> Rescue from the Changeling Hive
>  by EKessler
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Discovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 1: The Discovery


Out in the middle of one of Equestria's great fields of grass, far from civilization and devoid of noticeable activity, stood Princess Celestia, accompanied by her trusted guards.  Her golden chariot, recently parked, stood not too far away.  Just before them, some distance away, was a cave, embedded in the side of a large cliff.  She was certain this was where she was supposed to go, but it still felt strange.  Still, she approached, followed by her guards.
She looked inside the cave to find nothing but darkness.  Bright light then emanated from the tip of her horn and she launched it inside, completely illuminating the cave and leaving barely any shadow of darkness.  Still, she didn't see anything but empty space.  But she knew this was the right place.
"Stay with the chariot," she said to her guards.  "I won't be long."
"Your Highness," said one of them.  "With all due respect, I don't think you should…"
"I'm perfectly safe here.  You don't need to worry about me," she replied gently, turning to them.  "Stay with the chariot, please."
Complying, the guards bowed and returned to their vehicle, leaving Celestia to enter the cave on her own.  From what she could see from the artificial light…actually, there was literally nothing to see.  For a cave, there was little debris anywhere, and few features along the walls and ceiling.  Essentially nothing stood out.  It was just a cave.
What caught Celestia's attention, however, was what stood ahead, where the cave simply ended.  A door, completely clashing with the rock around it, was embedded in the wall before her.  She could see it from a distance, but with the help of the artificial light around her, she could make out the finer details of the door as she got closer.  It was actually quite ornate, looking to be made of the finest wood.  But whatever it was made of, it had absolutely no business being here, which was how she knew this was the right place.
Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.  "Hello," she called through the door.  Suddenly, the door simply swung open.  It would have hit her in the face, had she not reared back when she did.
"It's open," she heard a male voice call from inside.  Her face showed her annoyance as she stepped inside, but she slowly began to grin.  That was a little funny.
Once she was inside, and the door slammed behind her on its own, she suddenly noticed how hospitable the inside was.  In fact, it very much resembled a house, and a large one at that.  The room was lined with chairs, a couch, and even some very fine artwork that hung on the walls.  She even looked up to find a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, seeming to glitter like diamonds.  
She then broke her attention from her surroundings and noticed that nopony was in there, at least that she could see.  She called out for anyone to hear, "Discord?"
"One moment," a voice replied from one of the closed doors.  Then, to Celestia's right, a door opened to allow a certain draconequus to snake through.  Discord.  The door closed on its own, and then slid clear across the walls to the other side of the room, as did the other doors around them.  "Good day to you, Princess," said Discord, smiling sincerely.
"And to you, Discord.  I see you've become…settled ever since moving here," replied the Princess, taking another look at the layout of the room.
"Yes, well, it certainly feels like home.  For the most part, anyway."  Discord snapped his fingers, and a couple of chairs slid to their sides.  "Please, have a seat."
Celestia sat down, willing to put up with his shenanigans while she visited his home.  Discord did the same, coiling around in his seat to fit his long body.
"You know," said Celestia, "I'm sure you would have been more than welcome to stay in Ponyville.  Fluttershy is very well-liked there, and she would definitely have vouched for you."
"I know, Princess," began Discord, who held out his talon hand, "but you know me.  I can't sleep well at night unless some laws are being broken."  He then snapped his fingers, prompting the ceiling above them to open up, revealing a beautiful night sky.
"Umm, Discord," said Celestia, "isn't it noon?"  Discord simply cocked an eyebrow at her, making her giggle at her own question.
"Besides," he continued, "certain circumstances have…let's say, encouraged me to live in a little more solitude as of late, away from all of the hustle and bustle of constant interaction with others."
"Okay," Celestia slowly replied, "so, why a cave?"
He looked at her like he didn't understand, shrugging and smiling.  "Why…not?"
She exhaled a stifled laugh at his randomness, something she never thought she would find herself enjoying, given their history.  Then again, she knew better than anypony how times change.  "Now," began Celestia, getting back to business, "what exactly did you need, Discord?"
As Discord's powers returned the room to normal, he grew slightly serious, a very rare sight.  "I need your help, Celestia.  It's my daughter."
Her eyes grew.  "What?  Is something wr-"  A look of confusion hit her.  "Wait, you have a daughter?"
Discord smiled shyly.  "Well…yes, I suppose I do."  Celestia's inquiring eyes gave him the signal to continue.  "Her name is Screwball.  She's there in the other room right now."  He gestured to the door behind Celestia.  "She hasn't been feeling well, and I believe she may be ill.  She lays in bed all day and I need to be by her side constantly.  She's usually so perky and full of life, but…"  He trailed off with a sad sigh.  "I just don't know what's wrong with her.  None of my magic has been able to cure her, and none of the doctors I've seen could even figure her out, let alone help her.  Not even Fluttershy could figure it out…"  He paused, likely remembering a past failed attempt at aid that he was implying.  His mention of Fluttershy's failed efforts seemed to bring him down.  "That's why I wanted to ask you."
"You believe I could help," asked Celestia, looking rather concerned, yet still very confused.
"I believe if anypony has a fair chance, it would be you," said Discord, his eyes pleading.  "If you help, it would be dearly appreciated by both me and Screwball."
Celestia thought it over for the briefest moment before turning back to Discord.  "Of course I'll help.  First, though, what can you tell me about what's wrong?"
Discord got ready to count off each thing on his lion's paw.  "Well, she has a bad fever, she's been sneezing a lot, and she gets tired all too easily.  It's gotten so bad that she's had to stay in bed for the past five days.  Would you like to see her now?"
"Yes, I would."  The two of them rose, and Celestia followed Discord to the door behind her.  He opened it and allowed her to step inside.  When she got a good look at the room, she noticed how very...normal it looked.  In fact, it reminded her much of her student Twilight Sparkle's old study in Canterlot, sans all the books.  Then she looked to the bed, finding a dark-pink filly under the covers.  She was turned away from them, so all Celestia saw was her purple and white mane.  While she looked, Discord floated by the bed.
"I have to hold back on my powers around her," he explained as he gently stroked the filly's mane.  "She hasn't quite grown into her own abilities yet, and she can only handle so much.  She's the spawn of chaos, but she's still a pony."
They both looked to the bed as the filly began to stir, turning around in her sleep to face them, and allowing Celestia to see her face.  She appeared to be in her teenage years, but Celestia couldn't be sure.
"Isn't she beautiful?" asked Discord rhetorically, a smile on his mixed-up face.  Celestia didn't answer, but mentally, she agreed.
"Where did she come from?" Celestia quietly asked.
Discord turned back to her.  "I'm…not quite sure."  He paused, thinking for a moment.  "You do remember my rampage in Ponyville, correct?"  Celestia nodded, remembering when he intended to make the town the chaos capital of the world.  "I really let loose on that town.  My powers were already bottled up for thousands of years, being a statue and all."  He then smiled.  "By the way, thanks again for that.  You're a pal."  Celestia couldn't help but grin.
"Anyway," he continued, "I was just tearing the place apart, and out of nowhere, she appeared."  He gestured to Screwball.  "Really strange things happen when I'm in my element, but…this just hadn't happened before.  I actually created somepony."  He noticed how intrigued Celestia looked, as she was looking at Screwball in a more curious manner.  "To be honest, I didn't really give her much thought, even when I became a statue again, but after Fluttershy and her friends let me stay free…"  He almost looked guilty, remembering what happened.  "…I just had to find her again.  I needed to take responsibility."
Celestia couldn't help but be moved by his brief story.  Here he was, talking about responsibility and care for another pony other than himself.  Just last year, such a thing would have been unthinkable for both of them.
"How did you find her?" asked Celestia.
"Ponyville orphanage," he stated plainly.  "She was just a child, after all.  Oh, and you have no idea what kind of strings Fluttershy had to pull to get her for me.  I mean, look at me!  Would I have gotten her back if I went in there alone?"  Celestia wasn't sure what to think, but Discord seemed genuinely scared of the thought of having his daughter kept from him.
"Well, Discord, what's important is that she's here now, with you."  She smiled encouragingly to him, getting him to smile as well.
"Thank you, Princess."
Celestia turned back to Screwball, watching as she hugged her pillow tight, smiling.
"I'll help her.  Would you wake her up?"
"With gusto."  He then lowered himself down to the bed and began to gently nudge the filly.  "Screwball.  Wake up, sweetie."  The filly in bed began to stir, quietly sneezing as she did.  As her eyes cracked open, Celestia was immediately drawn to them, noticing the swirling purple pupils that dotted them.  She was Discord's daughter all right.
"Hi, daddy," Screwball gently squeaked out.  She seemed very tired.
"Screwball, sweetie, somepony's here to see you."  He moved out of the way, gesturing toward the Princess.  "This is Princess Celestia.  She's here to help you get better."
Screwball's eyes grew slightly at the sight of the white alicorn.  "Oh, uh, you didn't need to do that, daddy.  I-I'm sure I'll be okay!"
He gently placed his talon hand on her shoulder and pulled the blanket off of her, allowing Celestia to see the cutie mark that marked her flank: a screw and a baseball, in that order.
Never saw it coming, Celestia thought to herself, smiling.  
"Oh, I know it must be intimidating to meet royalty for the first time, dear, but she's here to help.  Don't be afraid."
Celestia stepped forward.  "It's very nice to meet you, Screwball," she calmly said.  "You don't have to worry.  All I want to do is cast a little diagnostic spell.  It won't take long and you won't feel a thing."  Her horn then slowly flared with a pale-yellow glow, as did Screwball's body.
A nervous smile spread over Screwball's face.  "No, please!  You don't have to…"  She couldn't finish her thought, as Celestia, after a moment of magically examining her, gasped loudly, stepping backward and losing the spell.
Discord's eyes shot wide.  "Celestia!  What's wrong?"
Mouth agape, her shocked eyes were locked firmly on Screwball, never moving away.  Screwball, on the other hoof, was shifting nervously, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
After a minute, Celestia stepped forward again.  "Discord, I must show you something…"
"Princess?"  Discord's worry showed on his face, as did Screwball's.
Celestia's horn glowed once more, but this time, she pointed it firmly to Screwball's forehead.  "Hold still," she demanded with force in her voice.
"No!  Don't…"  Screwball's protests were cut short once more, as a wave of magic from Celestia's horn pulsed through her, holding her in place as it worked its way through her.  After no more than a few moments, the magic took its effect.  From Screwball's legs, a rough halo of green light formed at her back hooves and slowly worked its way over her body.  As it did, her features changed.  Starting at her hooves, her dark-pink fur turned to pitch-black skin, filled with empty holes.  As it went over her torso, it revealed a smooth black exoskeleton, a couple of insect-like wings adorning the back.  Then, it went over her head, completing the transformation.  Discord gaped in horror at the revelation.  In bed, where his pony daughter should have laid, was a changeling.
"S-S-Screwball…"
"It's a changeling, Discord," said Celestia.  "It wasn't really your daughter."  She turned to look at him, but stepped back from what she saw.  Discord's shocked expression had turned to one of anger.  His mismatched pupils flared within his eyes, and his single-fanged mouth was contorted into a horrible snarl.
"D-Discord?"
Immediately, Discord dived at the changeling.
> Chapter 2: The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 2: The Truth


Discord propelled himself and the changeling through empty space, no longer in his daughter's room.  Instead, they flew through something impossible to describe.  All that could be said was that it was completely abysmal, something the changeling could barely comprehend.  Discord's rules were obviously at play here.
Finally, they struck something solid, or at least it felt that way.  They were still completely surrounded by empty chaotic space.  Either way, the changeling was hurt, and the chimera held it in place, his talon hand wrapped tight around its neck.  All the changeling could see was Discord, glaring at him in deep rage.  Discord himself may not have been aware of it, but his appearance was vastly distorted, shifting, multiplying, changing color, phasing in and out, all to the changeling's terror as it gasped for air.
"Where is she?!"
Discord got no answer, causing him to tighten his grip further, still making it impossible for it to breathe, let alone answer.
"WHERE IS SCREWBALL?!"
He was now shaking the little creature with both hands, desperate for an answer that he wouldn't get at this point.
"Discord!"  He didn't register Celestia's echoing voice, in favor of choking the life out of the insect in his hands.
"Discord!  Put it down!"  He couldn't see Celestia, but her distant voice was getting through.  He didn't let go, but he did stop shaking and loosened his grip, allowing the creature to take a deep and much-needed breath.  Discord breathed deeply as well, gaining some control over himself, while the changeling continued to panic, writhing in his hands and staring in pure terror.  However, it looked around at the abyss, finding that it was fading out of existence.  After a few seconds, Discord allowed the expanse around them to completely dissipate, replaced by his daughter's bedroom, with Celestia.  They were back on the bed.
"Put it down, Discord."  He glared at her, clearly still angry.  "I can help, Discord.  Put it down."
He looked back to the creature with hateful eyes, causing it to freeze up fearfully.  However, he set it gently onto the floor, at which time Celestia held it down with her magic, pale yellow aura surrounding its hooves.
Discord moved out of the way as the Princess stood in front of the changeling.  She lowered her head down to its level.  "Where is Screwball?"  She only got a hiss in response, as it tried to fight her restraints.  Not wasting any time, she moved her glowing horn closer to its face, causing an odd reaction.  Its blue eyes shot open in a daze, and it stopped moving.  She asked again, with more force.  "Where.  Is.  Screwball?"
The changeling's mouth started moving, and a barely audible whisper could be heard by them.  "…The…hive…"
"What?"
"…the hive…with…Mother…"
"Mother?"  Celestia's voice then betrayed panic.  "Do you mean…Queen Chrysalis?"
"…Yes…"
Discord then jumped at the creature again, breaking Celestia's focus on her spell and forcing the changeling to back up against the wall, the spirit of chaos glaring at it.  "My daughter is at the changeling hive?!  WITH QUEEN CHRYSALIS?!!!"
The draconequus was shaking violently, his anger completely overtaking him as Celestia watched in fear.  "Discord, please calm down!"
He couldn't hold it in any longer.  The room was distorting around him, shifting in shape, size, and color as he lost control of his powers.  Finally, he arched back in a mighty wail of anguish, sending the shockwave of his reality-altering powers upon anything they could reach.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"




Ponyville: Market Square


"Howdy, Pinkie Pie," greeted Applejack from behind her stand in the Ponyville market area.  "Can Ah getcha somethin'?"
"Oh, yes!  Just a regular apple this time, please," replied the smiling pink Earth pony, tossing her two bits into the can on the booth.
Applejack happily tossed the apple into her hooves.  "There ya are, partner!  Enjoy!"  Pinkie then leaned in to take a bite.
"…AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Noticeably to Applejack (but not to Pinkie Pie, for some reason), the ground shook moderately as a male voice rocketed through the air.  Pinkie's apple then vibrated in her hoof and, suddenly, turned into a delicious-looking chocolate cupcake.  Pinkie's eyes were closed the entire time as she still held it and took a big bite, Applejack watching in sheer amazement.
Pinkie's eyes shot open, and a huge smile spread over her face.  "Wow!  Best.  Apple.  Ever!"  She then bounced happily away with her "apple," leaving her orange friend completely dumbstruck.
"Wha-what in the…?"




Discord's Cave


The spirit of chaos breathed heavily as his fit ended, the room around them restoring itself to proper order.  The changeling had fainted in fear, while Celestia watched the entire time, grateful that nothing bad had happened.  Then again, she still remembered what the changeling said, about where Screwball was.
Discord then flew out of the room into the living room.  Celestia followed, but not before placing another spell of restraint on the changeling.
When she walked into the room, she found Discord floating in the middle of the room, completely motionless.  Celestia took to her wings to meet him, but he didn't turn around or give any indication of noticing her.  Judging by how tense he looked, it appeared that he was having trouble restraining himself after what happened.
"Discord?"  Celestia didn't really expect him to answer, but she had to do something.  After all, this situation simply couldn't be ignored.  He did, however, start giving signs of life, breathing steady again as he turned around, looking at her with pained yellow eyes.  He then lowered himself to the ground, as did Celestia, both of them touching the floor once more.
"That moth has my daughter, Celestia!"
"I know," said Celestia.  Discord seemed to expect her to go further, but she didn't say anything else.
"That's it?  'I know'?"  He had an incredulous look, but Celestia remained calm, although the severity of the situation was by no means lost on her.  "No plan?"  As he gestured his emotions with his hands, a scroll appeared in his lion paw.  "No interrogation?"  A whip.  "No call to arms?"  A bomb with a lit fuse.  He then noticed it in his hand, and his face fell in annoyance as he tossed it aside, where it exploded harmlessly on the other side of the room.  He wasn't even in the mood for his own shenanigans, it seemed.
"I'm afraid not," Celestia calmly responded.  "Not yet."
That's not what Discord wanted to hear, as he instantly facepalmed, grunting loudly as he did.  His breathing became strained, almost as if he was going to cry.
"Discord," said Celestia, "you know that as a Princess, I have my own responsibilities in this situation, right?"
He raised his talon to respond, but paused, pondering what she said.  "…Yes?"
"I have protocol to follow in this situation, and I will deal with this.  But this is your daughter they've taken."  She adopted a sympathetic look as she stepped closer to Discord.  "I'm going to respond to this as quickly as time allows, but I'm a Princess, and I can't just directly tackle this issue without assessing the situation first.  That's the way I have to do things.  But this is your daughter, and, as a father, you have the natural right to protect her.  You don't have to wait for me, and I cannot stop you."
Discord hadn't thought of it like that.  No, he didn't need permission or approval.  This was his duty as a father.  They had his daughter, and…
He took advantage of the silence to think on that one fact.  Queen Chrysalis had his daughter.  She stole her from him.  She was keeping her at that vermin-filled hive of hers, wherever that was.  He began forming the image in his mind, then a dark thought hit him, one that struck fear into his eyes.
"Celestia, why would Chrysalis do this?"
She lowered her gaze slightly.  "She feeds on the love ponies have for one another and she…is responsible for finding food for herself and her offspring."
She looked back up to see Discord enraged once again.  "She's 'feeding' on my daughter's love?"
That was the last straw for him.  It was time for action.  "I'm going to find her, Celestia," said Discord.  "I will find that wretched hive, and I will turn it inside out until I find my Screwball.  And to hay with any changeling that interferes.  And that includes that glowworm, Chrysalis…"
"Discord," said Celestia, "I can't interfere with your responsibility.  But, I have to ask just one thing."  Discord still looked determined, but he looked to her to listen.  "I want you to promise me you won't do anything you'll regret, for your own sake, and for Screwball.  You have a right to be angry with what's happened, but that kind of anger can be dangerous, so please don't let it control you."
His look of resolve didn't change, but he seemed to be controlling himself.  "Celestia, when I accepted your pardon, I did promise to use my magic for good."  His tone remained completely serious.  "But there's only one thing I can be sure of.  I'm going to get Screwball back, my way."  She still looked concerned, so he kept going.  "I'm not going to slaughter the lot of them, if that's the kind of thing you're worried about."  His expression then looked somewhat sinister.  "But I won't allow any of them to get in my way."
Celestia could see the anger in his eyes.  It wasn't hatred, she could tell.  Somehow, she believed that he wasn't actually intending to do anything wrong, any ploy of revenge fueled by his current state.  But that anger worried her.  Over the millennia, she has seen what that kind of anger can do when it isn't controlled.
"I'm leaving, Celestia," said Discord.  "I don't know when I'll be back, but I won't come back without her.  When I do, you'll be the first to know."
She nodded, resolving to keep her promise to not hinder him.  "Good luck, Discord."  She then watched as he flew through one of the doors (presumably the exit) and left the cave in search for his daughter.  "Please remember what I said…"
In all the years she had known him, she had never seen him so serious.  When they had fought, when he had destroyed reality, even when she and Luna had turned him to stone, he was always the carefree chimera she had always known.  Now, he was different.  Chrysalis had hurt him, had hurt his loved one.  She still wondered…no, she feared what this would mean for how he used his powers, and what kind of disaster Chrysalis had brought upon herself.
Putting those thoughts behind her for the moment, Celestia turned her attention back to the door she had left open, the door that led to the impersonator…




Changeling Hive


Inside the protective walls of the changeling nest, the tunnels, caverns, and corridors of the hive were abuzz with life.  No matter where one looked, the large black creatures could be seen flying about or scurrying along the floors and walls.
Many of the black tunnels were completely lined with small holes and cavities, nests for the offspring, mature or growing, much like a demonic wasps' nest.  Also contained along the walls were small green cells, containing unconscious ponies or other creatures, whose love provided the nutrition that kept the changelings alive.
The  outer tunnel network was quite alive, but deeper inside, there was noticeable difference.  If one traveled further inside, one didn't see the mess of life and activity.  Instead, one would see perfect order and synchronization, as the larger drones of the hive scurried about and provided protection for a large, barely cylindrical cell, ten times larger than any other, all on its own in the middle of a chamber deep within the hive.  The large chamber it was in served no other purpose than to house it and the guards around it.
None of the drones could see what was happening inside the cell, though.



"Dad," said Screwball, "will we be able to go home soon?"
The teenage filly was held snugly in the arms of the draconequus, his body coiled round as they laid within the cramped cell, the green and black webbing feeling as slimy and uncomfortable as it looked.
"I do not know, dear," said Discord.  "But I will not let them have you.  My powers may have left me, but I'm still here.  And I will protect you."  He looked into her eyes lovingly.  "I promise."
The dark-pink filly smiled at him with glistening eyes.  She then wrapped her forelegs tightly around his neck, an action he reciprocated as he gently stroked her mane, allowing her to lean into his shoulder.  "Thank you, daddy!"
"That's right, sweetie, I'm here.  I will not let them near you.  We'll be out of here before you know it."  As they hugged, he opened his eyes again.  Instead of red and disproportionate, they were green and slit, and very sinister.
Don't worry.  I'll keep them away from you, my little pony, because I'm keeping you right here, all for myself.  Forever.
> Chapter 3: Support
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive



Chapter 3: Support


The spirit of chaos snaked his way through the evening sky, having just left his home to find his missing daughter. The ground below him, very hazy and unclear at his height, seemed to slowly inch itself past him, but he could feel the cold wind strong against his face at the speed he was making. He hadn't been traveling for long, but he was covering a lot of ground. A thousand angry thoughts raced through his mind as he flew to his destination.
Oh, I'm going to redefine chaos when I get my hands on that insect. She thinks she can just steal my Screwball? That witch has no idea what she's gotten herself into. I'm going to find that hive, and I'll…I'll…
Discord then began to slow down. Eventually, he came to a stop, hovering high above the ground, taking a moment to get his bearings.
"Wait," he said to himself. "Where…is the hive?"
Realization hit him like an anvil. He had no idea where Queen Chrysalis or her hive was. When he left the cave, he just shot off in the first direction he faced, and had for the past half-hour. But he had no way of knowing if it was the right direction.
"Drat," he cursed to himself as he realized he had to rethink this. As far as he was concerned, this was just going to be precious time wasted. Every second he wasn't tearing that nest apart was a second Screwball was in danger.
Still, according to Celestia, Screwball must have still been alive, so at least he had that.
He then put himself into thought, taking a pose as he perched himself upon nothing midair. Okay, Discord, you can do this. Think, who would know where the changeling hive is? Who would have that kind of information at his or her disposal, even if it was no business of their own to know?
Once again, realization hit him hard. "Drat," he muttered to himself as he reached his hand up to snap his fingers.




Ponyville: Golden Oaks Library


"Cooking…cooking…" Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself as she scanned one of her various bookshelves. "Cooking…treats…Aha!" The lavender unicorn busted out in a smile as she pulled out one of the books with her magic and carried it over to her friend, Fluttershy. "Here it is, 100 Treats for Small Mammals, second edition!" Fluttershy grinned as well, having received what she came to the library for.
"Oh, thank you, Twilight." She set it on the floor and immediately began skimming through it. "Angel bunny's been so good lately. He really deserves something special for his birthday this year. Especially since…" At the sudden light and the sound of a loud poof, her eyes shot back up, growing in surprise as she looked behind Twilight, who turned around, jumping in surprise at the sight of the spirit of chaos.
"Discord!" yelled Twilight in surprise.
"Yes, yes, I know. Big surprise, and I'm sorry about that," said Discord, trying to get the obvious out of the way. "But I really need your help, Twilight Sparkle."
"D-Discord! I-I…" Twilight stammered, not knowing how to handle this. She immediately turned back around. "Fluttershy?!"
The yellow pegasus pony lightly giggled, getting up from her book to approach the draconequus. "It's good to see you, Discord."
Discord actually smiled at the sight of his good friend. "You too, Fluttershy." He grew serious once more, lowering his snake-like body to their level. "But now really isn't the time for socializing. I am in desperate need of assistance."
"What's wrong?" asked Fluttershy.
Discord took in a deep breath. "Okay, remember my daughter? I showed you her when you visited that one time."
Fluttershy adopted a look of concern as bad as Discord's. "Oh my gosh! Is it Screwball? Has she gotten worse?"
"Wait, hold on!" interjected Twilight, looking confused. "Discord has a-"
"Yes! For crying out loud!" shouted Discord, impatient. "I've already gone over this! The exposition's over, and time is a factor here!"
"Alright, Discord. Just calmly tell us both what happened." Fluttershy sat down, ready to listen, as did Twilight, though more reluctantly.
Discord breathed in again. "She's been kidnapped by Chrysalis." He heard two loud gasps from the ponies, but continued. "Yes, earlier today I invited Celestia to take a look at Screwball, and then when she took a close look at her, we found out she was actually a changeling in disguise, one of Chrysalis's children sent to distract me and feed off of my love for my daughter." He saw the ponies' concern increasing, especially in Fluttershy's frightened eyes. She was the one of them who had met Screwball, after all.
"I need to find her," he continued. "Celestia said that she's probably still alive, so I need to get to her as quickly as I can." He then gestured to Twilight. "But Twilight Sparkle is the only pony I know who may have any information about the changelings. And, first and foremost, I need to know where their hive is."
He exhaled suddenly as he finished saying his piece, while Fluttershy and Twilight still sat. They didn't look confused at all. In fact, they looked quite sympathetic.
A moment's silence passed, and he was about to speak up again. But he then saw Twilight get up and rush to one of her bookshelves on the other side of the room, using her magic to pull out numerous books and have them run by her face as she inspected them. Evidently, she was all for helping him.
"Discord?" He looked back in front of him to Fluttershy. "Are you really going to the changeling hive all by yourself?"
"Please don't worry about me, Fluttershy," said Discord, smiling encouragingly. "I'm the Spirit of Chaos. I'm sure this will be a snap." He snapped his fingers for emphasis, creating a stifled explosion within his hand, drawing a brief gasp from Fluttershy, but she quickly recovered. She still looked worried, looking to the ground in thought.
"Well…still…I mean…maybe I should go with you."
"No!" interjected Discord, almost glaring. "Enough ponies I care about are in danger as it is. I will not have you in a position to get taken by those glowworms as well!" He then noticed how he had made her flinch and shrink away at his outburst. "Fluttershy? I'm…I'm sorry. I'm just…" He sighed in frustration. "I have to do this myself. She's my daughter, and I don't want anypony else in danger."
Fluttershy managed to compose herself after a moment. "Well, have you thought about what you'll do once you find them?"
"Oh, yes!" said Discord, disdain in his voice. "I swear I will tear that place apart until I find her, even if I have to burn it to the ground." His hand caught fire as he spoke, very much charring it, but it didn't hurt him. It seemed more of an angered emphasis than a humorous one, a rare sight from him.
"Uh, Discord…"
He then held a little stone figure of Chrysalis in his hand, which was quickly flattened all on its own. "Maybe I'll just increase gravity on them and let them get crushed by their own nest."
"Discord…"
Two miniature changelings then appeared in each of his hands, and they instantly flew across to attack each other. "Or plant dissent among the offspring and let them tear themselves-"
"Discord!" Fluttershy's outcry was finally enough to get his attention again, making him jump in surprise and making his apparitions vanish. "Discord…I, um, know you're mad, but…you really should be…careful about this." Fluttershy withdrew slightly, half-expecting a reprimand for interrupting him, but she saw that he was listening. His expression was still hard, but he was listening. "I mean, you could do all that. I mean, not that you should…" she added very quietly, "but Screwball would still be in there. She could get hurt."
He then realized her point. He very well couldn't destroy the place with his daughter still in there. Something could happen to her.
"Oh," he moaned, "you mean I have to be stealthy?" He saw her nod. "Perfect. Just my luck."
"And…uh," Fluttershy sheepishly began, "to be fair, by the time you get Screwball out and make sure she's safe, you…probably wouldn't have to do any more damage to them anyway, so…" She trailed off, again almost expecting some kind of reprimand, but none came. Instead, Discord simply sank backwards, laying into the floor with his eyes closed.
"Oh, Fluttershy! What in Equestria are you doing to me?" He motioned about on the floor, and a golden halo formed above his head. "Why can't I be bad? Why can't I just throw reason and morality to the wind and be irresponsible and reckless, just this one time?" His overacting drew a curious glance from Twilight, who was still sorting through her books.
"Because," began Fluttershy as she walked up to his head, a little more confident, "you promised Princess Celestia you would use your powers for good." He then opened his eyes and turned to her to listen. "And, you know deep inside that revenge will not get Screwball back." Discord rolled back over, facing the ceiling.
"Fluttershy, I…"
"I found it!" cried Twilight before Discord could respond. He immediately jumped up and zoomed toward her as she held out a book to him with her magic.
He took it and read it out loud. "Biology, Geography, and Sociology of the Changeling Species."
"Yep, that's it," replied Twilight. "If it says anything about where they live, it would be in the geography section."
Following her advice, he immediately flipped through the book. Twilight stayed where she was, and Fluttershy took to the air behind Discord, looking over his shoulder to get a look at the pages.
"Let's see, now," said Discord as he flipped through. "In existence since…hive-mind…physiology…blah blah blah…reproduce via…" Discord then suddenly blushed, skipping over every page in that section without looking, and then resumed skimming. Eventually, his skimming through the pages grew slower and slower, and he then stopped on one page. He took his talon hand and traced the words of the book until he found what he was looking for. He placed his finger on one line and read aloud, "Ah, here we are. 'To date, only one colony of changelings is known to exist, the same led by the notorious Queen Chrysalis. The colony, likely grouped together in one area, is strongly suggested to reside somewhere within the region of…Dead Mare's Desert.'"
Discord cocked his eyebrow at the name, being unfamiliar with it, but the girls' ears perked up at the name. "Uh, I take it you know what that means, ladies?"
"Well, of course," said Twilight. "You don't know what Dead Mare's Desert is?" She continued as he shook his head. "It's a desolate wasteland to the far west of Canterlot, near the Equestrian border."
"Huh," replied Discord, "I remember that place. It used to be a forest."
"Well, maybe a few thousand years ago," said Fluttershy, "but now it's a death trap. Hardly anything can survive there for long. There's no water, no food, and the extreme temperatures would get you in only a few hours."
Discord thought about what they said in silence until he spoke up again. "Perhaps. But I've survived without food and water for far longer than a few hours. You know, being dead and all," he included with a grin as the image of him being encased in stone flashed across the mares' minds. Fluttershy blushed slightly at the memory. "Well," he continued, "I guess I'm flying."
"Wait," said Twilight, "you can't teleport there?"
"I'm afraid not, Twilight. I cannot teleport anywhere unless I've been there before. Even my powers have their limits. Be that as it may, I can survive far more treacherous conditions than an ordinary pony can. And this is the best lead we have thus far. Unless," he turned back to Twilight, "there's anything else I should know?"
Twilight magically took the book from his hands and levitated it in front of her, flipping through the pages as she did. "Only that these are treacherous creatures. You may be powerful, but they're crafty. And they have hive-mind."
That fact surprised Discord. "You mean…"
"Yes," Twilight interrupted, "their minds are connected, which makes them extra dangerous, especially if you make yourself known. If just one of them finds out you're there…" She trailed off, but he knew what she meant. "Whatever you do, just keep on your toes."
Fluttershy, still airborne, tapped his shoulder. "Um, Discord. Are you sure you don't want us to help?"
"Fluttershy," replied Discord, "even if I kept myself under control, my powers could easily put those around me in danger. You really have no idea how much I've had to tone it down for Screwball, seeing as how her capabilities haven't developed yet. And like I've said, I won't have you put in danger."
Fluttershy kept her head down, eyes closed in acceptance of the fact that she couldn't help. Discord then took his lion's paw and lifted her face back up to meet his. "I'll be okay, Fluttershy. I'll get Screwball back, and we'll be back before you know it. I promise," he ended with a smile.
Fluttershy put on a weak smile. "Pinkie promise?"
He rolled his mismatched eyes, still smiling. Lifting his right hand, he began, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" They both laughed at his gesture, Twilight just watching with a modest grin. He then grew serious again. "Well, time is of the essence ladies, and I must be off."
"Good luck, Discord," said Twilight with a smile. And without saying a word, Discord was gone with a snap of his fingers. Twilight then looked to Fluttershy, now grounded, who still seemed worried. "He'll be okay, Fluttershy."
She smiled back at her. "I know, Twilight. It's just…I hope he knows what he's doing. You know how angry he can get…"
Twilight nodded knowingly. A curious look then hit her. "Hang on. Fluttershy, could I ask you something?" Fluttershy nodded. "How is it that Discord has a daughter?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but the same look hit her as she realized that she herself had no idea.




Canterlot


Instantaneously, Discord reappeared just outside Canterlot, suspended in the air away from the city that was perched upon the mountain. However, he completely ignored the city, turning west.
The Dead Mare's Desert. Far to the west of Canterlot. A death trap. Home of the changelings.
He adopted the same determination he had when he first set out to find the hive earlier that night. Now that he had a lead, he wasn't stopping for anything. At a speed that would make a Wonderbolt proud, he zoomed through the night sky toward the mountains, to the desert that laid on the other side.
I'm coming, Screwball.




Canterlot Prison


"Why did you switch places with Screwball?" asked Princess Celestia in a disturbingly calm manner. She stood in front of her changeling prisoner in a secure holding cell in an old Canterlot prison, having recently arrived. The changeling, once more restrained by the hooves, had the same dazed expression as before, its mind at the mercy of Celestia's magic as it had no choice but to tell her everything.
"To…feed," the creature replied in a raspy, dried-out voice. "Mother…let me…have Discord."
"And 'Mother' is having Screwball all to herself?" Celestia inquired flatly.
"…Yes."
Celestia assumed as much. That was the logical conclusion one would come to. But she wasn't done yet.
"So…is anypony else being fooled in this way, changeling?"
The creature struggled slightly with the answer, trying to restrain itself, it seemed. However, Celestia's magic proved too much for it. "…Y-yes…"
"Your kind have switched places with other ponies as well?"
"…Yes."
Celestia sighed in frustration. She had suspected as much, but didn't want it to be true. "How many?"
"…Dozens."
Dozens, she mouthed to herself, turning away in thought. She still remained focused. "Where?"
"…Everywhere."
That's just what she needed. Her kind were being abducted all over Equestria and replaced by parasitic insectoids. She needed to act. She was already going to send Discord support in the morning, but now it was necessity. She then faced the changeling again, glaring. "Where is the hive?"
It struggled much more in trying to resist this question. Its eyes closed and it writhed in place, still being held by its restraints. Celestia's horn then glowed as she strengthened her spell slightly, bringing the changeling's gaze back to her. It looked completely brain-dead. "Where…is the hive?"
"…Desert…"
"A desert," replied Celestia, raising an eyebrow, but otherwise keeping a serious face. She then watched the creature slowly turn its head and face out the window, to Canterlot's west. She followed its direction and understood completely. "Dead Mare's Desert…"
Her magic then swung the door open, allowing her to leave as she let go of the spell. This caused the changeling to quickly crash into the table, breathing heavily as it once again had control over its mind. It looked back up to find the door close in front of it.
Just outside, Celestia was immediately met by a guard captain. "Princess, you told me to wait for your orders."
"Yes, captain," said Celestia, her voice calmer than the circumstances should have allowed. He joined her as she walked down the stony hall. "At first daylight, I need you to take a company of troops to Dead Mare's Desert. You will be searching for the changeling hive on a rescue mission."
The guard's surprise was obvious. "You mean…"
"Our cities have been infiltrated, yes," she replied. "I'll mail a mass warning to all cities I can. They will be under orders to examine each and every pony until all the impersonators are found." They then made their way to the door of the prison, stepping outside into the night air. As they did, Celestia sighed in mild relief. "At least we detected this early."
Her guard smiled. "Agreed, Your Highness. At this point, it shouldn't take more than a couple of days to sort this out."
"One day, if we're quick about it," replied the Princess, showing her ever-present optimism. They began walking again. "And as soon as I send the messages, I'll join you and your company come morning."
This surprised the guard. "Um…of-of course, Your Highness. If you insist."
She smiled lightly. "Yes, I insist. I've dealt with the changelings before, and I'm going to help." She then looked to the west, remembering Discord, the reason they found out about this infiltration in the first place.
Though I have the feeling that help is already on its way.
> Chapter 4: Infiltration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 4: Infiltration


High above the sea of sand, Discord could feel the sun's warmth on his shoulders as the land before him became illuminated in morning's light.  Whisking through the air, he scanned the horizon constantly, searching for any sign of civilization, or whatever description one would offer to a hive of insectoids.  So far, his efforts were futile.  Dead Mare's Desert was thus far earning its title.
"Oh, Screwball," he muttered to himself painfully.  The fact that his daughter must have still been alive still kept him hoping, but that hope was fought back by the thoughts of what Chrysalis could possibly be doing to her.  He did his best to push such thoughts out of his mind and focus on his current task, difficult as it was.  Still, he wasn't going to stop until he found the hive.  Until he found her.




Changeling Hive


It was quiet in the changeling cell that housed Screwball.  She laid quietly asleep, cradled in the arms of the creature she believed to be her father, Discord.  'He' stroked her purple mane gently, assuring her a peaceful sleep, and blissful ignorance.
Slowly, however, the imposter Discord shifted her off of him, setting her onto the floor as he shifted his snake-like body around her.  Once she seemed comfortable, he slowly got up, leaning into one of the walls of the green and black cell.  Making as little noise as possible, he lifted his talon hand and slowly made an incision along the wall of the cell with his claw.  Double-checking to make sure Screwball was still asleep, he then slithered his way through the hole he made, exiting the cell.  
The changeling drones that guarded the cell quickly caught sight of him and gathered around him, prompting him to change his form.  In a quick flash and burst of mist, the form of Discord was gone.  Instead stood the towering figure of the adult changeling, mother of the hive, Queen Chrysalis.
The drones immediately bowed.  "Mother," they both addressed in unison.
"Rise, children," Chrysalis gently replied.  She lowered her head and gently nuzzled them as they rose.  "You've felt it, then?"
"They've captured our sister," stated one of the drones.  "The one that was with the chaos spirit."
Chrysalis looked down in concern.  "Yes, which means that Discord is probably on our tails right now.  And now since that pushover is now allied with the Princesses, we can probably be expecting a visit from the Royal Guard."
The drones looked to each other, worried expressions on their insect-like faces.  "What shall we do, Mother?"
"First," she began, her gentle, maternal tone replaced by one of authority, "send a message to your brothers and sisters out in Equestria.  They must know they are in danger.  Then secure the hive, and ensure nothing gets in or out.  We are not taking any chances with Discord."
"Yes, Mother," hissed one of the drones as he flew away into the outer chambers of the hive.  The other one, however, lingered.
"Mother, what if Discord gets inside?"
A sinister smile spread over Chrysalis's face as she turned to the cell from which she had emerged.  "I have insurance."




Dead Mare's Desert


"There!" cried Discord as he caught sight of something out of the ordinary on the horizon to his front-right view.  Too distinct to be another mirage, he watched as the distant figure grew nearer and nearer.  He had been flying fast and far all night, and he had covered a lot of ground.  He had skimmed over and across the sea of sand for the past few hours, probably understanding it well enough to draw his own map.  Finally, he knew he must have found the hive.
Over the horizon, something large and black, in clear contrast with the yellow desert surrounding it, grew larger and clearer as Discord neared it at amazing speed.  
What became clear to his view resembled something of a large castle, albeit much more crude than Canterlot.  It was primarily a large dome structure, somewhat like a large wasps' nest, surrounded by smaller supporting structures that held it in place on the ground.  Also, as Discord was much closer now, he could make out the finer details of the structures.  The outside resembled something of black and green webbing, disturbingly fitting to the changeling style.
"This is it, all right," he muttered to himself as he flew to the ground and stopped himself behind a large rock formation.  He peaked around the side to find numerous changelings flying about the hive, presumably as scouts.  As he huddled alongside the rocks, making sure he wasn't seen, Celestia and Fluttershy's words echoed through his mind.  With Screwball trapped inside, he couldn't simply barrel in willy-nilly, as much as he'd like to, and he knew he was able.  No, he needed stealth.  He needed to infiltrate them, use short, controlled bursts of his power when necessary, and get Screwball out.  And after that, he didn’t know.
His expression softened as he realized how his priorities had changed.	
Hmm, he thought to himself, maybe they were right.  Maybe I do need to keep my anger in check.  After hours of flying about a barren wasteland, he did have time to calm himself down.  He wasn't nearly as angry as he was earlier, and the thought of inflicting damage upon the changelings didn't persist as well anymore.  Chrysalis, however, was another story, but most of his thoughts were still held primarily on Screwball's safety.
Shaking the contemplation out of his mind, he quickly formulated a plan.  Still under the cover of the rocks, his appearance quickly distorted and changed in a brief flash of light.  In a mere two seconds, he was a changeling.  A larger-than-average one, but a convincing one, nonetheless, although his red-tinted eyes may have been a little too noticeable.
Cautiously, he stepped out from behind the rocks and surveyed the outside of the hive.  Numerous changelings were still circling the structure, and others zoomed away into the desert for some unknown purpose.  None of them seemed to notice him, so, hesitantly, he approached the hive.
He then unfolded his insect wings to fly around the outside of the hive to actually look for an entrance, as one was not readily visible.  Before he got too high, he noticed a swarm of about a dozen changelings fly overhead in a slow, steady formation around the hive.  Seeing an opportunity to blend in, Discord joined them, though he mainly stuck to the back of the swarm.  As he surveyed the outside, he managed to notice how big the hive truly was.  He had seen many castles and other superstructures, but this still awed him.  It towered over him and every single insectoid around him.  He scanned the structure top to bottom, and he noticed how numerous changelings, about his size, were crawling all over it.  That, as well as the organized chaos around him, made Discord realize that he no longer had the element of surprise.  They must have been expecting him.
A unique structure, some distance below him, then caught his eye.  Jutting out from the side of the hive was what looked like some kind of platform, guarded by three drones.  Whatever it was, it led to an opening into the hive, the only one Discord had seen yet.  So, quietly, Discord left the swarm he was hiding behind to casually descend to the platform, hoping they wouldn't see through his ruse.  As soon as he touched down on the structure, however, one of the drones immediately confronted him.
"What is it, brother?" asked the drone.
Discord immediately put his mind to mimicking their voice and mannerisms.  "Uh, I…have urgent news.  Chry…uh…Mother is in danger."
"We already know, brother," replied the changeling in its hissing voice.  "You need not worry yourself.  Discord isn't getting in there."
"But, uh…"  Discord tried to think of something quick, but didn't let it show in his altered face.  "It isn't Discord.  It's the…uh…Royal Guard!  Canterlot's Royal Guard is on their way right now, and I need to tell Chr-Mother!"
"We assumed they would get involved," replied the drone, "but you still aren't allowed to enter."
"But…why not?  This is important!"  Discord tried looking sympathetic, but noticed a strange look on the drone's face, as well as on the others, who were now approaching them slowly.
"Because, we've locked down the hive," the drone stated as he too began getting closer to the disguised Discord, eyeing him wearily.  "Mother and her guards already signaled everyone around, just a few minutes ago.  Nothing gets in or out.  Surely, you must have known that…"
Hive-mind!  Darn it, Discord!
"Yes," the drone continued, "they said Discord might sneak up on us, maybe bearing a disguise."
Discord was trying to think of a way out of this, but noticed that the other two were now flanking him.  However, on the outside he remained composed, not letting the tension get to him.
The drone was now in his face.  "What am I thinking?"
Discord slipped up slightly and let his surprise show.  "Pardon?"
"You heard me, 'brother,'" he replied.  "If you aren't Discord in disguise, you could hear my thoughts.  So…what am I thinking?"
Okay, Discord, he thought to himself, mind-reading.  Child's play, right?  Discord then allowed himself to hear inside the changeling's head.  However, he wasn't ready for what he heard.  A thousand different thoughts were running through his mind, all at the same time, and none of them were from the same source.  The hive-mind.  There was no way Discord could distinguish this changeling's thoughts out of the whole mess.
One last idea then came to him.  It was a long-shot, but it may have been his last chance.  Without the other two drones noticing, he  looked straight into the blue eyes of the drone in front of him.  Suddenly, his own red eyes began swirling with multicolored rings, as did the drone's.  It was working.
"You're realizing that I must have been patrolling the desert whenever the signal was sent," said Discord in a very persuasive, yet still disguised, voice.  "I must have been too far away."
"Y-yes, that's right," said the drone submissively, drawing awkward glances from the other two behind Discord.
"Yes, and now you're realizing that those keeping watch for Discord must need extra support, so you're taking your two friends with you to help.  And you're leaving me here to stand guard."
"That…is exactly right," said the drone, slightly dazed.  "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking…"  He then turned to his friends, who still looked quite confused.  "Yes, I was going to tell you, we need to search the perimeter for any sign of Discord.  Let's go."  He raced to the edge of the platform, now out of his daze, but still doing just as Discord suggested.
"Brother," called one of the other two, "are you sure that…"
"That's an order," said the drone in a commanding tone.  "We're searching the perimeter, now."  He then took off, joining the hundreds of changelings already in the air.  The other two looked at each other again but, reluctantly, they took off, too.  As they flew into the air, they looked back to give one more look of suspicion to the disguised Discord, who was grinning innocently.
Discord then approached the opening to the hive and pretended to take a guard's stance in front of it.  "I cannot believe that worked," he said to himself excitedly.  "I had no idea that worked on changelings."
He then double-checked behind him, making sure he wasn't being watched.  Then, as quietly as he could, he entered the hive.
Once Discord was inside, he looked left and right, finding two narrow corridors extending far beyond his view.  There was a green glow to them, something coming from the inside of the walls.  He took the time to notice that the material inside was much like that outside: black and green waxy coating that looked disturbingly insect.  In fact, he was now able to feel it as he walked on it.  On his fake hooves, it felt much like the hard, chitin-like exoskeleton that composed his disguise.  He resisted the urge to ponder the odd implications of this.
Just then, a few small changelings zoomed past him, completely ignoring him as they traveled from the right to the left corridor.  He waited until they were out of view, then began to fly down that corridor as well.
Hey, they know this place better than I do, right?
For the next few minutes, Discord simply made arbitrary turns throughout the endless network that composed the inside of the hive.  Usually, he trailed behind groups of changelings that were also navigating inside, so he liked to think there was some rhyme to his direction.  At least he had no reason to think he was going in circles.
However, after another turn, a very strange sight caught his eye.  It was embedded in the wall of one of the corridors, and was extremely hard to miss.  Again looking both ways to make sure nopony was watching him, he took a closer look at the strange sight.  What laid before him along the wall were various cells.  He had seen many like them already, some of them containing changeling young, but these were different.  These had ponies inside.  They all appeared to be unconscious, and they were suspended in some kind of green slime.  The slime glowed brightly, much like the green in the walls that provided lighting for the tunnels, but these were much brighter.
Is…is this where they keep prisoners?  Or…is this how they feed?
Discord didn't know the answer, but the thought disturbed him deeply, almost making him wince at the image.  Just as quickly came a more disturbing image: Screwball, trapped just the same way, suspended in slime, on call to be fed to Chrysalis.  He quickly tried to push it out of his mind, but it stayed there, reminding him of what he was here for.  Whom he needed to rescue.  It made him want to break out of his disguise, end this stealth and unleash his wrath upon everything there.  He could feel the power up against his skin, trying to inch its way out of him.  But he knew better.  He needed to control himself for just a little while longer.  For Screwball.
He then looked back up to the captives before him, innocent ponies who were probably stolen from their families, probably being impersonated just as Screwball was.  Their loved ones would have no idea they were being deceived, and would be free to feed the changelings in their sinister way.  And those taken here had to experience this.
But, he thought to himself, what will become of them?
"Brother?"
Discord's tension made him practically leap in surprise when the changeling snuck up on him.  He had been completely distracted by the sight before him that he hadn't even noticed it approach.  He quickly turned to see the changeling to his right completely surprised by his reaction.  However, after a second, the changeling looked more shocked than surprised, body quivering as it stared at Discord.
After the initial shock, Discord wondered what it was staring at.  He looked down, and realized.  It was staring at him.  Him him.  Undisguised.  The surprise made him completely lose control of his disguise.  The changeling was looking right at the one and only draconequus.
"Uh…" Discord began, trying to stall.  "I…this isn't…"
Just then, the changeling bolted the other way, wings flapping as quickly as they could as it tried to get away.
Discord didn't know what to do.  He was found out.  The changeling would surely contact its comrades, alert them to his presence, coordinate a defense, hide Screwball from him…
"The heck with it," Discord muttered.  Just as the changeling was almost out of sight, Discord raised his talon hand and snapped his fingers.  He watched carefully as the creature, about a hundred feet away by now, looked around in fright as the walls around it shivered and quickly contracted upon it, crushing it and no-doubt knocking it unconscious.
"Ohhh…Well, I'm sure he'll be alright," Discord mumbled to himself, not really caring.  He half-smiled at his quip for a moment.  Quickly donning his disguise once more, he took flight on his insect wings and went back down the tunnel the way he came, seeing as how the other way was blocked.
His cover may have been blown, he knew.  This was bound to happen eventually, but he hoped it wouldn't have been until he reached Chrysalis.  Still, worrying about it wasn't going to help.  He just needed to keep moving, and that's just what he did.
As he once more began turning corners, the image of Screwball being held captive penetrated his mind again.



Screwball awoke with a startle, feeling some kind of rumbling throughout her cell.  Wondering what that was, she slowly got up and stretched, and then it hit her: she actually had room to stretch.  Confused, she hurriedly looked around her cell and realized that Discord was not there.  Her father was gone.
Oh, no, she thought to herself, did they take him?  What are they doing to him?
Scared, she huddled herself into the corner, feeling alone for the first time since she was brought there.  It was scary the entire time she was there, but she at least had her father with her.  Even when she first woke up in the hive, frightened and not knowing how she got there, her father was there, holding her and keeping her safe.  Now, she didn't even have that.
However, her father had told her before to stay strong, so she did.  Even as she feared for her father's safety, she didn't cry, even though she really wanted to.  She just held herself together and kept her chin up, just like he said.
Then she saw it.  Her swirled eyes were immediately drawn to a strange opening, some kind of incision, in the wall on the other side of the cell.
Maybe that's where they came in, she thought to herself, now more curious than scared.
She got up, hesitantly at first, and walked up to the opening, hoping to peek outside without being seen.
"…know he's here!"
The strange voice startled her.  It was coming from just outside the wall.
"I could feel him being attacked…I know it was him.  He's in the hive."
Whosever voice it was, it was female, and it sounded…off, somehow.  Still, Screwball kept at the incision and, slowly and quietly, opened it, peeking through.
She was almost startled again by what she saw.  Right there, no more than a stone's throw away, was the biggest changeling she had seen to date.  And big was not an exaggeration.  She was almost as tall as her father.
"Shall I gather my brothers here, Mother?" asked the changeling drone she was speaking to.  "If Discord is here, I won't allow him anywhere near you."
Mother?  Wait, what does he mean 'if Discord is here?'  Dad's been with me this entire time!
"No, child," she said, leaning down to the drone's eye-level.  "You," she pointed her hoof to his chest for emphasis.  "You and your brothers.  Find him, and destroy him."
What?!
"Mother, you know I would gladly die to protect you," the drone stated in its hissing voice, "but even we have heard of this monster's power.  How can we…"  He was cut off by her placing her hoof on his lips, silencing him.
"Remember, darling, why he is here.  He is on a mission, a mission to rescue what is most precious to him." She quickly pointed her head to the cell behind her, making Screwball sick to her stomach.  "Use your imagination, dear."  She moved in close.  "Use his feelings, his fears, to your advantage.  And, when he's let his guard down, take him out."
The drone pondered for a moment, then smiled sinisterly as he bowed to his mother.  Then, in an instant, a bright-green halo of light burst over him, instantly transforming him.
Screwball gaped in horror.  Right there, plain for her to see, was the changeling, bearing her very likeness.  Her dark-pink coat, her violet and white mane, it even had the same propeller beanie that she always wore.  It only got worse as she heard the creature mimic her childlike voice to near perfection.  "Yes, Mother!" the imposter cried before it burst out laughing, drawing a satisfied grin from its mother.  And with that, the imposter ran off.
To the notice of the changeling mother, another rumble shook throughout the hive, drawing a slight expression of worry from her.  "Good luck, baby," she said to herself, looking at the tunnel again.  "I shouldn't worry, though.  There is no way he can touch me now."
The Earth pony then watched as the changeling closed her green eyes and relaxed her body.  Suddenly, a rough halo, the same kind as before, appeared at her hooves and moved upwards over her body.  The change was instantaneous, as it only took a couple of seconds before her appearance had transformed to that of…
Discord!
"N-n-no…"  Screwball could only mutter as she stared wide-eyed at the illusion in front of her.  The black, insectoid mare that was there a moment ago was replaced by the chimera she thought was her father.  She couldn't believe it, yet everything made sense now.  That's why he couldn't use his powers to break them out.  Her father was never captive with her at all.  It was all a ruse.  Whoever this changeling mare was, she was her captor, and had fooled her this entire time.
And her father was out there, trying to rescue her.  And the changeling drones were now after him.
As soon as she saw the imposter turn back to the cell, she jumped back and huddled into the wall on the other side, keeping her back turned away.
She buried her face into her forelegs, covering her eyes.  It was then that she felt herself crying gently, just quiet enough not to be heard.  "Daddy…"
She heard the wall of the cell opening, then heard the sound of something planting itself on the ground.  Screwball completely locked everything out of her mind, now refusing to face reality.
"Screwball, sweetheart," said the imposter.  As convincing as the voice was, the filly no longer heard her father's voice.  And she refused to acknowledge the changeling's presence.  She just kept her face buried.
Unfortunately, she then felt an arm wrap itself around her.  "Screwball, I know you're scared, but you don't have to cry.  I promise you, I won't let any of those monsters touch you.  Ever."  The imposter then cuddled herself around the young filly, probably expecting her to feel comforted, to feel loved.
Screwball never felt more alone in her life.

> Chapter 5: Caught
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 5: Caught


"Oh…my…" Discord couldn't finish his thought as he stared at the sight before him.  He had just reached the end of the last tunnel and stopped to behold what could only be described as the central hub of the hive. The room was enormous.  He looked around, and all over the walls were tunnels with changelings entering and exiting.  In between were stony cryptic walkways, extending straight, upward, downward, spiraling, and going in just about any direction, which the changelings likely knew by instinct.  The room must have connected every tunnel in the hive.  And it looked as though just about every changeling in the entire hive must have been congregated around here.  
"Okay," Discord said under his breath, trying not to be heard, "which way leads to Chrysalis?"  Most of the tunnels looked the same to him, and plenty of them weren't even being guarded.
Except for one.  Clear across to the other side of the room and up high in the wall was a tunnel with a larger opening than the others.  He took flight to take a closer look, ignoring the complex walkways around him.  As he did, he found that the opening was flanked by several drones, all stacked up against the wall.  They stood relatively still, and didn't look too focused on the chaos around them.  But that was the problem.  Every changeling around them flew about frantically, but they were the only ones around who did nothing.  On another pony, this might not have looked suspicious, but Discord had seen more than his fair share of drones today, and this small group stuck out like a sign that read, "Here I am."
Slowly, he approached the entrance, avoiding eye-contact with the drones as best he could.  As he got close, however, a drone immediately flew off the wall and confronted him in the air.
Figures, Discord thought.
"What business do you have with Mother?" hissed the drone.
At least this is the right direction, Discord thought.  "I…have an urgent message for, uh, Mother."  Wait, hive-mind!  "And it must be delivered personally.  No one else can be allowed to hear it."  Smooth.
The drone eyed him, looking him over slowly.  "Hmm…maybe.  Perhaps if you were escorted the entire way, I could allow it.  But what could possibly be that important?"
Discord did his best to look believable, keeping up his disguised voice.  "I know this sounds strange, but I…"
A strange and fast galloping sound could then be heard from that very tunnel, drawing Discord's gaze.  "I…just…uh…"
Seeing him stare, the drone looked also, as the sound was now probably loud enough for him to hear as well.  Discord then found a figure emerging from the distant darkness.  Whatever it was, it was too small to be a changeling, or at least an adult one.  As it approached the light, its features became more distinct.  Fast as her legs could carry her, a young, dark-pink filly appeared, her violet mane and tail trailing behind her.
"S-Screwball…" Discord muttered to himself, not bothering to disguise his voice.
The drone turned back to him.  "What did you say?"
Discord didn't even notice him.  "Screwball!"  He then dived into the tunnel, completely ignoring the guards around him as he tried to reach his daughter.
When Discord touched down, Screwball halted to a stop, skidding close to him.  She then stepped back, keeping her eyes locked on him.
"Screwball, no!  It's…"  He looked down at himself, remembering that he was disguised as a changeling, the very creatures holding her captive.  He sighed, and he looked behind himself, finding the drones still watching them both.  Still, he looked back to Screwball and took a relaxed pose.  In an instant flash of light, Discord returned to his true form, drawing audible gasps from both Screwball and the drones.
Screwball hesitantly stepped forward after seeing this.  "D-Daddy?"
Discord rushed forward and embraced her.  "Yes, Screwball!  It's me!  I'm so sorry I let this happen to you!  I'm so sorry, I…I…"  He choked up and felt tears come to his eyes as he held his daughter.  "I'm just so happy you're safe!"
"Dad," said Screwball softly as she hugged him back and leaned into his ear, "that was just too easy…"
Discord's eyes shot open.  He leaned back to take another look at Screwball, only to find that he was instead holding a changeling, which grinned fiendishly at the fooled draconequus.
He immediately threw it to the ground, only to hear it laughing as it transformed itself into Screwball again, looking at him with his daughter's swirled eyes.  At first, Discord just stared at it, speechless.  Slowly, however, he began to glare at the changeling as it used his daughter to mock him.  That look subsided momentarily when he heard strong hissing from behind him.  He turned around to the entrance of the tunnel to find the drones from before, standing their ground and watching him.  Behind them, a multitude of other changelings gathered.  They completely blocked the exit.  They all knew he was here.  The hive knew he was here.
"Oops," Discord said to himself, realizing that he was probably going to fight his way out of this.
One of the drones stepped forward confidently.  "Mother instructed us specifically to destroy you, monster."
Discord glared at it.  "I really, truly wouldn't," he said slowly, staying where he was and being mindful of the Screwball impersonator behind him.
"It's far too late for any bargaining, spirit.  You've attacked one of our brothers and had our sister locked away."
"Don't make the same mistakes they made, changeling," Discord quickly replied.  "Be smart about this.  We can settle this right now, without any more violence."
The drone chuckled at him.  "Perhaps you don't realize, monster, but you are in no position to make demands."  He gestured to the countless changelings behind him with his hoof.  "With just one word, I can, and intend to, have you torn apart, right here, right now."  He then smiled devilishly.  "I can even have them all appear as a more…familiar form as they do…"  Many of the changelings then did just that, donning the likeness of Screwball, one by one.
"Do you honestly believe that, roach?!" shouted Discord, actually making the drone flinch.  "I can bring this hive to rubble in seconds and crush every single one of you while I teleport to safety if I had a mind to!  I'm warning you for your sake."  He sighed deeply, relaxing himself.  He knew that he couldn't do that, not until Screwball was safe.  But they didn't know that, and he had to work with what he could.  "All I want is my daughter.  If you give her back to me," he looked at the imposters that still had Screwball's likeness, "the real her," he added with an edge to his voice, "that will be the end of it.  I'll take her with me, and I'll never return here."
The drone sighed as well, looking to the ground.  He then turned to those behind him, his face completely lacking emotion.
"Kill him."
Discord was suddenly attacked from behind by the first Screwball impersonator.  It relentlessly kicked and bit as much as it could, trying to harm him, but it was far from enough.  Discord easily reached behind him, grabbed it by the neck, and held it in front of him.
He then loosened his grip at what he saw: the teary-eyed face of his daughter, looking right at him.  "Daddy…why are you doing this to me?!"
He pulled it to his eyes.  "Shut up, glowworm!"  He then hurled it to the crowd before him, watching as it crashed into them.  "You aren't my daughter," he added with a growl.
Three more changelings, undisguised, broke from the group and charged Discord all at once, but he easily batted them away, amplifying his own natural strength as he did.  Two of them hit the floor, falling unconscious.  The third one he knocked into the wall, breaking it under the strength of the impact.
Two more charged, only these were disguised as Screwball.  One of the two immediately jumped for Discord's head, but he swatted it across the face without hesitation, knocking it unconscious.  The other froze after seeing that, but then attacked with the same determination as before, and the same failure.  With motion of his hand, Discord launched it back with the others, who were watching him with a little more caution.  They now stayed in place, none of them stepping forward to him.
Taking advantage of this momentary pause, Discord leapt backwards and began flying through the tunnel, to Queen Chrysalis.  He flew quickly, but he looked back and found the rest of the changelings following him at an impressive speed.  It was quite the sight, as that end of the tunnel was completely filled with changeling after changeling, leaving barely any space between them as they flew.
I know what I said earlier, but I can't just destroy the place, thought Discord, even to take them all out.  Not yet, anyway.  Thinking fast, he did the next best thing.  Snapping his fingers, he launched his chaotic powers into the structural stability of the tunnel walls ahead of him.  Quickly, the tunnel ahead began to fall apart.  Whatever strange material composed the hive was coming down in boulder-sized chunks, and was no doubt going to block off the tunnel.  He picked up his speed to make it through before that happened, as did the changelings behind him, seeing what he was doing.
The debris was now upon him, and he did his best to evade.  He twisted and contorted his body through the rubble, doing quite a good job at getting through.  That is, he did until an exceptionally large piece of rubble fell from the ceiling and struck his head, throwing off his balance and sending him straight into the floor, making him roll as he crashed.  Luckily, however, he managed to hit the ground beyond the reach of the cave-in he had caused.  He was dazed, but he managed to look back to the destruction he left dangerously close behind him.  Much more quickly than before, the structural integrity of the tunnel behind him failed, and the last of the rubble fell, completely sealing off the tunnel and trapping the changeling swarm on the other side.  As he shook his head to get out of his daze, he thought he could hear the sound of bodies striking the rubble, changelings that couldn't slow down in time.  He scowled at the thought.
"Serves them right."
Getting back up, he began hovering once again and looked down the remainder of the corridor.  According to that one drone, this was the way to Chrysalis.  And to Screwball.
He took flight.



"Screwball!  Honey, wake up."  Screwball never fell asleep in the first place.  She simply continued doing her best to ignore the presence of the creature impersonating her father.  That was difficult when she was trying to shake her awake.
"Screwball, I know you're awake.  Just…listen for a moment," said the imposter.  "I'm going to try to get us out of here."  That made Screwball's eyes shoot open.  "But listen, there's a changeling disguised as me out there.  I know because I snuck out of here for a moment and saw him.  I think he is going to try to trick you into going with him, and then they will be able to separate us.  So I need you to stay with me, no matter what."  The end was said with a  little more force.
Screwball listened.  So, Dad must have gotten through, she thought to herself.  He's almost here, and she wants me to think he's a fake.  She thought for a moment longer, then came to a course of action.
Slowly, as if just waking up, she rolled over and looked to the phony Discord, even adding heavy eyes to her facade.  "Okay, D-Daddy."  She almost winced as she called her that.  "I won't fall for it.  I promise."
The imposter gave a single-fanged smile.  "That's my girl."  She gave Screwball a tight hug, something that now made the filly's skin crawl.  "Come on, we're busting out of here."



That must be it, thought Discord.  As he looked ahead to the end of the tunnel, he saw what must have been his destination.  He approached a large cavern, lined with tall pillars here and there, as jagged and crude as the walls around them.  In the center of the room, however, was what caught his eye: a large, semi-cylindrical cell, wrapped around in black and green leathery coating.
She's in there, he thought.  I just know it.
He checked his surroundings, not seeing anypony around.  Then, he slowly made his way into the chamber, approaching the cell in the center.  Just then, however, the cell opened.  All Discord could see was a hole in the side opening up.  He backed away just a little, hiding behind a pillar that was next to him, but he was still sure who would come out.
As he watched, his mouth nearly fell off at the sight of himself coming out of the cell.  Not a changeling, but a draconequus that looked exactly like him was coming out into the open.  His breath then caught in his throat when he saw who came out of the cell next.
Screwball.
Wait, is it really…?  Yes, it was.  After seeing so many imposters, all he needed was to look into her swirled eyes to see that it was really her, even from this far away.
Wait, if that's really Screwball, then, he thought, turning back to the fake Discord, that must be…
"CHRYSALIS!!" cried Discord at the top of his lungs, making the imposter and his daughter jump.  No longer hiding, he lurched forward into the open, making himself known as he stood in front of them.
The imposter Discord stared for a moment, but then put on a sly grin.  "Nice try, changeling!"  Discord couldn't help but notice how well she imitated his voice.  "But it's not going to work."  She put an arm around Screwball below her.  "We're wise to your tricks, now."
Discord's eyes flared wide.  "You get your hand off her, witch!"
Chrysalis bent down to Screwball's level.  "Remember what I said, dear.  These roaches will say anything to fool you."  She pulled her closer, drawing another glare from Discord.  "Don't listen to it," she whispered in her ear.
Screwball said nothing.  She tried to hold the figure in front of her, but she kept glancing at the real Discord.
Does…she not know it's me?
"I know, Daddy," said Screwball, hugging Chrysalis while Discord watched.  "I won't fall for its tricks.  I know who my father is."
Discord stood frozen, his red, mismatched eyes wide, and his single-fanged mouth hanging open.  He didn't react.  He couldn't react.  All he did was stand there, watching his only daughter embrace a parasite, a monster that desired their destruction.  A tear formed in his eye.
"Sc-Screwball…"
Screwball then opened her eyes.  Still hugging Chrysalis, she quickly looked to Discord.  Playfully smiling, she winked at him.
Discord's jaw dropped as low as it possibly could.
She knows it's really me, he thought to himself.  He blinked the tear away as he found himself beginning to smile.  I can't…
His train of thought was suddenly cut short as he was struck from behind.  He fell straight to the ground, the back of his head burning in pain.  
"Daddy!" he heard Screwball scream.  He and Chrysalis quickly turned to her, as realization dawned on her face.  She had just given herself away.  "…Oops," she said, looking guilty.
In that moment of confusion, Discord looked behind himself.  Several changelings stood at the entrance to the chamber.  They also stared at Screwball in her moment of error.
Chrysalis, still disguised, scoffed.  "Hmm, I was beginning to believe you would never figure it out," she said in her real voice.  Still holding on to Screwball, she closed her eyes and dissipated her disguise.  In mere moments, she was herself once more.  "Good for you, dear," she said with a smirk.
Screwball now wouldn't look at the creature that still held her in her foreleg.  "I knew you weren't my father," she muttered.
"Hmm, no matter," Chrysalis replied.  "I will figure something out for you in the end."  She then turned to Discord.  "I would much rather deal with this annoyance."
Discord got back up on his legs, mindful of the changelings behind him.  "Chrysalis, I'm not leaving without my daughter."
"Funny you should say that, chimera," replied the queen seductively, approaching Discord confidently, her horn glowing as she now held Screwball in the air.  "I actually had something like that in mind…"  Screwball floated very close to her, Chrysalis's magical aura only covering her neck.
"Perhaps I did not make myself clear," he quickly interrupted.  "I am leaving, and I am taking Screwball with me, or else you can watch me rip this hive asunder!"
Chrysalis gave him a curious look as Screwball slowly floated in front of her, being waved back and forth as if simply to make a point.  "Please, Discord.  You are in no position to make demands."  Looking relaxed, she smoothly walked right up to Discord and began circling round him, keeping herself between him and his daughter.  His eyes were locked firmly on Screwball, but he didn't dare move a muscle.
"You know, chimera, you and your daughter could just have easily lived in blissful ignorance this entire time," Chrysalis continued.  "You would have had a little filly to care for and love, and Screwball would be sure that she was in the loving comfort of her daddy.  Everypony would get exactly what they want."
"Yes, and all the while, the filly I treasure the most would be used and mistreated by some glowworm!" Discord quickly retaliated, making Chrysalis flinch as he called her a glowworm.  She quickly collected herself, however, and simply resumed eyeing him condescendingly as she stood in front of him.
"I know this must be difficult for you, Discord, but we all need to face reality right now.  You're trapped, and there is no way that meddlesome Canterlot Guard is getting in here anytime soon."
Canterlot Guard?  What?
"The only way out of this is to use your monstrous powers to escape, but…"  She held Screwball in front of him, just out of reach.  He saw the magical aura slightly tighten around her neck, making her reach up and try to tug at it, to no avail.  "…poor little Screwball might not be able to handle it.  She could easily get hurt, and it would be all Daddy's fault!"  Discord's fists clenched, and he watched her as closely as ever, unable to look away.
Chrysalis stopped just in front of him, but continued holding the filly just away from him.  "Go on, take her."  The aura tightened just a little bit further as she moved her closer to Discord.  Screwball was but an arm's length away.  The queen narrowed her eyes.  "I dare you!"  Discord simply stood still, though.  He could see the pain in Screwball's eyes, could see how she struggled against the aura around her neck.  Every instinct he had told him to take her, but he wouldn't dare risk trying something before he had the right chance.  He couldn't.
"Truly pathetic, Discord," spat Chrysalis as she pulled Screwball back to her side, finally easing up on her hold.  Screwball took a deep breath.  "But it's nothing less than you deserve."
"SHUT UP!!" screamed Screwball at the top of her lungs, soon as the grip on her neck was loosened.  Everypony in the room, especially Discord and Chrysalis, stared wide-eyed at the filly.  "Shut up!  Shut up!  Don't talk to him like that!  Leave him alone!"  She sounded much like a foal throwing a tantrum.  Her eyes even watered from her own anger as she glared at the queen.
Chrysalis, using her magic, pulled Screwball close and tightened the magical grip again, effectively keeping her from screaming.  "Know your place, foal!"  Her voice seemed to resonate as she yelled.  "Nopony speaks to me that way!  I am Queen!  So, SILENCE!!"  With that, she struck Screwball across the face with her foreleg and lost her magical grip on her.  The pink filly hit the ground hard, right next to the cell.  She laid there, unmoving.
Chrysalis didn't even have time to turn around before Discord tackled her, throwing her to the ground and reaching for her neck.  "I'll kill you, Chrysalis!" shouted Discord as he tried to wrap his snake-like body around her.  "Nopony does that to my Screwball!  Do you hear me? NOPONY!!"
Quickly as Discord began to wrap himself around her, she immediately lit her horn and struck him in the face with powerful magic, blinding him and allowing her to escape him.  Discord quickly shook it off, then found Chrysalis again, even with his now-bloodshot eyes.  He looked around, noticing several changelings closing in on him.  However, one stern look from the queen warded them off.  They were both left in the center of the chamber, with no interference.
Discord then eyed the ground below her.  Before Chrysalis could begin charging another attack, the ground began to rumble beneath her.  At her sides, the ground suddenly lurched upwards at her, threatening to crush her, but she immediately held the slabs of floor at bay with her magic.  As she did, however, Discord took advantage of the distraction and ambushed her, this time tackling her against the wall.  He didn't bother phasing them through, though.  They crashed through.
Chrysalis was momentarily stunned as Discord clutched her neck tight in his hands.  Immediately capitalizing, he held her up with his right hand.  Then, he summoned up a glowing red portal in the ground behind him, through which he hurled Chrysalis.  In that same instant, he summoned another portal on the wall next to him, which, carrying the momentum from before, hurled the queen into the opposite wall, hard.  She got back on her feet, however, and began to back away from him.  As she did, she launched a beam of magical green energy from her jagged horn at him, which he readily dodged.  It instead flew past him into a wall, causing the small area around it to burst into flames.  She repeated the attack several times, each missing, but growing faster.  Discord, reaching out his hands, then released a wave of energy upon the walls around Chrysalis, causing them to quake.  Immediately, they exploded around her, striking her from all sides with dust and debris.  Discord grinned, but his face fell as the dust cleared.  There the queen stood, green aura surrounding her, having deflected the entire attack.
As soon as the aura dissipated, he lunged at her once more, amplifying his strength and speed as best he could as he swiped and swung at the queen.  However, her speed prevailed, as she maneuvered through his blows with ease, simply backing up as he advanced fruitlessly.
Finally, he stayed in place, and instead, arched himself back.  Mustering up as much energy as he could, he hurled himself forward into the ground below him, landing on his arms and sending waves of chaotic energy around them.  Immediately, the ground below them quivered and shook, filling with cracks and quickly becoming unstable.  Discord once more took to the air, as did Chrysalis, making use of her wings.  Below them, the entire ground collapsed, sending a shock of architectural instability throughout the hive.  Unfortunately, intimidating as the move was, it served little more than an annoyance to the queen, as she seemed unharmed by the attack.
It was then that they paused mid-battle.  Discord needed to breathe, and his efforts were getting him nowhere fast.  Chrysalis took a breather as well, but she was smiling.
"I bet you would like to hurt me, wouldn't you?" she asked without any seduction or manipulation to be heard in her voice.  Discord advanced a few feet, making her fly backwards a short distance.  "I must be quite the target, drawing your attention like this."  She looked at herself as she said that, emphasizing what must have been her own narcissism.  Then she looked back up at him.  "Yet, in your anger, you've already forgotten why you are fighting me in the first place, haven't you?"  She grinned widely as she saw Discord realize what she meant.
"Screwball!" he shouted as he turned around and flew back to where they emerged.  Peering through the hole, he saw a crowd of drones gathered on the other side of the large room.  He then saw what they were carrying away in the air with their collective magic: his daughter, still unconscious.
"No!"  He immediately flew into the chamber and bolted after them, his red eyes practically on fire at what he saw.  When he was halfway across the room, however, something instantly struck his jaw.  In the briefest moment, he saw what it was: a pillar of stone (or whatever the hive material was) glowing in a green aura, jutting upwards from the ground into his jaw.  His momentum forced his head, followed by the rest of his body, to arch upward.  In the next moment, he managed to open his eyes, only to be struck in the face once more, this time by a pure blast of magic, again in a green aura.  The blast struck him right between his eyes, sending him forward into the ground.
He was still awake, but barely.  His vision was too blurred to even recognize where he was, and his ears were ringing badly.  In his daze, he could only manage to roll onto his back and try to see around himself.  As his vision began to return to him, he managed to see multiple pairs of glowing blue eyes, all staring at him.  He couldn't make out anything else, though.  He could barely even think.  But his hearing did begin clear up, allowing him to hear strong hoofsteps coming in his direction.
"Your daughter adores you, Discord," said the voice he recognized to be Chrysalis's.  "That's why she was such a prize.  That kind of love does wonders to a changeling's abilities.  Her strength.  Her resilience."  Discord could barely see her, but he did see her horn glowing.  It sent a mild wave of aura through her body.  "Her power.  All of my abilities have been amplified by your little Screwball."  She then stepped forward and lowered her head down to his, so their eyes were almost level.  "Her love for you has put my power at an entirely different level, one your feeble and suppressed efforts could never overcome.  And you, spirit," she leaned in closer, emphasizing each word, "just lost your.  Last.  Chance."
Discord couldn't even wince.  He tried moving something, but he couldn't feel a thing below his neck.  He couldn't react, he couldn't move, and he certainly couldn't fight.  He could only understand.  As Chrysalis lectured him, he could only understand that he lost his chance, that he had lost what may very well have been his only chance to save Screwball.  That he was so blinded by rage, he let his daughter get taken away, again.  He was now in Chrysalis's hooves, and there was no way out.
His lack of response earned a sneer from the queen.  "Seal him away with the others, far away from that filly," she said, addressing her drones.  "Do not…let him out of your sight!"  He could just see her green eyes get closer to him.  Her horn glowed brightly.
"It's over, Discord.  You, and Screwball, belong to me."  After a bright flash of green light, everything went black.

> Chapter 6: Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 6: Hope


From the blackness, Discord finally came to.  He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the darkness.  It took a few seconds, but after a few blinks, he managed to see in front of himself.  Right now, all he could see was a wall, and by the looks of its material, he must have still been in the hive.  But where?
He moved his arms to pick himself up, but immediately found himself held in place.  Something held his wrists to the floor.  He tried moving his legs next, but found the same difficulties there as well.  Not yet giving up, he tried arching his head upwards to have a better look around, instead finding that his neck was securely fastened to the floor as well, providing absolutely no freedom of movement.  He couldn't even turn his head.
Still desperate to know where he was, he did his best to arch his eyes around the area, even managing to use his powers to shift them around to the back of his head to get a better look.  This was more from necessity than enjoyment, as he sensed his abilities were being severely restrained, likely from the same magic that held him down.  As he looked around, he finally saw how confined the dimensions were.  He could see that he was being held in a hole in the wall, one of the many cells he had seen as he tried to find Chrysalis to begin with.  The roof of the cell was extremely low to just accommodate his body's height from the floor, and the room was just long enough.  He was lucky he wasn't claustrophobic.
"He's awake!"
His eyes then instantly rolled back into place as the strange voice surprised him.  He turned his eyes to the source, finding two drones eyeing him from just outside the webbed green covering of the cell, their horns glowing constantly.  He realized it must have been them who held him there.  
"Eyes to yourself, demon!" hissed one of the drones, glaring at him.
He glared back, but turned away after a moment, not in the mood to fight, not that he could.  It didn’t seem like there was a way out of there.
Unless…
Closing his eyes, he tried phasing through the restraints and into the floor.  At first, it worked, as he could feel his middle body going through the floor.  Unfortunately, just as he began extending the ability into the areas held by the restraints, a painful jolt rocketed through his body, effectively halting his efforts completely.
Figures, he thought, frustrated.  The drones then laughed at him, seeing that his attempt had failed.  He didn't bother to spare them a glare this time, though.
Saving his energy, at least for now, Discord thought back to the events that led him here to begin with.  His thoughts immediately went back to his brief bout with the queen, that wretched witch who caused all of this.  He remembered how she easily overpowered him, using her might that had only grown thanks to Screwball's love and devotion.  The concept still made his stomach turn.
He then thought about the way she mocked him after he had lost, about how he had wasted his last chance to save Screwball in a blind effort to hurt her.  Now that he was able, or, rather, forced to think about her words, he painfully realized how true they were.  
Chrysalis herself allowed her anger to get the better of her and lost track of Screwball for the briefest of moments, and it was the opportunity he had been waiting for.  Yet he allowed himself to be too enraged to see the opportunity to retrieve her.  His rage resulted from his love and concern for Screwball, that much he didn't doubt about himself.  What bothered him was that he had allowed something to overshadow her safety: revenge.  The second Chrysalis struck her, the only thing he desired was the queen's pain, and that was what sealed their fate.  He was blinded by the primitive desire for revenge, just as Celestia and Fluttershy had warned him, he now realized.  He could have saved her, then and there, and he didn't.  And now they had taken her once more.
He closed his eyes tight, trying to fight the guilt of failure that overcame him, but it was a losing fight.  There was no way to escape, and he had no idea what became of Screwball.  As far as he was concerned, all reasonable hope was lost.  All that could possibly be left to do is to hope and pray that Screwball wasn't in pain.  And maybe, just maybe, if fate is kind, another opportunity would present itself, and Discord wouldn't waste it again.  He mentally promised himself that he wouldn't dare let his anger get in his way again, and that he would put Screwball first and get her free, if he only had one last chance.
But that simply wasn't the way the world worked.



With Discord incarcerated, the rest of the hive had finally settled down, for the most part at least.  Most of the changelings went about their merry way once they were informed that the spirit of chaos was no longer roaming free among them.  As such, security inside and out had been loosened slightly, and the insectoids were free to enter and leave the hive as they pleased once again.  This led to much of the army that swarmed around the hive when Discord had arrived to retreat into their home.  This was very lucky for the large group of ponies that began a slow ground approach to the hive as dusk began to fall upon the desert.  At their head was Princess Celestia.
"Stallions," she called out, her voice just low enough to not attract the attention of the few changelings that still patrolled the air around the hive, "this is it."  She turned around and waited until each of the few dozen Royal Guards had stopped to listen.  "Inside that nest are two things: dozens of our citizens being held captive by a parasitic queen, and Discord, who has taken his own initiative to rescue somepony precious to himself, also being held captive by the queen."  She saw the wary looks some of the guards gave her at the mention of his name, so she adopted a stern look as she continued.  "Remember what I told you.  He is here as an ally.  His daughter is in there, and he came here by himself to rescue her.  And as I have not yet heard from him, I can only assume he is still in there."  She began pacing the ranks back and forth as she spoke, the guards' eyes following her.  "As such, you are all under these orders: if any of you come across Discord or his daughter," she had described her to them as they traveled, "you are to assist them in any way they need, preferably to escape.  And if any one of you come across...Queen Chrysalis," she paused, remembering the last time she encountered her, and how she was defeated, "you are to avoid her if at all possible, unless it is to assist Discord or any of the hostages we are here to rescue."  She stayed her hooves and turned back to them.  "Am I understood?" she shouted.
"Yes, Your Highness," cried every single guard in unison.  They may have been wary of Celestia's choice of allies, but their resolve was not in question.
"Good," she called back.  The Princess then turned to the hive, taking care to note how many changelings were circling the hive.  "Pegasi, forward."  At her word, the division of pegasi guards broke rank and stepped forward.  "Take to the skies, and keep them off of us.  Focus on keeping them outside the hive.  Stay until I say otherwise."
"Yes, Your Highness," shouted the pegasi in unison as they bowed.  Then, in almost perfect synchronization, they launched themselves into the sky.
From their safe position on the ground, Celestia and the others were able to see how well the pegasi guards engaged the changelings.  Almost instantaneously, they swarmed round the guards in defense of the hive, and the battle was underway.  Here and there, groups of three or four of each faction engaged each other in spectacular dogfights, tackling each other midair or, in the changelings' case, using magical attacks and disguise.  However, it seemed difficult for them to hold a disguise while concentrating on aerial combat, much to the benefit of the pegasi.
Celestia then turned back and gestured forward.  "With me," she commanded.  The Earth pony and unicorn guards, about twenty in total, then followed her, keeping to the ground as the changelings were occupied high above them.  They quickly made it to the enormous wall of the hive, spanning far beyond their sight.
Several unicorn guards then stepped up beside her.  "Please, allow us, Your Highness," said the white stallion to her right.
"Very well."  Celestia then stepped aside as the unicorns took their positions.
Light blue aura then covered the unicorns' horns as they lowered their heads slightly in the direction of the wall.  In unison, beams of concentrated magical energy shot from their horns and struck different parts of the wall directly in front of them.  They then began shifting them around, trailing the wall to form a perfect circle, the border digging deep into the wall.  Once the circle was complete, the black unicorn in the center charged his own horn, much more than previously.  Then, with a blast, he released his stored magic upon the wall, the large beam of energy breaking through the circle with ease.  Once the smoke had cleared, they could all see the fruit of their labor: a perfectly circular wound in the wall, leading right into a tunnel that no doubt extended deeper into the hive.
"Excellent work, stallions," praised the white alicorn with a smile.
The black unicorn that blew the wall approached her.  "Your Highness, with your permission, might I make a suggestion?"  The Princess nodded.  "If we were to divide our party into two groups, we could search the hive more quickly."
Celestia mulled it over for a second.  "Very well, but nopony leaves the hive until all of us regroup."
The stallion bowed.  "Of course, Your Highness."  He then walked to the entrance and turned to the others.  Without saying a word, roughly half of the unicorns and half of the Earth ponies broke rank and joined him.  Together, they entered the fractured wall and departed down the left end of the tunnel.  The other guards gathered around the Princess.
"Okay, then.  Everypony, with me."  They then departed down the opposite end of the tunnel.



A low rumbling in the ground shook Screwball.  Trying to turn herself upright, she slowly opened her eyes.  She quickly found herself in what looked like a simple hole in the wall, big enough to accommodate her and allow her room to stretch her legs, though it still looked painfully uninviting.  At least it was a step up from the webbed cell she shared with the queen, primarily because she wasn't there.
She stood up, but quickly felt a tug at her neck.  She looked behind herself to find a chain attached to the floor leading up to her neck.  She put her hoof to her neck to feel a simple restraint, connecting her to the chain.  She began tugging at it, not really expecting anything to happen.
"Save your strength, pony."  Screwball quickly turned to the hissing voice, finding a drone behind a green webbing at the edge of the cell.  "It's a useless effort.  You aren't leaving that cell anytime soon."  His voice was coldly indifferent, at least the way Screwball heard it.  It was hard to detect emotion in a changeling's voice.
The pink filly sat back down, deciding it would be useless to argue.  She instead let her mind wonder, and naturally, her thoughts returned to her father.  For what seemed to her like the longest time now, she had feared for his safety, for one reason or another.  She had discovered the thing that kept her company was a phony, Chrysalis in disguise, and that her father had to sneak through an entire hive just to save her.  And when he finally found her, the queen had the gall to use her as a meat shield, threatening her safety to hold him at bay.  Then the queen even struck her when she stood up for her father.  And then…
Screwball then realized, she didn't know what became of her father, but judging by the fact that she was still held prisoner, she could guess that whatever he did, he must have lost.  But what happened to him?  Was he a prisoner also?  Had he been thrown out of the hive?  Was he…
She refused to think about it further.  She closed the thoughts out of her mind.  He was alive.  She knew he was.
Still, she couldn't help but worry about him.  After all, changelings weren't exactly known for their mercy.  Then again, she knew her father had escaped worse circumstances.  Like when he was stone…




Two Years Ago


Screwball had been alive for barely two days when it had happened.  Her father, reshaping reality to his amusement, was simply cast into stone, forced to live as nothing more than a statue in Canterlot.
When that happened, the only kind of world Screwball ever knew was torn from her before she could truly begin to enjoy it.  Spawned from her father's chaotic powers, she relished in the disharmony he so beautifully fabricated.  But when he was taken away, the world she loved simply fell apart.
It wasn't even the disharmony itself she loved so much.  It was the chimera that brought it to be.  Though, she never really knew him as he was then.  They had met just once during his reign over Ponyville, and it wasn't the ideal father-daughter moment.  He did seem to like her, but she didn't think it was anything more than the care an artist would give to his painting, the same care he would give to all his works.  To her father, it seemed she was nothing more than everything else he put out of place in the world, much like the chocolate rain or the sun rising in the west for a brief twelve seconds.
But it didn't matter to her.  To her, he was her father, and she loved him.  And she admired him.  And as such, she admired his work, namely his merciless indifference to the fabric of reality. That is, she did until that existence fell apart around her.  When Fluttershy and her friends encased him in stone and sent him to Canterlot, Screwball had nothing left.  Her father, his world, everything she knew from the time of her creation was gone.
Ever since then, she just barely scraped by in Ponyville, now a town of order and predictability, just like the rest of the world.  For a short while, perhaps a month, she didn't live that well of a life.  She survived on handouts from the most generous in town, and slept wherever it was safe to do so.  It wasn't a good way to live, but admittedly, the uncertainty of things were reminiscent of the world she missed.  But it did little to fill the void.
She wouldn't live this way for long, however.  Soon, she caught the attention of some ponies who believed she would be better off in the Ponyville Orphanage, and they didn't really give her much choice in the matter.  Truth be told, she wasn't in favor of the idea, and her fears about the place were confirmed once they had settled her in.
Sure, it was a nice touch to have a roof over her head every night, but she did not feel like she belonged there.  She was used to being on her own, so she wouldn't have to follow anypony else's rules.  Now, she was thrust into a confined environment full of foals who mostly seemed much younger than her, she seeming to be more of a teenager.  But she wasn't as emotionally mature as they were.  She still dealt with being a chaos spawn in a world of order, only a few months old, and it still didn't sit well for her.  
Unfortunately, she couldn't even socialize well with those who made an honest effort to reach out to her.  As it turned out, Screwball wasn't exactly secretive about her origins, or about her father, and most others didn't take her very seriously.  She could still remember the things they said to her.
Oh my gosh!  Discord was just here, but it looks like you missed him.
If your dad's Discord, then Princess Luna is my mom!
Face it, Screwball.  Your dad's not any more real than mine is.
It was so lonely there for her.  The only person she felt comfortable around was the caretaker, a kind elderly mare who was in charge of the orphanage, but even she was slightly deterred by Screwball's claims to have been brought into existence by the chaos spirit.  Screwball never, in that entire time, understood what was wrong with it.
For little over a year, that was Screwball's life: living in a home of order and consistency, a kind by which she was set on edge.  She lived with many others, most of them completely indifferent or disrespectful to her existence.  The only comfort she ever had was thinking of her father, the chimera that allowed her to exist.  Though he wasn't there with her, she felt in the back of her mind that it wasn't his fault that he was gone.  She always thought that if he could be with her, he would.  Somehow, someway, she knew.
Then that day came.  Screwball never saw it coming, but one completely average day, her orphanage was visited by a mare she never expected to see: the yellow pegasus she now knew to be Fluttershy.  The second she saw her walk in, she was taken completely aback.
She took my father away from me, she thought as she watched her speak to the caretaker.
She never heard what Fluttershy said to her that day, but whatever she said seemed to annoy her.  They both kept gesturing at Screwball, so she knew it was about her.  Eventually, Fluttershy led her outside, the caretaker looking rather annoyed.  When the mare came back in, she looked like she saw a ghost.  Next thing Screwball knew, she was being led outside by her, the caretaker never speaking a word.  She was wondering what it could possibly be, and what could have set her on edge like that.
Then she saw him, standing out in the open for everypony to see, next to Fluttershy, who looked so casual next to him.  Now she saw what had surprised the caretaker so much.  Here, right in front of her, was the chimera she had missed for so long.
"Screwball," Discord said when he saw her, looking quite elated.  "Screwball, it's really you!"
She simply stood there, staring.  Her expression betrayed neither happiness nor unhappiness.  Her swirled eyes simply locked with Discord's, and she froze.
This appeared to worry him.  "It's me, Discord.  Your father.  Do you remember me?"  Again, there was no response.  He looked to Fluttershy, and she appeared worried as well.  But she gestured to Screwball, seeming to urge him on.
He then stepped closer to her, now standing right in front of her.  He bent his body downward so their eyes would be level.  "Screwball, something wonderful has happened.  Fluttershy here has convinced Princess Celestia to let me be free.  I'm free now!"  He smiled briefly, but it went away when he saw that Screwball still wasn't responding.  Her eyes never left his, though.
"Screwball, I know it has been a long time, and I know that I wasn't very…"  He stopped, trying to find the right word.  "…caring…when we first met, but…"  He appeared to be having trouble, as he wasn't his playful self at the moment.  He then took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye.  "It's been a long time, and I realize that, as I brought you into this world, I am, or should be, responsible for you.  I created you, and…you deserve to have a…father in your life."
She still didn't respond, but her eyes began to glimmer.
"Screwball, I know I didn't care for you as much as I should have back then, and I know I haven't been around, so…I understand if you say no, but I…"  He was immediately cut off by the filly, who lunged at him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck in as tight a hug as she could muster.
Now it was Discord who was silent.  He completely froze as his daughter hugged him and broke down right there, sobbing into his shoulder.  Over a year of pent up loneliness was poured out, right then and there, as Screwball was finally reunited with the one she loved the most.
"Yes, Daddy!  Yes, I want to be with you!  That's all I've ever wanted!  I-I…" She couldn't bring herself to speak any more as Discord finally hugged her back, holding his daughter as she poured her soul out for him right then and there.
She didn't know how long they stood there, but nopony interrupted them as they held each other in that perfect moment.  She didn't care about anything anymore.  Chaos, order, nothing of the sort made any difference to her.  Held in a tight embrace, she had all she could ever want right there.




Present Day


"Oh, come on!  Don't do that," said the drone as Screwball snapped back to reality.  Feeling her face, she felt tears in her fur, realizing that she had been crying for real as she reminisced.  She looked to the guard, not quite showing that she acknowledged what he said.  She wasn't sure, but there was a softness to his voice that she hadn't heard before.
"Don't cry, pony.  Mother isn't going to hurt you, or your father.  Just…have some dignity, for crying out loud."  He then turned away, resuming his duties.
Did he mean it?  She didn't know, but she settled her thoughts back on the present as she made herself comfortable in her cell.  Screwball never thought she would be taking advice from a changeling, but she found herself holding her head a little higher anyway.  It doesn't matter.  I know my dad's alive, and I know this isn't over yet.
She closed her eyes, and the faintest twitch of a smile hit her face.  That's why I believe in you, Dad.  You came through for me when I needed you most.  You came and saved me, just like you're going to do now.  And that changeling is right.  Until I see you again, I'm just going to have to keep hoping and stay strong.  For you.

> Chapter 7: Second Chance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 7: Second Chance


In the central hub of the hive, once again abuzz with life, it seemed as though a thousand changelings were scrambling for their lives.  Quickly and in all directions, they flew in and out of the majority of the tunnels spreading throughout the rest of the hive.  Among them was Queen Chrysalis, rather electing to walk along the crooked bridge network of the hub.  She was just crossing the middle of the organic-looking bridge, trying to find the right exit.
No sooner than she appeared had a drone flown down to her side.  "Mother," he started, but was immediately cut off by the queen's cross tone.
"I know!  She's here."  She stopped briefly, staring into space.  "That witch Celestia is here," she muttered under her breath, then she continued on at a quickened pace.
The drone didn't reply immediately, but kept at her side.  Eventually, he said, "Shall I accompany you?"
She slowed her pace slightly, debating it in her head for a moment.  "…Yes.  Yes, you may."  She stopped and turned back to him.  "But do not get in my way.  I'm saving Celestia for myself."
"Mother," he replied in his raspy voice, "last time you fought the Princesses…"
"Last time…I fought the Princesses," she interrupted gently, yet firmly, "Celestia was assisted by that wretched Mi Amore Cadenza, and her pathetic coltfriend." She grimaced at the memory of her defeat.  "This time, she does not have that luxury."  They continued on their way again, finally entering one of the tunnels, not at all distinguishable from the others, but they knew the hive well.  "I, however, have the luxury of power.  That little abomination Screwball was troublesome, but she served her purpose over the past few days.  It still confounds me how such a sickeningly sweet little filly could be so devoted to such a monstrous heathen."
"Love is powerful, Mother," the drone replied.
Chrysalis smiled and nuzzled him gently.  "It certainly is, child."  She then held her head high.  "And it has certainly made me stronger than Celestia.  I'm sure of it."
The drone continued on, but Chrysalis was still in place.  "Wait," she called out, having the drone return to her.  She smiled again.  "Let me show you…"
As soon as he was behind her again, she stood her ground firmly.  An eerie green glow emanated through her horn, growing increasingly bright to the point of being almost blinding.  Then, with slight effort on her part, she released the bright light from her horn, shooting it halfway through the corridor.  Then, instantly, the bright light burst, and a deafening explosion decimated the corridor far ahead of them, the blast coming just short of reaching them.  The walls burned and crumbled around it, and it even damaged the ceiling above, some of it falling apart to the floor.
Chrysalis beamed at the sight of her own ability.  She looked down to the side to her drone, whose mouth hung open.
"That, darling, is just a taste."
The changeling's look of wonder was then replaced by a slow smile.  "Is…is there no one who can challenge you, Mother?"  She smiled back before continuing down the corridor, him following her.
"No one…"



A powerful explosion of fire and pale-yellow aura blasted through a corridor of the hive, sending ten or so changelings to the ground and knocking them all unconscious, presumably.  Princess Celestia and her guards then continued on their way through the cloud of dust.
The changelings hadn't put up a good fight yet, most of them easily knocked out by the magic of Celestia's guards, or sometimes just their physical strength, which was significantly greater than that of the average pony.  Plus, the changelings never seemed to attack all at once, rather relying on smaller groups attacking one at a time.  It admittedly allowed for greater maneuverability on their part, but overall proved useless against the Royal Guard.
Celestia's team turned another corner (completely arbitrarily) and found themselves in yet another corridor, though this one was much wider and longer than the others.  And this one was crawling with changelings.  Literally.  All over the walls, and high above them on the ceiling, dozens of changelings turned to them in unison.  The room then seemed much more silent.
"Wait," Celestia whispered discreetly to her guards.  They obeyed, holding their ground, but not taking their eyes off of the changelings.  "Not yet."
As if on demand, a powerful group-hissing shot through the corridor, tensing up the guards and making Celestia light her horn.  Then, one by one, every changeling in the room detached themselves from the walls and ceiling and launched themselves at the ponies.
The guards still held their ground until the insectoids were about fifteen feet from them.  Celestia then growled to those at her sides, "Now!"
Their horns flared to life as well and, in unison, they launched their magic in the changelings' direction.  Just in front of the group formed a wall of magic energy, into which crashed most of the changelings, as they couldn't slow down in time.  The others backtracked their flight, forced to watch as those in front of them struck the shield and were electrocuted.  However, once they had fallen to the ground, Celestia charged her own horn once more and launched the shield at the remainder of the changelings, electrocuting more of them and scattering all the others.
Celestia then spread her wings and took to the air, going after the nearest changeling while the timing was good.  Her unicorn guards stayed on the ground, chasing down their own share of changelings.



"Wha-what was that?!" yelled Discord, still held tightly to the floor.  Another loud banging sound like the one before then came to his ears.
The drones in front of the cell turned back to him, glaring as usual.  "I said, eyes to yourself!"
Discord was almost inclined to oblige, but he started to feel pent-up doing absolutely nothing.  Even if his situation was hopeless, he could at least make it difficult for them.  "No, I can hear it, there's something going on out there!  What is-AAAAHHH!!"  One glow from the changeling's horn, and intense pain shot from his restraints through the rest of his body.  It only lasted about two seconds, but it left him twitching.
The changeling responsible continued glaring at him, but the one next to him kept trying to get his attention.  He turned quickly.  "What?!"  His partner simply gestured strongly toward some end of the corridor, someplace Discord couldn't see.  "It doesn't matter!  We're under orders to guard this thing, and I intend to obey!"
"But…"  The other one quickly glanced to Discord and hushed his voice as he spoke, but Discord could still hear.  "…but they're coming!"
"Then you go and fight them!" replied the first changeling, much louder than the other.  "You want to disobey Mother?  Go ahead!  See if I care."
"But…brother."  He tried to plea with him, but the first one simply turned back in Discord's direction, but directed his gaze aside, away from his brother.  Seeing this, the other changeling ran past him, toward whatever threat he was gesturing to.
The drone looked Discord in the eyes again.  "I'm not leaving you, monster.  And you aren't escaping."
"You would let your own brother fight some unknown threat just to make sure I stay put?  Seriously?"
The drone's glare turned harsh.  "Absolutely.  You attacked my Mother, you insolent demon, and you attacked my brothers and sisters before that.  I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"If you would have just given me back my daughter, I wouldn't have-AAAAGGHH!!"  Another jolt of pain rocketed through him, much longer than before.  It left him stinging for a moment, but he managed to look back to the drone, his face completely serious.  "…I wouldn't have needed to fight them…"
The drone's face lightened, but only slightly.  "Look closely, you can almost see me caring."
He then looked to his side, and his eyes immediately widened.  All Discord could see was another changeling (the one from before?) being thrown into him and knocking him to the side, out of view.  The sight was followed by several beams of magic, coming from the same direction.  Then came the patter of hoofsteps as several white and black unicorns ran up to the two changelings they just attacked, again out of sight.  What followed them was, from Discord's viewpoint, a tall, white pony with long legs and golden horseshoes.
And a female voice.  "Strange.  He just stood there."
Discord knew he could be heard.  "Yes, he did."  He could see shuffle slightly at the sound of his voice.  She then turned to the source and lowered her head to meet his eyes.  His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her face.
"Discord!"
"Hello, Princess."
They both paused for a moment.  He was just waiting for her to release him.  Sure enough, her horn glowed, and concentrated magic slowly zapped the edges of the cell covering, melting it away and eventually having it fall right off.  She then focused her magic on his restraints.  This took a few seconds, and she seemed to have to exert herself, but eventually the magical apparitions simply popped out of existence, and Discord could move again.
With this new freedom, he spun himself out of the hole and then took to the air, making sure to exercise his formerly restrained body before descending back down to the Princess.  He looked around and saw Celestia's guards all staring at him, that or subduing any grounded changelings, all of which were defeated by now.  A little farther down the corridor, however, he could see some of the other guards penetrating some of the other cells embedded in the walls.  Out of these spewed some kind of green fluid, followed by an unconscious pony, stallions and mares, young and old.  Occasionally, however, a griffon or a donkey would appear, but the situation remained the same.
So they brought me back here, thought Discord, remembering passing this place earlier.
"Discord?" said Celestia, catching his attention.  "Is there anything I should know?"
It was then that his guilt returned, and he remembered how badly he had screwed up, how he had allowed himself to be controlled by his anger.  "I messed up, Celestia," he began, unable to actually look at her right now.  "You were right.  I hated that bug for what she did and I let it get in the way.  They escaped with Screwball while we were fighting.  I let her get both of us."  He gestured to the cell as he made his point.
He finally said it out loud, but he didn't feel better yet.  He didn't see the silver lining or find any hope.  How could he?  He let his only daughter, the one thing most precious to him, get abducted by parasites, and in his rage, he wasted his one and only chance to rescue her.
But…what was this, if not another chance?
"So," said Celestia, keeping her face straight and her tone level, "you just made a mistake?"  Discord nodded.  "And you wish to make up for it?"  He was much more hesitant than before, but he nodded again, now making eye contact.  "And how do you intend to?"
That perked him up as he realized what she was doing.  This was just like last time, when he first decided how he was going to save his daughter.  This time, he knew what the right answer was.  "To heck with what happens to Chrysalis.  I just want Screwball back."
He had come to that realization long before now, but now he could actualize on it.  He could say it with a sense of duty.  He was free, and he could try again.
Celestia smiled.  "I hoped you would say that."  She then gestured to her guards with her wing.  "If you need, my guards are at your disposal."  She gave him a hard stare.  "Within reason."
Discord shrugged innocently.  "Please, I'm all about reason."
She cocked her eyebrow, but grinned lightly.  "Well, you probably have a better idea where to go than I do."
He turned serious again.  "Yes, I do."  He pointed in the direction behind him.  "I remember going that way.  It led me to Chrysalis."  His eyes then caught the ponies and other sentient beings being freed from the cells.  "Wait," he turned back to Celestia, "is Screwball here?"
She looked around, watching her guards at work.  "I…don't think so, Discord.  It seems as though everypony we know to be missing is here and accounted for.  Of course we'll double-check, but…it seems everypony is here.  But not Screwball, I'm afraid."
Discord sighed.  "Figures."
Celestia nudged him with her wing.  "If you want, you can go ahead while we get everypony here to safety.  Hold on."  She turned and ran to three guards that were attending to a pegasus mare.  After a few words, the guards ran to Discord while Celestia stayed behind with the mare.  She nodded to him knowingly, and then attended to the victim.
The first guard to reach Discord spoke first.  "Uh, sir."  It was said with obvious hesitation.  "Her Highness has asked us to accompany you as you look for somepony."
He nodded.  "Okay, but…"  He thought for a moment.  "Something's not right yet."  With an amused grin, he snapped his fingers.  Suddenly, the three unicorn ponies had become very convincing changelings.  They immediately looked at themselves and each other, not able to take their eyes away from what they saw.
Discord busted out laughing at their reactions.  "Th-the look on your…ha!"  He noticed that they weren't laughing with him, so he made an effort to calm down.  "Okay, okay.  My turn."  With another snap, he resumed his own disguise, his red-eyed changeling drone.  The other guards' eyes were green, and they were somewhat shorter than he was, but all of them were quite convincing.  Luckily, all of the other guards saw the transformation, so they weren't too startled by the sudden appearance of what appeared to be the enemy.
Discord spoke to them sternly.  "Okay, we're scouting this hive.  If you see Chrysalis, stay away.  She's far too powerful."  They nodded.  "And, if you see Screwball and I'm not there, just teleport her out of here.  No need to find me first.  Can you do that?"  Again, they nodded.
He turned and gestured down the corridor.  "Alright, then.  Follow me."  He and the guards ran off, toward wherever the hive would lead them.



Screwball sat in her cell, still chained to the floor.  She held her head high, still waiting for that glimmer of hope she still believed in, whatever it may be.  While she waited for anything, memories of her brief life with her father, only a few month's worth, flashed through her mind, particularly the one of him reuniting with her after an entire year.  
She had stopped crying, though the fur on her face was still stained with tears.  She even smiled now.  After all, what else was there to do?  Sulk?  What good would that do?
Also, she couldn't help but let her thoughts return to the changeling that sat outside her cell.  She looked back over to him and saw him still sitting there, unmoving.  He was turned away, probably not seeing her as a threat.  She remembered what he said, about not letting her situation get her down, about retaining her dignity.  It bothered her.  Not that it upset her, but she just couldn't help but ponder it.  From what she saw, he was trying to be nice to her.  Why?  She didn't know, and she certainly couldn't guess, and it stuck in her mind persistently.  As a matter of fact, it was all she could think about now.
All she could gather was that, for some reason, the thing that was supposed to be one of her captors (and her father's enemy) made a sincere effort to make her feel better in this bleak situation, just for her own sake.
Maybe she should return the favor.  But how?
She didn't really think about it.  The words just came out, as if on cue.
"I don't hate you."
She watched for a response.  He remained still, but his ears twitched.  He could hear her, so she continued, speaking in the most innocent voice anypony could comprehend.  "I don't hate you or anything like that.  I know you're just doing what your queen told you to do, like you're supposed to."
He still didn't move, but she knew he was listening.  "I've learned about how you changelings have to feed on love, and I get that if you're alive, you have to eat.  I don't like how it's us ponies you have to do this to, but I guess I understand.  You can't just let yourselves starve after all."  She then giggled at her next thought.  "I mean, wolves eat sheep, but it's not like wolves hate sheep, it's just what they have to do.  So I guess that means a changeling doesn't have to hate ponies."  Her face sobered a bit, and she got up and moved a little closer to the cell window.  "Do you hate me?"
She could see the drone stiffen.  That must have caught him off guard.  At first, it didn't seem like he was going to answer.  He just sat there.  Then, he turned and looked her in the eye.  His blue eyes didn't look nearly as hard as before.  "No, I don't hate you."  He then turned right back around.
Screwball's breath caught in her throat.  She sort of expected him to say that, but it was still odd to actually hear it.
"Thank you," she said, staring off into space again.  "I didn't really think you would.  Dad always told me things weren't that simple."
She laid back, taking in what she herself was saying.  All of this was coming naturally to her, much to her own surprise, but she realized it was all true.  "I'm sorry we can't be friends, or live peacefully, or anything like that.  But I guess I understand.  We can't really help the way we're born.  I mean, you're a changeling, and I'm a pony…chaos spawn, or something."  She sat back up.  "And I guess I don't like the queen very much, though, but that's just because she put me here to begin with.  You're just doing what she says.  And that's probably why you don't like my dad.  But I think I understand.  Like I said, I don't hate you.  You can't help the way you have to be."
Just then, her chain lifted into the air, surrounded by a green aura, and snapped in two.  Her eyes shot to the drone, whom she saw turned toward the cell's covering.  His horn glowed, and more magic shot into the covering, disintegrating it.  Screwball just sat there, her mouth hanging open.
"Leave."
Her eyes glistened.  "R-really?"
"Yes," he hissed, "leave."
Screwball's face beamed as she realized what was happening.  But the drone was then in her face.
"Just listen," he whispered harshly.  "The white pony princess and her soldiers are here.  If they haven't already, they're probably going to free your father.  He'll probably look for you, so find him.  And remember, I know this from my brothers and sisters, he'll probably be disguised as a changeling with red eyes."  She nodded in understanding.  "And," he continued, "keep away from Mother.  You don't want her to find out you escaped."
She nodded still.  "Okay, okay, I will."
"And just one more thing," he hissed, pointing his hoof in her face.  She could see his face soften a lot.  "If you could, ask your father not to fight Mother.  If you can, please just find him and leave.  I don't want her to fight anymore.  I'm afraid the cost may be too high for both of us."
Screwball remembered how her father looked at Chrysalis when she last saw him.  She saw the hatred in his eyes, and the way she mocked him.  Would he avoid conflict, or at the very least show her mercy?  Even if she asked?  His own daughter?
She could at least try.  "Okay, I'll ask him.  I promise."
The drone still didn't smile.  "Good."  He then pointed in the direction to his left.  "Down that path, at the first turn take a left, then a right, and then go straight the rest of the way.  It'll take you to the central hub, where your father will likely go, if he remembers his way.  That's your best bet to find him."  He backed away from the cell and let her out.  "You're on your own now."
Rather than leave right away, she ran back up to him and hugged him.  She felt his body stiffen as she did.
"Thank you, thank you, mister!  I won't forget this, thank you!"
He gently pushed her away.  "Go.  Now."
The pink filly nodded one last time.  "Thank you!"  She then bolted in the direction he told her, as fast as she could, not looking back.

> Chapter 8: Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 8: Rescue


Celestia gently shook the gray pegasus mare, trying her best to wake her up, while most of the guards around her did the same with all of the other ponies, some of them more successful than her.  She then wiped the green gunk off of her face, thinking of nothing better she could do.
Finally, to Celestia's relief, the mare opened her eyes.  They were a bright-orange, and they looked around frantically as she began seeing the likely unfamiliar surroundings.
"Wh-where am I?" she inquired, but then fell silent as she looked up and saw the Princess.  Her face simply froze, her wall-eyed stare locked on Celestia.
"Shhh," hushed the alicorn.  "That doesn't matter right now.  But you're safe, I assure you."
The mare looked quite puzzled, looking around some more, but she seemed less frantic now.  Celestia looked back to the other ponies that were recovering, and noticed that a great number of them weren't taking it nearly as well.  Some of them tried to run from the guards, needing to be held in place by magic.  It probably wasn't too difficult, but it was probably rather tedious.
The gray Pegasus began to stand up, trying to shake some of the gunk out of her mane.  "Okay, but what happened?"  She still had that puzzled look as she looked to all the other ponies around her,  as well as the many Royal Guards.
"Well," said Celestia, looking for the right words, "I guess you can handle the truth."  Just to be safe, she sheltered the mare with her wing.  "The changelings have attacked again."
The mare looked surprised.  "Those things that attacked the Princess's wedding?"  Celestia nodded, surprised that she made that connection.  "But what have they done?  And what do they want with me?"
Celestia hesitated a little more, seeing no easy way to put this.  "They…they've switched places with ponies all over Equestria.  Somewhere out there is a changeling pretending to be you ."
This time, the pegasus seemed unable to respond.  She only stared off into space with her wall-eyed gaze.  "Oh…no," she said under her breath.  "Dinky…"
The Princess then realized her mistake.  "Oh, no, that's not exactly what I meant."  The mare looked up to listen, but a tear was forming in her eye.  "I'm sorry.  I should have explained better."  She knelt down to the mare's level.  "What is your name?"
Her expression didn't change.  "…Derpy."
"Well, Derpy," Celestia began, "I'm sorry I made you worry, but actually, I had ponies sent out to search for those changelings that have taken these ponies' places.  Whoever pretended to be you is probably caught by now."
Derpy wiped a tear away.  "So…does that mean my sister is safe?"
"Most likely, yes," replied Celestia, smiling gently.  "Dinky…is that your sister's name?  Dinky?"  Derpy nodded, still wiping her eyes.  "I think that's a lovely name."
When the pegasus's hoof left her face, Celestia finally saw her smiling.  "Thank you, Princess."
Celestia turned to the others again, seeing that the guards were still maintaining control, and that most of the ponies were calmed down by now, being gathered together and let in on what was happening.  She turned back to Derpy.
"Join the others, Derpy.  We're going to get you all out of here, so you need to be ready."
Still smiling, Derpy stood and made her way to the other ponies.  Celestia, however, stayed behind.  She found a guard to her left and walked up to him, seeing that he wasn't with anypony at the moment.
"Are you sure this is everypony?" she asked.
"I'm sure," said the guard.  "Reports show no more than a few ponies were taken from each town, and that's not very many.  This has to be it."
"Good," she replied, smiling.  "Then we're about ready to get them out of here."
"Yes, Your Highness."  He looked behind her, surveying the progress they were making.  "It seems just a few more need to be woken up first before we—"  He was cut off by a loud explosion just behind him, where a cave in had been just a few seconds ago.  Small pieces of debris bounced of Celestia and the guard's faces as they turned at the sound.  The other guards and most of the pony captives followed suit.  So far, all that was there was a large cloud of dust.
Suddenly, a green aura grabbed at the guard's neck, right next to Celestia.  He tugged at it with both his hooves and his own magic, but it was no use as it quickly choked the air out of him.
Acting fast, Celestia used her magic to grab at it herself, her yellow aura quickly snapping the green one out of existence.  She then levitated the gasping guard behind her as she looked ahead to the smoke cloud.  What emerged didn't surprise her in the least.
Flanked by four changeling drones, Queen Chrysalis emerged from the cloud, her horn flaring green like fire.  Before any kind of introduction could be made, two of the changelings immediately darted after Celestia and her party.  Quickly, she fired her own aura into the changeling in front, batting him away and causing him to crash into the one behind him, sending them both into the ground.  She then fired into the ground below them, exploding it and launching them both back to where they started.
Chrysalis didn't seem fazed, but she certainly didn't seem happy.  She stepped forward in front of her fallen comrades, as if sheltering them from Celestia.  Her horn still flaring, she launched a fluid-like beam of energy into the wall just behind Celestia, closer to those she was trying to protect.  Just as quickly, however, Celestia's aura formed a large shield over the impact, completely shielding her ponies from the resulting blast.  Dust and debris did manage to get over the shield and shower them, doing nothing but dirtying their manes.
Chrysalis then launched a similar attack, this time right at Celestia.  Standing her ground, she raised another yellow shield, just in front of her.  Right as the green attack reached her, she caught it in her shield, and then she flipped it around right back at Chrysalis.  The queen simply tilted her head to the side while her drones jumped out of the way.  The attack struck a wall right behind them, causing a massive explosion that sent dust and debris flying past them.
Celestia watched them warily, but they didn't try anything else.  Seeing this, she stepped back a few paces and tilted her head toward the guard from before.
"Teleport.  Now."
"Your Highness," he replied with a  grave voice, "I know what you're trying to do, but it'll take all of us together to get them out of here."
"I know," she said, "and that's fine.  I'm the strongest out of any of us, and I can hold her off long enough.  I'll find a way out myself.  You and the others, you need to protect them, make sure they escape, just in case any other changelings find you."
The guard still looked quite troubled.  "I'll get them out, but then we're coming back in for you."
"No!" Celestia growled.  "I'm ordering you to stay with the hostages.  Do not leave them no matter what."  She could see the guard was still challenging what she said in his mind, but wasn't offering any more protest.  "And if you're attacked by more changelings, or if I'm not out in thirty minutes, leave without me."
The guard sighed in defeat.  "Very well, Your Highness."  He then retreated to the rest of the group, relaying Celestia's order's to the rest of the guards, getting similar grunts of disbelief or disapproval.  Still, they worked quickly, getting word to the entire group.  Soon, the guards had circled around the entire group, some of which were still unfortunately unconscious.  The Princess stayed where she was, keeping her eyes locked on Chrysalis, who did exactly the same.
Finally, the guards fired up their horns, varying shades of blue, white, or even yellow.  Their auras emerged, and quickly converged, forming a large bubble around the entire group, minus Celestia, who still stood guard.  Quick as a flash, the entire group flashed in light and vanished, leaving only the alicorn Princess behind.  She then heard the sound of hoofsteps behind her.  She looked, and saw a dozen or so changelings emerge from the corridor just around the corner, and they quickly filled the space where her party had been.
Seeing that they stopped in place, Celestia turned back and took a few more steps toward Chrysalis, who was whispering something to her drones.  After a moment, Chrysalis stepped forward as well, her drones staying in place.
They were both now looking into each other's eyes,  standing no more than fifteen feet away from each other.
"You won't get to them, Chrysalis," stated Celestia, her face completely serious.  "You've lost."
"You would think that, pony," Chrysalis replied, now with a strange look of satisfaction.  She stepped forward.  "But I still have you."
"Do you?  Do you really think they would let you back in Canterlot bearing my likeness without first checking to make sure it's really me?  After what's happened?  Face it, Chrysalis.  There's no way you'll be able to do anything on this scale ever again."
"I don't think I'll need to, Celestia," said Chrysalis, stopping only a few feet from her.  "Years of providing for my children have taught me something."  She then started staring off into space, as if reminiscing of those years.  "Food supplies come and go.  That much is obvious.  We lose a source of love, we just find a new one.  However," she looked back to Celestia, rather sternly, "little pests like you are quite a bother.  You ponies have a strange tendency to stick your noses where they don't belong.  You enjoy interfering with my plans, cutting us off.  And now you've made a lackey of Discord."  She said his name with a little disdain.  "I'll level with you.  We've lost a few ponies.  That does not bother me.  It truly doesn't.  What bothers me, is a self-righteous horse who thinks she can make a habit of getting on my nerves and starving my children."  Her horn flared to life once more as she said those last words.  Even her eyes glowed green, a strong reflection at how much magic she must have been prepared to channel.
Celestia remained unmoved.  "I really bother you that much, Chrysalis?  You want me to never bother you again?"  Her horn flared to life as well, and her eyes glowed white.  "Then stay out of Equestria, and leave my kind alone."
"…No."  A beam of green magic then shot from Chrysalis's horn and went straight for Celestia, who deflected it with one of her magic shields, sending it straight into the wall behind her, blowing it to bits.  Celestia quickly followed suit, firing a wave of aura into the ground below Chrysalis, who immediately leapt high to her left and clung to the wall.  The ground immediately erupted upward in a powerful explosion, surprising the changelings around them, but leaving the two focused on each other.
Celestia then took flight.



"Act natural," Discord whispered to his comrades, still disguised as changelings.  They saw what he was referring to.  As they trotted at a quickened pace down the corridor, a sizeable group of changelings approached at a similar pace.  In just a few quick seconds, the two groups passed.  The changeling at the front briefly glanced at Discord, nodding in passing, as did Discord as subtly as he could.
Once they were a good distance away, Discord looked back.  "See?  Easy."  They continued on.
After a few short minutes of Discord retracing his steps, they soon found themselves back in the hub, the guards looking about the area for the first time, much like he had.  Though, this time around it was very empty.  Up above them, they could only see about one changeling at a time, and they were usually gone as quickly as they arrived.  And they all seemed to be heading in the direction opposite Discord and his party.  Celestia must have had them quite occupied.
"Uh, sir," said one of the guards to Discord, "where do we go from here?"
Discord looked from him to the large cavern, eyeing the dozens of entrances and exits, the extensive bridge and stair networks, and the sheer size of the room.  He looked back to the guard.  "I'll be honest.  I didn't even think this far ahead."
The guard gave him a deadpan look, which was a little humorous when on a changeling's face.
Discord gave a playful shrug.  "Relax, we'll figure this out."  He looked back up to the room.  "Somehow."
He then buzzed his wings, taking to the air and hovering just above the walkway he had shared with the guards.  "You two," he gestured, "down below.  Look for anything that's suspicious or stands out."  He pointed them below to the network of tunnels and bridges that extended through the expanse below their bridge, somewhat less than the expanse above.  "And you," the third guard, "with me." He pointed upward.  "Remember.  Anything suspicious.  Any lead at all."
The three of them nodded, and two of them leapt over the edge, using their new wings quite well to descend through the expanse below.  Discord and his companion did the same, flying above.



At the first turn take a left.
Done.
Then a right.
Turned.
And then go straight the rest of the way.
In progress.  Screwball had now slowed from her galloping pace to a steadier trot, trying to get through the last dark corridor to where the drone had instructed her to go.  Supposedly, her father was supposed to be there.  But the further she got, the more she actually thought about it.  Then she began to question how likely it was he would actually be there.  After all, what were the chances that the two of them would decide to go to the exact same spot in the hive, however big and noticeable it was?
Still, it was better than nothing, and some central chamber of the hive did sound promising, at least a little.  She just hoped she didn't run into the queen…
She probably wouldn't, she knew.  The queen probably didn't even know she was loose, and would probably be too preoccupied with the Princess.  Still, she watched her back, looking over her shoulder and checking every turn before continuing on.  Even if the queen was likely occupied, the changelings probably weren't, and she doubted they would be as sympathetic as the one she left back there.
That reminds me, I should probably tell Dad about him, she thought to herself.  She thought it would be right that her father knew that at least one changeling was a help to them, even if they didn't ever see him again.
A buzzing sound ahead snapped her out of her thoughts.  She found herself frozen, standing still in the middle of the dark corridor, staring straight ahead.  She listened intently, and sure enough, the buzzing was coming from up ahead.  And it was getting louder.
Once she could catch her breath again, she managed to take a few steps backward.  Then a few more.  Then she found herself galloping, which was somewhat difficult because she was trying not to make any noise.  The buzzing behind her began to grow louder, which made her forget about being quiet.  She simply galloped as fast as she could away from the approaching changeling, praying she could get away.
She was elated at what she saw ahead: a small tunnel entrance, in the wall just to her left.  She somehow found the strength to gallop faster as she approached the entrance, and finally managed to scamper inside.
She huddled herself against the wall around the entryway, making herself as invisible to the changeling as she could.
Please don't come in here, please don't come in here, please don't come in here…
Her heart was racing, her hoofs were at her mouth to hide her breathing, and the buzzing was at its loudest.  She dared not look.  
Please, no…
The buzzing grew quieter, and she could hear it growing more and more distant.  Taking a deep breath, she took a look out of the entryway, looking down the other way.  In the distance, she could see a small changeling hovering away into the darkness, taking no notice of her presence.
Screwball let her breath out in sheer relief.  She could not believe her luck.  She then looked back down to her right, taking a moment to make sure there were no more changelings on their way.  
A green light then illuminated the immediate area, slowly growing brighter and making the pink filly freeze.  She checked her left and right again, seen nopony in the corridor.  Then she realized…
Slowly, she turned around, shaking like a leaf.  Right there, no more than a foot behind her, was a full-sized drone.  His horn was glowing, and his fanged mouth was opening wide in a nasty and audible growl.  His horn was now blinding, getting ready for a powerful spell.
Screwball couldn't help herself.  She screamed loudly, making the changeling flinch, and galloped as fast as she could through the corridor to her right.  She heard a loud booming sound behind her, followed by a big flash of orange light that filled the area around her, likely an explosion.
She could then hear the rapid hoofsteps of the changeling behind her.  She risked a look behind her and found the drone grappling against floor in its haste to catch up to her.  As she tried going faster, she could hear the unmistakable buzz of insect wings.  It had taken flight.
"Through here!" she heard somepony yell just up ahead.  What was it?  More changelings?  She had no idea, but she still had to run.  The changeling was gaining on her fast.
Then, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  Literally.  Just up ahead, she could see the end of the corridor, a large exit which the drone who freed her must have been talking about.  Not risking to look behind her again, she bolted as fast as she could, hoping that if she could reach the end she might be able to escape.
She halted to a stop at what awaited her at the end: four large changelings, which had come out of nowhere.  They came through and effectively blocked her exit and forced her to stop.  She tried quickly looking around for a way out of this, but froze at the sound of a heavy landing behind her.  She whipped herself around and found herself eye-to-eye with the giant drone, his blue eyes glaring at her, making her freeze.
"Get him!" Screwball heard from behind her.  Before she could react, three of the changelings suddenly leapt over her and tackled the now-startled drone before her, throwing him to the ground and bashing him into submission with odd efficiency.  She was perplexed.
"Screwball?"  That voice came from behind her as well.  She recognized it.  She turned around, hope rising in her again.  What she found was one of the changelings from before.  Her eyes grew as she caught sight of its unnatural red eyes.
"Dad?"
As he smiled, a bright light flashed around him and, in an instant, he resumed his true form, that of the draconequus.
Screwball's heart nearly leapt out of her chest.  "Daddy!"  She leapt at him, and he crouched his serpentine body down to meet her.  Finally, father and daughter were locked in each other's embrace once again, not saying any more that might ruin the long-awaited moment.
She buried her face into his shoulder, now sobbing and not bothering to hold it back.  She missed him so much, and worried for him so, but now it was over.  He wasn't going anywhere.  She had him back.
"Sir?"  Whoever that was, he completely dragged them out of the moment.  Her father hesitantly pulled her away and looked to the changelings that had attacked the one from before, which was now unconscious.  Smiling, he snapped his fingers, and Screwball watched as they, in a bright flash, took the form of unicorn stallions, wearing some kind of golden armor.  They seemed happy to be in this form.
Her father then held her in front of him.  "Okay, Screwball.  I'm taking us out of here.  Remember how we practiced this before?"
She realized that he was talking about teleportation, so she nodded eagerly.  They had done so before, but it was a practice not meant for Earth ponies, even one of Screwball's origins, and she hadn't quite grown accustomed to it.  That being the case, she closed her eyes, clung to her father, and held her breath.  He held her tight with his lion's paw, and he snapped his fingers.
What followed was the intense sensation that for Screwball accompanied teleportation.  For a brief second, her body was sent through an intense rushing sensation, which could only be compared to a monstrous roller coaster.  She was never hurt by this, but it knocked the breath out of her the first time her father practiced with her.  It was strange for her, but her father said it was good practice for when she could do it herself.
A second later, it was over, and she slowly opened her eyes.  She exhaled when she saw that she was outside, out in the middle of the desert.  She could also see a large castle-like thing not too far off in the distance.  The hive, presumably.
Still clinging to her father, she looked to the ground, finding a multitude of ponies, most of them pegasi wearing the same armor as the unicorns.  They all stood over a bunch of changelings, either unconscious or crouched down in surrender.  It made her wonder what she was missing this entire time.
She surveyed the area further and found more unicorn guards like the ones who accompanied her father, only there were far more of them and they seemed to accompany what looked like civilian ponies.  That is, they wore no armor and didn't appear to have weapons of any kind.  In fact, on closer inspection, they seemed to be covered in some kind of green slime.
What in Equestria did I miss? she thought to herself, trying to comprehend all she was seeing.  In fact, now that she took a close look to them, she could see they weren't all ponies.  She could see a griffon, a couple of donkeys, and…a dragon?
Wow…
Once their unicorn companions had left to the others, Screwball's father let her down onto the ground, crouching himself down to her level.
"Screwball," he said, sadness in his eyes, "I am so sorry I let this happen to you.  I…just don't know what happened.  Celestia just came in to visit the other day and…well, I just found out then, and…I…I…"  He was no longer able to hold himself together.  Holding on to her shoulders, he dropped his head and started crying.  Screwball just watched in minor shock.  In between sobs, she could hear a soft, "I'm sorry," over and over.  He probably couldn't think to say anything else.
She knew she had to put a stop to this.  Reaching under his head, she lifted his face up to meet hers, and smiled.  "Dad?"
"Screwball?" 
She then pulled him close, kissed his cheek, and wrapped her forelegs around his neck as gently as she could.  "It's okay."
He paused, probably surprised at her trying to comfort him, but slowly, he managed to hug her back, just as gently.  He even stopped crying.  That must have been all he needed, knowing that everything was alright.  Screwball had wanted the same thing all this time, and now she had it.
She then felt him shift slightly.  She broke the hug, seeing him stare off into the crowd.
His face now registered concern, and he asked himself, "Where's Celestia?"

> Chapter 9: Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Chapter 9: Confrontation


"What do you mean, 'She's still in the hive'?" cried Discord as he interrogated a helpless unicorn guard.  He went straight for him when he realized that Celestia was nowhere to be found, and he did not like the answer he gave.
"S-sir, I…"  The guard couldn't help but stammer, looking at Discord's angry eyes.  "Her Highness demanded th-that we evacuate everypony from the hive while she held off Chrysalis.  She would have followed her out and come after them if she hadn't stayed."  He was trying his best to keep up his stoic guard demeanor.  Luckily for him, Discord calmed himself.
"So she's fighting Chrysalis right now?  In there?"  The guard nodded solemnly.  He probably wasn't all too happy about it either.
Just then, Discord remembered he was still holding Screwball, who was looking up at him the entire time, curiosity and worry in her swirled purple eyes.  So he set her down, taking a moment to find the right words to say.
Screwball found them first.  "You're going back in there, aren't you?"
Discord was taken aback, surprised she figured it out already.  "How did…"
"I can tell by the look on your face," she said as her face lowered.  "You want to fight the queen again."
Now Discord had no idea what to say.  He had already gone on and on about how he was going to just get Screwball out of here the first chance he got, and now he wanted himself back in there?  All he could bring himself to say was, "I'm sorry."
"But Dad!" shouted Screwball, shooting her eyes back up to his.  Her eyes were tearing up again.  "I thought we could go home now."
Discord didn't break eye contact.  "I know.  I thought so, too.  But this is just something I have to do."
"But," said Screwball, trying to find some way to challenge him, "can't the Princess defeat Chrysalis herself?"
Discord took a deep breath.  "You didn't see how powerful she is."  He remembered their brief encounter, and the feats she was capable of.  "Celestia's strong, but there's no way she can defeat her on her own.  She needs my help."
Screwball was calm now, but didn't appear defeated yet.  "But she beat you, too, didn't she?"
"She had you when she beat me, yes.  But she doesn't have you now.  Now, there's nothing stopping me.  Nothing holding me back."  
He could see in his daughter's eyes that she was still trying to find something she could use against him, something that would keep him by her side.  But he wasn't done yet.
"Screwball," he said as he put his paw on her shoulder, "remember when your Aunt Fluttershy found you for me, and she said she did it because we were friends?"
He could see her expression lighten up as he mentioned her.  This was just what he wanted.  "The only reason I was able to find you in the hive was because Celestia freed me from my cell.  She helped me when I needed her, and she did it as a friend."
He could tell by the look on her face that she was done fighting.  Understanding was evident in her eyes.  "What are you going to do about the queen?"
Discord smirked.  "Get Celestia away from her, that's what I'm gonna do."
Screwball shared his smile briefly, but she still seemed to have something on her mind.  "It's just…Dad, I was held prisoner, too, and a changeling was the one who set me free."  His eyebrows raised, so she continued.  "He let me go, and he made me promise that I'd ask you not to fight the queen."
"Well," said Discord, "if it wasn't for Celestia, I wouldn't be going in there to begin with."  Screwball said nothing further, but she didn't seem satisfied with his answer.  He sighed.  "I'll see what I can do, I promise.  But I have to get Celestia out of there."
Screwball's face didn't lighten up at all, but she did manage to mumble a response.  "Okay, Dad."
Discord then looked back to the unicorn guard from before, who hadn't gone too far away.  "You, over here."  The guard trotted over by their sides.  "Watch Screwball for me until I get back."  The unicorn nodded, but Discord grabbed his collar and moved in close, just enough to make his point.  "Do not let her out of your sight!"  The guard didn't appear frightened, but nodded much more eagerly, satisfying Discord into letting him go.
He then turned back to his filly daughter, who still hadn't lightened up.  "I'll go in, retrieve Celestia, and get out.  Then we can go home.  I promise."
She saw his pleading eyes, and she managed to give him one last hug before he left.  "Be careful."
Without saying a word, he let her go.  Then, fast as lightning, he lurched himself into the air and fired himself toward the hive.  Screwball didn't take her eyes off of him.



The hive floor collapsed under the force of Celestia's impact, quickly bringing her down with it into the cavern underneath.  However, as she fell through, she managed to catch herself with her wings and land much more gracefully than before onto the ground below, various rubble and debris falling around her.  She looked up, and she could see the figure of Chrysalis herself jumping into the hole, slowly descending to Celestia's level.  She was followed by many of her changeling children, all of which flew far off to the sides without interfering, appearing to be set on being spectators.
Chrysalis landed with a loud thud, cracking the ground underneath her.  Celestia eyed her wearily, having already gotten a taste of her power.
Chrysalis watched her also.  "Do you remember Canterlot, Celestia?"  The Princess didn't respond to what she said.  She just glared, so Chrysalis went on.  "I do.  I remember how we were locked in combat, how you said you were going to defend your subjects…"  She then sneered mockingly.  "…and how easily I defeated you…"
"I have strength enough to hold you at bay, Chrysalis!" Celestia abruptly interjected.  "My subjects are safe from you, and that's all that matters in the end."
Chrysalis's horn and eyes then glowed green.  "Then I suppose everypony wins."
Sensing danger, Celestia immediately ducked, then looked up to find a massive boulder being hurled over her head from behind.  It continued over Chrysalis, as she let it fly away from her.  Celestia looked back up to the queen, seeing her cock an eyebrow, challenging her.
The alicorn obliged.  Summoning magic of her own, she launched a wave from her horn into the ground between them, having the resulting shockwave rocket its way up to Chrysalis.  Acting fast, she summoned an aura shield that effectively protected her from the blast, though it did knock her back a step.  Using the same shield, she parted the resulting dust cloud in front of her, only to be caught completely off-guard as Celestia rocketed herself at her.
They immediately collided, rolling onto the ground and into the changeling crowd, who quickly backed away and made room.  They ended with Celestia on top of Chrysalis, glaring down menacingly.  She charged her horn, aiming it straight at Chrysalis's head.  She then launched concentrated energy right into…
…bare ground.  Where Chrysalis's head had been, the attack had left a deep, but very narrow crater in the ground, but Chrysalis was gone.  Then, in a flash of green light, the queen reappeared next to Celestia, and bucked her in the face with all the force of her hind legs.  She was thrown far back into the wall, but got right back on her feet and shook it off.  She reached up with her hoof to feel her face where she was struck, and pulled it back to find blood on her horseshoe.  She just wiped her face again and left it at that.
Her face shot up when she heard the charge of another attack, and found Chrysalis just a moment away from firing.  Celestia's own horn flared, and just as the queen attacked, she had vanished.  She was now above Chrysalis.  Before the changeling could detect her, Celestia bore down upon her head with the strength of both forelegs.  This time, the attack landed, and Chrysalis was pummeled into the ground.
Celestia, now in control, but electing not to kick a mare while she's down, instead used her magic to grasp hold of Chrysalis's wings, pulling them and forcing her clear over herself and throwing her across the corridor to the other side.  She watched her fly across and not have time to land on her feet.  Chrysalis hit the ground with a thud and a roll and skidded to a stop before she could recover.  As she got up, she flexed her wings, but they quickly twitched back to her sides.  The Princess spared a glance to the changelings that surrounded her before advancing again.  They all watched her apprehensively.
Chrysalis had gotten to her feet and, glaring at the Princess, launched yet another strike from her horn, which Celestia quickly deflected with a magic shield.  She repeated the tactic two more times and was still ineffective.  The next time, she held her head up and relaxed herself before beginning.  Her gnarled horn then began glowing and gathering energy, much more so than before.
Seeing what she was doing, Celestia did the same, gathering magic in her own horn.  Her eyes were locked on Chrysalis, whose horn was now pulsing with magic, its glow reaching outward, just trying to escape her hold.
Do you remember Canterlot, Celestia?
She did, and she felt she was about to get a big reminder.  This was going to be like how they dueled last time, she could tell.  Their respective magical prowess, each locked against the other for dominance until only one prevailed, leaving the other at the victor's mercy.  It was not something Celestia wished to reenact, but she knew she may not have a choice.  Such was the price of her subjects' safety, to see them out of the snare of the changelings.
So very worth it.
She heard distinct grunts from Chrysalis, whom she could see was now having difficulty holding her focus on the spell.  Green fluid-like sparks flew from her horn as her magic was reaching its peak, herself growing less and less able to hold it steady.  She was going to fire any second.  Realizing this, Celestia put all the effort she could into her own spell, pouring as much magic as she could into her horn in a last effort to win this fight.
In a small way, she knew this would be what it all came down to: the two of them, one on one, in a contest of magical superiority, just like last time.
The moment came.  In a brief cry of exertion, Chrysalis unleashed her spell, bringing forth from her horn a wide, concentrated blast of magical energy, flowing with her signature aura.  Celestia reciprocated, launching her golden yellow magic in the exact same fashion.
It took half a second for the attacks to meet.  Time seemed to slow down for Celestia (and possibly everypony else) when that moment happened, the two respective auras coming into contact, only to ultimately reject each other and fight for control, resulting in a powerful shockwave that seemed to rock the entire hive to its core.  Several changelings lost their footing, and the walls and floor around the attack immediately cracked and crumbled.
Celestia could feel the energy of the collision coming back at her, blowing against her fur and her mane as so much energy was used up and expelled by the spells, as it was doing to Chrysalis.
For the longest time, the positioning of the spells were held constant in the middle.  But, to her credit, Celestia was putting everything she had into it, and she had already lasted longer than last time.  Chrysalis, however, looked completely livid.  She was clearly putting just as much effort into her spell, and the duel was still at a standstill.
Slowly, however, the magical auras began glowing brighter, and the impact of each was growing bigger.  The shockwave of it was reaching out as well.  Around the two combatants, the structure of the hive was giving way, rubble and debris simply flaking off and flying away from the sheer force of the constant impact.
The spell was taking its toll on the Princess, but she wasn't giving up.  But it was when her eyes darted back to the collision that she started to worry, as she could see it moving straight toward her!
No…
She reached inside, finding any last reserve of magic or force of will she could communicate into her spell, but she was already giving it everything she truly had left, and it was clearly not enough.
Her aura was now fading, and the green opposition was almost upon her.  She closed her eyes, accepting her fate.



Chrysalis's spell fell upon the Princess.  It struck her horn, and all of the power the queen put into the spell quickly coursed through Celestia's body, likely causing immense pain before it finally culminated in a powerful blast where her horn was.  She was rocketed backwards into the changeling crowd, who now gathered around her, no longer afraid of the fallen alicorn.  Her horn was charred and smoking, and she was motionless.  Her chest still rose and fell, but nothing else.
Once Chrysalis was able to catch her breath again, her horn aching, she looked upon the Princess, wide-eyed.
…Yes.  "Yes.  Yes!"
The changelings that surrounded them now backed away from the Princess, all watching Chrysalis, who was beaming like a child.
"I knew it!  That pitiful filly has given me power beyond that of any other.  Nopony can stop me!  Not Princess Celestia, not Princess Luna, not even Discord!"  Still smiling, she looked around as her changeling subjects gathered round her in adoration.
After a moment, though, their sights seemed to simultaneously return to the fallen alicorn.  They could still see her breathing, but she wasn't going to become conscious anytime soon.  Her horn had stopped smoking.
Chrysalis strutted over to her.  "Now, what shall I do with you?"  Her horn glowed, and green aura surrounded Celestia.  She was pulled up to the queen, still very lifeless.  "You're no threat, I can see that much.  What did you really hope to accomplish, Celestia?  Your friends have escaped, but for how long?"  She lifted up Celestia's face with her hoof, as if trying to look into her eyes, only to let go and let her head fall.  "What to do, what to do…"
"I say we let her go!"
Chrysalis shot around, glaring at the crowd of changelings behind her.  "How dare you!  Who said that?!"  She scanned them, but all of them seemed quite frightened by her outburst, all shrinking away in fear and confusion.
"You heard me!  Let her go!"
That male voice came from her right.  So familiar, she thought.  There was nothing there, though, nothing but her own shadow.
And it waved at her.
Her eyes now grew to the size of dinner plates and, by reflex, she shot magic from her horn straight into the wall, blowing it to pieces.  She was breathing quickly, and her heart was racing.  She watched the wall as it fell to pieces.  Still, nothing was there.
She then heard a sharp whistle from her side, where she still held Celestia.  Her face shot to the side, only to find somepony else in the Princess's place.
"Heehee, you missed!" cried the spitting image of Princess Cadence.
Chrysalis screamed, dropping the Cadence lookalike to the ground and firing at it with her horn.  Once more, it vanished.  A moment later, however, another familiar form took its place on the ground: Shining Armor.
"Hey!  What's the deal, Chrysalis?  I thought we had something special!" he complained with a childish grin.
"Go away!"  Chrysalis fired again, but he teleported once more, this time to the side.
"C'mon, Chrysie!  We were going to get married for Celestia's sake!  Don't tell me that didn't mean anything!"
She didn't bother shooting at him this time.  "What are you?!" she cried at the top of her lungs, making the changelings around her back away.
"Three guesses," she heard from behind her.  She whirled around, as did the other changelings, to find Discord far back.  He was standing, gently holding an unconscious Celestia in his talon arm.  "Get them wrong, and everypony plays 'the floor is made of lava!'"
Chrysalis was not amused.  "Kill him!"  At her word, every changeling in the corridor galloped after him, determination on their faces.
He slowly levitated and floated away from them, still calm and collected.  "That's it, follow the leader…"  He then snapped his fingers.
Chrysalis, still watching Discord, felt a loud and powerful rumbling.  Suddenly, between her and the changeling horde, an enormous stone slap emerged from the wall to her right.  It moved across the corridor without restraint, shattering the walls around it and completely sealing away her minions.  The passageway was now silent and still.
But it only lasted a moment.  She immediately felt yet another rumbling through her hive, and another stone wall emerged from behind her, again out of nowhere.  It destroyed the walls it glided through as it moved into position, blocking off the only other way out.  Chrysalis was sealed in.
"Discord!" she cried out to everything and nothing, venting her rage.  The cry echoed through the high walls of what was now a sealed room.  "Show yourself!"
She didn't have to wait.  Just on the other side of the room, about twenty feet away, a flash of light came and went, leaving behind Discord, still holding Celestia.  He gently laid her on the ground as he watched Chrysalis.
"Discord," said Chrysalis through her teeth, taking a few steps toward him.  "Give.  Me.  That.  Pony."
He, too, floated a few feet closer, grinning like a madman.  "Nope."
She fired magic at him, causing him to spiral out of the way and vanish.  He reappeared right next to her, wrapping his arm around her playfully.  She flinched away in disgust.  "Oh, Chrysalis.  See how much more fun it is when we do things my way?"  He vanished again, reappearing over Celestia once more.
"You will die, Discord.  You and Celestia both, right now."  Her horn started glowing again.
His expression turned deadpan, as if he was speaking to a child.  "I said, 'No.'"  He then gently placed his paw on Celestia's neck.  In an instant, she vanished.  Chrysalis stared, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Actually, she couldn't believe it.  The Princess was right where she wanted her.  But just like that, she was gone.  Why did Discord come back?  Why did he take away her opportunity?
"Oh, I don't know," said Discord.  To Chrysalis, it sounded like he was responding to her thoughts, which set her on edge.  "All this time, I thought I wanted revenge, but let's both be honest."  He then dived into her shadow, controlling it once more as it morphed into his own shape.  She tried stepping away from it.  "What would that accomplish?  I can't kill all of you.  Besides, even if I tried, Celestia would be all over my case.  You know, genocide or some such nonsense."  His shadowy figure grew, covering more of the wall he was against.  "But I can't just let you go, either.  If I did that, you'd just try this again.  You'd come after my Screwball and whatever other pony you'd get your gangly little hooves on."
Chrysalis couldn't help but look at her hooves before replying.  "What do you expect me to do, then?  Deny my children food?  Allow us all to starve?"
"I expect," he began, "that you never try this again.  I expect you to leave my daughter, and everypony else, alone."  He dived out of the shadow, his true form now perched upon the ground as he looked up at her.
"That cannot be done," she calmly replied, still glaring.  "I am responsible for the lives of my children.  I will not deny them."
"And I am responsible for my child," he said, "and I will not deny her."  He now levitated, slowly circling her.  "It seems we've reached an impasse, then."
"Impasse?" asked Chrysalis.  "Discord, what makes you think you can stop me?"  Her horn lit up again to emphasize her point.  "I thought we settled this earlier."
He flicked her horn, startling her and making her glare in anger.  "Please, must we go over this?  You had Screwball, now you don't.  The end."
She audibly sighed in frustration.  "What…do you honestly hope to accomplish here?  Are you going to 'kill' me?"  She mimed quotes with her hooves.  "Or am I just getting a stern talking to?"
"A little of both," replied the draconequus.  "Coming back for Celestia simply afforded me this opportunity.  What I want is to show you…that if you were foolish enough to try this again, you couldn't possibly succeed."
Chrysalis, cocking an eyebrow, unfurled her wings, stretching them out.  "And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?"
Discord snapped his fingers.  In an instant, a target appeared on his chest, and several flashing arrows appeared around him, pointing straight at him.  Chrysalis just stared in bafflement.  "You're so sure you can win against me?  Go ahead, come at me.  I'm right here."  He reached into a now-existent pocket in his side and pulled out an oversized battleaxe, threw it aside, then raised his hands in the air.  "Unarmed."
As usual, Chrysalis didn't even smirk.  "You really believe you could goad me into fighting you?"  As if on cue, lightning flashed above her head, and she felt the drizzle of liquid over her body.  She looked up, finding a cotton candy cloud raining chocolate milk upon her.
Her face completely expressionless, she looked back to Discord.  Without warning, a beam of magic suddenly launched from her horn at him.  He promptly vanished, allowing the charge to strike the wall behind him.  Before she could even tell him to show himself, the ground exploded underneath her, sending her flying into the wall behind her.  He reappeared in front of her as she hit the ground.
She first glared at him once more, then turned to the cloud that was still above her.  She quickly zapped it, making it explode chocolate milk everywhere.  Discord drew out an umbrella.
"Queenie, you can't win.  There's no escape.  Your children aren't coming for you.  And I'm fairly certain the Canterlot higher-ups don't mind me giving you the flank-kicking you deserve."  His face went from playful to serious.  "Give up."
She struck again.  This time, a string of magical aura launched at Discord, quickly wrapping itself around his neck before he could react.  It pulled itself tighter, and he was suffering the effects.  He tried pulling it off, but it only got tighter around his neck, cutting off his airways.  He fell to his knees as he fought.
Chrysalis smiled.  "Don't expect me to make the same offer, chimera.  I've had it with you.  I will kill you."
Out of nowhere, Discord's eyes shot open and he grinned, making Chrysalis step back.  He let go of the aura and allowed it to close around his neck.  When it looked like it was going to rip his head off his shoulders, it…did.  Discord's head flew off of his body, which caught him in its arms.  His head turned to the queen, who was baffled as ever.
"Hey, queenie!"  He grinned like a foal.  "Let's not…"
"Don't you dare!"
"…lose our HEADS now!"  The horse head burst into laughter, his body holding him in place, while Chrysalis charged her horn once more, enraged.  
She fired at him, actually making contact this time.  The blast struck his body hard, and forced him all the way back into the wall behind him.  His body still clutched his head.  The body quickly recovered, however, and lifted the head up, arching it over its…shoulders.
"My turn!" yelled Discord.  His body threw the head straight at Chrysalis, who braced herself by charging another attack.  Before she could finish, though, the head was upon her.  In a bright flash of light, his snake-like body regenerated beneath his neck and quickly wrapped itself around Chrysalis, particularly around her neck and abdomen.  It tightened quickly around her.
Her body slowly began losing precious oxygen, as she was unable to breathe.  Her muscles ached, and she couldn't stand any longer.  She fell to her knees, not having the strength to support herself and the draconequus.  She fought still, trying to power her horn again, but she couldn't summon the magic she needed.
Discord arched his head around to face Chrysalis, his face beaming with arrogance.  "Give up, yet?" he asked with a mocking smirk.
That pushed her over the edge.  In her anger, she found the will to power her attack, during which she looked at Discord with hateful eyes.  "NO!"  Her magic blasted him right in the face, forcing him to arch upward in pain as he covered his eyes.  This forced Chrysalis up as well, but his hold on her was now loose enough for her to escape.  She wriggled free, but she didn't have the time to catch herself with her wings.  Her back hit the ground as she saw Discord floating above her, writhing about.
"AAAGGHHH!!  I CAN'T SEE!!"
She quickly got to her hooves and backed against a wall.  She wanted to capitalize, but she needed to breathe first.  She had put all she could into that magical blast, and she was still in pain all over from that constriction.
Discord was twisting about in the air, his hands still covering his face.  After a moment, he appeared to lose control of his flight, and accidentally propelled himself into the wall.  He fell to the ground, just across from the queen.  He was groaning.  "…the nerve.  I can't believe…" she managed to hear him say.  She then saw his fist close around his face, and throw something away from him.  Two round objects rolled away from him, then turned on their own.  They were his eyes; mismatched, yellow, badly constricted, and looking at her.
Too exhausted to be frightened, Chrysalis looked back to Discord, who was holding what looked like a container for contact lenses.  Out of it, he pulled out two new eyes, which he easily rolled into his head.  After a few blinks, he looked good as new.
"You're…kidding me," the queen mumbled to herself, still breathing heavily.
"Afraid not, Chrysalis," he replied.  "I told you, you cannot defeat me."  She quickly fired at him again, but it was so weak, he easily swatted it away.  "Give up, and I'll leave and never come back."
"Never!" cried Chrysalis as she spread her insect wings.  She lunged at him as fast as her wings could propel her.  Acting fast, however, he twisted around her, grabbing her wings and slamming her body into the wall behind him.  She wailed in pain as she felt the powerful impact.  It felt to her like something was broken, and she couldn't even feel her wings anymore.  She tried to move, but Discord still held her firm against the wall, one hand on her neck and the other on her wings.  Besides, it hurt to move her legs now.  That slam must have done more damage than she thought.
She could feel Discord getting close to her ear.  "Spare yourself this pain, Chrysalis.  You know what you have to do to end it."
"No!" she managed to shout.
Discord sighed, and he loosened his grip on her neck.  "Chrysalis, the job is done.  Look at yourself.  Do you honestly see yourself winning?"
As it turned out, Chrysalis was almost in too much pain to think.  But she did realize how bad it looked for her.  She was hurt…badly, and she had barely put a scratch on Discord.  He was in complete control.  She knew it, yet she was desperately trying to find some way to deny it, to believe that there was a way she could come out on top again.  Maybe if she feigned surrender and bided her time…
But they would be expecting her next time.  They weren't nearly as careless as they had been.  They had multiple means to stop her, as well as this alliance with Discord.  She knew they were right.  There was no way she could try anything like this again, at least not in the near future.
But, my children…
Dark thoughts then crossed her mind.  Even if she did find a way to try again, to pull off this kind of deception, what would become of her children if Discord did return to wreak the havoc he had promised?  She didn't know how far he would be willing to go, but she knew enough about him to know that he wasn't nearly as forgiving as the Princesses.  Even this offer he kept trying to force on her was a stretch, likely brought on by Celestia.  But she knew better.  He wouldn't give her this chance again.
She then realized what she had to do.  This was a choice between mild famine or certain destruction.  And changelings were adaptable, so they could deal with the former, at least for a time.  What she now knew they couldn't deal with…was Discord.
As her thoughts returned to reality, she still felt Discord's grip as he held her against the wall, refusing to let go.
She had no choice.  With the greatest reluctance, she went limp, and stopped fighting.
"…You win."
"Pardon?" replied Discord.
"You win, Discord.  I give up."  Her head was low, and her breathing was heavy.  "I will let you, and your friends, and your daughter go.  I will not follow you.  And I will not threaten you again."
She risked looking back up at him through the corner of her green eyes.  She saw him peering intently at her, as if looking into her, trying to find the truth in her words.  After a few seconds, though, he let her go.  He set her gently onto the ground, where she stumbled at first, still aching all over.
Discord was still in her face, though.  "You will leave me alone.  You will leave my daughter alone.  And you will leave alone all ponies and sentient creatures in Equestria."
Her head was still down, and her voice was a murmur.  "Yes."
She then felt him put his hand under her chin, from which she quickly flinched away.  But he grabbed her, forcing her to look at him.
"Chrysalis, do you truly care about your children?"
How dare he?  Of course she cared about her children.  She started glaring again, just wishing he would leave as he promised.
"Of course I do," she spat.
"Then find another way," he said with force.  "This conflict has only brought pain to both of us.  Care for them, protect them, provide for them."  His red eyes were piercing as they stared into hers.  "But not like this."
She didn't respond, and she was still disgusted by his touch, but he let go, allowing her to back away from him.  As she caught her breath, she stared him down, as did he.  They just stood there, in silent contemplation of what had transpired.  Anger, however, no longer registered on their faces, and neither did any other antagonistic look.  Chrysalis herself, actually, felt relieved, even if in the smallest way.  She had lost, but it was over, and she, her home, and her children were…relatively safe.  Discord appeared to feel the same way.
There was only one way Chrysalis could think to express such relief.
"…Get out."
Discord smiled.  Not mockingly smirk or grin, but genuinely smiled.
The changeling queen watched him lift his lion's paw and snap his fingers, only to be caught off-guard as blinding light filled her vision.



"AAAHH!"  Chrysalis hit the ground hard, still blinded from before.  She felt she was on level ground, so she tried setting herself up as her eyes adjusted, but she could only see white.
"Mother!" she could hear from not too far away.  She knew the voice though.  As she tried looking around, her vision slowly started to come back to her.  Small dark figures surrounded her, and a blurry black and green began to fill the void behind them.
One of the figures was close to her, close enough to touch.  "Mother, are you okay?"
It's outline filled out much more, and his features became distinct.  He was one of her children.
"Yes," she replied, nearly breathless, "I'm well."  It then suddenly hit her: she was well.  She felt through her senses, flexing her muscles and twitching her wings, only to find that none of them ached.  She was no longer in pain, anywhere.
She then noticed the changeling in front of her was trying to get her attention.  "Mother, the ponies haven't gone too far from the hive.  If we hurry, we may…"
She quickly cut him off, pulling him in close and embracing him.  She then put her mouth to his ear.  "Alert the others.  I want a roll call.  Make sure everyone is safe and accounted for.  When you've finished, we meet in the throne chamber.  I have things that need discussed."
She pulled him back from her, and she could tell he was confused.  She didn't care at the moment though.  Tenderly, she kissed his forehead, then nudged him away.
"Go, dear."
He snapped out of it.  He nodded eagerly, then galloped off, followed by some of his brothers and sisters.  The others stayed around Chrysalis, alert and at her service, as they always were.
She didn't say anything, though.  She needed her rest.  She may have been physically rejuvenated, but she was still mentally drained.  Her mind was aflutter with mixed emotions, like the shame of defeat oddly coupled with the relief of the end of conflict.  
At the moment, she tried focusing on the latter.  Yes, her plan had been a colossal failure and almost came at a high cost, but at least she could finally put it behind her.  After all, now was not the time to plan revenge or be angry.  Her loss was inevitable, she now realized.  The best she could do now was do as Discord said, sick as it made her to admit it to herself.  Her children needed her, and she was going to be there for them, victorious or not.

> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rescue from the Changeling Hive

Epilogue


The trip back to Ponyville took all night.  Celestia and Discord's party stopped at Canterlot first, at which time Celestia's guard divided up which ponies they were going to escort home.  Discord obviously was to accompany the ponies of Ponyville, along with the same guards who had assisted him before.  Celestia originally intended to stay at the castle for when the time came to raise the sun, but she rather elected to accompany Discord and his party home.  She left the sun in Princess Luna's hooves for that day.  Discord didn't mind her company.  In fact, he welcomed it, but he wouldn't admit it.
By the time they actually reached Ponyville, about seven rescued ponies in tow (including Screwball), it was sunrise, and they were welcomed by what seemed to be the entire town.  They were gathered at the town square, and there was no way of telling how long they waited, but there they were.  Discord didn't recognize most of them, but he could make out Fluttershy and her friends at the front of the crowd, which did not surprise him at all.  They always seemed to be involved somehow.
Once they got close, most of the rescued ponies ran off from the group into the crowd, and others ran to meet them.  Family or friends, obviously.  He still didn't recognize any of them, but he did take notice of a couple of them.  A gray, cross-eyed pegasus mare had met up with a gray unicorn filly.  Mother and daughter?  Or maybe sisters?  He didn't know, but he saw them embrace quickly, and the pegasus flew both of them into the air, following a rather crooked flight path.  It was actually quite heartwarming and fun to watch, but he kept it to himself.
The sight urged him to take a look at the pink filly he held in his arms.  On the journey home, they were inseparable.  The entire time, he either held her or kept her by his side.  Oddly enough, they didn't talk very much, but they didn't need to.  Screwball was rather upset when he left to fight Chrysalis again, but her smile and tight hold on him when he returned told him everything was alright.  Right now, however, her sight was directed at the ponies that were reuniting.  She still clutched her father tightly.
Discord's gaze was directed elsewhere.  Not too far from the crowd, which was distracted by the emotion of the event, several of Celestia's guards were approaching.  Held in tow were several changelings, all of them restrained by chain.  The guards didn't say anything, but they passed by Celestia, who nodded to them knowingly.  They then continued on their way.
"They'll be taken to the desert," said Celestia out loud.  "They'll be able to find their way home, and they've been warned about returning."  She turned to Discord.  "But I'm sure they don't need to be warned.  Thanks to you."
Discord glanced at Screwball.  "Yes, they won't be bothering us anytime soon."  He felt Screwball hold him tighter as he said that.
She then nudged at him.  "Dad, look!"
He looked to where he pointed, finding Fluttershy and her friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and even Spike the dragon (who was hiding behind Twilight), approaching them.  Fluttershy looked quite gleeful, while her friends seemed a little reluctant.  Discord set Screwball on the ground.
"Um, Discord," said Fluttershy softly.  "My friends and I have something we would like to say."  She nudged Rainbow Dash, who was the one next to her, and was the one who seemed the most resistant.
"Ugh, okay.  Uh, Discord," said Rainbow, "it was…I guess…It was pretty awesome of you to, you know, save the Princess and all.  Yeah."  She sighed heavily, probably glad to have that off her chest.  Fluttershy looked rather pleased with herself.
"And…Ah'm with Rainbow on that," said Applejack.  "Ah think it was mighty noble to put yerself on the line for 'er."
Rarity stepped up next.  "Discord, I know that we haven't exactly…seen eye-to-eye in our time knowing each other."  The "Tom" incident passed through his mind.  "But I agree with Fluttershy when she says that you are to be commended for your part in saving these ponies."
"No kidding!" cried Pinkie Pie, making Discord chuckle.  "I mean, saving the Princess is like, only the bestest thing anypony could do!  Well, actually, I guess that there are two Princesses, and he only saved one, so I guess technically what he did would be one of two of the best things anypony could do…but still!"
"Um, Pinkie, I think you made your point," said Fluttershy much too quietly.  From some miracle, Pinkie heard her, so she zipped her lips shut, still smiling like always.
In the sudden silence, Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, prompting Spike to hide behind Rarity instead.  "Discord, I'm very glad you were able to save your daughter, and that you were able to play a part in getting everypony home safe and sound, especially the Princess.  So, for saving my mentor, and for everything else you've done to help," she held out her hoof to him, smiling, "you have my deepest gratitude."
This was certainly new to Discord.  Except for Fluttershy, and maybe Pinkie, none of them were ever this friendly to him.  And here was Twilight Sparkle, his former nemesis, offering her hoof to him.  He went with it, though hesitantly, as he hoof-bumped her (with his fist).
"Uhh, of course.  Your welcome."  He added a grin as sincerely as he could.  She shrugged off his hesitance with a smile.
Discord then realized that his daughter was being left out of all this.  He knelt down to her level.  "Screwball, sweetie, how would you like to introduce yourself to Aunt Fluttershy's friends?  I'm sure they'd all be happy to meet you."
She looked to them, looking a little uncertain.  "I…uh, okay, that sounds fun."  She trotted off to Fluttershy, who took the liberty of introducing her.
"Girls, this is Screwball.  Screwball, this is Rainbow Dash, that's Applejack, that's Pinkie…"
Celestia nudged Discord and gestured away from them.  She led him a few steps away, out of the fillies' hearing range.
"Discord," she began, smiling, "I would…also like to thank you for your part in all this."
"Well," Discord was shuffling his feet, "I just…wanted Screwball back, and…"
"Maybe at first, but even when she was safe and sound, you went out of your way to ensure my safety, and the safety of everypony I set out to rescue."
Discord wasn't impressed.  "It was nothing, really.  I gave Chrysalis the flank-kicking she deserved.  That's it."
Celestia placed her hoof on his paw, making him flinch back slightly, but he let her keep it there.  "Discord, listen to me.  I know what went on in there.  You could have done far more than you did, but you restrained yourself for the greater good.  You risked your life to save your daughter, my subjects," her face turned ever so slightly red, "and me.  And what's more, you worked to make sure that my subjects would be safe from this threat in the future, without going too far."
"Well...Screwball asked me to go easy on her."  That much was true.
Celestia giggled.  "Okay.  I just wanted you to know, Discord, that I'm proud of you, and I am very grateful that you're keeping your promise to use your powers for good."
"Oh, alright.  Just don't read too much into this, Princess.  I'd rather just put this behind me."  Now he was blushing.
Celestia, smiling, turned to the others, seeing Screwball now in lively conversation with Pinkie Pie.  "Oh, well.  I was going to let you do that, but…"  She smirked at him.  "You know, whenever Twilight and her friends go through something like this, they usually write to me about what they've learned about the magic of friendship."
Discord couldn't help but smirk back.  "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Celestia laughed.
Discord eyed the others, scheming.  "Well, Princess, if you really want me to…"  He snapped his fingers, and in a flash, Spike was between them, quill and paper in hand, and he was clearly shocked.  Twilight and the others looked in surprise, and Celestia just kept laughing.
"AAHHH!  D-Discord, wh-what are…"
"Spike," Discord interrupted, "take a letter."
Spike was shaking like a leaf, and he turned to his friends for help, but Twilight, Fluttershy, Screwball, and the others were all laughing at the look on his face.  Seeing that he had no choice, he put the quill to the paper.
"Ahem…Dear Princess Celestia,
I have learned something very important about the magic of friendship.  It's very important that you're there for your friends…
He turned to Screwball, who was watching affectionately.
…and family whenever they need you.  And sometimes, while we all hate to admit it, we sometimes need to go to, shall we say, great lengths to do so.  Even so, no matter how bad the situation is, if your desire is revenge, you're only going to cause more pain for everypony.  If you ever have to defend your friends, always have their well-being in mind, rather than the desire to hurt others, and you'll always be on the right track.
Screwball then went back up to him.  He held her in his arms, intent to never let her go again.


Your faithful ally,
Discord