A Plea for Helpby thecookiewookieChaptersPlease understand...The Other Side of the CoinAn Untimely InterludePlease understand...I awoke feeling cramped and stiff. My head was pounding, and even trying to open my eyes hurt. Dammit, I thought, what'd I do this time? I didn't even have that much to drink... I went to roll over, only to find I was crammed into a tight, cluttered space. I thrashed around for a moment trying to find which way was down and put my hooves on it. Instead, my hind hoof struck the handle and the closet door swung open. The sudden, brilliant sunlight hurt like a motherbucker, and I groaned and covered my eyes. There's no WAY I drank that much last night... why does my head hurt so much? As I pried my eyes open and got used to the morning light, I noticed something weird. A few sheets of paper were stuck to my horn, taped there like a giant post-it. What the...? I pulled the pages off and looked at them, blinking a bit to clear the blurriness. The first page looked hastily scrawled, with fairly messy hornwriting. As I read the words, I could hear them in my head, like I was remembering them... Hey. Look, first of all, I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this, but I had no other choice. I was starving to death, and you were the only one I could find. I could tell you were buzzed, so you wouldn't notice the mind read. I'm really sorry, I just saw how much you and your husband loved each other, and I was so hungry, I just couldn't resist. Oh, right. Um, I'm a changeling. Just... you know, so that makes some sense. Anyway, you're gonna have a headache, that's normal. I had to bite you, to knock you out so I could take your place for a little while. It's just dehydration and a few aftereffects, drink some water and eat a few dandelions and you'll be fine. I was stunned. I had been abducted and replaced by a changeling! Who does this damn bug think he is!? Just leaving an apology note doesn't make up for kidnapping! I fumed a moment, before looking around and recognizing my own hallway. Oh. So he just stuck me in the hall closet. Is that still kidnapping? I shook myself out of the thought. The stupid bug had robbed me of a night with my husband, that was bad enough. Well, okay, even though it was a pretty crappy night. He was right, though. Now that I knew how to stop my headache from Tartarus, I headed for the kitchen. Passing the window, I noticed the sun. Apparently I had woken up with Celestia, as the sun was only just up. I drank a few glasses of water and ate a few dandelions from the fridge. The changeling wasn't lying about that one, they helped a lot. Feeling more comfortable, I looked at the second sheet of paper. It was from the notepad I keep on my bedside, so seeing it made my blood run hot. Oh, if that damn insect laid a hoof on my stallion... I know what you'll be worrying, relax. I didn't sleep with your husband. You ponies always think that's how we get love, but all that gets is lust, which is junk food. I just came home, apologized for your fight (you're welcome, by the way), and snuggled with him until he fell asleep. His nethers are just as pristine as you left them. I really am sorry I had to do this, you know. Oh, and don't worry about the love I harvested. It won't hurt him or stop him loving you, I just took the wasted extra bits, the spare energy that wasn't going anywhere. Hmm. Well, that was a mixed message. On one hoof, the changeling had mostly left my husband alone, so that was good. On the other, I missed out on some nice cuddles because of him. Well, good and bad news, I guess. I kept reading. Okay, there's another thing. I know you probably weren't there, but I want to formally apologize for the actions of the Changeling Hive at the wedding of Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor. We didn't want that. Changelings and ponies were never meant to fight. Chrysalis' plan would have starved us all in a matter of months. We're meant to be friends, allies. You ponies may like love and friendship, but changelings actually NEED it. Love is our source of food, and our hive-link is a kind of deep friendship. Anyway, here's the important bit: Chrysalis is planning to attack again. She's gone all the way off the deep end. We lost last time, badly. This time, it might be even worse. So, I need your help. I've got a good section of the hive on my side, a little over half of us don't want to follow Chrysalis anymore. But she's the queen, and we can't directly disobey her orders. We've been messing around and stalling her assault, but that won't last forever. Sooner or later, she's going to attack again, and this is why I need your help. If we attack like she says, and Canterlot is unaware that we're coming, we'll still get routed. Half the hive is suffering from starvation, and we'd get killed off inside of ten minutes. Instead, I need you to go warn Celestia. I know she'll be merciful if she sees this letter, and that's all I ask, mercy. Even imprisonment would be better than slowly wasting away under Chrysalis' mad rule. Celestia needs to make Canterlot look vulnerable, but simultaneously fortify it. She needs to prepare nonlethal traps and ambushes, so that when our Queen makes us attack, we just get caught, not killed. One last thing. Don't kill Chrysalis, if you can avoid it. Her hold on us can be broken by suppressing her magic with a horn ring. She wasn't always like this. She used to be kind and benevolent once, but... well, irony happened. She fell in love, several years ago, and her coltfriend broke her heart, and I think her mind went with it. She doesn't deserve to die. She just needs help and care, but she can't get that unless you capture her first. So please, whoever you are, try to get this message to Princess Celestia. She needs to see it, otherwise the entire Hive is doomed and many citizens of Canterlot may be injured. I know I have no right to expect kindness or decency. I don't deserve it, but I'm begging you, if you have any compassion, please help me. Good luck. Signed, Phylum Glow I put the paper down and stared at it. Conflicting emotions surged through my mind, tugging my thoughts this way and that, before duty finally won out. I went into my bedroom and began removing my Royal Guard's armor from my ponnequin and putting it on. The noise of clanking metal woke my husband. "Wha? Raindance, what's going on? Aren't you off duty this month?" I looked over at him. "Look, hun, I promise I'll explain later. But right now, I have to go save Equestria." I leaned over and kissed him. "And don't you worry. You married one of the toughest mares around. I'll be back soon." I left soon after, the letters from the changeling in my saddlebags. It didn't matter what I thought, Celestia had to see those papers, right now. it was a matter of national security. Of course, it helped that I felt for the poor changeling. "Phylum Glow..." I muttered to myself. "If we both make it through this okay... you owe me a drink." Author's Note So, yeah, I've realized I do a lot better with one-shots than long stories. Therefore, one burst of inspiration later, this exists. Voila! The Other Side of the CoinThings were getting worse every day. The whole hive was on edge. Phylum could feel it, even from this distance. It felt like the back of his skull was humming, there was so much nervousness flowing through the Fora. He didn’t focus on any of it, letting the thoughts and worries of his hive fade into background noise in his brain. There was no time to dwell on it now. Phylum’s concentration was focused on maintaining proper social skills and blending in with the crowd. Just a few more moments, and I’ll be out the gates and free to relax, and maybe look into today’s news a bit more thoroughly… As Phylum trotted out the Canterlot gates, he smiled at the guards and resettled his saddlebags, being careful around his wings. The disguise he was wearing was a cute but nondescript chestnut-colored pegasus mare. The feathers on his wings never stopped feeling strange to the changeling, but he hid his discomfort well. Phylum walked along until he came to a small, familiar dirt path turning off of the main road. He followed it until he was sure no passers-by could see him, then ducked into the underbrush. Once he was a short ways into the mountain forest, he finally allowed himself to relax against a fallen log, dispelling his disguise with a subdued surge of emerald flames. The changeling stretched, letting the tension out of his wings and flexing his leathery chitin. Disguises were comfortable enough, but it still got cramped after too long in somepony else’s shape. Feeling somewhat more comfortable and more at ease now that he was alone, Phylum lay down with his muzzle on his crossed front hooves, closed his eyes, and let his mind drift into the Fora. Immediately, the harvester was struck by the intensity of activity. It seemed that every changeling in the hive was nervous, and as a result the atmosphere of the link was tense. Skimming past personal discussions and meetings, he felt for the day’s news, hoping for an update on what was happening at home. When he found it, the news didn’t seem to be good. The queen was preparing a weakened and vulnerable hive to send all of its soldiers and defensive forces elsewhere with the purpose of capturing a city. On top of that already tall order, those same forces had already tried and failed to take Canterlot, and many were still recovering from injuries sustained from the blast which had repelled them. ‘She’s getting worse all the time,’ he thought. ‘Is Chrysalis so obsessed with taking one city that she’s forgotten how long it takes to heal cracked chitin?’ Shaking off the worrisome thought, Phylum scanned through the Fora again, searching for the thoughts of his friends amongst the Soldiers. The generals he had contacted had agreed to keep him appraised of goings on and their opinions on them. Shortly, he found an acquaintance whom he had quickly grown to like. General Hygiea was in charge of field medics and non-combatant specialists, and she seemed among the most sensible of changeling military leaders. She briefly exchanged thoughts with him, her mind not at all as regimented as one would expect from a soldier. The contact was brief, with little interaction, but a great deal of information was exchanged. Phylum retracted the link and began to interpret what Hygiea had told him. The queen was clearly obsessed and not thinking properly. She was not sleeping often, if at all, and was growing increasingly erratic. She was persistently trying to ready the hive for a battle which it did not need or want, and for which it was woefully unprepared. The generals, meant to counsel the monarch and help her to make good decisions, were being consistently ignored, and Chrysalis was being increasingly threatening toward them. None dared to openly question the queen, but Hygiea was certain that the queen was no longer rational. Phylum was even more worried now. The generals and their civilian counterparts had always been afforded a great deal of respect by changeling monarchs. It was considered a sign of madness or corruption for a king or queen to disregard their council. If Chrysalis had fallen so far as to threaten them, then the future was looking grim indeed. He looked through the rest of Hygiea’s message. The hive was growing more and more uneasy, and of the other four generals, three agreed with her, while the fourth, General Bellator, was still loyal to the queen. Even so, Hygiea said he had seemed uncertain in his support of Chrysalis. As for the civilian advisors, the five Envoys, three were deliberately neutral, not wanting to anger any of the other councilors. However, Envoy Tignarus had stated his opposition to any offensive action, on the simple basis that the hive’s defenses were in disrepair, and they could not spare the soldiers’ protection. Envoy Curantis, the last of the civilian advisors, had stated her disapproval of such a bold act, but she seemed mostly uncommitted. Here, the information provided by Hygiea ended. Phylum gave a halfhearted smile at her last observation. Envoy Curantis was an excellent diplomat, as a Harvester must be. Though she appeared only faintly aligned, Phylum knew better. When his worries had become too great to ignore, he had taken them to his highest superior, Curantis herself. It had been her idea to communicate with Hygiea, and through Phylum she could keep a better eye on both the hive and Equestria. He pulled himself from the Fora. He shook his head to clear it of foreign thoughts, then took stock of the situation. He thought back to the night before, feeling a pang of guilt. He preferred to avoid married ponies, but he had needed the mare’s connections. After he had heard her somewhat-inebriated complaints about her job in the guard, he knew he’d found his messenger, the one he could try to warn. The extra love had been important, too; he’d picked up enough spare energy from one evening of cuddling to feed a few families. Phylum ran a holed hoof along his webbed mane. Curantis would not be happy when she found out that he had compromised changeling security so badly, but he hadn’t had another option. Now, his only hope for vindication was that a mare he’d never met before would take pity on him after he’d assaulted her and impersonated her. He sighed and let his head knock against a tree. The future was not looking promising. Author's Note Attention! This chapter has been posted UNEDITED. I would appreciate if you would point out any mistakes I have made, and if you would like to edit for me, then please PM me. Clarification: The Fora is the most active layer of the changeling hive link. It's sort of like a telepathic version of the Internet, with subcategories from overall discourse all the way down to individual conversations and everything in between. Phylum basically browsed his news feed, checked Twitter, then got an email from General Hygiea. Of course, since telepathy is involved, the whole thing is in terms of thoughts and feelings instead of words, so it's much less simple than just reading a post, so it takes a few minutes of mulling it over to decipher long or complex messages. An Untimely InterludeRaindance stepped through the huge, open doors to Canterlot Castle's main atrium. Day Court was in session, and a line of petitioners stretched nearly to the doors, each waiting their turn to have their problems resolved by the princess of the sun. She looked at the ponies in front of her, all diligently following the rules, and felt a pang of guilt at what she'd have to do next. Raindance skirted around the line and approached the end of the room. As she reached the foot of the throne, she caught the eye of one of the heralds. If a guard interrupted the standard proceedings of Day Court, it was never minor. The herald nodded to her, and when the current petitioner's business had concluded, he turned to the princess and spoke quietly to her. Princess Celestia looked up at Raindance, her mask of composure bearing a hint of concern. "My little ponies, I must ask you to be patient," she announced, her voice easily carrying to the end of the line. "It seems that an urgent matter requires my immediate attention. Court will be in recess for the next five minutes." As the petitioners grumbled and filed out of the room, Raindance trembled beneath her stoic facade. Only a few times in her career had there been anything serious enough for a guard to interrupt Day Court, and she had never had the bad luck of being the one to break the news. Celestia looked at her, an inscrutable expression on her regal face. "Corporal Raindance, I believe? I hope this is important." The guard swallowed before speaking. "It is, your highness, very much so." She was nearly stammering now. Though she knew what she had to say, she was still deciding whether to suggest trusting the changeling who'd left the note or not, and it was stressful to make such a major decision while addressing the leader of a nation. "Princess Celestia, I have reason to believe that there is an impending threat to Equestria." Raindance announced, managing to keep her voice firm. Several seconds passed in silence. Confused at the lack of response, Raindance looked up at the princess. Celestia still wore the same expression she had when the guard had started speaking. She didn't even seem to have blinked! As still more seconds passed, the unicorn grew increasingly confused and worried. The princess was still staring at her, still not responding. Raindance took a few tentative steps to the side, and found that Celestia didn't react at all, and instead kept staring at where she had been a moment ago, as still as a statue. Now Raindance noticed a second phenomenon: the quiet. A moment before, even with the doors to the vast chamber closed, the sounds of the city had been audible. Cart wheels on pavement, shod hooves clicking on sidewalks, the murmur of speech and business, and birdsong had been present as muffled baseline noise. Instead, the only sounds Raindance could hear were her own heart and her rapid breathing. Besides that, there was only terrifyingly dead silence. An instant later, a raucous, gravelly laugh shattered the peace, sending chills down the guard's spine as it echoed on the marble surfaces of the audience chamber. She'd heard that laugh before, and she knew its owner all too well. "Oh, the look on your face! Perhaps some fun may come of this venture after all!" The voice was jovial but mocking. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. Raindance whirled about, searching for the source of the voice. "Discord!" she shouted angrily. "Where are you? What have you done to the princess?" An eagle talon tapped her golden barding, making a ringing sound. She turned and came face to face with the asymmetrical grin of the Lord of Chaos himself. "Tsk, tsk. Hasn't ol' Sunbutt told her guards yet? I've been reformed. I don't cause havoc anymore, just a pinch of mischief or a particularly grand practical joke." Raindance backed away. "I don't care what you say! I saw what happened when you first got loose. In my eyes, you're still a threat." Discord's lopsided grin became a mildly disappointed expression. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but it really doesn't matter. A very old friend has asked a favor of me, and I'm not going to keep her waiting. Come with me." As he spoke, he ran a claw down the empty air with a slicing sound, then pulled open the cut in space to form a portal. "But..." "Oh, don't worry. You're between seconds. Time won't pass until I put you back, you can pick up where you left off. Hurry now, it's not often that an ancient entity wants an audience with you." Before she knew what was happening, Raindance had been scooped up and pulled through the portal, and she was floating alongside Discord, through a bizarre and confusing light show. "Wait! I never agreed to this!" she cried. "And that was never a necessity. She asked to see you, and even I wouldn't dare deny her." At that cryptic statement, Raindance became more worried than angry. "Where are we going? Who is 'she'?" she asked quietly. "I'm sure it's technically a real place, even if her enchantments have sealed it away. As for who... You have been summoned by Shalixta." The name sounded oddly familiar to Raindance, but she couldn't figure out why. "Who is Shalixta? What does she want with me?" "She has several titles. Shalixta the Wise, Shalixta the Crusty... okay, I made that one up. But her most famous ones are Shalixta the Riddle-Speaker and Shalixta the Sphinx." Now Raindance's eyes lit up with recognition. That's where she knew the name from... but that was in a book of myths from her childhood. "Isn't she in A Thousand and One Saddle-Arabian Nights? I thought she was just a story." At this, Discord's smirk returned. "Oh, I'm sure she's annoyed at that. No, she's real. And she wants to talk to you." As he finished speaking, the scintillating light surrounding them parted and unceremoniously dumped them out onto the pale sand below. "Now listen," came Discord's voice to the disoriented guard, "Shalixta is older than your entire civilization, and she expects a little respect for it. Do not insult her, and do not interrupt her." He grinned widely, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Oh, and try not to look too tasty." Then he vanished, leaving behind only a puff of strawberry/chlorine scented smoke. Author's Note Sorry for the long spacing between updates. I take a while to find the inspiration for each new chapter. Next time: Raindance meets Shalixta, the Last Sphinx. What will this enigmatic being be like? And what does she want with our hero?
Please understand...I awoke feeling cramped and stiff. My head was pounding, and even trying to open my eyes hurt. Dammit, I thought, what'd I do this time? I didn't even have that much to drink... I went to roll over, only to find I was crammed into a tight, cluttered space. I thrashed around for a moment trying to find which way was down and put my hooves on it. Instead, my hind hoof struck the handle and the closet door swung open. The sudden, brilliant sunlight hurt like a motherbucker, and I groaned and covered my eyes. There's no WAY I drank that much last night... why does my head hurt so much? As I pried my eyes open and got used to the morning light, I noticed something weird. A few sheets of paper were stuck to my horn, taped there like a giant post-it. What the...? I pulled the pages off and looked at them, blinking a bit to clear the blurriness. The first page looked hastily scrawled, with fairly messy hornwriting. As I read the words, I could hear them in my head, like I was remembering them... Hey. Look, first of all, I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this, but I had no other choice. I was starving to death, and you were the only one I could find. I could tell you were buzzed, so you wouldn't notice the mind read. I'm really sorry, I just saw how much you and your husband loved each other, and I was so hungry, I just couldn't resist. Oh, right. Um, I'm a changeling. Just... you know, so that makes some sense. Anyway, you're gonna have a headache, that's normal. I had to bite you, to knock you out so I could take your place for a little while. It's just dehydration and a few aftereffects, drink some water and eat a few dandelions and you'll be fine. I was stunned. I had been abducted and replaced by a changeling! Who does this damn bug think he is!? Just leaving an apology note doesn't make up for kidnapping! I fumed a moment, before looking around and recognizing my own hallway. Oh. So he just stuck me in the hall closet. Is that still kidnapping? I shook myself out of the thought. The stupid bug had robbed me of a night with my husband, that was bad enough. Well, okay, even though it was a pretty crappy night. He was right, though. Now that I knew how to stop my headache from Tartarus, I headed for the kitchen. Passing the window, I noticed the sun. Apparently I had woken up with Celestia, as the sun was only just up. I drank a few glasses of water and ate a few dandelions from the fridge. The changeling wasn't lying about that one, they helped a lot. Feeling more comfortable, I looked at the second sheet of paper. It was from the notepad I keep on my bedside, so seeing it made my blood run hot. Oh, if that damn insect laid a hoof on my stallion... I know what you'll be worrying, relax. I didn't sleep with your husband. You ponies always think that's how we get love, but all that gets is lust, which is junk food. I just came home, apologized for your fight (you're welcome, by the way), and snuggled with him until he fell asleep. His nethers are just as pristine as you left them. I really am sorry I had to do this, you know. Oh, and don't worry about the love I harvested. It won't hurt him or stop him loving you, I just took the wasted extra bits, the spare energy that wasn't going anywhere. Hmm. Well, that was a mixed message. On one hoof, the changeling had mostly left my husband alone, so that was good. On the other, I missed out on some nice cuddles because of him. Well, good and bad news, I guess. I kept reading. Okay, there's another thing. I know you probably weren't there, but I want to formally apologize for the actions of the Changeling Hive at the wedding of Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor. We didn't want that. Changelings and ponies were never meant to fight. Chrysalis' plan would have starved us all in a matter of months. We're meant to be friends, allies. You ponies may like love and friendship, but changelings actually NEED it. Love is our source of food, and our hive-link is a kind of deep friendship. Anyway, here's the important bit: Chrysalis is planning to attack again. She's gone all the way off the deep end. We lost last time, badly. This time, it might be even worse. So, I need your help. I've got a good section of the hive on my side, a little over half of us don't want to follow Chrysalis anymore. But she's the queen, and we can't directly disobey her orders. We've been messing around and stalling her assault, but that won't last forever. Sooner or later, she's going to attack again, and this is why I need your help. If we attack like she says, and Canterlot is unaware that we're coming, we'll still get routed. Half the hive is suffering from starvation, and we'd get killed off inside of ten minutes. Instead, I need you to go warn Celestia. I know she'll be merciful if she sees this letter, and that's all I ask, mercy. Even imprisonment would be better than slowly wasting away under Chrysalis' mad rule. Celestia needs to make Canterlot look vulnerable, but simultaneously fortify it. She needs to prepare nonlethal traps and ambushes, so that when our Queen makes us attack, we just get caught, not killed. One last thing. Don't kill Chrysalis, if you can avoid it. Her hold on us can be broken by suppressing her magic with a horn ring. She wasn't always like this. She used to be kind and benevolent once, but... well, irony happened. She fell in love, several years ago, and her coltfriend broke her heart, and I think her mind went with it. She doesn't deserve to die. She just needs help and care, but she can't get that unless you capture her first. So please, whoever you are, try to get this message to Princess Celestia. She needs to see it, otherwise the entire Hive is doomed and many citizens of Canterlot may be injured. I know I have no right to expect kindness or decency. I don't deserve it, but I'm begging you, if you have any compassion, please help me. Good luck. Signed, Phylum Glow I put the paper down and stared at it. Conflicting emotions surged through my mind, tugging my thoughts this way and that, before duty finally won out. I went into my bedroom and began removing my Royal Guard's armor from my ponnequin and putting it on. The noise of clanking metal woke my husband. "Wha? Raindance, what's going on? Aren't you off duty this month?" I looked over at him. "Look, hun, I promise I'll explain later. But right now, I have to go save Equestria." I leaned over and kissed him. "And don't you worry. You married one of the toughest mares around. I'll be back soon." I left soon after, the letters from the changeling in my saddlebags. It didn't matter what I thought, Celestia had to see those papers, right now. it was a matter of national security. Of course, it helped that I felt for the poor changeling. "Phylum Glow..." I muttered to myself. "If we both make it through this okay... you owe me a drink." Author's Note So, yeah, I've realized I do a lot better with one-shots than long stories. Therefore, one burst of inspiration later, this exists. Voila!
The Other Side of the CoinThings were getting worse every day. The whole hive was on edge. Phylum could feel it, even from this distance. It felt like the back of his skull was humming, there was so much nervousness flowing through the Fora. He didn’t focus on any of it, letting the thoughts and worries of his hive fade into background noise in his brain. There was no time to dwell on it now. Phylum’s concentration was focused on maintaining proper social skills and blending in with the crowd. Just a few more moments, and I’ll be out the gates and free to relax, and maybe look into today’s news a bit more thoroughly… As Phylum trotted out the Canterlot gates, he smiled at the guards and resettled his saddlebags, being careful around his wings. The disguise he was wearing was a cute but nondescript chestnut-colored pegasus mare. The feathers on his wings never stopped feeling strange to the changeling, but he hid his discomfort well. Phylum walked along until he came to a small, familiar dirt path turning off of the main road. He followed it until he was sure no passers-by could see him, then ducked into the underbrush. Once he was a short ways into the mountain forest, he finally allowed himself to relax against a fallen log, dispelling his disguise with a subdued surge of emerald flames. The changeling stretched, letting the tension out of his wings and flexing his leathery chitin. Disguises were comfortable enough, but it still got cramped after too long in somepony else’s shape. Feeling somewhat more comfortable and more at ease now that he was alone, Phylum lay down with his muzzle on his crossed front hooves, closed his eyes, and let his mind drift into the Fora. Immediately, the harvester was struck by the intensity of activity. It seemed that every changeling in the hive was nervous, and as a result the atmosphere of the link was tense. Skimming past personal discussions and meetings, he felt for the day’s news, hoping for an update on what was happening at home. When he found it, the news didn’t seem to be good. The queen was preparing a weakened and vulnerable hive to send all of its soldiers and defensive forces elsewhere with the purpose of capturing a city. On top of that already tall order, those same forces had already tried and failed to take Canterlot, and many were still recovering from injuries sustained from the blast which had repelled them. ‘She’s getting worse all the time,’ he thought. ‘Is Chrysalis so obsessed with taking one city that she’s forgotten how long it takes to heal cracked chitin?’ Shaking off the worrisome thought, Phylum scanned through the Fora again, searching for the thoughts of his friends amongst the Soldiers. The generals he had contacted had agreed to keep him appraised of goings on and their opinions on them. Shortly, he found an acquaintance whom he had quickly grown to like. General Hygiea was in charge of field medics and non-combatant specialists, and she seemed among the most sensible of changeling military leaders. She briefly exchanged thoughts with him, her mind not at all as regimented as one would expect from a soldier. The contact was brief, with little interaction, but a great deal of information was exchanged. Phylum retracted the link and began to interpret what Hygiea had told him. The queen was clearly obsessed and not thinking properly. She was not sleeping often, if at all, and was growing increasingly erratic. She was persistently trying to ready the hive for a battle which it did not need or want, and for which it was woefully unprepared. The generals, meant to counsel the monarch and help her to make good decisions, were being consistently ignored, and Chrysalis was being increasingly threatening toward them. None dared to openly question the queen, but Hygiea was certain that the queen was no longer rational. Phylum was even more worried now. The generals and their civilian counterparts had always been afforded a great deal of respect by changeling monarchs. It was considered a sign of madness or corruption for a king or queen to disregard their council. If Chrysalis had fallen so far as to threaten them, then the future was looking grim indeed. He looked through the rest of Hygiea’s message. The hive was growing more and more uneasy, and of the other four generals, three agreed with her, while the fourth, General Bellator, was still loyal to the queen. Even so, Hygiea said he had seemed uncertain in his support of Chrysalis. As for the civilian advisors, the five Envoys, three were deliberately neutral, not wanting to anger any of the other councilors. However, Envoy Tignarus had stated his opposition to any offensive action, on the simple basis that the hive’s defenses were in disrepair, and they could not spare the soldiers’ protection. Envoy Curantis, the last of the civilian advisors, had stated her disapproval of such a bold act, but she seemed mostly uncommitted. Here, the information provided by Hygiea ended. Phylum gave a halfhearted smile at her last observation. Envoy Curantis was an excellent diplomat, as a Harvester must be. Though she appeared only faintly aligned, Phylum knew better. When his worries had become too great to ignore, he had taken them to his highest superior, Curantis herself. It had been her idea to communicate with Hygiea, and through Phylum she could keep a better eye on both the hive and Equestria. He pulled himself from the Fora. He shook his head to clear it of foreign thoughts, then took stock of the situation. He thought back to the night before, feeling a pang of guilt. He preferred to avoid married ponies, but he had needed the mare’s connections. After he had heard her somewhat-inebriated complaints about her job in the guard, he knew he’d found his messenger, the one he could try to warn. The extra love had been important, too; he’d picked up enough spare energy from one evening of cuddling to feed a few families. Phylum ran a holed hoof along his webbed mane. Curantis would not be happy when she found out that he had compromised changeling security so badly, but he hadn’t had another option. Now, his only hope for vindication was that a mare he’d never met before would take pity on him after he’d assaulted her and impersonated her. He sighed and let his head knock against a tree. The future was not looking promising. Author's Note Attention! This chapter has been posted UNEDITED. I would appreciate if you would point out any mistakes I have made, and if you would like to edit for me, then please PM me. Clarification: The Fora is the most active layer of the changeling hive link. It's sort of like a telepathic version of the Internet, with subcategories from overall discourse all the way down to individual conversations and everything in between. Phylum basically browsed his news feed, checked Twitter, then got an email from General Hygiea. Of course, since telepathy is involved, the whole thing is in terms of thoughts and feelings instead of words, so it's much less simple than just reading a post, so it takes a few minutes of mulling it over to decipher long or complex messages.
An Untimely InterludeRaindance stepped through the huge, open doors to Canterlot Castle's main atrium. Day Court was in session, and a line of petitioners stretched nearly to the doors, each waiting their turn to have their problems resolved by the princess of the sun. She looked at the ponies in front of her, all diligently following the rules, and felt a pang of guilt at what she'd have to do next. Raindance skirted around the line and approached the end of the room. As she reached the foot of the throne, she caught the eye of one of the heralds. If a guard interrupted the standard proceedings of Day Court, it was never minor. The herald nodded to her, and when the current petitioner's business had concluded, he turned to the princess and spoke quietly to her. Princess Celestia looked up at Raindance, her mask of composure bearing a hint of concern. "My little ponies, I must ask you to be patient," she announced, her voice easily carrying to the end of the line. "It seems that an urgent matter requires my immediate attention. Court will be in recess for the next five minutes." As the petitioners grumbled and filed out of the room, Raindance trembled beneath her stoic facade. Only a few times in her career had there been anything serious enough for a guard to interrupt Day Court, and she had never had the bad luck of being the one to break the news. Celestia looked at her, an inscrutable expression on her regal face. "Corporal Raindance, I believe? I hope this is important." The guard swallowed before speaking. "It is, your highness, very much so." She was nearly stammering now. Though she knew what she had to say, she was still deciding whether to suggest trusting the changeling who'd left the note or not, and it was stressful to make such a major decision while addressing the leader of a nation. "Princess Celestia, I have reason to believe that there is an impending threat to Equestria." Raindance announced, managing to keep her voice firm. Several seconds passed in silence. Confused at the lack of response, Raindance looked up at the princess. Celestia still wore the same expression she had when the guard had started speaking. She didn't even seem to have blinked! As still more seconds passed, the unicorn grew increasingly confused and worried. The princess was still staring at her, still not responding. Raindance took a few tentative steps to the side, and found that Celestia didn't react at all, and instead kept staring at where she had been a moment ago, as still as a statue. Now Raindance noticed a second phenomenon: the quiet. A moment before, even with the doors to the vast chamber closed, the sounds of the city had been audible. Cart wheels on pavement, shod hooves clicking on sidewalks, the murmur of speech and business, and birdsong had been present as muffled baseline noise. Instead, the only sounds Raindance could hear were her own heart and her rapid breathing. Besides that, there was only terrifyingly dead silence. An instant later, a raucous, gravelly laugh shattered the peace, sending chills down the guard's spine as it echoed on the marble surfaces of the audience chamber. She'd heard that laugh before, and she knew its owner all too well. "Oh, the look on your face! Perhaps some fun may come of this venture after all!" The voice was jovial but mocking. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. Raindance whirled about, searching for the source of the voice. "Discord!" she shouted angrily. "Where are you? What have you done to the princess?" An eagle talon tapped her golden barding, making a ringing sound. She turned and came face to face with the asymmetrical grin of the Lord of Chaos himself. "Tsk, tsk. Hasn't ol' Sunbutt told her guards yet? I've been reformed. I don't cause havoc anymore, just a pinch of mischief or a particularly grand practical joke." Raindance backed away. "I don't care what you say! I saw what happened when you first got loose. In my eyes, you're still a threat." Discord's lopsided grin became a mildly disappointed expression. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but it really doesn't matter. A very old friend has asked a favor of me, and I'm not going to keep her waiting. Come with me." As he spoke, he ran a claw down the empty air with a slicing sound, then pulled open the cut in space to form a portal. "But..." "Oh, don't worry. You're between seconds. Time won't pass until I put you back, you can pick up where you left off. Hurry now, it's not often that an ancient entity wants an audience with you." Before she knew what was happening, Raindance had been scooped up and pulled through the portal, and she was floating alongside Discord, through a bizarre and confusing light show. "Wait! I never agreed to this!" she cried. "And that was never a necessity. She asked to see you, and even I wouldn't dare deny her." At that cryptic statement, Raindance became more worried than angry. "Where are we going? Who is 'she'?" she asked quietly. "I'm sure it's technically a real place, even if her enchantments have sealed it away. As for who... You have been summoned by Shalixta." The name sounded oddly familiar to Raindance, but she couldn't figure out why. "Who is Shalixta? What does she want with me?" "She has several titles. Shalixta the Wise, Shalixta the Crusty... okay, I made that one up. But her most famous ones are Shalixta the Riddle-Speaker and Shalixta the Sphinx." Now Raindance's eyes lit up with recognition. That's where she knew the name from... but that was in a book of myths from her childhood. "Isn't she in A Thousand and One Saddle-Arabian Nights? I thought she was just a story." At this, Discord's smirk returned. "Oh, I'm sure she's annoyed at that. No, she's real. And she wants to talk to you." As he finished speaking, the scintillating light surrounding them parted and unceremoniously dumped them out onto the pale sand below. "Now listen," came Discord's voice to the disoriented guard, "Shalixta is older than your entire civilization, and she expects a little respect for it. Do not insult her, and do not interrupt her." He grinned widely, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Oh, and try not to look too tasty." Then he vanished, leaving behind only a puff of strawberry/chlorine scented smoke. Author's Note Sorry for the long spacing between updates. I take a while to find the inspiration for each new chapter. Next time: Raindance meets Shalixta, the Last Sphinx. What will this enigmatic being be like? And what does she want with our hero?
