritated, himself. “I just want to find the hive and—”

Acorn cut him off. “Just how stupid do you think I am?”

“Shhh!” Caramel hissed. The last thing he needed was the guard checking in on them. He was short enough on time as it was. “Just calm down. I’m just looking for… someone I know. And I think she’s gone back to the hive.”

The changeling gave him a measuring gaze for a moment. Caramel resisted fidgeting, and then Acorn finally said, “Why do you want to find her?”

“She’s my special somepony.”

“Stop beating around the bush,” Acorn snapped. “I’m guessing she’s a changeling, yes?”

Caramel nodded.

“And you’ve still got your crush on her? Even knowing what she is?”

It’s more than a crush… “Yeah.”

Acorn narrowed his eyes, slipped off the bed and trotted over to the bars. “Come closer.”

Caramel hesitated. “What for?”

The changeling snorted and waved him over impatiently. “I know what the guard told you about getting close, but if you want my help, I want to be sure you’re worth my time.”

Slowly, Caramel edged closer. Acorn made no move to grab him or anything when he was right next to the bars. “Okay, what now?” he asked.

“How’d you find out about her?”

“Canterlot. She got hit by that giant bubble.”

There was a bright flash of green fire, and suddenly there was a nutty brown pegasus on the opposite side of the bars. Acorn grinned at him and said, “What makes you so sure that your ‘special somepony’ cares about you? How do you know that it was real? With the way everypony’s been acting for the past few weeks, we’re apparently lying monsters that need to be flushed out of our hidey holes and stuffed into cages.”

“She came back for me later. She told me the truth and then left.”

Acorn smiled knowingly. “Emphasis on left.”

Caramel glared back. “She left because she didn’t want to make things complicated for me, okay?”

“And avoid getting caught. How convenient.”

“She fought you guys during the attack. She protected me,” Caramel snapped. “I can still remember the look on your buddy’s face when she blasted him with magic!”

Acorn blinked at that. “Wait. She attacked one of us?”

“Yes. And she was supposed to be a pegasus. She dropped her disguise to save me from getting caught.”

There was a pause, and then Acorn discreetly licked his lips and swallowed lightly. “Been a while since I tasted some genuine love. And if she really did as you say, well…” he seemed to be thinking deeply for a moment, before he finally shifted back into changeling form and continued, “Okay, fine. I’m convinced. I can give you some instructions on where to go, but because you’re not a flyer, it’s going to be tough for you.”

Caramel squared his shoulders. “Better than nothing. Where is it?”

Acorn put a hoof up. “First, there are several conditions. You cannot tell anyone where the hive is if you find it, and you cannot ask others for help or let them know what you’re planning. And I want it to be a Pinkie Promise.”

Caramel blinked. “You know about the Pinkie Promise?”

“Everyone knows about the Pinkie Promise.” Acorn’s voice had taken on a haunted quality for a moment, as if he was remembering something particularly nasty. “Do we have a deal or not?”

Caramel hated the idea that he was going to do this without telling anypony, especially Mom and Dad, but he couldn’t see any other way to do it. The best chance he had of finding Sash was another changeling. So he sighed and went through the motions, saying, “Fine, I promise not to tell anypony where your hive is; I won’t ask anypony for help or let them know what I’m planning. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

The changeling grinned. “I hope for your sake that she’s worth it, because you’re probably in for a world of hurt.”

“She is, and I don’t care what I have to go through to find her,” Caramel said resolutely.

Acorn looked like he had been about to roll his eyes, but before Caramel could snap at him for his cynicism, he chuckled and said, “Okay, relax, don’t get your tail in a knot. If you want to find your special somepony, there’s this little trail in the badlands…”

I’m coming for you, Sash, Caramel thought. I’m coming.

* * * * *

Eleven days before Integration…

It had been a tiring day for Caramel. Taking care of kids was way more demanding than most ponies thought. For starters, there was a lot more to it than just playing with them and foaling around, especially if you wanted them to learn something at the end of the day. Then, after teaching, entertaining and feeding the nymphs, Tibia had called on him to help with moving several clusters of eggs because some dampness had seeped into that part of the hatchery. And apparently, moving them also involved cleaning and grooming to ensure that they didn’t dry out or get infected with mould.

Nevertheless, he found the work satisfying, and he always had something to look forward to at the end of the work cycle. When his shift was over and he was done tending to the eggs, he made his way to one of the secluded water reservoirs where he found Sassaflash waiting for him.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

She sighed. “I finally got someone to listen. It’s Grez.”

Caramel remembered that the guy was a pretty big changeling, and the Overseer of Builder Caste, no less. He was quite the catch if Sash had managed to convince him that the hive needn’t be at war with ponies. So why did she look so disappointed?

He raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that good news? You don’t look too happy about it.”

“I’m not sure he’s doing it for the right reason. He just doesn’t like keeping the hive like, well… a beehive.” Sash rolled her eyes and made a vague gesture with a hoof. “He believes that we can be so much more than ‘tunnel diggers’ and ‘dirt pushers’. To hear him go on about how Chrysalis keeps toning down his projects, you’d think he’d try to make an underground Canterlot Palace if given half the chance.”

Well, that wasn’t too bad. At least the fellow had vision for better things. “But he’s still willing to help, right?”

Sash chuckled weakly. “Err, about that… Grez said he isn’t committing yet, and he doesn’t like being rushed. When I asked what he meant, he just said that he will do what he can to make sure his workers don’t stop us if it comes to a fight.” She put up a hoof to stop his questions, then grinned nervously and added, “Oh, and you know what the best part is? For some reason, he seems to think that I’m trying to overthrow Chrysalis. He said that if I took over, he wanted free rein to pursue construction projects and organise expeditions to the old city.”

Caramel blinked. “Wow.”

“Yeah. It’s ridiculous.”

“Actually, that sounds even better than what I had in mind. If you’re queen, we won’t have to convince anyone; you can just tell them what to do!” He put a hoof to his chin thoughtfully. “Now we just need to find a way to get rid of her…”

Sash’s eye twitched.

Caramel tried to keep a straight face, but a snigger escaped him.

Sash sagged with relief, then snorted and punched his shoulder. “That wasn’t funny. Do you know what Mother would do to us if she got wind of this?” When he burst out laughing, she smiled and shook her head. “Why can’t you be funny when we’re not doing stuff that could get our heads chopped off?”

He chuckled. “Blame Rax. It’s what happens when you’re with him for too long.” After a moment, he sat next to Sash and put a foreleg around her back, then made a sweeping motion with his other hoof. “But think about it. Queen Calyx, ruler of the Changeling Empire!”

Sassaflash rolled her eyes. “No way. I’m not cut out for mucking around with leadership. But it’s nice of you to think so.”

“Hey, I know so. You’d make a much nicer leader than that nasty—”

She raised an eyebrow. “You do know that you’re talking about my mother, right?”

Oh. Stupid mouth. He grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. “Well, yeah, but… I didn’t mean to say that—”

Sash silenced him with a quick nuzzle and whispered into his ear, “Now we’re even.”

Caramel chuckled and returned the gesture. They simply sat together in silence, watching drops of water fall from the ceiling and plop into the reservoir. He wished it could last for ages, but there was always work to be done.

“Same time tomorrow?” he asked before they parted.

Sash nodded. “Yes, but let’s make it the old passage on the lower east side. Scorn has already seen me coming here more than once.”

* * * * *

Some hours later, after making sure that the nymphs were sound asleep, Caramel carefully eased away and ascended the nearest tunnel to the surface. He could afford to lose some sleep, and he’d been putting off his plans for long enough already.

Though most of the hive was asleep or resting, the passages to Chrysalis’ sanctum remained well guarded. He was careful to keep his distance from those; the last thing he wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to what he was going to do. There was still quite a ways to go before he reached the final shaft, but he was already starting to feel a sense of misgiving. But he pushed on, ignoring the feeling of uneasiness that was growing.

The hive had multiple exits to the surface, and the passage he’d chosen was one that was only wide enough to accommodate changelings crawling in single file. It was more like a ventilation shaft than an actual passage, but it could serve as an alternative to the main exits in emergencies. He’d learned of it in his time in Warrior Caste, when they were teaching him the few strategies employed in defending the hive from intruders coming from the surface. The narrow passage’s opening was supposedly well-hidden on the surface, and could be used to attack intruders from the rear if they had the main tunnels barricaded, effectively trapping their enemies. Caramel had never been given a practical drill on such a tactic because of Chrysalis’ orders, but Skeehar had seen fit to educate him anyway in case the need ever arose. Which it had; just not in the way they were expecting.

The best part about this particular passage was that it was lightly guarded, since it was easy to collapse a section of it to block it off entirely if anything tried to enter that way. There were only one or two guards stationed by its entrance.

Unlike the royal guards he’d seen in Canterlot, it turned out that changeling sentries weren’t very alert. At least, not in the same sense. Pony guards would stand at their post and keep watch, but changelings relied mostly on touch and sound. The entire passage had a thin layer of hard, porous material which Builder Caste produced by mixing their resin with clay and dirt. When dry, the stuff was pretty good at transmitting vibrations, which Caramel likened to pressing his ear on a wooden table whilst somepony knocked on it with their hooves. Changeling sentries would settle themselves into artificial depressions in the tunnel walls and simply rest in a half-dormant state, waiting for the movement of an intruder to rouse them. From what he’d heard from some of his former caste-mates, it was easy to distinguish between changeling and non-changeling movement, and they could even tell when a rodent was skittering around.

He had no way of telling how true that claim was, having never tried it himself, but it seemed believable enough. After all, it was how he’d been caught when he entered the hive. He remembered freaking out and thinking that they were coming out of nowhere, when in reality they had probably been hidden in the passage with him all along.

It seemed such a long time ago. Back when he was a full pony…

Focus, mister.

This time, it would be a little different. He’d be approaching from the other end, and hopefully his transformation was sufficiently advanced that his movement would be indistinguishable from a regular changeling’s. If he was lucky, the guard would mistake him for a forager or scout and not bother to get up and ask questions he didn’t want to answer.

His uneasiness had grown considerably, and setting hoof into the tunnel proper took more willpower than he liked. Still, he made the next step, and the one after that, and he settled into a steady rhythm, doing his best to ignore everything else.

“Where are you going?” asked a voice that seemed to come from the ground.

Yikes! Caramel nearly jumped in fright. A changeling that he didn’t recognise was peering at him, nestled in a cosy hollow near his hooves.

Oh, that’s great. He’d been concentrating so hard on fighting against the compulsion that he’d completely failed to notice the sentry!

The changeling narrowed his eyes when Caramel failed to answer the question. He racked his brain for an excuse, but nothing convincing turned up. Meanwhile, he was picking up more and more suspicion from the sentry’s emotions, and nearly turned tail when the changeling stood up and frowned at him face to face.

“Well? What are you doing up here?”

Caramel briefly wondered what had spurred him to do something so brash, but he quickly shoved that thought aside. First things first. He might have been able to pass his wanderings lower down as idle exploration, but this tunnel very obviously led to the surface, and now that he’d been confronted directly, the queen would soon hear of his deliberate attempt to disobey her orders even if he backed down and returned to his duties. Now that he had gotten himself into a corner, it was as good a time as any to go all-out.

He drew himself up and took a deep breath, fixing the sentry with what he hoped was an indignant glare and growled, “None of your business. Get back to your post.”

The changeling blinked in surprise, and then turned his head slightly so that his shout would go down to the hive. His eyes remained focused on Caramel as he drew in a breath, but the expected shout only came out as an incoherent noise that couldn’t have been loud enough to travel very far.

Horse apples, it didn’t work!

Caramel considered himself lucky that the sentry was hesitating – probably out of sheer incredulity at his attempt to give him orders – but if he didn’t do something to fix it, he’d effectively ruined what was probably his best chance to make things right.

“What’s your name?” he blurted. His mind was racing, and as the words left his mouth, he felt shame that he was crumbling so easily and quickly. He had the opportunity to make things better for both changelings and ponies, and he was bungling it up! Memories of Rax welled up in his mind, of the battle with the diamond dogs and the quarray eels. He remembered seeing him lying broken on the ground, then falling into the darkness. He remembered feeding on Lucky’s emotions as he lay unconscious in the pod. He saw the feeble forms of the two elderly ponies he had rescued from the quarrays, taken from their homes and unaware that they were living a false life in their dreams.

The changeling was looking at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Did you eat a bad fungus or something? I don’t want to call the guards on you, but if you don’t get back down there, I will—”

Caramel silenced him with a renewed glare. He felt heat rising in his chest as he thought of all the unnecessary suffering on both sides of the divide. He’d lost a friend and brother already, and he was not going to let something like that happen to anyone else, whether changeling or pony.

“Look, I asked you a simple question. What’s your name?” he growled. This time, he could feel his words somehow resonating. It gave him a rush, like the kind that he got whenever he watched his favourite hoofball team winning in a tournament.

The sentry shrank back in alarm, then murmured, “I’m Weave.”

Caramel pressed on, channelling his best impression of Skeehar. “Well, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, I’ve got some business to take care of, and I don’t want you wasting my time with stupid questions.” He pointed a hoof back to the hollow. “So get back to your post.”

“But, you’re not allowed up there,” Weave protested. “What am I supposed to say if they ask—”

Caramel didn’t give him a chance to finish. He advanced until his snout had practically bumped into Weave’s. The sentry leaned back to avoid him, but he carried on until he’d forced him onto his haunches. When he judged that he was sufficiently cowed, he jabbed a hoof at his chest. “Don’t waste their time. You should be keeping an eye out for our real intruders instead of bothering your own kind!”

“But, but you’re not—”

“What? Not changeling enough for you?” Caramel flared his horn to life and gave in to the flames. They ate away at the remnants of his coat and he felt the rest of his pony traits being twisted into the changeling equivalent. When they died down, he shook himself and spat, “How about now?”

“Okay, okay, fine!”

“Seriously, I don’t know why you were placed here if you can’t even tell who you’re supposed to stop or give passage.”

Weave gulped. “Please don’t report this to Skeehar.”

Caramel felt bad about bullying him, especially considering that he seemed quite young, but he saw no other way to keep him quiet. Still, he relented a little and shifted back to his normal appearance. “Fine. Just don’t make it a habit.”

Weave chirped out a meek response and silently settled back in his hollow, leaving Caramel to continue his ascent unimpeded.

Can’t believe that worked… He didn’t know why he was able to compel others the same way Chrysalis or one of the overseers could, but he wasn’t about to complain. It felt good to have unexpected things turn up to his advantage for once. As a bonus, the heady rush he’d gotten from drawing on his own emotions and memories to compel Weave was also making it easier to ignore the uncomfortable fact that he was disobeying Chrysalis in his attempt to reach the surface.

However, it soon wore off. Guilt and dread, the unique chains that Chrysalis had around his neck welled up and threatened to send him racing back to the safety and comfort of obedience. There’s always a bigger bug, he thought. Each step required conscious effort, and he could no longer ward off the all too familiar feeling that he was doing terrible things. In one instance, he felt like he was stealing from the poor. In the next he was lying and framing his best friends for his misdeeds and laughing when they were taken away by the Royal Guards. Caramel shook his head in an attempt to steer away from such thoughts, but to no avail. When avoidance failed, he turned to his memories. He turned to his purpose. He drew on the love that Sassaflash and the nymphs had given him, and they gave him strength to carry on.

But when he was at about half the tunnel’s length to the surface, the compulsion had almost become a physical force. Any movement forward was possible only at a sluggish pace. His heart was thumping, and the back of his neck pricked constantly, as if somepony was watching him. Any bend in the tunnel was enough to tighten his nerves, so tight that he felt they would snap at the slightest sound. He could never shake off the feeling that there was some unknown horror lurking beyond the bend, waiting to seize him the moment he peeped round the corner. To his shame, he even lit up his horn when the light provided by the luminous nodes on the wall’s surface was more than sufficient for him to see. It did help to calm his nerves, though, and he frequently stopped to gather the courage to push on and reassure himself that it was all in his head.

But he could only go so far. By the time he judged that he was through a fifth of the tunnel’s length to the surface, his legs were shaking, he was sweating profusely, and he was constantly looking behind, fearing that Chrysalis or her guards were going to find him and punish him for his disobedience. The tension eventually grew unbearable, and images of his demise started spilling into his mind.

Chrysalis might feed him to a quarray, piece by piece. Or she might stuff him into a pod and toss it down into the abyss. In another thought, she’d jab her eggs into him with a sting, and his belly would swell as her grubs grew ate him from the inside out…

That’s ridiculous; ignore it, the rational part of his mind reasoned. He just needed to focus and put one hoof in front of the other. Come on, step by step… But the rest of him was having none of that.

Gah, I can’t do this anymore!

Caramel turned around and hastily retreated a few steps. But once he started, he could not stop. His pace quickened, and he soon found himself galloping back down, scraping himself along the narrow way. The tunnel walls became a blur as he raced towards the safety of the hive—and Weave suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Now what—T’chaak!” Weave’s expletive was the last thing he said before Caramel crashed into him, and they tumbled the remaining distance to the hive end of the tunnel. Luckily, the distance wasn’t too great.

Ouch… Caramel groaned as he untangled himself from Weave. His wounds from the quarray attack didn’t hurt so much anymore, but his tattered wings were still rather tender. He sat on his haunches, breathing heavily and waiting for his heart and frayed nerves to settle down.

Weave, on the other hoof, quickly recovered and darted back to the tunnel. “What was that? Is something coming?” he asked urgently.

“Err, no. It’s nothing. My mistake.” Caramel knew that he’d made a massive blunder, but he simply could not muster the willpower to come up with a cover story or to bully him into keeping quiet.

Judging by his half-open mouth, slight frown and silence, Weave was sufficiently confused. Eventually, he shook his head and said, “What were you running from, then? Are you… okay?”

“I, um…” No credible explanation presented itself. When the silence had stretched beyond reason, he simply hung his head and sighed. “No, I’m not okay. I just… Never mind. I’m going back. See you.”

Weave said nothing as he sidled off. But after several steps, Caramel looked back and saw him still staring, completely nonplussed. He grinned sheepishly and said, “By the way, can we please keep that between the two of us?”

All he got in response was a frown and a noncommittal chirp. He considered pressing the matter, but Weave ended it by returning to his post without further ceremony. Sighing, Caramel began the long walk back to the hatchery. The others would be up and about soon enough, and he would have his hooves full just keeping the nymphs occupied. But his anticipation of spending time with his siblings was tainted by the bitter taste of his failed attempt to reach the surface. And to make matters worse, it was quite possible that he’d already botched up his plans. Everything kind of depended on whether Weave would rat him out or not, but he was too emotionally exhausted to fret or come up with a contingency plan.

He just hoped that Weave wouldn’t bother reporting the incident, since keeping quiet would allow him to avoid questions on why he’d allowed the only half-pony in the hive to get past him.

* * * * *

By some stroke of luck, nobody came after him. Not even on the next day. By that time, he had sufficiently recovered that he was willing to give the surface another shot. Weave was guarding the place as usual, but allowed him to pass with little more than a glance. Caramel did not particularly like that glance, though. It was the sort that you gave to ponies that you knew were a little off in the head, but didn’t dare to point it out to them in case they decided to show you the full extent of their craziness. Still, it was something that he could exploit.

He ended up failing again, but at least not as spectacularly as the first time. He managed to go a bit farther too. The sense of apprehension and fear was significantly weaker than on his first try, especially in areas that he’d already passed. It was only at the mark of his previous failure where things started getting out of hoof. But progress was progress, and it was encouraging to find that he was gradually gaining ground over the compulsion Chrysalis had placed on him. If he kept it up, he would eventually reach the surface.

In between that and work, he would also spend time exploring every nook and cranny of the hive that he could possibly get to. He never found an easier way to the surface, but he figured that it would help later on, particularly where the prisoners were concerned. Getting his friends out of the hive was still close to the top of his priority list, so he took special care in familiarising himself with the layout of the pod chambers, using the excuse of visiting Sassaflash as cover.

His wounds continued to heal at a remarkable rate as the days passed, even the fresh ones that he received in a brief clash with a couple of wandering diamond dogs. It probably shouldn’t have surprised him, given how much love he was getting from Sash and the nymphs each day. His wings were a little different, though. A couple of days after his first attempt to climb back to ground level, they popped cleanly and painlessly off his back. And in another two days, he found a pair of buds sprouting from where the old ones had been. They were slow to mature, but it was certainly better than nothing.

Sassaflash was pretty busy, too. He continued to meet her every few cycles, and almost every time she would report that she’d gotten a few more changelings to consider supporting a different way of doing things. None were quite as dramatic or ambitious as Overseer Grez had been, but Sash seemed certain that they wanted the animosity between changelings and ponies to end, at the very least. One of them mentioned that it would make pinching ponies’ love much easier, but Sash hadn’t gotten round to telling them that stopping that sort of thing was kind of an important part of the plan.

That was another problem for Caramel. The plan. He didn’t have a trump card, some ultimatum that he could throw at Chrysalis to get her to at least try an alternative to the half-standoff, half-parasitic relationship they currently had with ponies. He thought about it day after day as he went about his business. Time was running out. Princess Luna had never spoken to him since Stickle’s intrusion into his dreams, although he was pretty certain that he’d glimpsed her fleetingly a few times. If he was ever going to have a trump card, she was going to be it. The moon continued to call to him in his dreams, driving him to push himself to the last dregs of his courage each time he attempted to fight his way to the surface. He got closer each cycle, but it would have been great to have some assurance that reaching it would give him what he needed.

Unfortunately, it only remained a promise spoken to him in his dreams. Time was running out. Sash was slowly gathering support, and it probably would not be long before she spoke to the wrong changeling and Chrysalis got word of just how committed they were to the plan. Knowing her, she would probably consider it treason.

The part that he hated most was that he hadn’t told Sash about Princess Luna’s involvement. She knew about his attempts to reach the surface, but as far as she was concerned, it was for him to prove that it was possible to fight Chrysalis’ compulsion, that they could all do the same if he succeeded. She probably would’ve been a lot less enthusiastic if his main reason was to reach the moon because it was speaking to him in his dreams. And yet, no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that it wasn’t a very convincing reason, he still felt so certain that it would help, somehow.

On the eighth day after his first attempt, he finally found out.

* * * * *

Rax. Changeling. Warrior. Friend. Friends do not forget.

Caramel blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. He felt nice and warm, and it took him a moment to remember that Sash had managed to time her work shift so they could rest together. He smiled when Sash mumble something in her sleep. By his estimation, it was a couple of hours before the next cycle; it was time for him to make another run for the surface.

This time. This time, for sure.

But when he tried to get up, a pair of forelegs wrapped around his chest and neck and pulled him back.

“Mm, too early. Stay a bit…” Sash mumbled as she squeezed him gently.

She was very warm and comfortable. Despite his eagerness to get started, Caramel decided that a few minutes more with his special somepony couldn’t hurt. He settled back down and patted her foreleg rhythmically, listening to the sound of her breaths. He could also hear the breathing of the dozen nymphs lying around them.

He wondered what Mom and Dad would’ve thought if they saw him right now, cuddling with a changeling deep underground and surrounded by hundreds of eggs and dozens of their juveniles. Not to mention that I’m half bug, too. Their opinions probably wouldn’t be very favourable, but he could not bring himself to say that he would want it any other way. Of course, he could very well wish that they were all plain ponies, but that was just asking for the moon.

“What would I do without you?” he murmured.

Sash nuzzled the back of his neck in response.

Eventually, though, he had to go. Sash reluctantly released him, and after giving her a quick peck on the cheek, he cantered off.

Weave had long since quit giving him odd looks whenever he passed by. Caramel was thankful, as it allowed him to focus on fighting the compulsion instead of fretting about getting found out all the time.

As expected, the going got tough only when he reached the spot where he last gave up. It was the final stretch to the surface; it couldn’t be more than forty yards or so. After taking a deep breath, Caramel strode forward, keeping pleasant thoughts in his mind. He was just taking a stroll, nothing wrong with that at all. Just a quick trip topside to get some fresh air. It helped to calm his nerves when the compulsion to flee struck him. Chrysalis was a reasonable changeling; surely she wouldn’t begrudge him a quick look at the sky. It had been quite a long time…

Keeping such a frame of thought could only work for so long, though. It helped him to ignore the fact that he was disobeying for a while, but his muscles were soon tensing up and every step made him feel like he was a thief walking towards a royal guard garrison. He slowed a little, but made sure not to stop entirely. Casting out all form of pretence, he instead switched to thoughts of why he was doing this.

We don’t need to be enemies.

Changelings shouldn’t be kidnapping ponies and imprisoning them; ponies shouldn’t be dragging changelings out of their homes and exiling them into the badlands. There had to be a better way. With Sash and Princess Luna on his side, he would find a way.

Such thoughts allowed him to stave off panic and pick up the pace once more. Step by step, he got a little closer to the surface. At some point, he even saw some coming from around a bend in the tunnel.

Light!

It wasn’t very bright – more like a dawn or evening sky – but compared to the feeble illumination provided by the luminescent nodes in the hive, it might as well have been broad daylight. It strengthened his resolve, and the going became a little easier for a while.

When he went around the bend, he saw that the tunnel sloped straight upwards, giving him a clear view of the sky. It was a muted kind of greyish blue, like an overcast sky in the evening, and it filled him with hope. He only had to climb another fifteen yards or so, and he would be out!

And then it struck him. He was so close to committing treason against Chrysalis. She had expressly forbidden him from going to the surface, and here he was happily trotting up as if it was the most normal thing in the world! His muscles instantly tightened in some places whilst simultaneously going slack in others. His movement became uncoordinated, and he stumbled to a halt. Chrysalis was watching him. Surely she couldn’t be that stupid. Heck, she was probably up there herself, waiting to catch him in the act, guilty as a foal with his hoof in the cookie jar.

No, no, no! Focus!

He’d let his concentration slip. The fear was paralysing him, and threatened to send him into a full-on panic if he didn’t do something about it.

But maybe if he backed down a bi—No!

Caramel ground his teeth and forced himself to stay still, ignoring every urge to turn tail and flee. He had to push on. The thought of giving up and coming back another time was tempting, but he’d learned back then that it only made him more likely to give up and procrastinate on future attempts. Slowly, he began to edge onward.

Come on, baby steps. Keep at it.

He shook his head and focused his thoughts on Sassaflash. She was counting on him. Even in his most pathetic moments, she had been there for him. He remembered her soothing voice, giving him courage when he was all but ready to give up. He would do this for her; he would find a way to make things better. She deserved it, and so did the rest of the hive. Stickle and the rest of the nymphs deserved better than a life of fighting diamond dogs and quarrays, scrounging in the darkness and dragging in ponies unlucky enough to cross their paths.

Front left, back right, front right, back left… It was a mantra that he repeated endlessly in his mind.

Suddenly, he realised that he was right at the end of the tunnel. The opening was narrow, but he could see the dim light coming from outside. He even spotted a weed growing out there. Just a few steps forward and he would be in the open.

Then, terror sank its claws into him. He was practically on the surface. He was so close to leaving the hive! A shiver went through him as he involuntarily took a step back…

No, no, stop that!

Caramel snarled and wrenched his leg back in place. Rax had died saving his life, and he was not going to let that happen to anyone else. Not if he had a say in it!

He took one step forward. Then another. Doubt tried to worm its way into his mind once more, but Caramel had had enough. He barged through and gave it no time to poison his mind and paralyse him again. Snarling, he broke into a gallop and rushed out into the light. Fear and guilt reared their ugly heads, but he roared and trampled them bloody, then left them to rot in the deepest pit in his mind.

He only stopped galloping when he tripped over something and scraped his face in gritty mud. For a moment, lying down on the wet earth was all he could do, but he slowly regained control of himself and sat up on his haunches. After regaining his breath, he saw that he had exited the hive from a cleft in a rocky tor, one of several in the area. There were a few dead trees around him, along with clusters of desert grass and some shrubs. Rain drops pattered on their foliage and on the muddy ground.

I… I made it.

The realisation made him giddy, and he felt a giggle escape him. It was followed by more heartfelt laughter. He jumped and skipped around in the mud, splashing it everywhere, like a colt on a sugar rush. He then trotted over to one of the little clusters of desert grass and took a bite. It was gritty and excessively fibrous, but he didn’t care.

Oh, that’s so good… he thought as he chewed.

After calming down, he took more stock of his surroundings. The light shower had stopped, and when he looked up, he found the clouds being blown away by strong winds in the night sky. It took him a moment to realise that it was actually night. Judging by the lighting, it couldn’t have been much later than early evening, and yet the stars and moon were out.

Oh wow. He knew that changelings could see in the dark, but he hadn’t quite realised just how well. Granted, it was way darker in the hive, but there wasn’t very much to look at anyway. But up here… He could see splashes of purple in the sky, along with hues of blue and yellowish green that he was sure he had never seen before. It was, for lack of a better word, enchanting.

Then, movement caught his eye. Caramel blinked in surprise and stared at the moon. He was pretty sure that he’d seen something around that part in the sky, perhaps something flying in front of the moon. But even after a few minutes of scanning the sky, he found nothing more than clouds and twinkling stars.

Princess Luna.

The gravity of the situation came crashing back down on him. He had finally found the moon, so where was the help that it had promised in his dreams? If it had been nothing more than a fake recurring theme in his head…

Relax, it’s only been a few minutes, he told himself. If there’s any help, you can’t expect it to be instant.

With some effort, Caramel was able to climb to the top of one of the rocky tors, though he was a little miffed that his new wings were nowhere near developed enough for flight. It would have been much easier that way.

Still, the tor did give him a reasonable view of the landscape, and he whistled in wonder at the sight. The badlands was transformed. The seasonal storm had practically been a deluge, and what water that hadn’t gone underground was left in the form of thousands of puddles, rivulets and ponds. It was as if somepony had left thousands of mirrors lying perfectly evenly on the ground, reflecting the night sky. The entire land was bathed in a bluish light, though he was pretty sure that that was partially due to his altered eyes.

His memory of the landscape during his journey to the hive was already hazy, but he was pretty sure that there was a lot more greenery because of the fresh supply of water. Sure, they mostly constituted grass, weeds and shrubs, but that was way better than before. There were other tors further out from where he was, but without the sun for guidance, he was at a loss as to which way pony civilisation lay. There were no recognisable landmarks that he could remember, and after several long minutes of scrutinising the horizon in every direction, he could find no sign of ponies nearby.

But she has to help. I’ve found the moon.

And so he waited, perched up on the tor’s highest point. But with every passing minute, his apprehension grew. He could not stay here waiting all night. He would be missed if he stayed for too long, and if Chrysalis got involved, everything would fly out the window.

“Come on, where are you?” he murmured.

Eventually, after waiting for what felt like an hour, he sighed in defeat and trudged back the way he’d come. It had been a waste of time. He had been expecting a revelation, or at least some indication that he was going to get help, but silence was the only answer. He didn’t know why he had even thought that finding the moon would help him in the slightest; now that he thought of it, it seemed incredibly stupid. He stomped a hoof and growled in frustration. Change had to come from within. They could not rely on any outsider’s help for the time being.

Before slinking back into the tunnel, he stopped just long enough to give the moon one last baleful glare. He turned away and—

Wait...

Caramel whirled back around and stared at the silvery orb. Did the moon just blink at him? He was pretty sure a shadow had moved over it a second ago. He lingered for a minute, but the moon remained stubbornly ordinary.

After a while, he shook his head and descended the tunnel. Maybe I’m losing it…

The first sign he got that something was wrong was when he realised that Weave wasn’t at his post. The second sign came right after that, when he found a pair of Chrysalis’ guards waiting for him at the end of the tunnel.

“There you are. Chrysalis wants to see you,” one of them said.

Caramel nearly froze. Oh, hayseed.

“Move it,” snapped the other guard.

This is bad… He wasn’t sure if this was about where he’d been, but he could think of no other reason for Chrysalis to send for him like this. If he was lucky, it would be just him and not Sash or anyone else, but that still left the question of whether there would be anything left of his plans to salvage after she was through with him. He racked his brain for something, anything that could get him out of this mess, but it seemed as if his mind had frozen up. He could only nod and follow in silence as he desperately tried to find a solution to his problem.

His guts practically wilted when he was taken directly to Chrysalis’ chambers. All of the overseers were in there, along with some of her personal guards. Weave and Sash were there too, and she was flanked by a pair of guards. Chrysalis stood in the middle of the roughly circular chamber surrounded by everyone else.

Caramel’s guards gave him a shove, and he was too stricken to properly keep his balance. He ended up sprawled on the floor in front of her.

Chrysalis tut-tutted and said, “Ah, Caramel, what am I supposed to do with you?”

Although it was glaringly obvious, she hadn’t specified what exactly he’d done wrong, so he decided to play along to buy time. So he steadily got back onto his hooves and replied, “Whatever you want.”

“Ooh, that’s a smart answer. You’re learning quickly.” Chrysalis chuckled and began stalking in a circle around him. “But that was rhetorical. Did you really think you could attempt to stage a coup and or make a run for the surface without me finding out?”

Caramel glanced at Sash and Weave. Sash looked distraught, but the sentry seemed only a little nervous.

“You know, I must admit that you’ve managed to surprise me,” Chrysalis stated. “You’re taking to life down here better than I could have hoped for, but I never would have guessed that you’d be able to disobey a direct order from me.”

“How’d you find out?” he murmured.

“Weave isn’t the only sentry. The others saw you fooling around on the surface.” Chrysalis glanced thoughtfully at Weave and added, “And, actually, the fact that you managed to make him keep quiet about your little hobby is very interesting. He had difficulty spilling the beans on your little excursions until I ordered him to. And… your influence on my children is impressive. Disobedience is on the rise, and there’s been talk of how my way of running things is a little stale.”

Something clicked inside of Caramel. Game’s on. Chrysalis had them cornered. He had to throw all his cards on the table if he wanted any chance of salvaging anything. So he looked her right in the eye and growled, “It is, your highness. You’re not even willing to try anything else.”

The others present chittered amongst themselves, but Chrysalis’ smug confidence remained unaffected. “I’ve seen my mother’s alternatives. I’m sure Tibia has already told you how that turned out for us. None of you are old enough to know, but I was there when we were chased out of our homes. I saw my siblings starve when Mother forbade us to take love that wasn’t freely given.”

Caramel knew that he was trotting on thin ice, but the words were out of his mouth before he could think it through. “I don’t think your plan to invade Canterlot was much better.”

The queen huffed. “Admittedly, not one of my best projects. But the flaw was in execution, not concept. I was drunk on love and power; I allowed myself to get cocky when I should have seized victory. I will not make that mistake again.”

Caramel could feel his heart rate climbing. Hearing the queen speak like that was slowly making his blood simmer with frustration. Why couldn’t she see reason? Why was she being so stubborn?

“You’re being stupid,” he muttered.

Chrysalis’ tone grew dangerous. “What?”

“Caramel,” Sash began, “don’t—”

“Be quiet,” Chrysalis snapped at her. “Let’s hear what the little pony has to say.”

Caramel felt fear stirring within, but he quickly squashed it before it could take hold. He no longer cared what Chrysalis thought of him. She had her ideas of what was right, and he had his. The only thing that mattered was that regardless of how things panned out, he would have a clear conscience.

He shook his head. “You guys can’t carry on like this. You once mentioned that many haven’t come back since the attack on Canterlot; you don’t have the numbers to keep this place going. How long will it be before the next diamond dog or quarray attack?” He saw a flash of Rax fighting the giant creature, but he quickly set that thought aside and continued, “And those ponies you have trapped down here can’t sustain you forever. Equestria’s already on full alert for changelings. Once these guys are gone, you won’t be able to trick or capture enough of us to feed yourselves!”

“And what do you expect us to do?” asked Overseer Anther.

“Make peace with the ponies, maybe?” Caramel suggested. “It’s about time you guys did!”

“Oh, and those ponies will be happy to let us keep our catch, I’m sure,” Skeehar drawled. “If they don’t come after us for revenge first, that is.”

“They’re better than that!” Caramel snapped. Although Shining Armour had been pretty ticked off about what Chrysalis had done to Princess Cadance, he hadn’t been rough or abusive towards the changelings that had been caught after the wedding. He was sure that Shining had it in him to put aside his feelings if it would mean they could all stop being enemies. Princess Luna had already proven open-minded to negotiation, and he was certain that Princess Celestia was just as willing, if not more so.

“Really? Somehow, I can’t see that happening,” another overseer murmured. It was Scorn, the leader of Hunter Caste.

“You can’t have peace without trust,” Caramel explained. “There’s got to be give and take; give them their friends and families back, and they’ll stop hunting us down.”

“And what do you expect us to live on whilst they take away our main source of love?” asked Chrysalis. “My children cannot feed on promises alone—promises that ponies might not even keep. We’d be easy targets once our source of magic is gone, and I will not let the Changeling Empire fall again!”

“What empire?”

Everyone turned to Sassaflash. For a moment, she seemed taken aback by being the centre of attention, but she quickly recovered. “We’re practically a beehive at this point, and a failing one at that.”

“Calyx, I’m warning you,” Chrysalis intoned, but Sash cut her off.

“Caramel is right. We can’t grow enough fungus to live on that alone, and we’re losing changelings faster than we can replace them! There simply isn’t enough love to raise nymphs in the numbers that we need. We’re not an empire anymore. We’re living in the ruins of one.”

Silence followed. For a while, nobody spoke as Chrysalis’ appraising gaze went back and forth between Caramel and Sash. Then…

“She has a point,” said a coarse voice, even by changeling standards. Overseer Grez seemed to be thinking deeply. “Wouldn’t it be worth the risk if it means we could be great once more? I’d take that chance over spending the rest of my life in this cave.”

“Besides, if we earn their trust, we can do work and buy our own food,” Caramel added. “I know you guys can live on regular food if there isn’t enough love to go around.”

He could sense hope in the others. And he thought he even heard a murmur of agreement. It’s working!

“Chrysalis, maybe it’s time to try something else,” Overseer Tibia said gently. “Maybe there’s more to Mother’s plans than we’ve given her credit for.”

“You too?” the queen asked bitterly. “You know our history better than anyone else but me. Mother’s oh so bright idea was the reason we fell!”

Tibia didn’t skip a beat. “We were falling long before that happened. It just wasn’t the right time when she tried it.” She smiled at Caramel and added, “And I think that this young fellow here is proof that things are different this time around.”

“Enough. There will be no more discussion of this,” Chrysalis growled, punctuating it with a stomp. “I cannot risk the future of the hive on the yet to be made promises of ponies who have proven, time and time again, that they’re a bunch of spoilt brats who are afraid of anyone who looks different from them. I will not let the hive be reduced to beggars picking at the crumbs from Celestia’s table, daily pleading for her to tolerate our existence—which is exactly how much power she will have over us if we go down that path!”

And we’re back to square one. This is ridiculous. Caramel could feel his temper coming to a boil. He shouted, “You’re not even willing to give us a chance, for crying out loud! The ponies in Equestria now aren’t the same ones who hunted changelings down in Queen Gossamer’s time. They’re long gone; we’re different!”

“Celestia sat on the throne during that time, and still does today,” Chrysalis retorted. “She even sent her own sister—”

“It’s been a long time,” Caramel interjected. “Things are different now. We can all keep hating each other and fight until someone loses – and let’s face it, we’re not looking too good right now – or we can change and try to make things better between us.” He turned around, giving everyone a pointed look. “Change! Isn’t that what you guys do best? If the ponies aren’t willing to take the first step, then why can’t we be the ones to do it? Prove them wrong; show that you’re better than they think!”

Chrysalis shook her head. “I won’t take that risk. Especially not when I have already found an alternative. You.”

What?

She chuckled and shot a sideways glance at Sassaflash. “I’ve seen the two of you together. I know you’re both drawing love from each other, and yet there is no draining effect on either of you. Or at the very least, you’re both getting more than you’re giving, somehow. The point is that your relationship is self-sustaining, with plenty of love to spare.” She trotted uncomfortably close to him and looked him in the eyes, saying, “The only reason I’ve tolerated the ideas you’ve been putting into the children’s heads is that you’re feeding them really well and at the same time drawing more love from them. They are growing much faster than I could have ever hoped for. You are the answer that I’ve been waiting for.”

Caramel took a step back as her horn glowed.

“You gather enough love every day to feed many of your siblings. You’re a hybrid with a feedback mechanism that could give us the edge we need, if I could only replicate the effect with another pony as willing as you’d been. I have found another way; I just need more time. We will survive.”

That was the whole point of this?” He waved a holey leg at her and shook his head. “I… I don’t even…”

“You don’t have to worry.” The queen smiled at him. “You only need continue doing what you’ve always done, minus the disobeying parts. Continue to feed your siblings.”

“It’s not enough, and I don’t know if you’ll find anypony else—”

“Exactly,” she interjected. “You don’t know. Now, I’ve had enough of this discussion.” She turned to the overseers and waved them off. “Get back to your posts. I want everyone—”

“No.”

Chrysalis rounded on him, frowning. “What did you say?”

Caramel bared his fangs. “We’re not done here.”

Silence filled the chamber as the others waited for their queen’s response. Chrysalis’ horn glowed, and she raised a hoof and pointed it in the direction of the exit tunnel, saying, “Do as you’re told. Now.”

He felt the pressure of the compulsion bearing down on him, but this time, he was ready.

Rax. Changeling. Warrior. Friend. Friends do not forget. It was only a matter of time before someone else was lost, whether in a fight or in an accident, and next time it could very well be Stickle or any other of his siblings. Or even Sash. He was not going to let them live in a world where that kind of sacrifice was demanded so often. Not if he could help it.

He stood fast as guilt and dread assailed him for not immediately obeying her. Slowly, he mustered the will to look her in the eye and say, “No. I’m not going to be a part of something that will only hurt us in the long run.”

Chrysalis’ expression turned sour. “You’ve clearly forgotten the terms of my hospitality,” she growled. “Give me all of your reserves, right now. And I will think of a suitable punishment for this insolence after you’re locked up.”

Ponyfeathers!

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who could draw on emotions and memories to fight compulsion; Chrysalis was able to do the opposite. It took all of his will not to cave in under the pressure she was exerting on his mind. He groaned as it almost became a physical force, ripping magic from his reserves and channelling it into his horn to be transferred to the queen. He bowed under the weight of her will, clinging on to any thought that could justify defying her.

But no matter what he tried, it soon became apparent that he was going to have to give up some of his magic, one way or another. So in his desperation, he converted the energy into a concussive blast and roared, “Fine, take it!”

There was a cry of surprise, followed by a thud and a loud crack.

When he opened his eyes, he found Chrysalis leaning against the far wall of the chamber, with a clear outline of her body on black soot on the rock. Wisps of smoke were coming out of her hair. She glared at him as she regained her composure and said, “Guards, seize him.”

The guards surrounded him, but Caramel snarled at them and roared, “Stay where you are!” When they stopped in their tracks, apparently paralysed by indecision, he lowered his voice and pleaded, “If you really want to do what’s right for the hive, help me. There is a better way!”

The guards and overseers simply stared at him.

“Oh, going ahead with the coup, are we?” Chrysalis chuckled. The others hastily got out of her way as she advanced on him, horn aglow. “It’s been a long time since I put an upstart in its place. I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

Caramel pawed at the ground in anticipation of violence. His heart was pounding, his nerves were fired up, and his horn was blazing. So much for talking sense into her. Now he just wanted to beat it into her thick, stubborn skull. If she wasn’t going to listen to reason, he supposed force was the only option left. He knew that it wasn’t right, but that didn’t seem to make him any less eager to get down to it. His lips curled up to form a nasty grin as they circled each other. Everyone else had backed off to watch from the sides of the chamber. It was just him and the queen.

He was the first to strike. The ball of fire flew straight for her chest, but it careened off her green barrier and exploded against a rock column, sending small shards in every direction. Caramel squinted and shielded his eyes with a hoof.

And the next thing he saw was a dark blur. Something cracked against his jaw; his head twisted to the side, he lost his balance, and he suddenly found himself skidding on the floor with bits of dirt and gravel grinding into his hide.

Horse apples, she’s fast!

He rolled away just in time to avoid her hooves crushing his legs. A fiery beam seared a line into the ground before him, but he managed to scramble away. A second later, he had to duck beneath a swipe to his face. The move left Chrysalis exposed for a moment, and he roared and rammed his head into her side. His horn only grazed her, but the impact was still enough to stagger and ruin her aimed shot. The bolt struck the ceiling and rained dust upon them.

Sash was shouting something at him, but he couldn’t spare the attention to listen properly. He twisted around and delivered a solid buck to Chrysalis’ side. She staggered again, but this time her magic caught him. He was flung away, and crashed into a wall. As he lay stunned on the ground, he felt her magical grip wrapping around him and lifting him bodily into the air.

Caramel yelped in pain. He thought he could hear his bones grinding and joints popping as she held him in a crushing grip. A low groan escaped him as he fought the urge to flail around. Through the growing agony, he was just able to channel enough of his own magic to disrupt her spell, and her grip loosened enough for him to wriggle free and drop to the floor. He got back up—and a green blast struck him in the chest. For the second time, he crashed against rock and slumped to the floor.

He had once banged his knee hard against a stone table, and the intense, ringing sort of pain followed by a throbbing ache was something he hadn’t cared to experience again. Except that that was exactly what he was experiencing at the moment, just with nearly all of his bones involved. Curling up into a quivering ball was all he could do.

“You’re pretty new to this whole ‘usurping the throne’ thing, aren’t you?” Chrysalis mocked.

With the pain slowly fading away, Caramel tried to get up, but choked out an agonised cry when he put weight on his foreleg. He felt Chrysalis’ magic wrap around him once more, and he floated over to her until she had him dangling before her, upside down.

“Had enough?” she asked with a smirk.

Caramel punched her in the face. With all that pain shooting up his limb, he’d probably hurt himself more that he’d hurt her, but it did wipe away that condescending smirk. Chrysalis glared at him for a moment, then sighed and rolled her eyes.

Her magical aura disappeared, and he gasped as the floor rushed up to meet him. He landed on the side of his face, and the rest of his body fell into a crumpled heap. Shards of pain lanced through his ribs and legs, and he was pretty sure he’d lost some coat on his cheek. He winced as she levitated him back to his original position.

“How about now?” she asked again.

Before he could answer, there was a bright flash of green light, followed by what felt like a thunderclap. He fell, but was caught in another aura just before he hit the ground.

“Leave him alone!” Sassaflash screamed.

Caramel followed her gaze and saw Chrysalis stumbling to her hooves. There was a trail of scraped rock and soot on the ground between where she was and where she’d been standing in front of him. Her hide looked like it was smoking.

“Can you get up?” Sash asked, kneeling down by his side.

He hissed a little when she touched a sore spot. “Ouch!”

“Sorry. I—” Sash suddenly sprang to her hooves and fired another blast of magic.

He had been too distracted to see what Chrysalis had tried to do, but the next thing he knew, Sash was darting to and fro around Chrysalis, dodging green bolts of fire. She was fast; he could see the queen growing increasingly irritated as she missed one shot after another. He tried getting up again, but his limbs didn’t seem able to support his weight. Growling in frustration, he helped Sash the only way he could—by using magic. He burned Chrysalis a couple of times, but she was quick to adapt and block his attacks. That was when Sash zipped past and delivered a swift blow to her leg joints.

Chrysalis stumbled and Sash dove in for another strike, but this time, the queen faked a magical attack and swung out a hoof that clipped her in the shoulder. Sash spun out of control and crash-landed next to him, groaning.

Oh no.

He tried to crawl closer to see how badly hurt she was, but to his relief, she was able to get up.Unfortunately, she wobbled and fell back down almost immediately after. She was bleeding from her shoulder.

A feral snarl escaped him as he turned to Chrysalis and fired a lance of energy straight at her face. He noted her shocked expression just before the queen met his magic with a beam of her own.

The glare from their colliding streams of magic was blinding, but he could feel the immense power in her spell. And the pressure on his horn was growing by the second. It was like beating his head against a brick wall. Panic threatened to overwhelm him when he recalled what had happened to Princess Celestia; he was doing the exact same thing. The smart thing to do would have been to disengage and run, but he was too hurt to move, and ending his spell would mean taking the full force of her magic to his face.

But just then, he felt another stream of energy join his own, and the pressure eased up a little. Squinting, he found Sash lying prone on the ground just like him, clenching her teeth and blasting everything she had at the queen.

The seconds dragged on, but little seemed to be changing. It was just him and Sash against Chrysalis, locked in a magical struggle. Beads of sweat formed on his brow; it was getting hot, and he was starting to shake from expelling so much energy at once.

When it seemed like minutes had passed, the supportive effect of Sash’s magic suddenly vanished. He gasped when he saw her lying unconscious, just before the pressure on his horn doubled. It burned like fire. Black spots appeared in his vision.

Suddenly, he heard a sound like splintering wood, and he was thrown backwards, tumbling head over hooves several times before rolling to a stop. He simply lay dazed for several seconds, wondering what had happened.

And then Caramel screamed when he felt somepony hammering a stake into his forehead. Through the tears clouding his vision, he could vaguely make out changelings rushing to and fro as Chrysalis barked out orders. The chamber was spinning, and he felt sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and flattened his ears, curling into a tight ball as he tried to block out everything. But he could not shut out the agony that was shattering his skull.

* * * * *

Caramel had the most exquisite headache when he regained consciousness. And he felt… heavy. When he moved he heard a clinking sound, and he realised that he was hobbled up. There was a collar around his neck and fetlock cuffs on each leg. The chains between them were only long enough to allow him to lie down properly; they would allow no running or fighting.

Not that I’d want to anyway… Between the chains and the soreness that he was feeling in his bones and muscles, that was the last thing on his mind.

Sassaflash was lying on the ground next to him, similarly chained up. He crawled over to her, wincing as the throbbing in his head. She stirred at his touch and blinked slowly. Then, she jerked to full wakefulness and sighed in relief when she saw him.

“Thank goodness you’re awake—I was worried you wouldn’t soon.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Her eyes went up to something above his field of vision.

Oh, headache. Right. He tried giving her a reassuring smile and said, “It’s not too bad. I’ll be fine.” Glancing around, he noted that they were both in a small, circular chamber that was very poorly lit, even by changeling standards. “Where are we anyway?” He tried conjuring a little light…

“Wait, don’t—” Sash exclaimed, but it was too late.

“Aagh!” Pain buzzed inside his horn and jolted down his spine and into his limbs. The room suddenly spun, and he had to spread himself as wide as the chains would allow to avoid falling flat. “Oh, oww…” he moaned. “What hap—”

“You broke your horn,” Sash explained.

So that’s what the headache’s about. After taking a calming breath, he raised a hoof to feel it, carefully edging it closer. Sash watched with concern as he touched the base of his horn. It was a mess of jagged shards poking out of his skull, reminding him of the blown-out end of a firecracker. But… there was something else there. He winced when his hoof went higher and touched something soft that was shaped like a horn. It was similar to touching a loose tooth that still had enough feeling in it to cause a buzzing sort of pain. Oddly enough, touching it was just as addictive as prodding a loose tooth with his tongue.

Sash gently took his hoof and pulled it away. “Don’t play with it. You’re lucky it was just the outer layer that exploded. Once the new layer hardens you should be able to use magic again, I think.”

“Yeah…” Caramel’s voice trailed off as he recalled the agony he’d experienced. He remembered screaming and crying and—his heart sank. We lost. He turned to Sash and sighed. “What happens now?”

Sash lit up the chamber with her magic, revealing a large boulder blocking the only exit. “I don’t know. But it looks like we’re not going anywhere soon.”

We failed.

Caramel felt his ears droop. He sagged and thumped down onto the floor, letting the memories wash over him, not caring if they dragged him down into the depths. Sash said something to him, but he didn’t hear. He couldn’t help replaying the confrontation with Chrysalis again and again in his mind, searching for something that he could’ve done differently that wouldn’t end in failure. But nothing credible presented itself. Too many things were out of his control.

But if I hadn’t messed around with the moon…

If Sash had had more time to gather support, they might’ve stood a chance. It was his stupid foray to the surface that had forced them into action before they were ready; he was the one who—

“Hey, quit it!” somepony snapped.

The sharp voice was just enough to yank him out of the pit that his mind was sinking into. He shook his head to clear it and winced when his over-sensitive horn wobbled.

Sash was giving him a stern look. “Don’t do that. We don’t need to add that attitude to our list of problems.”

He stared at her disbelievingly.

She was unfazed and put a steadying hoof on his shoulder. “This isn’t over yet. We’ll find a way.”

Caramel sighed. She was right. A truce between their kinds was worth fighting for, and it was unreasonable of him to expect it to happen so quickly and easily. Heck, even the three pony tribes had taken much longer to work out their differences.

“Thanks. I needed that.”

Sash’s determined expression softened as she sighed. “Get some rest. There isn’t much else we can do right now.”

“Yeah…” Caramel glanced at the boulder blocking the exit, then raised his foreleg. “But honestly, this seems a little overkill.” He jangled the chains in emphasis.

She shrugged. “Take it as a compliment. I don’t think she would’ve used them if she didn’t respect what you’re capable of.”

* * * * *

Caramel was stirred out of his sleepiness by the sound of grinding stone. He nudged Sash awake, and they got onto their hooves and waited in silence as the boulder rolled away and Chrysalis sauntered in. For a moment, he felt the irrational urge to bull-rush her and pick up where they’d left off, but he forced himself to keep still.

Her expression was an unreadable mask of neutrality as she sealed the exit behind her. She then trotted close until she stood right in front of them. He flinched when she suddenly lifted a hoof, fully expecting a smack coming his way, but she only ruffled his mane and chuckled.

“I must admit, I’m proud of you both,” she said with a smile.

His jaw dropped. Beside him, Sash was staring wide-eyed.

“Huh?”

Chrysalis ignored him and began walking in a circle around them. “You know, Shining Armour was supposed to be in your place. I had him all nicely wrapped around my hoof, until that nosy Twilight Sparkle ruined everything. It’s a pity; he would’ve made a formidable warrior.”

“Wait, you mean you were feeding him that stuff you gave me?” Caramel gestured at his holey limbs. “This was supposed to happen to him? What’s going to—”

Chrysalis huffed. “Calm down. I was only able to slip him enough to make him susceptible to compulsion. The only thing that Shining will have to deal with is a craving for mushrooms, and maybe the occasional inability to disobey his wife, the prissy little—” She stopped for a moment, then focused on Caramel once more. “But that’s not important anymore. The point is that you were a disappointing last resort when you showed up. But then you adapted. And you eventually challenged me for control of the hive.”

Caramel shook his head. “Wait. I don’t want to take over the hive! I just want ponies and changelings to stop fighting!”

“The point is that you were ready to take me down if it meant getting what you want for the hive. That’s how changeling succession works.” She gave him an evil grin. “Tell me, how does the title of Queen Caramel sound to you?”

He felt his eyes widen. “Err… don’t you mean king?”

“Umm, changelings never have kings,” Sash pointed out.

“So…”

Chrysalis chuckled. “If the successor is male, he won’t be for long. The hive does need someone to keep laying eggs, you know.”

Caramel instinctively brought his hind legs closer together. Maybe not beating her wasn’t such a bad thing after all…

“I’m not sure how it would’ve worked out for a hybrid like you, though.”

He tried picturing it; it was horrible. An involuntarily shiver went through him.

The queen cackled at him. Then, her expression grew pensive, and she lay down on the floor, motioning for them to do the same. Once they’d done so, she held their gaze with appraising eyes. He resisted fidgeting under her scrutiny; if there was such a thing as somepony reading minds, then that would’ve been the face used by that pony.

At length, Chrysalis sighed and said, “You really do believe that your plan will work, don’t you? And you’re willing to do everything it takes—even if it means kicking me off my throne.”

In spite of his surprise, Caramel kept his mouth shut. Is this a trick question?

She seemed to anticipate this, for she added, “Now that my head is clearer, I’ve had time to go over things with the overseers. You are right; the hive cannot go on like this. And though you are the first of those who can be the solution to the problem, it will take too long for me to rely on making more like you.”

Caramel remembered that one time he’d seen the queen at her worktable loaded with books, phials and jars filled with dark fluid. He recalled that she had been particularly agitated or frustrated at the time, and now it was becoming clear to him why.

“You’ve run out of the stuff that you fed me with, haven’t you?” he asked.

“I still have some left, but I cannot make more, and what I do have is too little to bring a pony to the middle point that you’re at.” Chrysalis snorted. “And the only place where I can find more of the active reagent is right in the heart of pony territory.”

“What’s that?”

She smiled at him and waggled a hoof. “Ah-ah. That would be telling.”

“So… what do you want from us?” Sassaflash ventured.

“You’ve already snared the minds of my overseers with your ideas. They want to support you, even if they’re too scared to say it to my face after I beat both of you. So… that’s why I’m going to release you.”

Caramel’s eyebrows shot up. “Just like that?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes. If you’ve defied me once, I’m sure you’re quite able to do it again,” – she shot a glare at Sash – “and you attacked your own mother. Traditionally, this is the part where I cast you out of the hive, but you’re both too valuable to be exiled, so we’re all making sacrifices today.”

“So… you’ll let the prisoners go as well?” Caramel asked.

“No. This is a compromise, not a total surrender,” Chrysalis snapped. “We can’t afford to do that yet. But I’m willing to…” she trailed paused and moved her jaw a little, as if there was something with a bad taste in her mouth, “—open up a little to ponies. If they’re willing to concede some resources to us in exchange, I may eventually release everypony. And that’s a big maybe. I still highly doubt they’re going to entertain us.” She shook her head at the thought, then continued, “Long story short: I’m still in charge, but I’ll let you try to work things out – starting small, mind you – in return for not trying to pull off stunts like that again. No matter how much you think your plan for the best, you are not ready to lead.”

“Why couldn’t we have this talk earlier?” Caramel wondered aloud.

“As I said, I believed I could just order you to behave. But you’ve clearly outgrown your place in the hierarchy.” Chrysalis leaned in close and said in an undertone, “I saw how much your influence had grown. You had potential. Just before we fought, I saw the way you looked at me; you would not hesitate to strike me down if it meant you could be in control of our fate. And I will admit: you’re the first in ages to make me feel threatened. It was enough to trigger the reaction.”

Caramel remembered the way his blood boiled at her stubbornness. He remembered taking to the fight like a hungry predator on his prey. It was uncomfortable similar to the combat pheromones.

“You mean, we fought because…”

“Yes. The rite of succession is more than a mere fight; our bodies physically change because of it.”

More changeling stuff... It made him wonder if they were really all just slaves to their nature.

Chrysalis put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Which reminds me… I certainly don’t remember infusing overseer strains into your royal jelly. The fact that you’ve developed some of their qualities is most interesting. And disturbing.”

“It just means that there’s more to ponies than you think,” Sash asserted. “It wouldn’t hurt to learn a few things from them.”

“Hmm.” The queen didn’t sound very convinced. But at least she wasn’t openly hostile to the idea. “I’ll have to—”

“Hey, Caramel, are you in there?” cried a muffled voice.

The three of them blinked and turned to the boulder blocking the exit. It sounded like the voice had come from—

“We heard you fought Mother! Why?”

“Is she beating you up in there?”

“Do you need help?”

“Any chance of a story if you’re not dead?”

There was silence for a moment. Then, a giggle suddenly escaped Sash. Caramel felt his cheeks burn and chuckled weakly as Chrysalis brought a hoof to her face in exasperation.

“Guards!” she rumbled. “Why are there nymphs outside the cell? I thought I told you not to let anyone near this place!”

“Sorry, Your Highness,” came the meek and muffled reply. “They came on their own and they’re… not listening. Do you want us to force them out?”

Chrysalis shook her head and muttered something unintelligible. She then answered, “Never mind, I’m opening the door. They’re not going to be prisoners for much longer, anyway.”

As she began shifting the boulder with magic, Caramel felt his heart leap. This really is happening. They had made a difference. He didn’t know how, but it had happened. Maybe things were going to get better, after all. He couldn’t help smiling and pulling Sash into a tight hug at the thought. Their chains and collars clinked noisily, but he didn’t care too much about that.

“You’ve started a fire,” Chrysalis commented wryly. “I really hope you can control it.”

“We will. You’ll see,” Sash replied with renewed determination.

Caramel grinned when Stickle and the rest of the nymphs barged into the cell and crowded around them.

Yeah. Together, we will.