Chapter One
December 1
4:31 AM
The Hive
I'd never come close to killing anything, but when there was an unrelenting knocking on my door, I came very close.
"Aeris! The Queen wishes to speak with you before battle." The voice was of my older brother, Pulse. Then, when I didn't respond, he burst through the doors and blasted me with an scorching blast of wind.
"Wake up, dammit! We are going to war! And you are not going to sleep through it!" My hooves flailed in the air for the time I fell off the side of my bed, and then I pulled myself up and glared at Pulse. He snorted, turned on his heels, and left me to get ready for the impending invasion. My armor hung from its respective rack, glinting dully in the weak light. I growled as I trudged over to it, and grew increasingly unhappy as I heard voices coming in my direction. Very annoyed-sounding voices. I went into double time slipping on the dark gray armor, and finished just in time to see who the annoyed voices were.
"Need some time to polish your hooves? File holes? Brush your teeth?" Pulse mocked from the corner.
"Pulse! Do not start the childish taunts and jests! We have a lot to do, in so little time." My mother said, who was also Queen of all Changelings. Woohoo.
"Come Aeris, do not delay us any more," Chrysalis snapped,"we must prepare the others." With that, she stalked off towards the designated barracks, which doubled as the living quarters. Basically, you were in the military wether you liked it or not, save a few exceptions. I yawned, which earned me a smack on the head.
"C'mon Aeris, we don't want you falling asleep now." He said, smirking, still looking straight ahead. I sighed, out of my three other siblings, I was the one who would always sleep until midmorning or early afternoon and then stay awake all through the night. As we walked, the smoother, paved stone of the royal quarter gave way to the rough and slimy cave walls of the barracks. I glanced around, looking for my two sisters, but they were nowhere to be found. We stopped at the entrance, where my mother motioned for my brother and I to wake up the rest of the horde.
Almost as soon as the last syllable left Chrysalis's mouth, Pulse was yelling and shouting for them to wake up. I slowly shook my head, and conjured up a small storm cloud to float beside me, mildly shocking the changelings I passed by. They looked up, confused, and then seeing me, snapped to attention. I nodded, and continued on my rounds, waking up the remainder of the changelings before I returned to my mother's side. Pulse's yelling was still echoing in the back of the room. Chrysalis nuzzled me on the neck.
"He always was ah- more direct in his approach, but that will be his downfall," the Queen said. I beamed, and then she added,"but that doesn't mean you are without flaws, Aeris....and where have you two been!" The last part was directed at my two older sisters, Caslila and Vita.
"I- we--" Casilia stuttered.
"-were just making sure the supplies were ready. Y'know, for the invasion?" Vita finished. Although it was obvious the pair was lying, Chrysalis made no outward indication she knew, and ordered her daughters to stand beside me. The drones stood in front of us, looking either nervous or raring to kill, sometimes a combination of both.
"My subjects!" Queen Chrysalis exclaimed,"This is not going to be an easy war, nor will it be likely that we will return with most of you still breathing." Some of the drones scraped their hooves on the dirt, others found a sudden interest in their hooves. Seeing this, Chrysalis stomped her hoof on the ground.
"Doesn't it bother you that we have to fight just to barely survive, everyday? Doesn't it bother you that we are the outcasts, just because we look different and have a different diet? We will have to fight to claim these rights for this generation and generations to come. Now, prepare. For. War. We leave at dawn." The Queen, Pulse, and Vita left, most likely to laugh at me, Cas, or more probably, the fact that we were going to war. I didn't get it why they laughed at such serious things, but then again, it was better than worrying over little details. Casilia trotted over to me, a concerned look on her face.
"Something tells me we're not fighting to take back our rights..." She said. I nodded, since when was Chrysalis interested in the well-being of her subjects? Something strange was going on. I shook my head and started to walk back to my quarters.
"S-Sir? M-May I speak with you. In private?" A voice asked. I turned my head, confused, but then smiled.
"Of course, follow me." That was why Cas and I were so popular amongst the drones, we gave them respect, as they would give it to us.
"What's you name, soldier?" I asked. The drone next to me looked around nervously.
He said,"I'll explain when we're in private, please, it's very important!" His eyes were darting all around the hall now, I opened the door to my chambers, and waved him in. Almost immediately, his gaze fell on the small window, and he rushed over to it. While he was admiring outside my window, I went and retrieved my sword. It had a burnished bronze blade, edged with small, razor sharp diamonds, and curved like a crescent moon. I slid it into its scabbard.
"Now that we are in private, your name?" I prompted.
The drone's expression grew serious,"Whatever you do, do not call for the guards, or your family." I narrowed my eyes, and my horn arced white-blue lightning,"Who ar-." A knock on the door interrupted me.
"Aeris, who are you talking to? And we're leaving in half an hour." My mother's voice echoed from the hallway. The drone froze.
"I won't be late." I replied, and was rewarded with the fading sound of hoof steps.
"Drone. Name. Now." I commanded hurriedly.
"That's not important at this moment. I need you to help me escape." I cocked an eyebrow.
"I could have you hanged for this, you know that?" He nodded, and continued.
"I'm escaping from Queen Chrysalis...and it's too long of a story to tell, but I need you to trust me on this." He gave me a pleading look. I sighed.
"Hide under the bed until we leave, there's a secret passageway that leads directly to Canterlot, with some stops along the way." And then,"Good luck, drone." With that, I turned and flew down the empty halls to my family. I slowed to a quick trot and fell in line with Vita.
"What took you so long?"
"I thought I forgot something."
"Yeah, your head." Pulse jested.
"Enough! Today, we take Equestria, tommorow, the world!" Chrysalis exclaimed, and then grinned to herself.
The entrance to the Hive wasn't a every regal affair, it was a crack in the cliff face, barely two changelings wide, hidden from prying eyes.
December 3
9:36 PM
Abroad
We'd been marching non-stop for two days, and everypony was getting tired. The regiment assigned to me consisted of twenty changelings who were both loyal to me, and who were the best fighters. I was instructed to lead them to the town of Suncoast, where we would meet up and test our strength.
"You can have the rest of the night to yourselves, and we're leaving at seven am." I said, taking off my helmet. The crickets and bugs chirped in the dark forest. Then, something snapped, and two glowing blue orbs stared out at me.
"I'm going hunting." I called to my regiment. A grunt of acknowlegment answered me.
"I see you found your way out?" I asked. The larger changeling nodded,"That passage is very useful."
"If that's the case, continue onto Canterlot, you have no time to waste." I replied. He trotted back to the tunnel's entrance and started to gallop towards Canterlot. I wondered why he was going there, but those thoughts stopped when something hit me in the back of the head. Hard. I blacked out.
December 6
7:30 AM
One 1/2 mile due east of Suncoast
Consciousness came back slowly, first muffled sounds, and then blurred vision. It lasted for a few minutes while my head cleared up. I was lying in the camp we set up the night before...but where were all my troops? I threw on my armor and rocketed into the sky, searching for a trace of their passage. There was a column of dark smoke rising in the distance, just beyond the edge of the forest, I figured that's where the rest of the swarm went. But as I neared, I sensed something was wrong, there wasn't any screaming, or yelling, only bodies on the rocky soil. My heart stopped when I recognized one of the fallen. I bounded across the terrain, trying to reach my elder sister as quickly as I could.
"Cas!" I yelled, before I could stop myself. There were ponies surrounding her, and prodding her with their hooves. The ponies jumped back and turned to face me. My sister coughed up blood, and I shoved past the ponies around her. I knelt by her side and hugged her, not caring my armor was being soaked in blood, or that I could be killed at any moment. I wanted to be with my sister, and nothing was going to stop me.
"A-aeris...Mother and...and the others are planning an- an invasion on Canterlot," Casilia said, her breathing becoming more ragged and labored,"there will be no survivors." I stared open-mouthed before realizing the significance of what she said. I turned to the pony nearest to me.
"You. Warn Canterlot of an impending changeling invasion." And then to another,"do you have a doctor?" None of the moved, not even an inch. I snarled at them before carefully scooping up my sister into my forehooves.
"Aer-Aeris? Are we going home? I-I want to see mom again...and Vita, and Pulse..." Tears filled my eyes, and I cried, right there in the middle of the dusty street.
"Aeris? C-can I-I t-tell you something?" Cas asked. She was shivering, and her voice was as shaky as ever.
"Of course, what is it?"
She smiled,"I love you." The next few minutes stretched on for an eternity. An eternity filled with me begging the ponies of Suncoast for a doctor while my sister lay dying on the ground. I sat down next to my sister in resignation.
"It's ok." Two words whispered so quietly I barely heard them.
"I know you tried." And then she was still, her chest no longer rose and fell.