Starcraft: Queen and Country

Chapters

Chapter 001
Chapter 002
Chapter 003
Chapter 004
Chapter 005
Chapter 006
Chapter 007
Chapter 008
Chapter 009
Chapter 010
Chapter 011: For a Cause
Chapter 012: Patrolling
Chapter 013: Join Me
Chapter 014: Coming to Terms
Chapter 016: Getting the Message Across
Chapter 017: Securing the Colony
Chapter 018: Tradeoff
Chapter 019: Roots of Hate
Chapter 020: A True Mission
Chapter 021: If Needs Be
Chapter 022: Disconnected
Chapter 023: Changes
Chapter 024: Parallels
Chapter 025: Heartbeat Of Her Swarm
Chapter 026: Ghost
Chapter 027: One Shot
Chapter 028: Opportunity Comes
Chapter 029: Once in a Lifetime
Chapter 030: Never Let It Go
Chapter 031: Dilemma
Prologue
Chapter 015: The Choice is Yours

Chapter 001

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 001

2504, Equestria █

Even as the morning sun rose in the distance, and the birds started their daily chorus, Twilight's School of Friendship was already a hub of activity.

Students of all races hurried over to their classes, but three young teenage mares, easily mistaken for students themselves, walked towards Twilight's office with a different purpose. They looked confident to the average passerby, but some that knew them better—and already en route to their classrooms—could tell all three were anything but.

"Well, Ah haven't seen you three so nervous since the last parade," Applejack said with an amused chuckle as they crossed paths. "What's goin' on?"

"Oh, hey sis!" Apple Bloom smiled, trotting forward to give her sister a hug. "This is our first day as part of the school's staff!"

"Yeah," Scootaloo added, eyes wide and shining, "Twilight said that with our track record helping ponies find their talent—"

"And griffons," Sweetie interrupted, "Don't forget Gabby!"

"And griffons, yes," Scootaloo amended, rolling her eyes, "she said we could work with her on a curry-culum?"

"Curriculum," Sweetie stage-whispered.

"That!" Scootaloo agreed with a nod.

"Well, Ah've got to admit, you girls have gotten pretty darn good at Crusdanin' for others," Applejack said, "So Ah guess it makes sense, but remember to think a bit about what you're doin' before tryin' to force everycreature into somethin' just to see if it'll stick!"

"Please, we're professionals," Scootaloo scoffed, while Sweetie and Apple Bloom giggled.

"Oh my, that does sound wonderful," Rarity said, having caught the end of the conversation. She trotted up to them. "And you do have a lot of experience with that! I've very proud of all of you!"

She smiled at Sweetie, stepping in to give her a quick hug. "So this is what you meant when we talked the other day?" she asked, keeping an encouraging hoof on her sister's shoulder.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared a look, turning to face their friend, who grinned shyly. "Um… yeah. I just feel like we can do more, right girls? I was telling Rarity that I wanted to be part of something bigger… that we Crusaders could really change the world."

The other two Crusaders glanced at each other, then grinned, nodding in unison. "Of course we can!" Apple Bloom said.

"We'll show everycreature that we can help them find their talents!" Scootaloo added.

Applejack and Rarity chuckled, nodding at their sister's exuberant enthusiasm.

"Well, we'd better get goin'," Applejack said, tilting her stetson. "We have our own classes to attend to. You comin' along, Rarity?"

"Of course, darling," the unicorn said, smile unwavering. "Good luck girls, make sure to ask Twilight if you need any help with your plans! If there's one thing Twilight is very good at, it's planning!"

"Over-plannin', you mean," Apple Bloom amended with a small roll of her eyes.

"Better than no plan, that's for sure," Applejack said with a shrug as she walked past the trio. "Ah guess we'll find out later how things went for y'all."

"Sure thing, sis!"

"Bye, Rarity!" Sweetie called out, waving her hoof.

They waited until the waving and nodding was over and their sisters had turned around the corner before resuming their march towards Twilight's office.

"So, you think we weren't doing enough?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie.

Sweetie sighed, "Sort of? I mean… we're good at this right? And, don't get me wrong! I love helping ponies in Ponyville, but there's a whole world out there, right? When Gabby came all the way here to find us, it was because she had heard of us… we've reached outside of Equestria!"

"Ah guess that's true," Apple Bloom said, nodding. "And especially with how things are around Equestria right now, we have to make an effort."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I mean, I'm okay with it as long as it's fun, right?"

"Well, of course it's fun!" Apple Bloom shot back, "It's our callin'!"

"Who's calling?"

"She means our talent," Sweetie explained, grinning at the pegasus.

"Oh! Yeah, in that case, yes. Yes it is!"

The trio approached the doors to Twilight's office, but slowed down to a stop, exchanging unsure glances when they could hear an angry voice coming from the inside. Just as they were about to knock, the doors burst open with a magical flash and a richly-dressed unicorn stomped out.

"You listen here, Princess, this is not the last you'll hear of us! Magic is a unicorn birthright and teaching any form of it to lesser races is a crime against Celestia and Equestria! Neighsay will hear about this!"

"I'll remind you, Mr. Tax Break, that Neighsay has no authority here, and has already acknowledged other creatures as worthy of education." Twilight's voice was cold. "We have no place for xenophobes in our school's donation roster, no matter how much you want to donate."

The unicorn sniffed, rolling his eyes. "Then the Princess—"

"Enough!" Twilight snapped, her magic bursting through and making the previously smug unicorn cower. "I am one of the Princesses of Equestria. And this school has the full support of Celestia, Luna and Cadance. None of which support or endorse your presumption of superiority. Now, I have things to do." Her eyes narrowed and she poked him in the chest with her hoof. "You are dismissed."

Wide eyed, the unicorn turned around and fled, leaving behind the three Crusaders, who glanced at each other nervously.

"You know," Scootaloo said, "I think I left my scooter parked in the wrong spot…"

"Oh, girls," Twilight looked surprised, and apologetic when she noticed them. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I swear these Unicorn First ponies keep appearing at every event or place that seems to have some influence." She sighed, motioning for them to step in and closing the door behind them as they did.

"Why do they think like that?" Sweetie couldn't help but blurt out, "I mean, haven't they seen what Zecora can do? Why think that unicorns—"

"It's fear, Sweetie," Twilight said tiredly, her eyes straying to her bookshelves as if they could contain the answers. "It doesn't matter what you prove, or how objective you are, as long as fear dominates their thoughts, it won't change anything—and xenophobia… well, it doesn't necessarily mean in this case that they're deadly afraid of griffons or yaks, but rather that they're afraid of what they represent: a possibility of losing status or advantages.

"It's simple ignorance of what, culturally-speaking, the differences are. There's many reasons unjustifiable behind it, and for all we don't understand them and are completely illogical to us, they are valid to them.

"It doesn't always make them monsters, but we can't just allow that ideology to perpetrate without pointing out its flaws."

There was a moment of awkward silence as they all digested that, then Twilight let out a slow breath, performing Cadance's breathing exercise to calm down. "Mr. Tax Break was a bit of a challenge, but I hope that someday we might speak again at a more amiable time and in more amiable terms and maybe, just maybe, come to a middle-ground." She smiled. "But, for now, that's not important. What is important is that you three are ready to start!"

She motioned at three folders that she levitated out of her drawer and set down on her desk. "Now, I know you three are used to working together, but when it comes to a whole school, you might not have that chance. So, I talked it over with the girls and we've got some assignments for you.

"First, Apple Bloom, you'll be assisting Rarity this week. She feels you're the best match for her early classes and could use some help with a couple of students in particular."

"Alright!" Apple Bloom said with a grin, she went over and picked up her folder. "What students?"

Twilight smiled. "She didn't say. I think she wants to see if you see the same things she does, that way it's not biased."

"Ah see…"

Twilight floated the next assignment to Scootaloo. "Scootaloo, you'll be working with Starlight Glimmer. I'm not entirely sure what she's planning, but she said you'd be a good match for it. Try to not take over the world."

Scootaloo sighed. "I guess Rainbow Dash is busy."

Twilight's smile didn't waver as she shook her head. "Sorry, Scootaloo, but don't worry, you'll get a chance to work with her too in the future."

Sweetie for her part had already levitated and opened her own folder, blinking in surprise at its contents. "I'm with Applejack?"

"That's right!" Twilight said, "You're going with her and her class to Canterlot University." Twilight grinned excitedly for a few seconds until a thought seemed to cross her mind, and she sighed with slight disappointment. "Normally, I'd go, but I have a meeting at the Town Hall. Mayor Mare wants to plan some international events and she wants my help to organize things that will appeal to everycreature."

"So why me?" Sweetie asked.

"Well, you've been to Canterlot several times with the girls and I, and also on your own with your sister. Many more so than Applejack, so she's hoping you'll not only find the class interesting, but also show the students around Canterlot with her. Take them to the Museum or Library, or maybe even Donut Joe's." Twilight smiled. "Follow Applejack's lead, but don't be afraid to make suggestions."

Sweetie smiled, nodding in understanding. "Got it!"

"Aww, she gets to travel?!" Scootaloo asked, "Come on!"

"Don't worry, Scootaloo, you'll have plenty of fun, I promise." Twilight stood, walking around her desk. "Alright girls, I'll walk you to your classes and take off."

The three young mares shared a smile. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Teacher assistants! Yay!"

Sweetie took a deep breath as Twilight knocked on the door to Applejack's class. She turned to look at Sweetie with a reassuring smile, and levitated a small bag for her. "That contains your train tickets, bits for food and emergencies, and also a checklist of all the places where you can go that I could remember."

Sweetie blinked, levitating the bag in wonder. "Wow, given the size of the checklist you must've made this really light!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "It's enchanted."

"Right."

Applejack chose that moment to open the door. She smiled at the pair. "Well! Ah was wonderin' what was takin' so long. Come on in!"

Twilight motioned for Sweetie to go in first. The pair followed Applejack to the front of the room, where they could face the students. Out of the nine or so students in her class, Sweetie was only really familiar with were Sandbar, Ocellus, Silverstream and Gallus. She had seen the other ponies around, but she hadn't had much of a chance to talk to any of them before.

"Well class," Applejack spoke up, "As y'all know, Ah got a new assistant! Some of you already know her of course," she said with a chuckle, "say hello to the class, Sweetie Belle!"

"Hello!" Sweetie said, waving her hoof. "I'm Sweetie Belle, nice to meet you all!"

"She's your assistant?" Gallus asked, eyes wide, "B-but she's younger than us!"

"Um, she's about my age?" Ocellus said. "And, if you've read—"

"But seriously, even if she's like—"

"A year younger than you?" Sweetie asked, eyes half-lidded in mild annoyance.

"Yes, that, how can she be an assistant?"

"Well—it turns out—that she's already graduated as a Friendship Student," Applejack said. "And she's learnin' the ropes for new things."

"Sounds good to me!" Sandbar said, leaning back on his chair.

"Everything sounds good to you!" Gallus said, but sighed. "Fine. Let's just get going."

"Yay! Friendship!" Ocellus shyly cheered.

"By the way, Applejack?" Twilight said, drawing all their attention to her, "I was wondering if you could deliver these to Professor Quantum State?" She levitated a small saddlebag over to Applejack. "It has some notes that he asked me about related to Starswirl's mirror and some other spells. It also contains a reference so he can contact Starswirl directly, if needed. I would send them through Spike, but he's out on a mission with Trixie at this time."

"Sure thing, Twi," Applejack said, throwing the bag on. "Ah'll make sure we get this to him."

"Thank you!" Twilight's smile could have reflected the sun. "He's in the Temporal Space and Development lab, and I'm afraid you'll have to drop them off before your own presentation starts. It's close to where you're attending Green Hoof's lecture today. His experiments are a bit extreme, so hopefully he'll take into account the calibrations and additional calculations I included for him."

Applejack chuckled, "Ah gotcha, Twilight, it's no problem."

"Alright everycreature," Twilight said, facing the class, "Enjoy your visit to Canterlot University!"

"I think I remember you now," Gallus said.

"Yay."

As soon as the class had confirmed they had everything in order, they had set out. Despite the fact that they all took classes together, the other students had quickly formed a pony-only group and set off ahead of them, leaving the griffon, hippogriff, changeling and crusader behind, with the only other pony being Sandbar.

Sweetie tried to ignore this, but given the earlier confrontation between Mr. Break and Twilight, the issue was still very fresh in her mind. She knew they didn't mean anything by leaving them behind, cliques were always a thing, but—she sighed.

Maybe she was reading too much into this. Sweetie knew that her current companions had bonded over several incidents, much like herself and the Crusaders. It was simply that they had made their friends and they didn't try to mingle, because there was really no reason to unless they were forced to.

It kind of made her wonder how she'd mix with all of them, if at all.

"Oh, come on, chill," the griffon said, flying over to hover in front of Sweetie as the group walked across town towards the station in the wake of the other students. He flapped his wings lazily, pushing himself backwards as they all walked. "Gabby told me about you Crusaders."

Sweetie perked up instantly, smiling at the memory of her griffon friend and latching onto a good chance to avoid those other, nasty thoughts. "What did she say?"

"Nothing too interesting," Gallus replied, waving a claw dismissively. "Something about butt marks and how you got her one."

"Wow, you got a cutie mark for a griffon?!" Sandbar asked, impressed.

"Yay!" Silverstream cheered flying at Sweetie's side. "That. Is. Soooo awesome!"

Gallus raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. "Really? Why?"

"I don't know!" Silverstream answered, grin never fading. "But it sounds fantastic!"

Ocellus rolled her eyes, then glared in slight annoyance at the others. "Didn't you pay attention in Twilight's—"

"Nope."

"Well, getting your Cutie Mark is a very big thing in a pony's life," Sandbar explained, unfazed by Ocellu's pouting and Gallus' grimace at the potential explanation. "When we discover our special talent, this mark appears, showing everycreature that we have taken the next step in the rest of our lives."

"So, it's like a magical tattoo that shows your inner self on your butt," Gallus said, "Yeah. I can totally see how that's special."

If he was offended by Gallus' dismissal, Sandbar didn't show it. "But that's not all!" the chill-sounding pony added, glancing at Sweetie, "How did you get one for a griffon? I thought only ponies had them."

"It wasn't easy. Gabby's just—" Sweetie paused, wondering how to phrase it.

"Good at everything?" Gallus said at the same time as Sweetie. The pair stared at each other, and the griffon rolled his eyes. "What? It's true. She's a pain that way. It annoys everygriffon"

"She's nice!" Sweetie said, glaring at him. "Don't you dare talk about a Crusader like that!"

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't want the Crusaders to be upset with little ol' me." Gallus smirked. He ignored Sweetie's annoyed look and turned around landing on the train platform as they joined Applejack.

"Well, about time you lot got here," Applejack said, "the other students already got into their car, you lot take the second one, we're about to leave."

"Yes, miss Applejack."

"Sweetie, keep an eye on them while Ah talk to the others, wouldya?"

The unicorn smiled. "Sure!"

"And once again, we're reminded that we need a foalsitter," Gallus sighed, jumping into the car, followed by the others.

"Aw, don't let Gallus get under your skin, Sweetie," Applejack said as they walked after the students. "He's really not a bad sort."

Sweetie sighed. "I know. He's just very different from Gabby."

"That's a good thing, sugarcube," Applejack said as the train started moving. "Ah know he can be sarcastic at times, but, if it makes you feel better, so can you." She winked and walked into the car where the other students were.

Sweetie shook her head with mild amusement and walked into the car, finding that the four students had already claimed a booth. Since it could only fit four passengers at a time, Sweetie sat by herself on another.

Gallus and the others laughed at something Sandbar said, and Sweetie sighed, looking out the window as Ponyville slowly receded into the distance. 'Maybe I'm just not that great at fitting in and making a difference without the others.'

The ride continued, and the four friends discussed topics of all sorts—laughing and making jabs at each other—and Sweetie distracted herself by counting trees. 'They're not snubbing you, Sweetie… they just don't know you. They're friends, when you're with the Crusaders you usually just keep to yourselves, right?'

Sweetie took a deep breath, leaning back on the seat and staring at the roof, wondering about her decision to join Twilight's school properly. It hadn't been that long since they had tried their hooves at tutoring and… well, it hadn't been a complete disaster, but it certainly hadn't been the best experience for all three of them.

It helped, somewhat, that their previous student had been an evil mastermind. At least that one failure couldn't really be pinned on them.

However, she had felt something special about it. A sense of fluttering fulfilment, as if a weight had been lifted off of her chest when she had found herself as part of something bigger. This School of Friendship was the Cutie Mark Crusaders taken to the next level. It was about helping; about meeting new friends and finding joy in unity and strength in numbers.

It really made her want to sing. It had been the main motivator behind her insistence to the others to give it a go as actual staff, not just tutors. Learn from their sisters and friends and help everycreature be... she looked down at the empty seat across from her and sighed.

'Do I really have it in me?' she wondered, turning to look at the international group again.

There was no international group, only a pair of large, excited, violet eyes.

"Hi!"

"Gah!" Sweetie backed away from Silverstream, who didn't stop smiling. It was like the weirdest mixture of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

"How are you?!" Silverstream asked, taking Sweetie's hoof in her claws. "Did you find something really awesome to do on your own?!" She gasped, practically climbing over Sweetie to look out the window. "Look! Paved roads!"

Sweetie wiggled her way out from under Silverstream. "I'm sure you've seen paved roads before."

"But never one so long!" Silverstream countered.

Sweetie stared at her for a few moments, before she had to nod. "Okay, I'll give you that."

"So what's it called?!"

"Um, we just call it Canterlot Road?" Sweetie said, unsure if that was accurate outside of Ponyville. "Apple Bloom would be the one to ask, or Applejack, they sometimes take it to set up their stand at the Farmer's Market in Lower Canterlot."

"Does that mean that there's a Higher Canterlot?!" Silverstream clapped with excitement. "How much higher is it?!"

"It's not really like that," Sweetie said, "Canterlot is divided into districts, and Lower Canterlot is just called that because it's the lowest part of the city, and closest to the roads. That's usually where the Farmer's Market sets up because it has the biggest open plaza in the city.

"The upper part is too big to just call it that, so you have the four major districts: the Royal District, the University District, the Noble District and the Guard District." Sweetie took a breath. "The only thing that might be confusing is that there is an Upper Canterlot Road, which starts at the top end of the Lower District. That's where most of the really expensive stores are."

"Is it called the Guard District because only guards live there?" Ocellus asked, scooting over and sitting across from Sweetie.

"No, just like the University and Lower Canterlot, it's mixed citizens," Sweetie said, "but the Royal Guard Barracks are located there."

"So you're saying that the University District is called that because the university is there, not because it's all part of it?" Sandbar asked, sitting next to Ocellus.

Sweetie nodded, "Yeah, but the Noble District and the Royal District are different. Only the richest ponies live in the Noble District, and the Royal District is basically all Castle Grounds; the Royal Library, Royal Garden, Royal Opera House, Canterlot Castle itself—"

"We get it, we get it," Gallus said, sliding to sit to Sweetie's left.

His wings brushed on her side, tickling her, and she unintentionally giggled. She caught herself and looked up at the griffon, who was giving her a confident smirk. "Right."

Sweetie took stock of the situation.

Silverstream kept looking outside the window, bouncing occasionally at something new being spotted, forcing her to press to her left, Gallus, who had leaned over to tell something to Sandbar, upon noticing the situation, rather than move, had simply extended his wing around her, getting it out of the way. Across, Ocellus looked thoughtfully at the passing landmarks and Sandbar eagerly talked to the griffon.

The others seemed comfortable where they were. And surprisingly, so was she.

Maybe it was odd, but she felt a lot more comfortable with them, than the rest of the class so far. Maybe it was because she had been exposed to so much more than the other ponies attending the school… or maybe she was used to hanging out with creatures that were different, just like the CMC were different from other fillies and colts in school.

But one thing was for sure, she felt considerably better now about her decision.

Saying that Canterlot's Train Station was a large complex was an understatement. It didn't seem too big for a casual observer or visitor, but that was simply because of the way it was designed.

The platforms for arrivals and departures were not side by side, so arriving to a platform that seemed just big enough for the train's passengers to emerge and walk down a small tunnel into the city, did not really give a clear idea of just how many trains and platforms there were in the station.

The only way to see most of them, if you weren't a flying species, would be to go to the second floor of the control tower, where big windows allowed everycreature to look outside and really appreciate the sheer size of the place.

Of course, you would get into a lot of trouble for going in there to take a look around, as the building was heavily guarded.

"...and how would you know that then?" Gallus asked, giving Sweetie a suspicious look.

"We Crusaders tried to get our Cutie Marks in Freight Conducting."

"Ah," Sandbar said, "I think I heard about that one." Other ponies nodded their heads.

"Ah bet y'all did," Applejack said as she waited for the stragglers to grab their bags and catch up with them. "It was a right mess t'fix let me tell you."

Sweetie chuckled nervously. "Say! Look at the time! Don't we have to be somewhere?"

Applejack laughed, and nodded. "Alrighty, come on everycreature! Giddy-yup! This way!"

They walked down a ramp into the underground tunnel that took them to from the train station, to a large open area surrounded by buildings. "Now this here is the Lower Canterlot Plaza," Applejack said, waving and smiling at a merchant, who replied in kind. "This is—"

"Oooh! Oh!" Silverstream shouted, fluttering up, eyes wide. "This is where you come to sell apples at the Farmer's Market!"

Applejack blinked. "Uh, that's right—"

"Oh, so that is the main street that takes us to the Noble District and the Royal District," Ocellus added, pointing at a wide street, surrounded on both sides by expensive-looking stores.

Applejack chuckled. "Heh, it seems that y'all were learnin' somethin' on the way here," she said, giving Sweetie an approving nod. "Well, let me walk you around a bit and introduce y'all to some nice folk before we head over to the University." She started walking, and the group fell in place behind her, taking in the sights.

For most of the ponies in the class, not to mention the international group, this was their very first Canterlot visit, so everything seemed new. Sweetie stalled as she passed a jewelry shop, her eyes drawn to something.

Sweetie smiled, making her way into the jewelry shop. It was too bad that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hadn't been able to come with her, but maybe something nice would make it up for them? 'I guess I'm more like my sister than I wanted to admit to myself…' she thought with a giggle as she selected three pins. They were a bit big, but the details on them were incredible.

"Wow, those are nice, sugarcube."

"Eeee! I. Love. Them!"

Sweetie jumped, turning around to see Applejack at the door, Silverstream hovering excitedly over the displays and several grinning students behind them.

Gallus stood to the side, not really showing most interest in the displays.

"Ah thought the deal was to not get separated?" Applejack asked with a smirk.

"Hey, Applejack… um sorry. I just- It's for Bloom and Scootaloo, do you mind if—"

"Go ahead sugarcube," Applejack said, chuckling. "We're heading over to Pear Cobbler's for a quick snack, you remember where it is?"

"I do!"

"See you there, then!"

"Huh." Gallus sauntered over to the display picking up one of the pins Sweetie had selected and eyeing it critically. "They look kinda flimsy."

The jeweler huffed, but Sweetie tilted her head and batted her eyes. "You don't think it'll look good on me?"

Gallus backpedalled, suddenly looking nervous. "I—I'm going."

Sweetie watched the griffon walked out and turned to the jeweler who was looking at her in amusement. "My sister taught me that one. Works every time."

Once the class had some snacks in them, Applejack took the lead once more, guiding them up one of the side avenues.

"Look! More signs!"

"Come on," Gallus said with a slow, dragged sigh. "You can't tell me that you don't have signs underwater."

"Oh, we do!" Silverstream said, nodding. "But they're not made of wood and ink! They're usually made of corals and shells."

"Okay."

As they walked, Sweetie did notice the stares. Ponies would stop to watch the odd group of creatures walking by. It was curiosity, most of the time, but there was plenty of wariness and, when it came to Ocellus, almost palpable antagonism.

"Don't let it bother you," Gallus said.

"But…"

"Look, I appreciate that you are thinking about us, but these ponies have never seen most of our species outside of hearing about them…"

"...or the invasion." Ocellus said, wincing over a glare directed her way.

"In any case," Gallus said, locking eyes with one of the ponies that was glaring at Ocellus until the pony cringed and walked away, muttering. "Most of the time it's not as bad as you think. Ponies are curious and afraid, but eventually they'll just leave or get to know us."

"You remember what happened to your friend, Zecora, right?" Ocellus said, "We just need to be patient."

Sweetie sighed. "I guess you guys would know better, but, it's just not fair."

"Eh. You should see how ponies fare when they go to our lands to live," Gallus said with a shrug. "Compared to that, this is downright friendly."

"If you say so," Sweetie said, ears flattening. "I just… wish there was more harmony and differences weren't a reason to hate or fear each other."

Gallus shrugged. "That's the whole point of the school, isn't it?"

Sweetie smiled. "Yeah. It is."

"Alright, everycreature," Applejack called, "We're almost at Canterlot University. Ah want y'all to stay close together now. There's a lot of ponies here travelling in groups and we don't want anypony to get lost."

"Um, Miss Applejack?"

Sweetie didn't miss Applejack's wince. "What is it, Gold Cobbler?"

"Swift Wing and Caramel Dust are both gone."

Applejack sighed. "Of course they are." She looked up at the sky, noting the sun's location. "Consarnit! We won't have a problem gettin' to the talk Ah wanted to go to, but…" she shook her head. "Sweetie Belle, you've been here before, right?"

Sweetie stepped forth. "Yeah, I came here with Twilight and Rarity last month."

"Do you know where the Temp—" Applejack paused, taking out the package, and reading out Twilight's note, "...the "Temporal Space and Development" lab is?"

"I know where the general magic development labs are, I think that's probably there."

"Listen, sugarcube, Ah hate to ask, but…"

"It's no problem," Sweetie said, levitating the package, "I'll drop it off, and meet you at the Department of Agriculture."

"Thanks, Sweetie Belle, Ah need to find those two quick as a whip or there'll be trouble. Come on, everycreature."

"Eh…" Gallus spoke up. "I think I'll go with Sweetie."

"Oh! Me too!" Silverstream cried out excitedly.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that as well," Ocellus added.

Sandbar looked at their teacher and whined, begging with his eyes.

"Fine." Applejack sighed. "But y'all stay away from the experiments, you hear?"

"Yes, miss Applejack."

"The eye rollin' is optional, Gallus." Applejack chuckled. "Alright! The rest of you, git! Side Swipe! You and Comet Burst fly up and try an' see if y'all can spot what bush them two lovebirds hid behind. The rest, help me search!"

The group had gathered plenty of attention as they fell in line just a step behind Sweetie. She remembered the campus well; Twilight and Rarity had come with her on a couple of occasions, trying to gauge her interest in future career options.

Rarity had taken her to the School of Business first, and Twilight to the School of Thaumic Studies, before the pair had quite amiably allowed her to finally drag them over to the Musical Arts school, where she had met with her pen-pal/mentor Octavia, who was often a lecturer at the school.

It was clear for all ponies where her interests lay, when it came to higher education, and they had all been very supportive of her choices. When the time came, all three would write recommendations for her.

Although it had been slightly annoying to be dragged all over, Sweetie now had a very good idea of where the main areas of the University were, and with the convenience of campus maps—and the occasional passerby—they didn't take long in finding the right building.

All the while, Silverstreams surprise and energy at everything around them made it almost worthwhile to stop and contemplate the most minuscule things, however, they had little time and so Sweetie had pushed them forth until they had reached the labs.

Eventually they made it to the TSD Lab, and after consulting with a grumpy, shifty-eyed unicorn in a lab coat, they were pointed towards Professor Quantum State's presentation, which was, at that time taking place. As the walked, Sweetie couldn't shake the feeling that the unicorn had been giving her companions very angry glares, but the professor's passionate discourse reached her ears just as she was starting to make up her mind about it.

"...and furthermore," the professor was saying as he paced in front of a crowd of scientists, students, and important-looking ponies, "the benefits of this mode of transportation will benefit every creature in Equestria, not just unicorns. Dragons, Griffons… Zebras and even beyond."

The unicorn scientist brushed his dark blue mane out of the way as he turned and pointed at the device. "This is a small-scale model, but functional! Imagine what we can do when we remove the limits from others? What we can achieve when we level the playing field to allow those that cannot cast magic through their horns to share their unique magic unimpeded by distance?"

Apparently that was the end of the presentation as polite clapping followed his last statement. Sweetie sighed. It looked interesting, but Applejack was probably already waiting for them, so at least now that he was done, she would—

"And now, I will demonstrate the device's effectiveness."

Apparently not. Sweetie Belle bit her lip, glancing at the clock on the wall before making her decision.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

Quantum State hesitated, looking up at the group. "Yes miss? I'm sorry but could you wait—"

"I really apologize," Sweetie interrupted. "I am just here to deliver a package from Princess Twilight, she requested that it was given to you directly."

Quantum blinked. "Oh!" he smiled, motioning for her to step over. "Thank you very much, miss, please, if you don't mind."

Sweetie nodded, levitating the package over to him. He smiled. "Thank you, miss?"

"Sweetie Belle," she introduced herself, "Nice to meet you."

"Miss Sweetie Belle, a pleasure, I'm sure." He smiled at the gathered ponies, which Sweetie now noticed included the unicorn that had directed her there. "As a messenger from the Princess, and accompanied by other creatures, how would you feel about helping me demonstrate the effectiveness of my device?"

Sweetie glanced at the machine. It didn't look like much. It was designed for probably about three or four ponies inside, and looked more like a metal bubble with seats than a machine of any sort. "Um…"

"Let me ask you, what's a place where you have never been before?"

Sweetie blinked. "Well… there's a lot of those… but I guess Griffonstone? Pinkie and the others have been there, but I've been curious since my friend Gabby came from there."

"And of course I'd love it if one of your companions could come with you," he added, "perhaps you, young griffon?"

Gallus blinked. "Um. Me? Why would I jump inside a giant metal ball? That looks like something the old Dragon Lord would use to play catch." His statement drew some amuse chuckles from the crowd.

"Because!" Quantum said, smile unwavering as he manipulated several crystals on a console, "I can take us to Griffonstone and back from there in ten seconds flat." The scientist raised his head with pride. "And since I and Miss Sweetie here have never been there, it would be nice for you to confirm that the location is indeed correct, when we come back."

Gallus stared at him. "From here. To Griffonstone. In ten seconds."

"That's correct."

Despite herself, Sweetie was intrigued. Her crusader spirit was being tickled. "Well… I suppose ten seconds is not much time…"

"Excellent! Please, step into the Quantum Sphere. Mister Griffon?"

"Gallus. Don't call me mister." The griffon narrowed his eyes. "Eh." He shrugged. "Why not?"

He followed Sweetie inside, taking a seat across from her, just as Quantum stepped in and took a seat too. "Now," he said as the sphere shuddered and several devices outside of it started powering up, "I have set the parameters already… for this demonstration I won't be using my own magic, but simply the ambient ethereal resonance of Equestria."

"Woo! Bring us presents!" Silverstream shouted.

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Silverstream, it's only a ten second visit, we can't—"

Her voice trailed off as she noticed the unicorn from earlier gallop out of the crowd, his horn glowing with a spell as he charged the console.

"No! That's very sensitive!" Quantum shouted, standing up with clear worry in his eyes.

"Magic will only belong to unicorns!" the rogue scientist shouted slamming his horn straight into the console and releasing his spell.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Suddenly, the world screamed around Sweetie, like thunder and splitting rocks. The universe collapsed and expanded, pulling her every atom across it just as it compressed her into a singularity. She heard her magic whiplash around her, uncontrollable, crashing against other magics, fighting to stay attached to her ethereal core.

And then the world went dark.

[End Chapter 1]

Chapter 002

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 002

2504, Koprulu Sector █

The world returned in a haze of light, howling winds, and dust.

Everything around Sweetie was chaos; wind blasted around her as dark, gray clouds of dust whirled around. Flashes of red and white light pulsing through the clouds, flooding her senses with painful spikes of magical resonance.

She struggled to make sense of everything around her, but she could barely see anything at all past the swirling wall of gray particles.

She stepped back, until she hit something soft. Looking down, she could barely understand what was under her due to the chaos assaulting her senses. She could see a darkened shape, but other than that, the powerful winds and dust clouds made it all but impossible to see past her snout.

Thinking fast, she cast a shimmering, light green shield to fight the wind. Although the noise continued, she could now make out the huddled form of Gallus, curled into a ball and covering his head with his claws.

She didn't blame him. Without the shield (and several life-threatening experiences as a Crusader), she'd be down there too, trying to just wait the storm out and hope to survive.

A moment later, another shield surrounder hers and both their bodies, dulling down the sound and allowing Sweetie to breathe in relief some particle-free air.

"Miss Belle! Young Griffon, are you okay?" Quantum asked, stepping closer. "Thank you for raising the shield, miss Belle, I was too disoriented to think of it myself!"

Gallus had opened his eyes and was looking around wildly. "Where are we!?"

"I don't know. Maybe the Wastelands? Or perhaps the Saddle Arabian desert?" Quantum replied, staring grimly outside of his shield. "Wherever we are, we can't stay in this dust storm. My magic will eventually run out in these circumstances. We need cover, and I'm afraid that—as solid as I built it—my Quantum Sphere is too damaged to provide much protection at this time."

Sweetie shook her head, thinking fast. The Crusaders had been caught before in storms, and one thing that had always helped after she had learned the trick, had been her sister's gem finding spell. She concentrated, casting it and hoping to Celestia it worked. It wasn't as precise or strong as Rarity's, but it would suffice.

If there were any crystals or gems around, that is.

Surprisingly, she got a reaction almost immediately. Her magic was resonating with a large gem of some sort.

"I found some gems, maybe even magical," Sweetie said. "It might be a cavern!"

Quantum pressed his lips before nodding resolutely. "Come on, young griffon, let's go somewhere safer."

"Are you sure it's remotely safe to even walk around here?!" Gallus was panicky, looking around quickly and trying to peer through the wind and dust blasting the semi-transparent shield. He'd dealt with dangerous situations before, but this was entirely unknown.

"No, but I can't hold this forever," Quantum replied. "We'll walk slowly. Sweetie, you guide us in the direction we need to go. Young griffon—"

"Gallus."

"Gallus, you keep both eyes on our path. Make sure to warn us of anything that Sweetie or I might miss."

"Y-yeah." Gallus cleared his throat, standing up straighter. "I can do that. Yeah."

"We might still make a Crusader out of you," Sweetie said, grinning at Gallus. The griffon rolled his eyes, but she couldn't help but notice the small smirk.

"I'll pass, I value my life too much."

They walked slowly through the haze, wind battering hard against the shield. So hard in fact, that Quantum had to—quite verbally—initiate a second layer to his shield, anchoring magically to stick to the ground below their hooves and paws, before they were able to walk without being pushed around—maybe even toppled—by the natural forces working against them.

She wasn't sure how long they walked, but the storm was not abating. She could sense the crystals, but she couldn't pinpoint their location clearly enough, and at one point she had felt that they were walking away from them. Could the gems be moving?

It was probably an hour later, trudging through uneven ground and with barely any visibility, just as they were deflating and ready to give up that she heard it.

"What do you seek?" A voice, old and powerful, distinctly male with a slight echo to it made its way into her mind.

Sweetie paused, and the other two stumbled to a stop as well, staring at her.

She knew her eyes were wide and that her face had echoed the shock from hearing the strange voice. Forcing herself to calm down and concentrate, she felt the magical signature. From the looks of the others it wasn't something they had heard. It was very focused. Intensely—almost scarily so. And it was centered on her exclusively, because she had been following its owner. She just hadn't realized it.

"We seek shelter from the storm," she projected through her spell, hoping that the words would reach the voice's owner.

"Why do you follow me?"

"I don't know who you are, and we weren't trying to follow you specifically, I promise. I was using a spell to detect gems, in the hopes that we could find a cave, or underground passage to camp in.

"My name is Sweetie Belle, and with me are Gallus and Quantum State. We're here by accident, can you help us? We can't keep the barrier up much longer. We need to rest and wait out the storm before we can leave this place."

There was silence, and she wondered if whatever had contacted her was going to respond at all, but then a bit of resignation reached her through the link. "I know where you can rest. Keep tracking me, and you will reach a safe zone soon."

Sweetie nodded, then, realizing the creature probably couldn't see her, sent a new message through the link: "Thank you."

"This world is dangerous, Sweetie Belle. Were my mission not important, I would gladly lead you to a safer port, but I cannot—must not—get distracted. Your objective lies straight ahead."

It was true. Soon enough they found the entrance to a cave, and stepped inside. The shelter, however, did little to calm Sweetie after the dire warning in her benefactor's voice. Still, she again sent a new mental message. "Thank you. We're here."

"Remember. Leave as soon as you can. Adun Toridas, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle blinked, unfamiliar with the expression. "Adun Toridas," she repeated, but there was no reply. It was weird. The words sounded flat, compared to when they had been sent to her.

She sighed, dismissing the thought for now and glancing around. Quantum had already cast a long-lasting simple light spell which had floated up to the middle of the top of the cavern, and both he and Gallus were looking at her curiously.

"Something we're missing?" Gallus asked.

Quantum turned around and started exploring the cave. "This place was recently used by somecreature." He glanced over at Sweetie. "Perhaps whoever it was that you were in contact with?"

"Wait, what?" Gallus asked, eyes wide. "You mean you were talking to somecreature while we were lost?"

Sweetie grinned sheepishly, shrugging with a self-conscious sigh. "Yeah. I think he had the gems I was tracing. When he sensed me, we talked briefly and he led me here."

Her smile faded. "He also said this place was dangerous and that as soon as we could, we should get out."

Quantum State sighed. "Troubling. We still haven't even established how much damage the Quantum Sphere suffered."

"Hey, hey, are we going to be even able to find it again?" Gallus asked worriedly, staring at the storm outside. "The thing's probably going to get buried out there."

"Of course," Quantum said, his smile reassuring. "I have it pinned to my senses. It has my magical signature all over it."

"Which means?"

"That we can go back to it as soon as the storm is gone," Sweetie explained, then glanced at Quantum. "We should also cast a pin here to be able to come back if needed."

"I am more concerned about this voice that guided you here. All we know is that it was male."

"It was strange," Sweetie said. "I could sense a very powerful will behind it, and a strange feel to it, the only other time I've felt something like that was from Princess Luna, sometimes. His voice was... solemn, lonely. It had a weight to it, I could feel through it guilt, but also resolve."

"Tossing Luna's name casually like that," Quantum said with a chuckle, his smile faded, and he nodded. "Trustworthy?"

Sweetie shrugged. "He brought us here. He didn't demand anything, and warned us of possible danger. He said something else, too. In a language I have never heard before: "Adun Toridas"."

Quantum pondered that. "I have never heard those words. The language does not seem Equestrian."

"Well," Gallus said, walking over to a wall and slumping down on to his stomach next to it, "whatever language it is, he helped us get here. Now all we do is wait, and then we go back home."

"Oh! Camping!" Sweetie trotted around the cave, as if forgetting the earlier discussion. "I know all about it! Cutie Mark Crusaders Camping Masters!" She laughed and kept exploring around, poking her nose behind large rocks and gazing at the nooks and crevices inside the cave, leaving the other two behind.

Gallus followed her around with his eyes, smiling slightly at her antics, just as Quantum sat down with a heavy sigh next to him.

"She's quite the pony, isn't she?" Quantum asked, as Sweetie investigated a corner where apparently their benefactor had set down at some point.

"Yeah," Gallus agreed, nodding as he kept an eye on her.

"She took all of this in stride. If I hadn't felt her attempting that shield, I wouldn't have thought to try my own."

"Crusaders are always getting in trouble," Gallus said, smirking as she levitated things and explored yet another area of the cavern. "I'm not surprised that out of the three of us, she could handle being suddenly in a dust storm."

"Do I sense a bit of admiration there?"

"Yes." Gallus blinked and frowned. "No." He glanced at the elder pony with a slightly embarrassed air and a raised, challenging eyebrow.

Quantum laughed. "No need to read more into that, young Gallus."

"Just Gallus is fine, old Quantum."

"Point taken." Quantum rolled his shoulders before settling down on his stomach, mirroring Gallus' position. "Are you both students at Twilight Sparkle's School?"

"No. Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo are all honorary graduates. They recently took roles as assistant instructors for some reason." He glanced at Sweetie with some amusement. "The Crusaders are always trying to do something new. As far as I know they've made a lot of friends in high places."

"Interesting. I have heard that there's many exceptional individuals in Ponyville, but it appears that there's always something new around the corner whenever Princess Twilight Sparkle is involved."

Gallus chuckled. "You can say that again."

"Anyway, we should all rest. We'll have plenty of work once the storm subsides." Quantum groaned as he got up and trotted over to the entrance. "Sweetie Belle, help me set up some safety spells."

"Right!"

Gallus watched in silence as the pair of unicorns performed their magic, then rested his head on his claws and sighed as he relaxed. Might as well get some sleep while he could.

"This is really not good," Sweetie said, staring outside through the translucent spell that blocked the entrance from random roaming creatures—such as Manticores or the occasional cockatrice would be—and the harsh elements, like the dust storm from the previous night. Behind them, Gallus shifted and snored softly.

The storm had died out a little earlier; the last vestiges of dust settling down with a pit-patter that sounded almost like rain, and a long hush had followed, drawing both unicorns to look outside.

And now she and Quantum sat, staring at the night sky above. It was, all in all, a beautiful breath-taking scene.

"By Celestia's mercy!" Quantum whispered, "Is that another planet?"

A large, red orb with a brown-blue ring around it rose in the distance, huge and way too close for comfort. Above them, not one, but two moons traced the sky, and whatever stars and constellations were visible, bore no resemblance to the sky of Equestria.

"That's not only another planet, doc," Sweetie whispered in awe. "We're standing in another world."

"I-how?" Quantum asked, shaking his head slowly. "How is this even possible? As efficient as my design was; as powerful as the mana batteries were, or even the added blast of energy from that unicorn that attacked us, there's no way we should have left Equestria."

The elder unicorn started pacing. "There's no way we could have been sent that distance… all thaumic laws refute at least one law of physics, but there are some universal truths behind everything. The amount of power needed to catapult us this far cannot be produced by a hundred, or even a thousand unicorns, all synchronized, using the exact same spell and magical output. Not even with mana batteries."

"In other words, we're lucky to be alive," Sweetie said, then grinned, "I can't wait to tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo!"

Quantum stopped, ears flat, but nodded. "Sweetie Belle, I don't know if I can take us back… not without understanding how we got here."

Sweetie bit her lip, thinking back on the many times the Crusaders had been trapped in what appeared to be impossible odds of getting out. "We'll need to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day, and we don't know if the storms will come back. The weather here is wild. We can ask Gallus to go up and see if he can see any weather patterns." She glanced at Quantum with a shaky smile.

"I-yes," he nodded, "w-we should probably rest."

The pair made their way further into the cavern, and it was soon after Quantum had dismissed the light spell that another set of soft snores joined Gallus'.

After tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Sweetie finally gave in and reached out. Her gem-finding spell stretched out into the night. "Are you there?"

There was no response, not that she expected something different, given her target's earlier comments about a mission of some importance, but she still continued, finding some solace in talking to somecreature, even if they never answered.

"I'm scared," she admitted to her unseen listener, head lowering down to rest on her hooves, "I've gotten in trouble before, but I've never landed in another world. I know it's silly talking to you, and that you have things to do… it's just—it makes me feel a bit better to know that somecreature out there in this strange world at least doesn't wish us harm."

Sweetie yawned, her eyes blinking owlishly at the dark room. "I know you probably can't hear me, but I wish I had at least learned your name. Good night."

She finished her spell and closed her eyes, feeling herself fade into dreams, although she thought she heard a word, just as she fell asleep completely.

Zeratul.

The light of the morning suns broke through the haze of the forcefield they had erected, slowly waking the trio up. It was hard to figure out if the suns were actually red or if it was just the atmosphere, which according to Quantum, could affect how they viewed the celestial bodies.

"You're telling me that we're in another world."

Gallus' voice was a study in calm. Either that or he was too freaked out to really react.

Quantum nodded solemnly. "As of now, we have no idea how we made it here, other than sheer luck, that is. I discussed this briefly with Sweetie Belle, but there wasn't enough collective power in there to send us here. I have theorized all morning and came to the uncomfortable conclusion that there was perhaps an additional level of action from the unicorn that attacked us."

He paced in front of the two. "Initially, I had thought his attack as something as simple as an attempt to destroy the console with a destructive spell of known parameters. Say for example, Fireworks' Final Flash, or something along those lines. Destructive enough to cause damage—for sure—but requiring little preparation from the caster.

"Then I thought the possible force-feeding of the batteries with an intentionally miscast teleportation spell! But that wouldn't make sense, because--as you know--the thaumic input of additional energy into a transdimensional spell that already has a foci established, more so through the use of a complex, stable, matrix disconnected from the original caster would simply burn out the matrix and dissipate, or, if the matrix is powerful enough as surely my Quantum Sphere is, it would simply store the additional energy or, worst case scenario, burn upon arrival."

"Yeah," Gallus said, rolling his eyes. "We all know that wouldn't happen."

"Indeed!" Quantum said energetically, turning to face the wall and drawing complex diagrams while Gallus and Sweetie shared baffled, confused smiles.

After a moment of peering at it, Sweetie's eyes widened in recognition, and Gallus shuffled closer. "So, uh, what's with the comic book?"

Sweetie giggled, making his feathers ruffle a little. "I don't understand all of it, but I've had Twilight try to explain teleportation to me enough times to recognize some of that. It's basically a very complicated way of drawing how we should have jumped, but didn't." She shook her head. "This is way to advanced for me, though. I have no idea what the rest really means…" she trailed off.

Sweetie leaned in a little peering at what Quantum was working on. "Now that I think about it, I'm sure I've seen something like that one over there when Twilight tried to explain to us Crusaders why we shouldn't use cursed books on the magical mirror she uses to travel to other dimensions."

"You mean the one he's just putting the last few pony skulls on?"

"That's the one. And the lecture was on top of having to clean up the library of tentacle remains by ourselves."

"Somehow, the fact that it seems so incredibly dangerous and you're still here is giving me a bit of comfort."

Sweetie smiled and nuzzled him on the cheek. "We'll be okay, Gallus."

"Yes, of course." Milliseconds after leaning in, Gallus had stepped back, putting a foreleg's distance between the two of them. "Let's not get too cheesy here, okay?"

"Aww, but you liked it!"

"Did not!"

"Anyway!" Quantum spoke up, drawing their attention as he stepped back from his illustrations. "As you can see here, the direct power influx from the explosion should have finalized at the control panel of the Quantum Sphere. Potentially with the intention of simply teleporting us into a rock or an active volcano, something that reflects poor understanding of matrices for a unicorn in a labcoat.

"Regardless, as the illustration here clearly proves—"

"Clearly," Gallus snorted, getting a giggle out of Sweetie.

Quantum kept walking down the long drawings with the patience of an experienced teacher, pointing with his hoof as he moved "—the force of the spell was intended to destroy only the console, and if I'm right, hide the fact that my device had been tampered with with a much more dangerous and volatile spell, which didn't eliminate us by uncoordinated timing between the reaction of the matrix interacting with an additional command just at the right time."

"So, blind luck," Gallus stated.

"Well, yes." Quantum gave him an unamused glance. "However we have discovered something important. It was through the implementation of a spell added to my matrix that this happened… which means, that the Quantum Sphere itself should have enough information for me to identify the spell, its purpose, and most importantly, given enough time, I should be able to pinpoint the thaumic timing of both spells interacting that caused this to happen."

He stopped, smirking at the diagrams, before turning to look at them over his shoulder. "As dangerous as this was, I can't help but feel exhilarated at the prospect of a whole new field of research… one that depends on less energy to achieve results like these."

"Right," Gallus said, narrowing his eyes. "So, some idiot tried to kill us and we discovered a new branch of science." He snorted and glanced at Quantum with an irritated grunt. "But, how about we first go figure out what happened and how to get back home, and then—when we're safe and sound in Equestria—you study this?"

Quantum smiled sheepishly. "Well, yes, of course," he said, earning another giggle from Sweetie. "Let it suffice that right now we have a course of action, and it should be undertaken as soon as possible."

"Well, lead the way." Gallus stepped to the side, motioning with his claw at the barren world outside.

Quantum's smile faded. "Right. Of course." He hesitated, then nodded to himself, turning to look at them. "Sweetie Belle, we should conserve as much magic as we can, in case your mysterious friend was right and this world is indeed dangerous."

"I don't think he had any reason to lie," Sweetie replied, stepping up next to him with Gallus at her side.

"Very well then." Quantum sighed. "Let's go, and keep your eyes open: we don't know what's out there, now that there's no storm to protect us."

End Chapter

Chapter 003

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 003

2504, Koprulu Sector █

As soon as they left the cave, they were assaulted by the realization of how different the whole world really was. Sheltered as they had been, their exposure had been limited, and now that there was no storm, the full weight of where they actually were started to affect them.

The sand under their hooves felt rough, less like the smooth, powdery stuff from Equestria's shores, and more like road gravel. Last night they had been too focused on merely escaping the storm to really think about the quality of the ground behind them. But now, all of their surroundings were new.

The air quality, the ground, the heavens above. It was all different, and now that they weren't exhausted, they could quite literally feel that they had left Equestria behind.

"It's the magical field," Quantum explained as they walked, gravel crunching under them with each step. "Equestria's field is all-encompassing, from the planet itself to the nearby stars. It's massive (to say the least) and it permeates everything within its boundaries. This planet, however, doesn't seem to be part of that (or any) macro-thaumic-spectrum, so the only magic is within us."

"I swear I could hear the parentheses in that explanation," Gallus groaned.

"Yes, well." Quantum coughed. "It is a fascinating topic."

"Yeah. I almost didn't fall asleep walking."

Sweetie giggled. "Aww, it wasn't that bad, Gallus."

"Well, professor, I have a question for you then," Gallus said, rolling his eyes at Sweetie. "If you're right and there's less magic around here, won't that affect our chances of getting home?"

Quantum kept quiet for a few minutes as they kept walking, guiding them to where his magical pin lay.

"Not necessarily," he said eventually. "As you might remember from our earlier discussion, the actual amount of magic wasn't as important in getting us here as the thaumic mechanism that did it. With a bit of time, I should be able to replicate the event and get us on our way back home."

"Yeah, well, how much time will that be?" Gallus asked, glancing up at the suns. "No offense, but this place gives me the creeps."

"Not long, I would think," Quantum said, "we're almost at the location of my Quantum Sphere. I should be able to gather enough information to at least apply a direct opposite thaumic—"

"So, soon. Thanks."

Quantum shook his head as Gallus bounced ahead, but continued on walking. The group eventually reached the base of a hill.

"We're almost there," he said. "When we are, I want you two to help me find all the pieces of the sphere. They're not all necessary, but the more we find, the better."

"Um, professor? I think that might be a problem."

Gallus' voice trembled as he quickly threw himself to his stomach. The two unicorns quickly made their way up and crouched behind cover, looking down the hill at the remains of the Quantum Sphere.

Huge, bipedal creatures, each three times as tall as any of the three travelers, and encased in strange, heavy—scarred and thick-looking—red metallic armor stomped around the debris of the Quantum Sphere. In their claws, they held massive instruments of some sort, their size and appearance indicating considerable weight, but the armored beings carried them without a problem.

The creature's movements were not fluid, however. They lurched occasionally, and stopped at odd moments, seemingly to stare at nothing, before continuing with whatever they were doing.

"What in Tartarus are those things?" Gallus asked, lowering his voice.

"I've never seen anything like them…" Sweetie whispered. "How about you, professor?"

"I have not either," Quantum admitted, "but they seem intelligent."

"And dangerous," Gallus whispered back.

He seemed a bit bigger, and Sweetie glanced at him in confusion.

Noticing her reaction, Gallus tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Defense mechanism. My feathers puff up when I sense danger." Clearing his throat at Sweetie's amused look, he glanced in turn at Quantum. "We really should hide."

"I agree but I do worry about what these creatures might do to—"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a roar and blast of sand. The trio looked around in surprise, confused and scared as something massive smashed onto the rock in front of them, shaking the ground itself.

They stared in open mouthed awe at the metallic monstrosity standing in front of them. It was made of metal, also painted red. The legs of the mechanical thing were thick and stank of oil and smoke, ending in a three-digit claw that dug onto the earth below it. The front of it was a large shield that was as thick as Sweetie was long, and it's two arms ended in what appeared to be triple long cannons of some sort on each side, above its "shoulders" were some sort of towers, as tall or taller than the creatures they had seen next to the sphere, with many holes on them, where Sweetie could barely make out pointy rockets of some sort.

"Magnificent!" Quantum gasped, earning an incredulous look from both Sweetie and Gallus, "A golem of this magnitude! And it contains a pilot!"

A screeching sound emanated from the metallic contraption, and sounds they didn't recognize came out from it. It was an unknown language, but worse, still, was the unearthly tone to it, as if whoever was speaking was half-babbling, half swearing.

It made motions with its weapon-arms, clearly indicating that they should move down to where the other creatures waited.

"I-I think we should do what it wants," Gallus whispered.

"Do not follow its instructions," Sweetie suddenly heard in her mind. "When I attack, run back to the cave."

"Wha—"

"Blachgrh! Dhortha thngat monfthagrrndthar!" the mechanical brute roared, slamming its cannon next to them and shoving it towards the waiting creatures, showering the trio in gravel.

"Mother fthar-whatever yourself, jerk!" Gallus shouted, coughing and brushing the dust and stones from his face.

"I guess it really wants us to move!" Quantum said, starting to go in the indicated direction.

"No! Wait!"

"Now!"

"This way!" Sweetie shouted, taking off back the way they had come.

"Sweetie!" Gallus shouted, bouncing after her, followed by a panicked Quantum.

"Smarghlbjrack!" the mechanical golem's speakers blared. Its arms started spinning with a loud whirr, which made the trio stop in surprise with wide, panicked eyes, just in time to see a figure emerge from wispy energy, onto the "face" of the golem.

The new creature's claw had some sort of green energy blade shimmering out of it, which it used to pierce through the thick glass that covered where Sweetie assumed the pilot would be.

"Run, Sweetie!"

"Come on!" Sweetie shouted, snapping out of her reverie when she heard the now-familiar voice in her mind. "Back to the cave!"

"What the hay is going on!?" Gallus shouted, gaining speed as they dashed through the terrain. Quantum didn't say anything, gasping and breathing hard as he galloped after them.

Behind them, a loud explosion rattled them, forcing them to stop and turn around. The metallic monstrosity was gone, and an angry ball of fire had erupted where it used to be. Even then, they could still hear loud popping sounds and explosions, so it took little nudging from Sweetie to get them on the run again.

She followed the magical pin she had set earlier, leading them towards the cave, and—hopefully—safety.

They made it back a lot quicker than the trip to the Quantum Sphere had taken, which was no surprise, galloping desperately as they had been.

Quantum collapsed into a heap, breathing hard and staring behind them, as if expecting the creatures to have followed them. Gallus was less winded, but his feathers were still ruffled and he prowled inside the cave, growling lightly, while Sweetie herself slid down against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

"T-that was scary."

The other two stopped their hard-breathing for a second to look at her. "That's putting it mildly," Quantum said, still unable to stand up. "And too much for my old bones. What possessed you to run away from that thing? It could have killed us all in an instant! We were lucky to make it here alive!"

"But now they have the Sphere," Gallus said, "we're trapped!"

"Even if they seemed questionable, there was the chance that we might have been able to communicate if we had gone with them," Quantum added. "Perhaps running wasn't the best option."

"Had you been captured by Duran's Terrans, you would not have lived long." A deep voice, echoing—almost as if was coming through a veil of some sort—reached them, making the trio jump in surprise. It had an odd quality, as if it had begun to reach their ears a few seconds before the words actually formed.

Dark smoke formed across from them and from it stepped out a bipedal figure, standing on digitigrade legs. It was twice as tall as any of them, wearing pieces of golden armor with green stones in them. Its head was plated, and its eyes glowed with green, magical energy. A ragged cape, deep purple where it wasn't torn, surrounded most of its blue-skinned body, with a long scarf-like cloth that covered the lower part of its face. It hunched slightly, giving him a menacing look, as if he were about to attack.

Despite his fear, Gallus jumped in front of his companions, flaring his wings and growling menacingly, just as Quantum forced himself up and braced for combat, his horn lighting up with power.

"Zeratul!" Sweetie suddenly shouted, trotting in between them and leaving them blinking in confusion. "It's you, isn't it?"

"En taro Adun, Sweetie Belle," the creature—Zeratul—responded with some amusement. "Even though we had spoken before, it surprises me that you would so quickly welcome me." He turned to face the others, bowing slightly. "I am Zeratul, Dark Prelate of the Nezarim."

"You helped us before, and saved us from those things, Zeratul" Sweetie said, smiling up at the menacing-looking creature. "Why wouldn't I welcome you as a friend?" She pointed at the others. "You already know my name, I'm a unicorn, this is Professor Quantum State, and that is Gallus, he's a griffon."

"Geez," Gallus drawled, sitting down and taking a deep breath. "You're just like your sister."

"Thank you!"

"I admit I was surprised when I saw you," Zeratul said, "Your species are not familiar to me." He turned to Gallus. "In fact, the Terrans have a type of ship they call the griffon."

"Those monsters?" Gallus asked. "None of them looked like me."

Zeratul shook his head. "They would not, and yes, now they would seem as monsters. Alas, they were not always like that. These terrans have been modiefied somehow by Duran. Not all terrans are trustworthy, but some—like Jim Raynor—are worthy of praise and respect."

Gallus didn't look convinced. He crossed his forelegs and gave the alien a sidelong glance. "How do we know you're not going to kill us, like them?"

"The metal monstrosity…" Quantum whispered, eyes widening as he studied Zeratul, "you're the one that attacked it! How did you destroy it?"

"Guys, guys," Sweetie said soothingly, turning to face them. "Zeratul led us to this cave when we arrived, and he warned us about it being dangerous."

"Well, he could have been a bit more specific. 'Dangerous' can mean just about anything back home."

"'Dangerous', young one," Zeratul spoke up, walking to stand next to Sweetie, "can mean a lot of things in this universe. But when a Protoss warns you, it usually means death."

"How are we getting home now?" Gallus asked, "Those things took the Quantum Sphere…"

"I'm afraid the remains of your machine were destroyed by Duran's forces," Zeratul said, shaking his head and turning his gaze to Quantum. "Little—if any—remains."

"Great!" Gallus growled, "So we're stuck here, alone, and with no way home." He looked away, annoyance and despondency evident in his body language. "Figures we couldn't go on a single school trip without things getting out of control."

"I take it that your arrival here was not intentional."

The trio looked at Zeratul and Quantum shook his head. "Unfortunately not, or I would not have allowed things to devolve into this situation! We arrived here quite by accident. A magical surge messed with my matrix and the next thing we know, we're here."

"I could feel when you arrived," Zeratul said, "If you travelled through the Void and arrived here alive, then you were very lucky indeed."

"Not all was luck," Quantum muttered, "but unfortunately, my device was the only way I could trace back our trajectory through this… Void of yours. As it is I don't think I can simply calculate how to return."

A heavy silence descended inside the cave, as the group considered their situation.

Gallus felt furious. He was trapped. Sure, it wasn't a tiny little size-reducing trap like what the Tree of Harmony had thrown his way before, but for all intents and purposes, it was basically the same situation. Worse, even, a whole world out there full of things that could kill him and the others, and no way to fight them.

He had been making a life for himself away from Griffonstone, enjoying time with his friends, and learning not only about friendship, but also different cultures and things. He had planned to do something after Twilight's school. Maybe learn a trade, or depending on his interests, maybe even study more and–his thoughts derailed when he heard the sniffling.

Sweetie had sat down and was staring at the floor. Her curly purple and pink mane covering her face as her body shook every time she took a deep breath. She was trying to be quiet, but the cave was too small for any real attempt at privacy.

She looked so vulnerable, it almost made his heart ache just by looking at her. He glanced around, searching for Quantum, but the unicorn scientist was standing next to the cave entrance, muttering to himself.

This left him and Zeratul as the only viable option, which meant that, since he knew Sweetie Belle better than the other two (which wasn't saying much), it fell on him to say something. He took a deep breath and shuffled closer to the sniffling young mare.

She had been taking everything in stride so far, and the Crusaders had done so many crazy things, it had been easy to forget she was actually younger than him. He approached her, then hesitated, glancing around for any other option. Quantum was still distracted, and Zeratul—the strange creature was watching them silently from the other side of the cavern, making no motion to help at all.

Gallus gritted his beak and scratched the back of his head, then sat next to Sweetie and wrapped his wing and foreleg around her. "H-hey, come on Sweetie Belle, we'll figure something out."

Sweetie turned and hugged him, letting out a loud sob. "I-I won't see my sister again! Or my friends! We're lost!"

The truth was that they were, and as far as he could tell, there was no way for them to even figure out how to get back, now that the Quantum Sphere was completely destroyed—if that Zeratul guy was telling the truth—but as much as he wanted to bemoan the fact, he felt worse for Sweetie.

Truth be told, he could see an upside to this. At least this wasn't Griffonstone. Silver lining and all that.

Still, thinking about his friends—Yona, Sliverstream, Sandbar, Smolder and Ocellus—made him feel hollow inside. As much as friendship was a powerful force, the lack of it was staggering. Even during his trial he had known the others were nearby, but now… now he was the closest thing Sweetie Belle had to a friend here.

"Hey, Sweetie, come on," he said, trying to think of something more substantial. "We can figure something out. Quantum's sphere brought us here, right? Maybe he just needs more time to do his calculations. We've got each other still, right?"

Sweetie sniffed, looking at him soulful green eyes.

It was then that they noticed Zeratul, who had approached and was now kneeling on one leg as he carefully patted Sweetie's head. "Your friend is correct, young Sweetie Belle. You must not give up hope, for it is a force that can lead you to many places. It will keep you strong, and help you in the most dire of straits... perhaps even to the answer that you seek."

Sweetie looked from Gallus to Zeratul, sniffling again, but this time, she wiped her tears with the back of her hoof and nodded.

Gallus felt immensely proud in her for some reason.

"D-do you know of a way out?" Sweetie asked, turning to their Protoss host.

Zeratul hesitated. "I-I do. I can help you three off of this planet, but I fear that I am unable to help you search for your home. I have a mission to complete, and my failure would harbor far worse a fate than being lost and away from home."

Sweetie hadn't expected Zeratul's callused claws to be so gentle. She leaned into it and looked up, swallowing and taking a deep breath. There was concern there. Empathy. Whatever else had gone wrong… she had found a friend.

She smiled and nodded as he stood up and stepped back, then leaned in and nuzzled Gallus, who went rigid with surprise. "Thank you, Gallus."

"Um, sure!" the young griffon said, quickly moving back and refusing to look at her directly. "No problem! That's what I'm here for!" He cleared his throat when he saw her wink at him. "Don't get the wrong idea! I don't want your sister to fail me because I didn't take care of you!"

Green eyes became watery again. "Y-you mean I'm not special?"

"No! I-I mean yes, you are buh—gah!" Gallus flew to the other side of the cave, facing away from Sweetie, who giggled.

"Young Gallus seems very flustered," Zeratul commented.

"My sis taught me a few tricks," Sweetie said, smiling a bit sadly. "I hope I see her soon so I can tell her all about it."

"It seems a very effective trick. I have seen terran females and… former... terran females use similar guiles to manipulate others of their species." He shook his head and looked at the others. "We should move. I have no doubt search parties are already active, and my ship is not too close."

"You said you could help us out of this world, correct?" Quantum asked, finally turning to face them. "I've gotten a good feel for the thaumic fields here. Perhaps we can do this faster." He smiled. "My talent is with teleportation magic. I can sense that when you talk to us, you are projecting your thoughts… can you project an image of the area near your ship?"

Zeratul considered the unicorn, before nodding. His eyes flashed, and Quantum suddenly could see the creature's "ship" it looked almost like the top of a magical staff would, shaped almost as an arrow, but with a rounded lower part, and the wings curving around and up, forming the "tips" and soft glowing green energy shining in between off-black metallic parts.

"Perfect! I can open a portal there," Quantum said after a moment, "I was saving my energy earlier in order to rebuild the Quantum Sphere but…" he shook his head sadly. "That is not an option anymore."

Zeratul's eyes were wide. "You… are able to do this?"

"Wow, I thought you needed a magical item, like the one that Neighsay had."

Quantum grinned. "If you want, I can teach you at least the basic forms, Sweetie Belle. I was, after all, the one that made that for him."

"Oh! Cool!" Sweetie grinned and nodded. "Twilight has coached me a bit, but she said I needed more practice. Teach me!"

Quantum nodded. "It will be a long time before you can do something like this on your own, and you'll need plenty of study. I have no doubt Princess Twilight will help you with it if you ask... but for now I'll let you perform the spell with me. Link your magic to mine, and try to visualize everything as I do it."

Zeratul was joined by Gallus as the pair watched the unicorns work. Slowly, tendrils of magic blended together and Quantum gently led the magic in a harmonious flow that coalesced into a shimmering ball of energy.

Before their eyes, the energy seemed to press together, light flashing for a moment before energy spiraled out for a fraction of a second, then retreated into a now flat, shimmery surface. Beyond it, Zeratul could clearly see the Void Seeker. "Incredible."

"A useful skill, no doubt," Quantum said, "Now, if you go ahead an—"

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the sound of thousands of bullets being shot in a second. The echo of the salvo was barely enough to soften the sound of Quantum suddenly becoming a mass of flesh and blood as the entrance of the cave exploded into pieces.

A piece of shrapnel flew through the air, slicing Gallus' shoulder just above the wing. The griffon roared in pain and fell to the floor hard, while Sweetie yelped and ran behind some rocks, her magic still holding on to the spell. "Run through the portal!" she shouted. "I can barely keep it open! I can't open it again!"

"But Swee—gah!" Gallus gasped in pain, collapsing again as the moment he had opened his wing, the flesh and muscle around the wound had ripped painfully.

"Zeratul! Grab him!"

Not wasting a second, the protoss picked up Gallus under one arm, then dashed towards the portal.

"Sweetie!" Gallus shouted as he and Zeratul crossed the magical gate. The protoss slid on the ground, turning around while still holding Gallus steady. They saw Sweetie stand up and prepare to jump through… only for her lower body to explode into blood.

Gallus' last sight of her were her wide, panicked, pained eyes as the portal flashed and disappeared.

End Chapter

Chapter 004

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 004

2503, Koprulu Sector █

She fell, her magic dying the moment blood exploded in her field of vision. What had happened? Why couldn't she stand up?

She felt herself losing her grasp on reality, the world looking slightly brighter and off-focus around the edges of her vision. She heard, distant stomping, saw large, thick, bipedal figures stomping around the cave, looking at some sort of… thing next to the entrance.

Wasn't the Professor next to it? She couldn't understand… slowly pain crept up, from just under her barrel, it was unbearable, but she could barely muster the strength to moan in pain, when what she really wanted to do was cry out. Scream.

'It hurts! Gallus! It hurts! Zeratul… Quantum… oh Celestia…' a fuzzy image took face in her mind. A kind smile. Soft, white coat. Twirly, purple mane. Loving words. "R-rari…"

A pair of large, metallic boots stopped before her, something heavy thudded around her, and everything went black.

For a few seconds before she completely lost consciousness, all she could hear was her heart and her breathing. It felt like a long time before she passed out.

They were sitting in Sweetie's room, facing the mirror of her vanity. Sweetie couldn't really make out her face, nor Rarity's but it didn't bother her. The world around her felt more colorful and full of meaning than normal, and yet, as much as she was aware of that, it was still on the back of her mind.

"So we talked about it all night, and we really think that we can help!"

Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle with a smile a she kept brushing her sister's mane. Sweetie could tell her sister was smiling. It made her feel happy and appreciated.

She hadn't told Rarity enough how much she loved her and how as she had gotten older, had grown to understand and appreciate all the things her sister did for her.

As the brushing continued, Sweetie felt a slight sense of dread.

"Hey, Rarity?"

"Yes, Sweetie?

"Promise me you'll never leave me?"

"Oh, Sweetie," Rarity held her close. "I'm already gone."

The sounds of machinery. Motors of some kind. Scrapping of gravel. Marching, steady footsteps. Bumps in the road. Sweetie shook awake when her head smashed on the side of the container.

She was too baffled to understand what was happening, and the pain.

She started screaming, her voice rough until she couldn't even breathe.

"Sweetie!"

She galloped across the arid, hard, cracked desert ground, chasing the voice that echoed in the air all around her. She couldn't see him. But he was there! He was there, just a few steps away wherever it was she was going. "Gallus! Don't leave me!"

"We can't wait Sweetie, the universe is changing!"

Sweetie slowed down as the world around her seemed to suddenly increase in magnitude. Green clouds of gas exploded from within the cracks; distant thunder and lightning shook and lit the world beyond her, incomprehensibly strong winds lifted pebbles and sand around her.

She was in the heart of a tornado that went up all the way to the two moons in the sky, both glowing bright red.

'What's happening?' Pain seared through her, increasing and decreasing in time with her heartbeat. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't move.

All was dark. She let herself go.

"We came through the Void."

Sweetie walked into the cavern, searching for Gallus or Zeratul, but only found a single unicorn.

Professor Quantum's back was to her, his horn glowing with a red-black aura as equation after equation was etched on the wall. There was something wrong with him. His movements were jerky as if he didn't have full control of his motor skills.

"We came through the Void. And it wants us back. All will be destroyed."

Another bump. Shaking. Pain. Disorientation. "How long have I… I feel so… weak…'

She stood, a tiny white speck in the middle of an immense cavern. All was dark and creatures moved, creeped and slithered in the shadows. The walls of the cavern were carved into titanic crevices and stairs and columns, all surrounding a massive, circular stone with some sort of keyhole in the middle.

There were markings on the stone that she couldn't… quite… make… out...

Voices. Guttural, incomprehensible mishmash of syllables and consonants. Sounds of creatures alive around her. Suffering. A searing, forceful invasion. Sweetie tried to scream, but no sound came out.

The tone of the voices changed. A command of some sort was issued. She felt herself moving again.

Twilight Sparkle sat across from Sweetie Belle. "You're alone, away from magic, friendship and possibility of rescue."

"I know," Sweetie said, not looking up to meet the princess' eyes.

"Sweetie. You need to be strong. We miss you. We're looking."

She looked up, eyes wide. "You're not a dre—"

Light. Bright. Hurt her eyes, distracted her from the pain for just a second. The surface she was on tilted, and she started sliding down. She tried to reach out with her hooves to hold on to something, but she couldn't move her forelegs. She couldn't even feel them.

She gasped as she splashed into cold liquid. She kicked with her hind legs, trying to stay afloat, but there was no buoyancy and she had no force to do more than move them a little. She sank, crying out desperately. Or trying to-her body barely had the energy to twitch.

Liquid enveloped her completely. She tried to hold her breath. Think through her addled, confused state. Summon magic. Beg for help.

'Sis! Rarity!'

The liquid covered her. She felt herself sink further down, her left hind-hoof tapping gently on something solid. She couldn't hold her breath any longer, she had barely had time to get a full gulp of air.

'Not like this! Please, oh Celestia! Not like this… Rarity! Gallus! H-help me!' She couldn't hold it any longer. She opened her mouth, bubbles escaping her lungs before she took an involuntary, painful breath of liquid.

She felt her body convulse, her lungs fill up with it. It tasted like blood. It filled her. She was going to drown… she felt tears, even underwater and felt herself fade away from life.

A deep, echoing voice reached her through darkness and panic. Sweetie floated, her senses forgotten, her mind breaking… until it brushed briefly with the memory of this voice.

Kind, yet strong. Fearless, yet gentle. A memory of a mind, powerful, ancient and focused—a presence she had only known for very little time, yet had extended hope and friendship to her.

She grabbed onto this memory like a lifeline, drawing strength and kindness and courage and endurance and will and focus and hope.

Green gems, glowing with the might of his will behind them. She didn't know how, but Zeratul was saving her again… somehow.

She was floating in something warm.

Sweetie slowly opened her eyes to discover the world around her had an orange tint to it now. Her whole body ached, but it was dull, as if she had been doing too much exercise and her muscles were cramped.

It was then that she realized she had been tossed into a tank full of liquid. Eyes wide, she immediately held her breath, shaking and trying to bang against the glass surface of the tank she was in with her hooves… but they were gone.

Sweetie screamed, a gurgling sound that still carried the terrified feelings of helplessness and horror she felt,when she noticed she only had meaty stumps left where her legs used to be. The flesh itself was little more than an angry red, cauterized muscle.

Sweetie kept screaming hyperventilating as she shook her head in denial and tried to escape. Her hind hooves hit the glass, but did little than throw her painfully forward, to smack painfully with her head against the opposite glass.

She could see figures outside, bipedal and covered in protective lab gear. One of them moved close to her container and pressed something.

A new taste invaded her senses, and she felt herself calming down, her thoughts clearing. 'Some sort of sedative?' she thought. She realized now that she could still breathe and that despite the ache, she wasn't in real pain anymore.

She felt herself getting tired, so she looked around, trying to take in as much as she could now before she was once more unconscious. The room, as far as she could see, was huge, and had been separated into several levels by platforms which had elevators of some sort that moved creatures around.

There were thousands of other orange-liquid pods, all containing different creatures. Fighting the drowsiness that was slowly becoming overwhelming she turned around. To her left and right were creatures she had never seen before.

Insect-like, and yet not, they had carapaces and teeth and tentacles and fangs and claws and pincers and insectoid wings and bat-like wings as well. They were horrifying, nightmarish creatures… deadly and dangerous like nothing she had ever experienced. She had no doubt that any of them would make a feast out of a pony.

Turning around fully, her eyes widened and she stared up and up at the massive tank behind her, where another creature like the others floated, but it was gigantic. Gargantuan! Just one of its claws would trample a huge chunk of Ponyville. It was heavily damaged and barely held together by exposed muscle under damaged chitin.

The sight of the creature slowly opening a great, yellowish-green glowing eye that locked onto hers was the last thing she saw before sleep took her once more.

"Did you know my sister once fought a manticore in the Everfree Forest? And that Princess Twilight Sparkle levitated an Ursa Minor after putting it to sleep?"

"That's very impressive," Gallus replied, checking his claws. "So what to you intend to do about that thing?"

"What?" Sweetie asked, turning around to find a giant, yellow-green eye, staring at her.

When she woke up, she started breathing fast, disgusted by the feel of the liquid filling her lungs, but she slowly calmed down. For now, she was safe. Whatever that meant.

She didn't know how long she had been there, but she needed to figure out a way to escape. If she could make it home… Twilight could probably do something about her legs… but she needed help.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying not to be distracted by the hungry looks from the other tubes, or the strange creatures that had captured her. She tried to find the trail of the crystal she had followed earlier… but it was gone. Still, she had to try. "Hello? I-is anypony out there? Can you hear me?"

A chittering echoed in the back of her mind as the telepathic signal echoed around the cavern and tried to expand. The creatures in the other tubes seemed sensitive to her magic, while the bipedal creatures did not. The silence continued and Sweetie felt despair rising. "Anypony?"

It was like calling out to an empty world.

She really had lost track of how long she'd been there, drifting in and out of sleep, occasionally using her magic to try to call for help. Without the link provided by Zeratul, she wasn't even sure she was projecting her thoughts at all—that had been a byproduct of his contacting her, somehow opening a part of her mind that she had had no idea was closed to experiences like that.

All she could do was try to recreate the feeling from before, but the only thing she could hear was that annoying chittering sound.

Her musings were interrupted by a new, whirring sound. She glanced up and noticed with alarm that part of the top of the container had opened up, and long mechanical arms with tubes and worse, syringes attached to them were lowering into the liquid of the container. Just as she was about to kick and use her telekinesis, she noticed the familiar, bitter flavor of the sedative kicking in.

Her strength left her just as the first syringe stabbed her mercilessly on the back, and two more were jammed into the stubs of what used to be her legs. The liquid took a new flavor as something else was mixed in, but she couldn't concentrate on that. She couldn't even pass out as the pain shot through her body, blinding her and burning through her veins.

Sweetie twitched, slowly awakening from a dreamless sleep.

Something felt… different.

Sweetie looked down, feeling legs she thought gone… and fought the urge to scream in horror again, as the things growing out of the stumps where her forelegs used to be twitched and moved almost of their own initiative.

They were thin, chitinous things, resembling the appendages of some of the creatures around her. They were too thin, too alien.

"Please!" she shouted, her magic sending out the strongest telepathic signal she could attempt with her limited knowledge. She didn't notice the slight, chittering background to her words as they emanated. "Please! Help me! I'm trapped! They're doing something to me!"

Sweetie sobbed, but nopony would answer. She was truly alone.

"You will never be alone."

Sweetie's head snapped up, eyes wide and looking around. Had she imagined that?

"I come, little zergling."

"Who are you?" Sweetie projected through the mental link, but there was no reply.

End Chapter

Chapter 005

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 004

2503, Koprulu Sector █

Sweetie woke up with a start.

"Food! They must feed us!"

"Foolish! We must consume!"

"Eat them! Eat the pain-bringers!"

"The hive must grow! We must feed the hive!

"Crush them!"

"Feed! Feed!"

Shortly after hearing that voice, so distant and yet so… close… in her mind, Sweetie had started to slowly understand that the monsters around her were capable of thought. Even if it seemed single-minded, an obsessive, almost religious belief in feeding and propagating.

Funnily enough, she had been the object of several feeding-frenzies in the minds of the zerg around her, able to hear them constantly hungering and promising to tear into her still-breathing, blood-gushing body and feed on her moist, warm innards.

Well, it hadn't been funny at first.

Then, she had shouted out from her telepathic link. "I'm not your food!" and immediately, that had stopped. They had simply somehow perceived her as one of their own, and the Big Guy behind her—who she had nicknamed "Big Bug", because he was as gentle with her as Big Mac was to others—seemed to be rather protective of her now.

'Not that they don't have a reason…' she thought morosely, looking down at her forelegs. What had started out as simple, thin, icky-looking… almost branch-like chitin appendages had now grown slowly, with much molting as well, into equine-like chitinous legs.

Worse, they were somewhat familiar-looking to her. Equine-like, yes. But… the chitin and the holes on them… it reminded her too much of Chrysalis, although the Queen's legs were well rounded, these… these had serrated spikes all around the holes.

She was now able to control them too, much like her normal legs prior. She could also sense other parts of herself changing, but she was unable to actually see them. Her magic was also getting stronger. With every painful injection, or cut, or infusion into whatever she was floating in… she felt herself getting stronger and angrier.

If she knew how, she was sure she was strong enough to teleport. If she knew how, she felt she was strong enough to rain magical mayhem outside. If she knew how. If only she knew how.

Helping Quantum with the portal was a far, far cry from pulling off that trick herself. Knowing the basic theory of teleportation was not the same as being able to do it. Having seen Starlight and Twilight shoot blasts was not the same as doing it herself.

'Should've learned how to fight. I'm a Crusader, dammit. We should know how to fight! Or cast shields! Or attack spells! If I ever get home… she trailed off, looking down at her legs with a sudden pang of doubt. 'When I get home, I will make sure we get trained or something.'

She felt a mental nudge and turned to face the gigantic Zerg behind her. She was smaller than its eye, but she didn't feel afraid now. Surprisingly the giant was the gentlest of the Zerg in containment, at least with her. The others were frenzied and angry, but this one had really developed some empathy for Sweetie.

"I'm okay, Big Bug… just sad."

The large eye blinked slowly, but she could feel it was less anxious than before.

How much time had passed since she arrived to the lab? She shook her head, warily watching through the liquid and the glass as the bipeds that captured her and were experimenting on her walked about doing things. Terrans. That's what Zeratul had called them.

There was a sense of something happening, however. And that was new. A sort of… anxiety from her fellow zer-prisoners. Their hunger was higher than usual, their aggressiveness was increasing, and worse, the Terrans were noticing.

If the voice had been real—and Sweetie had no reason to doubt it—then they could also sense whoever was coming. But they would alert the Terrans if this kept up. But how to stop them? She wasn't Fluttershy. It's not like she could tell them to be quiet, or put them to sleep…

Sweetie blinked.

"Hush now, quiet it now, it's time to lay your sleepy head," she sang in her mind, opening her mind to the others. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed."

Did they even have beds? The song was coming out more melancholic than she intended, bringing memories of happier days with her friends and family. "Hush now, quiet now, close your sleepy eyes."

Slowly, the Zerg around her slowed their frantic movements, and the cries for murder, destruction, crushing, cannibalism and general feeding slowed down. First with those around her immediate prison, then slowly, as is her message was being transmitted beyond the ones around her, the whole cave grew silent.

The Terrans outside—both in lab coats and in armor—turned around in place, confusion evident in their movements. Some ran to their devices, others approached the tubes hesitantly. "Hush now, quiet now, my how time sure flies…"

Sweetie turned around looking at the Zerg as they placidly floated in their containers… all focusing on her.

'Oh ponyfeathers.'

There was a commotion outside of the tube, where she could barely hear loud noises and unknown words. The Terrans in lab coats were all gathering there and were looking at machines, occasionally pointing at Sweetie.

A machine whirred somewhere and soon she felt her tube shudder as it attached to the top. A grinding sound… she looked up to see a section of the top open. She could try and escape a—her thoughts fled when long, mechanical arms sunk into the tube, restraining her, and something else… Sweetie's eyes went wide. A drill! A small drill made its way down to her head.

It started whirring, creating a small current around her and Sweetie shook her head in horror.

"No! NO! Nononono!"

A pair of additional mechanical arms went in, just as the familiar taste of sedative went into the liquid. They restrained her head, but she was too terrified for the sedative to work so quickly this time.

She felt the drill touch her horn.

"No! PLEASE NO!"

The pain shot through her, like a whiplash of burning flames. "IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! I'LL NEVER SING AGAIN! JUST STOP! RARITY! HELP ME!"

She couldn't even curl up against the assault, held in place by the mechanical arms as she was. She struggled, and felt something tear from her back, she couldn't see them, but she could feel them. She struck at the drill and the thing was dragged away. She could see it spinning wildly as it fell down, striking the glass.

She glared at one of the arms, and used her new appendage to strike it, watching in satisfaction as the metallic contraption was sheared off, followed soon after by the other arms holding her.

All around the the other zerg had woken up from their short nap and now were violently striking their containers. The Terrans outside were frantically pointing and shouting, but no matter how much sedative, there was no change.

"Well done, my zergling," a familiar voice echoed in Sweetie's mind, stopping her from striking the tank herself. "Now… it's my turn."

'Her turn?' the statement made Sweetie shake her head and get a hold of her overflowing emotions. The pain was still there. Her horn felt like it was about to break off, but now that she had heard the voice again… there was something else… energy was slowly flowing into her, as if her body somehow was reacting to this presence…

The cavern shook, and the zerg around her roared in glee. Sweetie could feel her hearts pounding.

'Hearts?! Why do I have two!?' the thought was fleeting as her attention was driven to what was happening outside. There were flames and explosions, felt and seen through the liquid. She could sense her body reacting to the battle.

Around her, as if infused with new strength and power, Zerg smashed against their containers, heedless of the damage they were doing to themselves, but somehow, now that the owner of the voice was here, able to do so with enough force to crack and break through.

Behind her, Big Bug groaned and… stretched, or pushed, but whatever it did, the tube broke, massive pieces of glass, as thick as her own container smashed to the ground as a veritable tsunami of liquid splashed against her container and rolled over smaller zerg and terrans alike.

"Get out of there, little zergling."

She felt herself infused again with strength. But as angry as she was, the combat outside scared her. Fresh memories of Quantum being torn to pieces, blood splashing from Gallus' shoulder, her legs disappearing in a meaty, splash of blood… all those images blurred across her mind, alongside happier memories… her sister, the princesses, the other crusaders, Gallus' adorable way of being uncomfortable when flirted with, Silver Stream's over-the-top eagerness to please. Apple Bloom's encouragement when she ran out of steam during their adventures. Scootaloo's endless energy to please and more recently just downright impress Rainbow Dash…

"You are not one of them anymore, zergling," the voice interrupted her thoughts, "and what you do now will decide your fate. I will not suffer a cowardly zerg. I will not suffer a zerg that is not prepared to kill, destroy, eat… evolve. I will not break you out of the egg. You have to do it yourself. Or die here."

Sweetie opened her eyes. She didn't even realize until then she had closed them. Her hearts beat faster, her body was tense. Whoever it was, they were right. Was she just going to be another victim? Was all her bravado about learning to fight just wishful thinking?

Or was she going to take action? Outside of the glass the terrans that had caused her so much pain awaited. They had almost killed her. They had torn half her body away. They had cruelly transported her and… done things to her.

They had been about to drill her horn away.

With a growl and a scream, drowned by the liquid down to a muffled gurgle, she kicked with her hind legs and smashed onto the glass facing the terrans below. Her two new appendages, two scythe-like, serrated extensions of her will, slammed into and through the glass, not only cracking it on the point of impact, but penetrating through.

Despite how hard they were, she could still feel the changes around them, as she noticed the liquid starting to drip through. She slammed her holed, chitinous, forelegs against it, again and again, holding herself to the glass with her scythes, then alternating between one and the other, repeatedly striking and breaking through the tube until, with a mighty crack, the thing broke.

Chunks of glass flew out, along with the liquid and Sweetie herself. She landed on a heap, struggling to stand up, and cutting herself on the pieces around her. She saw some of the scientists. Three, terrified looking terrans, staring at her in horror and surprise.

Instincts took over, she dashed from where she had fallen, surprisingly fast, and slammed hooves first onto the chest of the middle scientist. Her two scythes, almost acting on their own, flew forward, slamming through the heads of the other two with no problem, the sound similar to when she had dropped a watermelon by accident.

The middle scientist was screaming something in a language she did not understand. It was shaking its head trying to push her off. "YOU DIDN'T STOP WHEN I WAS BEGGING!" she screeched through her telepathic link, slamming the thoughts and their intent into the terran's mind. "YOU DIDN'T STOP WHEN I WAS CRYING FOR MY SISTER! YOU DIDN'T STOP WHEN I HURT!" She snarled, and felt… something pushing out from behind her gums on bot sides of her mouth.

She saw them extend past her muzzle. Two pincers, pale white and chitinous. And of course. Serrated.

"I begged you!" she snarled as she dove on, tearing at the man's chest with her pincers, her scythes releasing the dead scientists to slam into this one's shoulders pegging him in place. "I begged you to stop! I had a family! I had friends!" she tore through bone, snapping it as if it were twigs, warm blood splattering about and tasting metallic in her tongue. "I was going to go back! I was going to hug my sister and tell her I was okay! Look what you did! Look what you turned me into! I can never go back!"

She felt her pincers grab something still moving weakly and with a shrill growl, she tore it out, holding the terran's heart in her pincers, just above her head.

She crushed it and crumpled on top of the body, shaking and fighting tears. "I can never go back."

Sweetie took a deep breath and stepped off the carcass, just noticing that all was silent around her. She looked up, now noticing all the Zerg… and there were a lot of them, more than she had originally sensed in the lab.

They were quiet, surrounding her on all available surfaces of the cavern. Witnessing as she had killed and carved and raved and cried.

"A zerg does not shy away from eating, or killing."

Sweetie turned around to face the owner of the voice. She looked… almost terran. Almost. She was tall, powerful… Sweetie knew that she should serve her, on some instinctual, visceral level. She knew this zerg… this Queen… was hers to follow.

Sweetie flattened her ears and lowered her head in deference. "I was just a pony before this. I had friends. And a family."

She felt razor-sharp claws gently stroke her mane. "You are zerg now. Or becoming zerg. I do not know yet what experiments these terrans were doing, but they are incomplete. And that is good, because I can give you something they would take away… purpose. Free will to follow me."

There was a pause.

"Will you follow me?"

Sweetie felt like there was a force holding her back. Like a rope around her heart. She saw Rarity and Twilight. Her mom. Her dad. The crusaders. She felt, for a fleeting second, Gallus' wing around her shoulders, like when he had comforted her not so long ago.

She looked down at her chitin legs; her scythes. A piece of glass nearby revealed that her two pincers made it look like she was grinning savagely. Her teeth were now fangs. Her mane… it was segmented, much like the Queen's.

That was not Sweetie Belle. Not the one they had known.

She extended her hoof to her Queen, who took it and helped her up. And in that movement, she could feel the rope of memories and emotions holding her back… snap.

End Chapter

Chapter 006

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 006

2503, Koprulu Sector █

After that first kill, Sweetie had joined the rest of the zerg eliminating the rest of the Terrans. Scientists and soldiers had fallen to her scythes with equal ease, surprising even her as she tore through metal like it was paper.

It was bittersweet.

On the one hoof, she felt she was getting her well deserved revenge, but with each death, each resolution to bite and feed, she felt like her old self was also torn. Instinctual reactions fought mercilessly inside of her as well.

The pony was repulsed, wanted to flee the carnage. The zerg was hungry and wanted more. By accepting Kerrigan, some of that fight had died within her, and she didn't hesitate in her attacks, even though her mind struggled to keep up with the almost mindless need to kill.

"Many fall to the infestation," she heard Kerrigan's voice in her mind say, "they abandon all pretense of true sapience, simply content in killing and feeding. No different than the most basic of zergs, unable to recognize former friends or family."

Sweetie didn't stop galloping as she twisted to the side, evading the shots from a pair of soldiers, she was on the wall, her hooves sinking into the wall as surely as if she had hooks on the base of her hooves. She never hesitated, stepping on the wall with as much confidence as if she were galloping on the floor, and launched herself like a crazy cat from there, tearing with her scythes.

"But sometimes, once every million zerg, an infestation gives breed to new… individuals. New minds to join the swarm. Not too long ago I would have destroyed such minds, and with the coming fate of the universe, I had little interest in shortening my time here. But should I perish I want the swarm to continue, and thus I changed my mind. And I want individuals. I want those who could hold a conversation. Plan. Think ahead. Have vision and hope."

The armor tore, exposing flesh underneath. Sweetie dove in, tearing at it with her pincers, which pushed bloody flesh into her mouth.

"Will you be one of them, I wonder? Or are you going to be just another mindless drone?"

Sweetie stopped. The voice was gone. The Queen was still here, she could feel it. She chittered, her pincers shaking slightly, her scythes twitching. The smell of blood, the sound of an exposed beating heart and the gurgling hiss of blood-filled lungs reached her ears and called her to feast just like the others.

But she stood still. Leaning slightly, then back, her whole body tense. A part of her distantly understood the words… the words… of the Queen. Sweetie blinked. Words. Not impulses. An invitation, not an order.

A chance to define who she was. Who she would be. Not just what.

Hadn't she wanted that back home?

Another slight shiver shook her body, her chittering dying as things slowly came into focus. Back home she had wanted to be part of something bigger. She wanted a purpose beyond just finding one for others. Back home.

With Rarity. With Gallus. With Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and the others. The home she could never return to.

She looked up from the body, her eyes searching the destroyed premises until they settled on Kerrigan, who turned around to regard her silently.

Slowly, Sweetie pushed herself away from the bodies, staggering as she tried to make sense of things. But she stubbornly put one hoof in front of the other as she headed over to the Queen of Blades.

The base had been completely overrun by Zerg by the time Sweetie had gathered her wits enough to do more than follow Kerrigan around as the incredibly powerful zerg investigated the site. Around them, occasional screams and groans echoed, usually accompanied or followed by the squelching sound of many mouths tearing into muscle and sinew.

"Do you understand anything that was being done here, zergling?" Kerrigan asked, glancing at what remained of a computer.

"My name is Sweetie Belle."

Kerrigan stopped, but didn't turn around. Despite not being able to see her face, Sweetie immediately regretted speaking up. On an instinctual level she knew she was in danger for that act of defiance from her Queen, but Rarity had said that on those occasions, with certain ponies, it was better to simply continue. "No. I'm not sure," she offered in a low, apologetic tone. "They were obviously experimenting on us, but the purpose?" she shook her head. "I don't know, my Queen."

Still unmoving, Kerrigan spoke. "How is it that you were captured? Perhaps we can get a clue out of that."

"We… arrived here by accident," Sweetie said. "There was another unicorn with me—"

"Unicorn?" the question was just slightly incredulous. Kerrigan turned to look at her. "Is that what you call yourselves?"

"Our specific kind yes, my species is simply referred to as ponies. The main types are unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies."

Her Queen nodded. "Interesting. The terran word for you matches your species. They were creatures of magic." She studied Sweetie intently. "Perhaps that is why you have such a powerful psych presence."

"We do call it magic where I'm from, my Queen, but I did not know how to reach out telepathically until I arrived here and I was taught by accident."

Kerrigan's lips twitched, but she turned away quickly. "You seem to have a gift for it, if that's the case. You will serve me well before the end."

"I will, my Queen," Sweetie replied obediently, wondering at her Queens melancholy.

"Very well, Sweetie... " Kerrigan said, almost uncomfortably, as if she had sensed Sweetie's unease. "Follow me."

The order was redundant, and they both knew it. But it seemed to Sweetie that Kerrigan was somewhat… happy to talk to her for some reason. They climbed and jumped and in Sweetie's case crawled their way up the crumbled metal shaft that remained of what had been the entrance to the lab.

There was a black, gooey substance slowly spreading from several organic-looking holes that had somehow been forced through the metallic walls of the base. The moment her hooves touched it, she felt invigorated and stronger. The wariness from her first kill and feeding faded completely, and soon she was walking behind her Queen with renewed confidence.

The metal slowly was enveloped completely, the closer the moved to the exit and Sweetie was fascinated with the sheer amount of life and energy that came with the swarm. Everything was a flurry of motion, and she could see Big Bug stomping off to join other zerg already.

Outside of the lab, for the first time in what could have been days, weeks or even months—she wasn't sure, time in there was a blur—she marveled at the efficiency and growth of the zerg swarm. They were unstoppable. She felt a thrill, and consternation.

She had been a pony just… hours ago. Her identity, her past, her future at the time, all hinged on her being a pony. Now, thinking of herself as a Zerg came naturally, there was no hesitation, and if she hadn't caught herself in the moment, she wouldn't have even questioned it.

"It is disorienting, at first, even after a full transformation, memories, feelings and… attachments remain," Kerrigan said quietly. "Even with the drive to expand, to fulfill the purpose of the swarm... " she shook her head.

Sweetie looked up in surprise at Kerrigan, who kept looking ahead as she walked… or was that a saunter?

"Do… all zerg feel like this?"

"No," Kerrigan replied as they passed a gaping maw in the ground from where a really tall, thin, segmented proboscis emerged high into the sky, ending with a sort of hollowed out, very sharp tip. The tentacle-like extension waved in the air slowly, threatening. "Not every zerg is the result of an infestation, like you or I. They have been created with explicit purpose. We deal with a different level of authority, duty and purpose."

Thousands of zergs moved in tight groups over whole areas and new mounds of flesh-like, spiked domes would shiver as they spread the black goo, only to die off as another emerged further away.

Above them, giant, tick like creatures that hovered over the swarm. Immediately she felt a connection from them, and she knew instinctively what the others were to do. That the manta-like creatures flying slowly above were Brood Lords, that the rolling, glowing ones were banelings. A wealth of information and purpose flooded through her, and she could only anticipate now what part of this bigger whole she was going to be.

"In a matter of days this entire world will belong to the swarm, and to the swarm alone," Kerrigan said as she and Sweetie entered the mouth of the biggest thing Sweetie had ever seen. And even though she was essentially being swallowed whole, the creature felt… welcoming.

They went further into it, Sweetie discovering that not only was it as big as a city, but also capable of functioning as one. There were tunnels made of pulsating, warm, humid flesh, feeling so comfortable to her, that she could have just cuddled up to the wall and slept.

There were halls, big, fleshy rooms, chitinous areas where other zerg nested. The creature was incredible. Mind-boggling, and even more impressive, it felt almost maternal to Sweetie. The place oozed empathy to her, it shimmered with the light of life and growth in ways she had never seen even in Sweet Apple Acres or any earth pony farm.

Fangs, claws, scythes, rows of serrated teeth, chitinous, barbed and spiked shells, glowing eyes… and an indescribable desire to live. To grow. To become more. Sweetie wanted this. She had wanted this since before she had known she did.

"The swarm embraces you, and you welcome it," Kerrigan said, glancing at the unicorn. "I can feel your devotion and loyalty already." She stopped turning to gently run a claw through Sweetie's purple and pink segmented hair, so much like her own tentacles. Sweetie leaned into the hand, and Kerrigan seemed almost… comforted for a second before she straightened up and continued.

She led Sweetie into the depths of the giant creature, which she identified as Leviathan, sensing the unicorn-turned-zerg's lingering question. Their journey finally ended in a cavernous, fleshy room within the leviathan, full of simmering pools of glowing ooze and unidentifiable liquids. It was humid, and very warm, as if Sweetie was in the middle of a rainforest.

"It's kind of beautiful," Sweetie said, the hum of a distant, massive heartbeat just seeming to accentuate the alien nature of this somewhat now-familiar-feeling place. A small smile played in Kerrigan's lips, her golden, glowing eyes flashing as she studied the area.

"Abathur," she half-called, half-stated.

Sweetie watched placidly as the goo-like lake's surface slurped to reveal a long, maggot-like creature with a bulgy, segmented back and head that contained several pulsating green sacs full of green liquid. It's face was much smaller, with four green, glowing eyes that looked at her hungrily as its long, vertical mouth opened and closed with squelching noises.

"My Queen, what do you bring to me?"

Sweetie would have normally felt disgusted by this creature, but for some reason, the sight of it didn't repulse her. It seemed… normal. The thought of ponies, however, made her feel uneasy. Was she supposed to consider them squishy? Because she remembered them squishy.

"This is my new pet. I want you to finish her transformation into the swarm."

Abathur's voice, despite being telepathic, was accompanied by wet sounds produced by his salivating maw as he spoke. "As you wish my, Queen."

"And Abathur?" Kerrigan asked, just as she turned away, "I want her personality and mental capacity intact."

If Abathur found the request odd, he didn't react. "It will be so, my queen."

The pair watched Kerrigan leave before Abathur loomed over Sweetie, extending his long thin arms to touch her mane and horn. "Interesting! I will make you better! I will infuse you with Zerg strains that will make you more powerful! Dangerous!"

"But you won't make me look much different, right?" Sweetie asked. "I really don't want to turn ugly… no offense."

Abathur paused, clearly perplexed. "There is only beauty in evolution!"

"Yes, but I really want to evolve as much as possible like a pony… the Queen was Terran before, right? She still looks a bit like that—"

"The Queen chose her own shape!" Abathur hissed. "And it is perfect! It can only be made more perfect if she lets me!"

'But wasn't the definition of perfect—' Sweetie shook her head. "Well, I want to choose my form too!"

"You, zerling, are not the Queen! You will take whatever form I want to shape you in, and like it! All that is required of me is that you—" Abathur's slurping voice wavered.

Sweetie had sat down, chitinous pony ears pressed back, shoulders, scythes and even her pincers drooping. She was looking at him with deep, soulful, shimmering, borderline-crying eyes, begging silently for his understanding.

He had never seen a zerg do this.

"W-what is this form of attack!?" Abathur demanded, voice wavering at the end when Sweetie cringed at his tone. "This attack is not going to—"

"Please?"

Abathur stood silent for a few moments, body trembling with an inner debate about how to respond to this unexpected, undoubtedly psychic, attack. He chittered nonsensically for a minute. "This attack of yours relies not only psychically on your powers, but it also depends on the physical appearance."

"Pleeease?"

If Zerg could groan, he would have the moment she twitched her ears. He didn't even have the words to describe the chemical reaction her appearance, demeanor and possibly powers invoked within him.

"Fine."

Sweetie smiled, and it was such a smile of pure bliss that Abathur could do nothing but turn around and motion with his claw at a nearby pod. "In there, zergling. I shall let you retain your… form. As long as it is a proper Zerg shape!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sweetie chittered as she skipped to the pod, making Abathur twitch uncontrollably.

"You will stop the use of your attack right now!" he ordered.

"What attack?" Sweetie blinked innocently, tilting her head to the side.

"Arrgh!" With a swipe of his claw, an appendage emerged from the goop and carefully dragged Sweetie into the pod. She slowly fell asleep, barely visible through the opaque green substance inside.

Free of the sight of her, Abathur then proceeded to analyze her strain and to inject more of his own. He twirled his smaller claws, looking deep into what made this new zergling special, and his mind wondered at the Queens designs for her new servant.

The creature was supposed to keep her personality and ability to be independent, much like a Broodmother. As such, her armor would need to thicken, and her ability to care for the swarm and help it grow expanded.

In such a small frame.

Abathur gurgled excitedly. He loved challenges.

End Chapter

Chapter 007

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 007

2504, Koprulu Sector, Corsaire 2 █

"I'm telling you old Warfield is getting paranoid, Biggs," one marine said to his counterpart, as they walked the perimeter of their base and crested the small hill overlooking their base. The pair stopped for a moment to watch the SCVs mining away for resources, and the slow buildup of their bunkers. "He might be a legend, but the man's retired here to Corsair 2 for a reason."

"You might say that, but Warfield's been doing a really dangerous job for a long time," Biggs countered. "'sides, I heard that Raynor was spotted recently. Something's going on in Mar Sara, new's all over the place with reports."

"That sucks, I asked my girl back in Backwater if she'd be interested in formalizing things, you know, make a couple of little marine's of my own."

"Man, you barely even know her."

"I know but… it's not like I know many other girls that would date a military guy like me, you know? They usually aim for higher ranks. With my luck she'll hook up with one of Raynor's pirates."

"Heh, I wouldn't worry too much, Wedge, Raynor's raiders don't go near civilians during their raids, it's us marines you should be worried about."

"Yeah, well, the Emperor has made it very clear what type of man Raynor is, so I'm not going to make any bets on what he'll do or not. When I get back there, then I'll see for myself."

Biggs stopped, tapping his friend on the shoulder to stop as well. "I think I saw something next to the refinery."

The pair turned to look at the building, trying to discern what had caught his attention. After a moment, the other one simply shrugged. "I don't see anything."

"What do you think you saw, mister?"

Biggs turned around, looking at the barren area around them. "Uh, Wedge, did you just hear a little girl?"

"I did but—" Wedge stopped when he noticed the two sharp, blade-like tips protruding from the side of his rifle. He looked down at them stupidly before they were suddenly and violently wrenched to different sides, splitting his weapon into pieces.

Biggs stared in horror at the creature that shimmered into view. It was adorable, for all the chitin, fangs, spikes, insectile wings and blood. "Wh-a—"

The creature giggled, batting away the gun he had tried to bring up. He stared, terrified, as a swarm of zerg emerged from the caverns and from holes in the ground already within the factory.

"What the hell are you?!" the terran asked.

"I'm Sweetie Belle!" the creature said, circling around them. "Nice to meet you! And you're Biggs and Wedge? I was listening to your conversation, sorry, didn't mean to spy on you. Congratulations on getting married, by the way!"

"Uh…" Wedge blinked stupidly under his helmet. "Thanks?"

"You're welcome! I hope it works out, provided she manages to survive long enough to escape!"

"Yeah…" Wedge looked around for help. Biggs was clearly paralyzed with fear. No help from there. "So, uh, wh-what are you doing here?"

"Oh! We're taking over!" Sweetie said with a smile that included pearly white teeth and pearly white pincers, clicking excitedly. "You see, this world is now property of us zerg and well… unfortunately we don't like to share." She gave an apologetic shrug. "I have tried to convince the others to be a bit more harmonious and get along, but well, the Queen doesn't seem to like the idea as much as I do… not that I have fond memories of terrans… you guys experimented on me and tortured me for over a week, after all, but my sister always said to give others a second chance and I figured since I'm getting this world anyway, what harm could it do?"

Both terrans swallowed, painfully aware of the thousands of zerg simply ignoring them as they rushed and overwhelmed the post.

"Calling all units!" Warfield's voice came on the radio, "We've fortified ourselves in the factory in the southernmost section of town. We have civilian airships incoming to pick us up, but we must hold the line for another twenty minutes!"

Wedge looked at Biggs, who gave him a helpless shrug before both looked down at Sweetie.

"Aww, why not?" Sweetie said cheerfully, her wings rustling, just as one of the barracks collapsed, the flames incinerating everyone that hadn't made it out and all the marines were slaughtered by zerglings and ultralisks. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

"Uh… General, this is Marine 155234. 155235 and I are on our way."

"Hurry up soldier, and pick up reinforcements if possible. May the fates be with you."

The trio started walking down away from the base, and towards the town, surrounded at all times by zerglings and other zerg monstrosities. It took them some time, and Biggs and Wedge stayed on edge, expecting to be brutally killed by the zerg at all times, given the bodies and losses both sides should be suffering, but Sweetie Belle seemed to be in a good mood. It took them about ten minutes to reach the edge of the city itself at their leisure pace, and they passed what was left of a couple of buildings, collapsed on the side and bodies strewn about before Sweetie made any comments.

"This is my first time seeing a Terran town!" Sweetie said, drawing their attention away from the zerg violently ripping things apart. "It reminds me a lot of my own world…. well, the cities at least, the houses back home were a lot less symmetrical."

Biggs looked at Wedge, giving him a signal that meant: "Should we run?"

Wedge considered the hungry-looking zerg around them and shook his head. For whatever reason, this chatty little monster was keeping them alive, and he hoped to keep it that way for some time.

"...I mean, who builds a house exterior out of candy, right? But that's the Cakes for you, making a statement about their lives. We had a lot less bodies, of course," she added looking at the veritable pile of dead civilians, zerg and soldiers that littered the street.

Considering this was the most direct way to the factories, it made sense that Warfield would have organized a retreat down the main street, taking as many zergs down as they could.

"You uh… sound like you miss home."

"The swarm is home," Sweetie replied instantly and firmly without looking at them. It didn't take long for her scythes to lower a little. "But I miss a lot of things."

A scream of horror interrupted them. One of the houses had been torn by a large ultralisk, who had demolished one of the walls, exposing a pair of young girls, who were huddled away from it. Biggs and Wedge looked away as the creature's large scythes came down… then looked back when they heard the clash and frustrated roar.

In the few seconds between the scream and the attack, Sweetie had somehow placed herself between the ultralisk and the children, her own scythes holding back the bigger ones with no effort.

For a moment, they thought the ultralisk would attack again, but after locking eyes with Sweetie, it gave what they could only describe as an amused snort before slithering away to casually destroy another—thankfully empty—building.

The younger of the girls stared in horror at Sweetie, who turned to look at her and tilted her head. "Hello!"

The girl didn't dare move, speak, greet or even scream, instead staring in complete horror at the strange zerg, and didn't react until Biggs and Wedge arrived, careful not to step too close to any zerg around them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Wedge asked, aware of how stupid the question was. "I mean, are you hurt?"

"N-no…" the girl said, sniffling. "But my sister…"

"Move."

Sweetie stepped forth, pushing the girl gently away with the non-sharp side of her scythe, and looked at the injured girl on the floor. Biggs only had a second to pick up the little girl before she tried and attack Sweetie to defend her sister.

"This doesn't look good," Sweetie said, grimacing. "Although the damage seems to be from the building collapsing around you, rather than my zergs… so she's not poisoned at least." She glanced at them. "Biggs, you carry her sister, Wedge," she ordered as her jagged horn lit up with energy, "I hope that you're strong enough to carry this one all the way to the factory."

"I-" Wedge stared as the unconscious girl was levitated from the floor and floated over to him. Was this creature half-Protoss? "Uh, yes, it has servos inside, it can handle her weight, no problem." Fact was, he couldn't even feel the weight at all.

"Good, bring her along."

The group started walking away. By now, there was no combat in that area, just scurrying zerglings and the occasional collapsing building. Sweetie Belle went back to her usual excited look, but Wedge noticed she was not as chatty anymore.

General Warfield took shots from the upper floor of the factory at the mass of Zerg that kept approaching their slowly-retreating marines. There were so few of their boys left though, and he had a feeling that they were just getting herded for the butchery.

"Damn, I wish I had my armor on," he muttered. He narrowed his eyes as the mass of Zerg stopped advancing. "Stop firing! Save the ammo, retreat behind the walls and fortify them! We need to hold on until we get picked up!"

"Roger that, sir!"

He half expected the zerg to rush them when they retreated, but surprisingly, the zerg remained where they had been left behind.

This was a very odd behaviour and one that made him nervous, as there was only one zerg he knew about that would do this kind of thing, and if Kerrigan was here, then his suspicions about being herded were right on the mark… and they wouldn't last long. Not with these weapons, and certainly not in the defensive.

It was then he noticed something and used his rifle to focus on what should be impossible. "What the actual fu—" his musing were interrupted by the beeping of a communicator. He looked down and read the message.

Unable to approach, threat too high for us. I'm sorry, General.

They weren't coming.

"Dammit…"

"Sir?" a marine asked, voice cracking, "what do we do?"

Warfield was torn. The zerg had parted, opening a way for another of their kind, who was being followed by two marines holding two civilians. He had never seen that kind of Zerg before. Had it somehow controlled them?

Either way, he had to act.

"We stay put. Make sure you give them a fight if they start advancing again." He started walking towards the zerg.

"But sir, what about our rides out?"

Warfield gritted his teeth, not turning to face the multitude behind them. "We need to hold on until they come, son."

The walk to where the zerg were was little more than a block, but it felt like miles. Every instinct in his body was telling him to shoot, or run or take them with him. Once he was halfway there, the curious group started moving forward until he was separated from the monster and its hostages by little more than a few meters.

"Hello!" the little monstrosity said. Well, little in the sense that it was shorter than him, but it did get at least to his chest in height ignoring the horn. "I'm Sweetie Belle! Are you in General Warfield?"

He gritted his teeth again and glared at the marines, who shifted uncomfortably. There was no point in denying it, even if they at least showed some contriteness at revealing his identity to them.

"Oh, don't get angry at them," the Sweetie Belle creature said, drawing back his attention. The fact that she could talk to him, in what he recognized an echoing similarity to the way Protoss communicated, and the fact that she was clearly in command of the zerg here—from zergling to mutalisk—made her a very real monster. This was a Queen, of a kind he had never seen before. Just like Kerrigan.

"I overheard them," she continued, either not reading his mind like the Queen of Blades would or not caring. "So they didn't tell me anything I didn't know! So when I heard you call saying you were getting out of here, I thought I'd walk them over!"

Warfield looked from her to the terrified girl, to the unconscious one. "You know damn well we're not. Not with your mutalisks scaring them off!" His voice was harsh, but he didn't shout. He didn't want the people behind him to overhear him by accident, even as far as he was.

The creature blinked. "Oh?" her tentacle-like hair twitched, as if it had a mind of its own. Then she tapped a hoof to her chin. "I saw your ships, why don't you take those?"

Warfield almost laughed, then motioned at the veritable barrier of Zerg behind her.

She managed to look sheepish. "Oh."

A few hours later, the last of the civilian ships had left, and Sweetie stood atop one of the observations decks, watching the world that now belonged to the swarm.

"Sweetie Belle."

"My Queen," Sweetie said, knowing her voice would be heard. "I have successfully captured Corsair 2. The planet belongs to the swarm."

"I am pleased. But you let several thousand terrans escape unimpeded."

"Oh," Sweetie chuckled. "You heard."

"I did. Abathur informed me of this."

"That snitch!"

"Abathur serves me, just as you do. Things will end soon, Sweetie, why would you grant them this mercy?"

Sweetie took a deep breath, considering her reply. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"They would have eliminated you if they could."

"My Queen… they were leaving, they weren't fighting to stay, they were fighting to leave. Less of our swarm died this way—"

"And more of them lived! More for that monster, Mensk to send to attack us!"

"My Queen… they were broken… and there were civilians."

"I see I still have much to teach you. There are no such things as civilians in this war, Sweetie Belle. Do you understand?"

Sweetie cringed. "Yes, my Queen."

"Return to the Leviathan, I am almost done here in Mar Sara."

"Yes, my Queen."

Sweetie waited, but there was no further communication. One of her zerglings buzzed next to her, and she smiled, patting its head.

She had just conquered a world. And it was just the beginning.

End Chapter

Chapter 008

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 008

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion █

The large screen in the engineering bay lit up and most of the mechanics and engineers stopped what they were doing to look at it.

The logo for UNN spiraled on it for a few seconds before it faded onto the news anchor's desk, showing a blonde man with a mustache in a red suit. He smiled a dazzling smile at the camera. Several images of blasts and blurry creatures filled the small screen behind him as he started speaking.

"Hello, I am your host, Donny Vermillion, with the latest news. Reports are still coming in from the various worlds on the edge of Dominion space. This new incursion by the Zerg seems to have caught many planets by surprise, and we are still waiting for additional information.

"Our very own Kate Lockwell is on site in one of the many evacuation ships that have arrived into the safe space within the Dominion. Kate? I image everyone is terrified of this new random attack, on top of Raynor's terrorist maneuvering?"

The screens behind him shifted to the picture of an attractive young woman with an intense look on her face, before the screen grew up to show her standing next to several civilians.

"Hello Donny, the people I have spoken to are understandably shaken by the appearance of the Zerg, the death of so many neighbors and families, and the loss of their homes. This Zerg invasion is as brutal as you can imagine, but not all seems hopeless. While most of the planets attacked this time incurred losses counting in the millions, we do have reports that in at least one world, a large group of civilians were apparently spared by the Zerg and allowed to leave."

In a small screen appearing to the top left, Vermillion's face scrunched in confusion. "Surely there is more to it."

"We do know that retired General Horace Warfield was on site, and he reported that one zerg—"

"And there you have it folks," Vermillion interrupted, the screen going back to him. "Dominion General Warfield saved the civilians of the planet he was in. Unfortunately, that did not prevent the zerg or Raynor from taking advantage of other, less lucky worlds. We will be back, with more news."

There was a lot of muttering from the people in the room, until the boss cranked up the volume from his speaker.

"Alright everyone," Rory Swann called out to the engineers, "we need to get this shit together! Just got word from Horner that we're on a pick up mission to Mar Sara! You know what that means!

"The boss is coming back!" one of the the engineers cheered, echoed by several others.

"That's right! We're getting the cowboy back! So let's get started on getting them upgrades ready. I'm bettin' Raynor's equipment hasn't seen a mechanic in four years!"

There was plenty of good-natured chuckles to that, and Swann's eyes scanned the room quickly, noticing their newest addition. "Hey kid, you've ever seen a Zerg Swarm before? Why don't you take a break and join Matt on the bridge? It's a sight."

"I don't know sir, you might need—"

"Bah, we can handle this. Go over. I'm sure Stockmann is already there and he'll need a bodyguard to stop him from breaking something important."

"Fine."

Swann snorted, looking back to the rest of his crew. "Kids these days."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Mar Sara █

Sweetie stood on one of the outcrops overlooking the well-defended base she was supposed to take over. Somewhere in there was a device her queen wanted, and it was Sweetie's job to get it.

Unfortunately, these terrans were much better prepared than the ones from before. Their base had a solid perimeter, enhanced by a precipice which created natural barrier, and they had built several bunkers right on their side of the bridges, cutting off most of her swarm's overwhelming power and creating choke points that would allow them a much stiffer resistance.

Sweetie made a mental note. She needed to get some more mutalisks in there, but her troops were being unusually slow getting to this side of the planet.

The terrans also had turrets, and way too many soldiers spread around for the initial groups of zerg she had come with to make a quick job of it. Izsha had said it was mostly a civilian planet with little to no Terran army presence... but these guys were tough! It was clear that whoever was in charge had been anticipating combat sometime soon. It was too early for the Dominion to have sent troops here, so it had to be a local warlord or something.

Sadly, this wasn't a battle she could win with just numbers, quite yet. She sent a host of zerglings to test the Western bridge, watching as they crossed and started attacking the bunker, but they were predictably decimated before much damage could be done to the terran structure, and it didn't take long for the terrans to send one of their construction vehicles to go and fix it.

Until more zerg were sent, she had to keep them occupied.

She tuned her senses, using her magic to try and hijack the radio signals, just like Kerrigan had shown her.

"...come on boys, let's help them out!"

She got a hint of a voice, and turned to look down at a group of terrans that ran out of their encampment, shooting her zergs on the way to rescue a smaller group that was just about to be overwhelmed.

A part of her was confused. But another understood all too well, and once the realization came to her, she grinned. "Oh, if this is how you want to play, Terran, then that's the game!" she said, giggling.

She let her mind into the zerg swarm, quickly sending more zergs and hydralisks to create distractions at the base. She moved quickly, skittering with all of her speed and assisted by bursts of energy and her wings to where she would be needed next.

James Raynor smirked as the newly added troops joined his forces. Only a few more minutes to go. Even if he wouldn't admit it to the others (especially not Tychus), he had missed the feel of his armor, the sound of servos and stumping whenever he ran, the additional strength, and yes, hunting down Zerg.

He let the new troops go ahead, following at a more sedate pace. The other bridge was under Tychus' supervision, and whatever his friend wanted to pretend to be, he was not the type of idiot that would let the zerg overrun him. He passed the bunker they had built close to the bridge itself, his smirk turning into a grimace when he noticed the acid and claw marks on the walls.

Still, his voice didn't falter as he added some energy to it, "Keep fixin' those bunkers, boys! Medics! Take a quick look at the gang I just brought home. Make sure they're ready for what's comin'. Got a feelin' that we don't have much time before our friends pay us another visit."

He tried to focus on the here and now, forcing his mind to analyze the setup he had to try and control the next wave of zerg, but his imagination wasn't going to let him go that easy, apparently. Even as he directed his troops, and ordered things built or reinforced, his thoughts kept spiraling away from his current situation and into the reasons behind the sudden attack.

'Why the zerg? Why now? Is Sarah behind this? And if so, again, why now?'

The sound of salvo made him grimace, just as a communication window opened in his visor, showing the disgustingly smug face of his good friend, Tychus. "Damn, Jimmy, these zerg friends of yours really don't like giving up."

"I told you Tychus, it ain't as easy as you thought it would be."

"Damn right."

"You need any help?" Raynor could hear the screams of dying zerg from the communicator.

"Nah." Tychus' voice was nonchalant. "I've got this. Them critters are tough, but I'm tougher."

"Make sure you don't let that tough head of yours get too inflated. If you need help, you ask, got it?"

"Aww Jimmy, I didn't know you cared."

"I don't, but we need the cash and, unfortunately, you're our contact. So, do us both a favor and stay in one piece, would you?" Raynor replied, unable to hide the mirth in his voice.

"Roger that, Jimmy."

Trusting his friend to hold his side of the base, Raynor turned his eyes to the Western Bridge, where another small swarm of zerg was now advancing.

There was something different.

The way these zerg were moving was not normal. They were staying just within range to draw attention, but they weren't swarming the bridge like before.

His eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you bugs planning now?"

It didn't take long for the turrets to kick in, drawing his attention, but just as he looked that way, the swarm next to the bridge attacked en masse, led by something he had never seen before. Almost horse-like, except for the wings and scythes, this new zerg moved incredibly fast and with a lot more agility than the zerglings.

It was past the barracks in seconds, its scythes literally bisecting a marine that tried shooting it instead of running or dodging. His troops didn't have time to follow the strange zerg, as the swarm was immediately on them, and they were occupied.

"Crap." Raynor started running towards the new zerg, which was heading towards the turrets. "We need reinforcements on the West Bridge! There's a new type of zerg with them!"

"Stay away from that!" he shouted, shooting at the agile zerg, trying to land a hit. And hit he did. Just as the creature reared back to strike at the turret, his gun blew one of its scythes off at the joint, making it scream in pain and turn to face him, a glare on its otherwise cute face.

"That hurt, you meanie!"

Raynor hesitated for a moment, and the next he was rolling out of the way, trying desperately to avoid the wild single-scythe stabs of the creature. "What the hell?!"

"Why don't you surrender?" the creature shouted. "You stupid terrans have to make everything so difficult, don't you?"

'It speaks!' he thought. "This is a bad sign. Who are you?" he asked, slowly getting up, weapon ready. His visor reported that troops were coming. "What do you want? Are you behind the zerg attacks?"

The creature snorted. "I'm Sweetie Belle, and I'm following the Queen's orders." She tilted her head. "You're the guy that went to rescue the other terrans."

"Jim Raynor." He narrowed his eyes. "So you said Kerrigan sent you?"

"You really can't win," Sweetie replied, "so why don't you just give up? I'll let you guys leave."

Jim snorted, carefully stepping aside, with the zerg imitating his moves in the opposite direction. "As if, Sweetie. We both know this can only end one way, and it's with one of us dead."

"It really doesn't have to," Sweetie said as the scythe that Raynor had blown off slowly regenerated right in front of his eyes. "Give me the alien device, and I promise you all can leave the planet."

Raynor's smile didn't fade under his helmet, but his eyes became colder. "If you want it, then it means it's definitely not something I want you to have."

"Oh, come on!" Sweetie whined.

"Sorry, darling, but you can't have it."

The Sweetie creature stopped, eyes wide. "My sister used to say that…" she whispered, before she shook her head. Then she jumped to the side, far and up, her legs slicing into the metal of the side of a building and holding it there and away from the smoking crater where she had been standing just seconds before.

"Well, well, Jimmy, still a hit with the ladies, eh?"

"Tychus," Raynor grunted with a nod. "Took you long enough."

"And I brought the cavalry."

"We're here, sir," Matt's voice came on the radio. "Prepare for evacuation."

The trio looked up as a huge ship came in, shooting at all the zerg in the ground. Not wasting a second, Raynor and Tychus shot at Sweetie, but she had raised a shield of some sort.

"Gah! Why can't we solve things peacefully!" she shouted, running and skittering and dodging bullets.

"Try not killing everyone on sight!"

"You shot first!"

"Why are we talking with a Zerg?!"

Sweetie's shield withstood several shots before it finally fizzled out and she landed in a ready position across from them. But it was too late, the terran constructs had begun flying away, taking with them the alien artifact.

"Oh, horseapples."

"Better luck next time, Sweetie." Raynor said, retreating to get into one of the dropships.

"Oh, you better believe it!" she shouted, not bothering to chase them.

She sighed. The Queen would not be happy.

End Chapter

Chapter 009

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 009

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion █

The whole world came back in a sudden, jarring rush as the Hyperion jumped out of warp. The crew immediately started running diagnostics and checking in with other areas of the ship.

Raynor, however was already stalking to the holographic display in the room. "What the hell happened?" he asked, standing next to Matt. "We ain't seen the zerg in years. Why attack Mar Sara now?"

"It's not just Mar Sara," Matt said, pressing a couple of buttons. Several displays came up, showing planets being evacuated and entire cities burning. "You need to see this." They watched the several news in silence as the full devastation of the zerg attack slowly dawned on them. The loss of life was staggering.

"It is confirmed, the Queen of Blades is leading the attack..."

Raynor fell down on the chair, his hand rubbing his forehead. "So she was telling the truth."

"Who?" Matt asked, confused.

"Are you talking about that weird zerg we fought?" Tychus asked, shaking his head. "I'm telling you, Jimmy, nothing good comes from talking to things that can kill you."

Raynor rubbed his forehead, glancing at Matt. "A new Zerg of some sort. Strong as a Queen, faster than a zerling. Weird shape. Can talk and even use strategy. She said her name was Sweetie Belle, and also told me she served Kerrigan."

"Did you say Sweetie Belle?!" a young voice asked from somewhere in the shadows of the bridge.

"What the—" Tychus gasped, stepping back and bracing himself, unsure as to what to do.

"Matt?" Raynor asked warily, standing up himself and putting his hand on his gun. "What is this?"

Matt coughed into his hand. "Ah, yes. I wanted to introduce you earlier. Come over here Gallus."

The pair watched the griffon in overalls walk across the bridge up to them, his eyes set on Raynor.

"Jim, this is Gallus, he's a griffon that helped and was dropped off by Zeratul a couple of months ago. He's been learning the ropes from Swann down in engineering."

"Zeratul?" Raynor asked, eyes widening and a small smile playing on his lips at hearing the name of his old friend. "That damned Protoss. How—"

"I'll tell you all about it," Gallus interrupted, making Jim start. "I want to know more about what you just said." He leaned up, placing his claws on the table. "You met Sweetie Belle?"

Raynor blinked, and nodded. "Yeah… we should have a recording of it… somewhere."

"I think the cameras caught some of your fight when we did the flyover," Matt said, typing away at the console.

An overhead image of the area where Jim and Tychus were fighting the new zerg showed up, although very little could be seen in the way of details.

"That.. really doesn't look much like her, but the mane colors match from what I can tell…" Gallus whispered.

"Uh, listen kid," Raynor said carefully, "Do you know this Sweetie Belle zerg from somewhere?"

Gallus grimaced, which was—in all fairness—something that Raynor could not fully explain. He never thought beaks could bend that way.

"Yeah… she comes from the same world I do. We got stranded here and… she saved me and Zeratul. I saw her practically explode in blood before she lost control of her portal." His voice became softer. "I thought she was dead."

Raynor felt a pang. He placed a hand on the griffon's shoulder. "I understand kid. The same thing happened to Sarah… now she's a monster. You have to remember, the Sweetie Belle you knew, is not the one in there anymore.

"That zerg might sound like her, or even look a little bit like her… but it's not her."

Gallus' claws slid across the surface of the metal as he scrunched them up into fists. "I know her sister… she was my teacher at school. I know her best friends. I know her family."

Raynor and Tychus shared a look, while Matt shook his head.

"It's unusual for the zerg to do this… the last time it was Sarah. Does Sweetie have powers we haven't seen? Psionics?" he asked gently.

Gallus nodded. "She had her magic… that's what we called it. Zeratul said it was the same energy source, but unicorns like Sweetie can do a lot of things with it. I've seen counsellor Starlight materialize things out of thin air or transform things into different things. Like an apple into a sandwich."

Raynor felt the blood drain from his face. "Can… Sweetie do this?"

Gallus shook his head. "I don't know, I don't think so. She was still studying before we got here, but I'm sure there's plenty she knows how to do already… she just… didn't have a violent bone in her body. She probably hasn't thought of how to use her magic to kill."

Raynor grimaced. "I don't like relying on her being oblivious about it… but I guess there's nothing we can do for now… other than hope."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Leviathan █

The Leviathan felt as welcoming as always. It possessed a certain warmth that brushed the minds of all zerg and calmed them while they were inside, making them seem almost tame. It's power was uncanny, almost queen-like in its potency, and not for the first time did Sweetie wonder if it was in fact some sort of mutated Queen Zerg.

Stranger things had happened.

Sweetie hadn't had much of a challenge completely taking over Mar Sara after Raynor was gone. The rest of the terrans there simply weren't that ready—or able—to defend themselves. Vast quantities of them had actually just stood there and let the inevitable just happen. In retrospect, it kind of saddened her to have to take over like that, but the Queen's orders were absolute and zerg cared little for minute details like civilian vs armed opponent.

Her instincts though, were in conflict. On the one hoof, Terrans like Raynor and his crew were stronger types, certainly worthy zerg respect… the other, softer ones? Not so much. Yet, why did she feel so bad about it? None of the other zerg cared.

It was exactly like Kerrigan had told her: she was letting her old life interfere with what needed to be done. Her old life hadn't saved her from becoming an experiment, or a zerg. Or losing her forelegs, almost dying…

And yet.

Sweetie shook her head as she entered the Leviathan. It wasn't time to dwell on such details. She was a zerg now, not a pony. It didn't take long for Sweetie to be welcomed more directly, as a snake-like creature slithered its way out of one of the many fleshy cavities within Leviathan.

"Hello Izsha," Sweetie said politely, her scythes twitching slightly despite Leviathan's aura of calm. From the moment she had formally joined the swarm, the zerg assistant had treated her as some sort of curiosity worth of disdain more than acceptance, and certainly not worthy of the attention Kerrigan gave her, which was at odds with how… emotionally vacant she was around all other zerg.

Whatever happened to the Magic of Friendship?

"Queen Belle." Izha's voice making the title sound like she had intended to say: Queen's Pet. "The Queen of Blades and Abathur are waiting for you."

Sweetie grimaced, nodding slightly and setting off to where she knew Kerrigan would be waiting. She heard Izsha slither away and shivered as she tried to center herself and defuse the nervousness into Leviathan's calming aura.

She had done nothing wrong… other than lose a valuable Xel'Naga asset that her Queen really wanted. Like, really wanted. The planet was hers, but so again was failure. Sweetie braced herself and followed the path that would take her to Kerrigan, already dreading her future. If Abathur was there, that could only mean more mutations unless somehow Kerrigan decided that the loss was forgivable.

When she arrived to the center of the Leviathan, she bowed. "My Queen." Kerrigan exuded sex-appeal, even if Sweetie wasn't necessarily attracted to her, she could see the sensuality emanating from her; from how she moved, to her posture when relaxed. It wasn't coincidence either, or simply a state of mind (although she was clearly aware of her effect on others), no… it was by design. Kerrigan was designed not just to terrify her opponents but also to keep them engaged in different ways, always a distraction, and always deadly.

There was no way Abathur had managed that. Sweetie wondered for a minute who, or what, had created Kerrigan so thoroughly sexy.

"Sweetie," Kerrigan said, breaking the young zerg from her appreciation with a knowing smirk that faded soon after. "I had a mission for you… did you bring the Xel'Naga device, my child?"

Sweetie cringed. "I'm sorry, I did not." Behind Kerrigan, Abathur chittered, and Izsha looked down on Sweetie with almost a smug expression. Sweetie continued quickly, "I took Mar Sara quickly enough, but the Terrans were… different this time."

A brief moment of anger crossed Kerrigans face, replaced soon after by curiosity. "Different how?"

"They were organized in a different way: they knew how to fight zerg, we had lost a lot of zerglings by the time I arrived and studied their strategy. They took risks, going out with their leader to rescue other Terrans which they brought back to their base and fortified it while they waited for a ship to pick them up."

"Hm."

Seeing her chance to explain more, Sweetie took it. "When it was clear that the zerg sent before were trying the same strategy without it working, I targeted the leader myself, sending fliers to distract them, then splitting a large force of zerg to attack both points of entry at the same time… then I went in to hopefully get them to surrender the item or at least kill their leader."

"Unnecessary. Surrender irrelevant." Abathur was quick to say, disapproval evident in his voice. "Zerg destroy. Mutate."

"I know," Sweetie snapped, glaring at him and drawing a brief smile of amusement from Kerrigan. It faded just as quick, however. "But the device was what we wanted, and we didn't have enough time for all the reinforcements to arrive before their ship. Besides, if it wasn't for Raynor, I would have completely taken over the camp by myself!"

"Raynor?" Kerrigan asked, her voice sharp. "Jim was there?"

"Uh, yes…" Sweetie said softly, cowed by the deep emotions she could feel emanating from Kerrigan. "He was the one leading the Terrans to rescue others and defend the place. Him and some Terran named Tychus."

Kerrigan shook her head.

"She must be punished, my Queen," Izsha was quick to say. "Her orders were not for—"

"Silence," Kerrigan interrupted, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Sweetie. "If Jim is part of all of this, then Matt, Swann and the rest are too. Most Queens don't plan ahead… and Sweetie lost to one of the greatest Terran heroes. It's no wonder, with her limited experience… but changing tactics…" She tilted her head, considering her newest queen underling. "How did he react?"

Sweetie shifted in place. "Um. He was surprised… he didn't expect my attack by how he reacted."

Kerrigan smirked. "Of course he didn't. When I'm not there, he expects zerg to act like mindless beasts. Your plan was simple and would have taken by surprise most other inexperienced Terran leaders. Jim is… a special case."

"So… what now?" Sweetie asked after a moment.

"Now the universe knows we're back," Kerrigan said, turning to face the thin membrane that separated space from them. "I will teach you tactics… you were lucky, but Jim is no fool. He will anticipate your return, and you cannot expect to win with such… childish approaches. Even if they are more tactically sound in your head than overwhelming strength."

Sweetie bowed. "Yes, my queen."

She felt Kerrigan's claw gently curl under her chin, making her look up into the smiling face of her queen. "I will make you into something the Terrans will fear forever."

End Chapter

Chapter 010

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 010

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion Bar █

The Hyperion's bar was loud, grimy, and stank of old alcohol and cigarette smoke. Even though it had plenty of ventilation thanks to the large fans at the top of the room, it still held that sense of an old-time dive that the locals didn't so much as frequent as much as end up there out of habit more than need.

Looking around, it appeared that Matt had checked in on his old haunting grounds before heading over to the rescue, because Swann had somehow gotten a hold of his old jukebox and TVs and hung them all from the bar's roof with chains and cables. Jim Raynor didn't mind much—it gave the place some class, after all, and it desperately needed it.

Raynor gave Graven Hill a pat on the shoulder and stood up, stretching. Sure, getting those Devil Dogs Firebats was a bit expensive, but with more than one Zerg Queen capable of actually changing tactics, he needed as much ground-control as he could get, and few zerg could simply shrug off being bathed in fire.

Sweetie Belle might be able to withstand it, but inexperienced as she was, she'd most likely react as any former-mammal would and freak out, giving him the time to either put her out of her misery once and for all, or take out her other troops.

The thought of the new zerg made him shiver a little. Not because she was deadly, but because of how innocent she sounded and—admittedly—looked. It was a constant emotional and logical battle to fight a creature he instinctively wanted to hug, scythes and all.

And that brought his thoughts to the new creature aboard. Raynor glanced at the griffon sitting alone at one of the tables. Most of the Engineers seemed, if not comfortable, at least able to tolerate him, but the troops… well, they were wary of aliens for obvious reasons.

If he was honest with himself, Raynor would have shot first, asked questions later if he had encountered Gallus on his own, but with Matt's assurance that the griffon had behaved himself since arrival, tried to learn and help and also with the added backing of Zeratul, he had little reason to question the mythological creature's amiability, if not his intentions.

It would be a lie not to see himself in the young guy. Girlfriend lost to the zerg, only to have her return as a monster—away from anything resembling home, forced to learn and survive… at least Gallus hadn't done like himself and Tychus and turned to crime. Although who knew how things would be if Zeratul hadn't found him?

He made his way across the bar, nodding at faces he hadn't seen in a while until he reached Gallus' table. "Hey kid, you sure your can drink that stuff?"

Gallus snorted, saying something in some strange language before he caught himself, and cleared his throat. "Sweet Apple Acres' Cider is much stronger than this," he said in Terran, taking a swig with a grimace. "And tastes a lot better, too."

Raynor chuckled, taking a swig of his bottle. "That's why I prefer hard alcohol. Mind if I take a seat?" He gestured to the seat across from Gallus, raising an eyebrow. The griffon shrugged, motioning with his claw. It was in a way astounding, how similar Gallus' body language was to that of a human, sometimes. Maybe that was why he had transitioned smoothly into Swann's team. "I can imagine where your thoughts are, kid, better get a hold of them before you start thinking up crazy plans to save your girl."

Gallus ruffled his wings, shifting uncomfortably on his seat. "She's not my girl. I just… know her."

"Sure, but even if she isn't, don't make too many plans. Once the zerg have her… well, there ain't no coming back from that one. The Sweetie Belle you knew is not the one that's in there now, if you catch my drift."

Gallus sighed, glancing up from his mug to look at Raynor. "Experience, huh."

"Yeah," Raynor sighed as well, then leaned forward. "So, how did you all get here? How do you speak our language? What you said earlier, that wasn't Terran."

"Ah hell, don't remind me of that nightmare…" Gallus whimpered. "Zeratul used some sort of Protoss device to project Terran into my mind. I had a headache for days, and had to stay in the lab while Egon checked on me. Dude would not shut the hell up. By the time I was able to walk and talk, I spoke like Zeratul himself for some time, friend Raynor."

Jim chuckled. "You sound a lot less formal now."

Gallus shrugged, smiling slightly. "I was never one for formalities. My culture is historically irreverent, and Princess Twilight was never much for that either."

"Princess as in… royalty?"

"Yeah…" Gallus shook his head, glancing up at one of the screens in the bar. "Nothing like your Mensk guy. The Princesses are generally loved by all, even other races, and Twilight… well, she's really hard to dislike. Smart, slightly paranoid… but willing to give everyone a chance. She's the Princess of Friendship, you know?"

"I do now," Raynor said, trying to wrap his head around it. "So she's not a griffon? She's like Sweetie?"

"Different, but more like her… she's… uh…" Gallus said something unrecognizable. "I don't know how else to say it. She has a horn and wings."

"And that's not normal?" Raynor asked, frowning. "Sweetie had wings and a horn."

"Eeeh…" Gallus said. "There's only…" he paused to count silently on his claw. "Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Flurry and Twilight. I thought I heard Twilight swear that a friend of hers should've become a Princess by now if she ever decided to cross a... mirror?"

"That… makes no sense," Raynor said, "maybe it's some sort of translation mistake?"

"Could be." Gallus dismissed the thought with a wave of his claw. "The rest of the ponies either just have four hooves, four hooves and wings, or four hooves and a horn. Only princesses have all aspects."

"Huh."

"And to answer your other question… we're here by accident. One crazy unicorn attacked us during an experiment and messed up things… we arrived in a planet where some Terrans tried to kill us and Zeratul helped us escape… Quantum created a portal to take us to Zeratul's ship… he was teaching the basics to Sweetie but..."

"You were attacked," Raynor said.

"Yeah. Quantum was just… splattered, and I was injured, I almost lost a wing. Without him, the portal would have collapsed, but Sweetie... she held it until Zeratul and I crossed. Before she could make it… well, you know the rest."

"Dammit," Raynor swore under his breath. "It's always the good ones kid. Your friend did something very noble. You know that."

"Yeah," Gallu sighed. "I know. I wouldn't expect any less of her… or any of our friends." He groaned and held his head in his claws. "What the hell am I supposed to tell her family, Raynor? Nothing like this has happened in centuries. Even when the world was almost destroyed a couple of times, it was more of a ticking-bomb if we didn't stop it, you know? Nocreature was savagely killed!"

Raynor had to process that for a moment. "Just how many times was your world—" he stopped and shook his head. "Never mind that. Kid. It ain't going to be easy, but we'll make sure that you at least have the chance… and they deserve it, both her family and Sweetie herself deserve that they know her fate. Good or bad. It's not a duty anyone wants, much less facin' people you know, but as friends and comrades… we have to."

Gallus shook his head and chuckled. "At least you didn't dance around it."

"Don't have time for that, kid," Raynor said, shrugging. "Too many things happening at once to worry about avoidin' the inevitable." He glanced at Gallus' glass. "Ya done there, kid?"

"Yeah. Couldn't stomach another one."

Raynor chuckled. "Come on then, let's head over to the bridge and see if we've got ourselves somethin' new."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion Bridge █

"Sir," Matt greeted as soon as they stepped in, "We've picked up a distress call from the planet Agria. There's a colony there under attack by the zerg."

"Play the message, Matt."

The group listened in tense silence to the static-ridden message. Gallus could see the human woman was desperate.

"...the Dominion abandoned us… we're only a farming colony…"

"How could they do that?!" Gallus gasped, "Their own subjects… how is this Mensk still allowed to rule over the Terrans?"

"Not all Terrans," Raynor muttered.

"Sometimes, Gallus," Matt said, "small civilian settlements are the least concern to their leaders. They simply don't want to waste the resources or risk their soldiers to save people they can easily replace. It's one of the many reasons that we are at war with the Dominion."

"But they've been abandoned to the zerg!" Gallus hissed, "doesn't Mensk know what that means? Don't his generals have an idea of what will happen when they're attacked? They have no chance of surviving! They—"

"They're not lost yet, kid," Raynor spoke up, putting a hand on Gallus' shoulder to calm him down. "Matt, set us on our way…"

"Aye, aye, sir," Matt responded immediately, saluting as he turned to give orders.

Raynor turned to Gallus, kneeling down so he could stare at the griffon eye to eye. "Here's where you make a decision, kid. Me? I promised Kerrigan I'd be the one to bring her down. She and I…" He shook his head, biting the words. "We've got history."

"Yeah…" Gallus whispered.

Raynor cleared his throat. "Anyway, I can't say if it's the same for you, but now that you know Sweetie Belle's fate, what do you want to do?"

Gallus blinked. "Do? What do you mean? I'm working with Swann and trying to figure out—"

"I get that," Raynor interrupted, "But that was before, 'n this is now." He poked the young griffon on the chest. "You want to make sure there's no zerg walkin' 'round with her face? I'm not gonna lie to you, I ain't going to pull my punches just because she's adorable. The question you need to ask yourself is… Do I want to have this zerg destroy her memory? What would her folks and friends want?"

Gallus' eyes were wide. "Y-you want me to go there and kill zerg with you?

"You gotta learn how to take them down sometime, kid," Raynor answered. "Who knows what might happen in the future, but if you're here and part of the Hyperion's crew, you'll be exposed to zerg and worse."

"Sir, with all due respect…" Matt began to say, but trailed off when Raynor raised his hand to stop him.

"I ain't gonna tell you what to do, Gallus," Raynor said, locking eyes with the griffon. "I'm just giving you the chance to decide. But," he stood up and pointed at the planet in the holographic display, "If that kinda thing affects you as much as all of us here… you can also join me down there. If you don't want to let Sweetie do the kind of things Kerrigan is already having her do… you're gonna have to step up."

Gallus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know…"

Matt looked at Raynor. "Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?"

"Kid's got promise," Raynor answered with a shrug. "I'm not going to hold it against him if he decides to stay, but I know what I would do in his shoes. Paws."

"It'll be very dangerous for someone inexperienced a—"

"I'll do it," Gallus said and opened his eyes. "I'll learn how to… hunt zerg, and I'll avenge Sweetie."

Raynor grinned. "Now yer talkin', kid. Come on," he motioned with his hand. "Let's get Swann to suit you up."

End Chapter

Chapter 011: For a Cause

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 011: For a Cause

2504, Koprulu Sector, Engineering Bay █

Swann shook his head, typing on his computer and glancing at Gallus occasionally, then looking back at it. "So he got to ya, did he?"

Gallus looked down. "Yeah. I… just had no idea that Sweetie was ali—I mean… what had happened to her. I've been trying to write down what to tell everyone, you know? Her sister and friends and… well, I'm just… when I saw her… Raynor made sense."

Swann sighed, patting the griffon on the head. "He's good at that, lad. But if this don't work out for ya, you come back here, alright? Me and the boys already consider ya part of the team. If you want back, yer welcome back."

Gallus nodded, smile playing on his beak. "Thanks, Swann."

"Now, before we get all chummy and emotional, here's what I have in mind." He turned the screen towards Gallus, who blinked and turned his head to the side.

"What's that?"

"That m'boy is nothin' less than one of them original Reaper designs!" Swann said, grinning ear to ear. "Used to be that these babies were able to fly instead of boost, then they decomissioned them, and later on "upgraded" them… but! I'm adapting these to this design…"

Gallus' eyes went wide. "Wow."

"Right? You can fly already so you should have no problems, and the armor should be thick enough for you to not die immediately."

Gallus stared at Swann. "That's not very encouraging."

"I'm not tryin' to be, lad. It ain't no joke out there. You end up on the wrong side of a live zerg and… well. You end."

"Oh." Gallus looked up at him, eyes wide. It was bad enough knowing that he was inside a metal box, in the middle of an infinite vacuum that would kill him instantly if he didn't go out inside a smaller metal box, but now he got his own tight, even smaller metal box. Because "armor" wasn't that encasing.

"You can work with us, lad, no one will think any less of you."

It was that or death. "I can't stay, Swann…" Gallus shifted in place. "I've spent every night wondering what to tell Professor Rarity or anyone else, really, about Sweetie Belle. How do I tell them that I am alive and their sister, or friend isn't? How do I tell Twilight that Quantum was turned into minced pony?" He looked down, body shaking. "And now I don't know if she should have died. Now she's a monster. She kills and is part of a swarm that's bent on controlling everything. If she had died… I wouldn't feel better… but I wouldn't have to hunt her."

Swann sighed, shaking his head. "One day at a time lad. Here, let's think about your immediate survival first, before we go into "what if". This is going to be kind of important." He pointed at the design. "The jumpacks, now-a-days use simple twin turbines, which is a big difference with yours. The turbines work for them because their armor is so light! No ass-armor, the poor bastards."

"So you're saying I'll be shot in the butt," Gallus said, unimpressed. "Noted."

Swann tapped the screen, "Nah, you have a different setup. We can put a more reliable, modified Vulture hovering system for your smaller frame, even if we are adding quite a bit of size to you with medium armor, but, between that, and an old style jetpack and you'll still smaller than one of our marines in armor, and I'm sayin' that with wing armor that reacts to your movements with standard CMC-400 efficiency—"

Gallus gave him a look. "Do you know how many CMC-400 armor parts I've had to fix since I came here? Because I can tell you. Counting only those that stopped working outside of combat use—"

"You worry too much, lad." Swann interrupted. "If you're goin' out there, you have to be a little bit crazy." Swann tapped the side of his head with a finger. "Anyway, unless you want your pretty wings burnt into unrecognizable chunks of charcoal, you're wearing armor on them. It might take some getting used to, but that's certainly better than not having anything on them."

Swann then moved to the next screen. "You'll be armed with the usual P-45's, and I think you should be stable enough in flight to carry a few G-4 Cluster Bombs."

Gallus looked down at the weapons. Compared to what the average marine carried, they were tiny. "Any chance for something bigger?"

"Bigger ain't always better," Swann said, shrugging. "If we add more weight on you, we might as well strap you to an actual vulture and call it a day."

"Right."

Swann chuckled. "Alright lad, better go get ready as you can, once Matt hits the jump, you'll barely have time to suit up."

"Are you sure that'll be safe to wear?"

"It'll be safer than not wearing it."

And to that, Gallus had no response.

2504, Koprulu Sector, Leviathan █

The Leviathan stayed far from the mostly-consumed surface of Planet Agria, occasionally dropping more pods as needed. Within, two queens walked together, followed by an—unecessary—entourage of hydralisks.

"The planet Agria is mostly under our control by now," Kerrigan said, glancing at Sweetie as they made their way towards the pod that would launch her. "It is of little real direct value to us when it comes down to resources, but when you think about these things, you have to think of the multiple strategic benefits of changing tactics there."

The Queen watched her younger charge get into the pod. "There is nothing the Terrans can do now, but I know that if Jim is in the cluster, he will want to help." She held Sweetie with her eyes. "Your objective isn't to destroy Raynor, however. You are merely to defeat him."

"But, doesn't that mean killing him?" Sweetie asked.

"No. Raynor's time will come. But not today, and not by your scythe," Kerrigan said. "You will do far worse to him. You will make him lose. You will not allow the terrans to leave. I don't care about Raynor and his troops. But the Terrans from Agria will all die or be infested."

Sweetie hesitated. "Even the civil—"

"All of them." Kerrigan's voice was cold. "You may have free will to the extent I allow it, my pet. But you will always follow my commands."

Sweetie winced. "There are other ways to still win."

She felt Kerrigan's claws lifting her chin up. "In the end, Sweetie, we're doing them a favor. When I bring down Mensk… there will be no place for Terrans or Protoss."

"But how about friendship? What about kindness and laughter?" Sweetie asked, mouth pincers clicking nervously.

As the pod slowly closed with a squelching sound around her, Kerrigan shook her head. "Jim Raynor cannot be allowed to win. He cannot be allowed to take a single terran away from the planet before our final push."

The pod closed completely and was immediately expelled from the Leviathan, along with several more.

"My Queen," Izsha said, emerging from one of them many walls of the Leviathan. "why do you allow such insolence?"

"It's youth." Kerrigan said, turning to face her attendant. "Her hope…" she clenched and unclenched her claws. "It's different. She's zerg, through and through, and yet… she holds on to what I could only dream of as a child." She glanced at Izsha. "I gave her a Queen's DNA for a reason."

"She challenges your rule with questions!" Izsha hissed. "She will find a way to subvert your instructions! She always does!"

Kerrigan started marching away, her thoughts already on the next steps of her invasion. "Once Mensk is gone… my little pet queen will help me shape the future of the swarm, maybe in ways I had never considered." She glanced over her shoulder, sensing Sweetie moving farther and farther away. "And if I am not pleased…"

2504, Equestria, School of Friendship █

The School of Friendship's spare classroom was packed with journalists, all shuffling along to get to their seats. There was an air of tension in the air, the quiet anticipation building as the large group of ponies and other creatures filled the room to capacity. A hush ran through the crowd as Twilight Sparkle walked into the room and stepped behind the desk, turning to face them.

"Thank you all for coming here to this Press Conference," Twilight said, "I wish it were under better circumstances. Right now our research into what exactly happened with the spell and our friends is still ongoing, and I have recruited Starswirl the Bearded, the princesses and even other students among other experts far and wide to look into finding and bringing back all of them safe and sound." She took a deep breath. "Now, I know all of you have come with plenty of questions, so please, go ahead."

"It's been months, Princess, and we have heard nothing from anycreature on the whereabouts of Sweetie Belle, Gallus, and Professor Quantum," a reporter said, raising up when Twilight motioned at him with her hoof. "Can you tell us how this is affecting the School of Friendship?"

Twilight sighed. "We are all dealing with our friends' absence in our own ways. Although it is still to early to give up hope given Professor Quantum's very meticulous nature and his designs accounting for several types of mishaps, our school is offering counselling to all students that want it. These are very beloved members of our schools, and—

"Princess!" Another reporter stood up, "Despite the actions of this lone unicorn, members of other species have been debating the merits of having their children come to Equestria. Do you think keeping a school with international students is the responsible thing to do in this current political climate?

"The school of friendship encourages tolerance and understanding between everycreature of every place in the world." Twilight stated, eyebrow twitching. "It is a unique chance to allow their children to learn not only a challenging curriculum, but also the value of cooperation and respect. If we want to stop this growing threat of extremism and supremacist beliefs, it is our responsibility and honor as educators to teach our young, and the young of those who are open to tolerance and friendship, these valuable lessons."

"Shouldn't Equestrian schools teach only ponies?" Another pony asked, further behind the others.

Twilight's brow furrowed. "No. As I stated before, this are lessons that we all should learn. If the Unicorn's First movement ponies had learned these lessons in the first place, it would not be an issue now."

"So you're claiming this lone unicorn was not acting on his own?"

"Several witnesses reported he shouted: "Unicorn's First" as he threw himself with a bomb onto Professor Quantum's device," Twilight pointed out.

"So you're basing your opinion on the claims of ponies that were under a stressful situation?"

"I'm expressing a fact as confirmed by them and authorities," Twilight growled.

"What are your thoughts on the rising Supremacist movements across Equestria?" another pony asked.

"They stand against everything Equestria itself was built on," Twilight replied, focusing on the new pony. "Our nation was built on the belief that values such as Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty and Generosity would guide us. These values have saved us time and again from enemies and those who would destroy us. Supremacist groups such as "Unicorns First" destroy that with the belief that any one species is superior to another."

With an unsatisfied grunt, the pony that had questioned the motives of the bomber stood up. "Isn't having a changeling so close to royalty such as yourself a clear and present danger to national security?"

Twilight gave him an annoyed look. "Of course not. They are our allies and under a completely new and friendly leadership."

"But they feed on love—"

"Fed, which should be a clear distinction."

"Fed," the pony conceded, "but it's something of a recent change, how sure are you that they will not revert."

"So far scientific tests done by myself and the other Princesses hasn't revealed any possible reason for that to happen?"

"Has the changeling Ocellus ever impersonated you?"

"Only with permission or to joke around," Twilight said, "and I don't see why we are taking this turn in conversation. The character of my students and of our allied leaders is not relevant to this issue at all. To bring you back into the real topic here, we are still looking for our missing friends, and it's due to the actions of creatures that join extremist groups like Unicorns First that we lost them."

The pony rolled his eyes. "Has the school investigated if the accident might have been Gallus's fault?"

"Enough!" Twilight snapped, eyes glowing with magic. "I've had enough of your obvious attempts to question the facts as they are presented. I've tolerated your attitude so far, but blaming Gallus for the acts of a member of a terrorist group goes beyond misunderstandings. This press conference is over."

"So you're saying that Unicorns First is a terrorist—?"

Ignoring the cries of the reporters, Twilight turned around and walked out of the room before she teleported into the middle of the badlands, where nocreature could hear her scream in frustration.

End Chapter

Chapter 012: Patrolling

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 012: Patrolling

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

The colony was a lot smaller than Gallus even imagined. He had read up on Agria while waiting for his armor to be done, and then later on as they finalized preparations. The planet itself had been pretty important to the Terrans for years, a botanical and wildlife paradise created out of a barren wasteland thanks to state-of-the-art terraforming practices, and careful government. It had been such a staple of Terran achievements in the galaxy, that it had merited heavy scientific investment and even a dedicated permanent detachment of the Dominion to protect it.

Clearly, benign science was the least of the concerns for this particular government, however, as the whole of the base had been evacuated as soon as the zerg started invading the system. From the local accounts, the Dominion's army had packed what they deemed essential—namely no Terran life other than their own—and flown out, taking most of the vehicles capable of interstellar travel with them.

Dr. Ariel Hanson, who smelled like she really liked Raynor, had then taken charge of the colony after her father had retired, and when she had found out about the Dominion's betrayal had done her best to organize an evacuation.

Unfortunately, it had been too little, too late.

The single star-port that they had left was not enough to do the job of evacuating everyone, and without the army to help, the colonists had all gathered together and swarmed into the colony just before the last ships left… and now they were at the mercy of the zerg unless Raynor managed to evacuate them all in an orderly fashion.

It was probably only a few thousand colonists that needed to be evacuated, which Matt had insisted was actually not that many, but Raynor didn't miss a beat before he was already setting up barracks and defensive structures while planning the logistics.

Gallus had never been one for the army. Griffonstone had little in the way of formal national defense other than a bunch of really angry griffons that would get together into what amounted to a mob and then storm the enemy, and what he had seen of the Royal Guard of Equestria had not left him feeling impressed. Especially considering that most of the actual combat against evil had been done by his teachers, and later on by himself and his friends, but he had to admit Raynor was sort the ideal commander that he'd expect to see in a fictional work.

The Terran simply got things done, and people followed him.

The thought of the armies (or lack thereof back in Equestria) brought with it feelings of nostalgia and fear. Were they alright? Had anycreature been hurt by that fanatic? What was Sweetie doing now? Were his teachers and friends looking for them? He growled, scaring a few of the locals as he shook himself to dismiss the thoughts.

Right now, he had a simple mission to accomplish, which was to patrol. He had wanted to take flight but Raynor had given his armor a worried glance, and then stated that even if the attempt didn't kill Gallus outright, it was better to not let possible enemies know of his flight capabilities yet. He wanted him on the ground until the actual evacuation started, then he would be up there, overseeing and informing as needed.

Which didn't make sense, because he had wings. One look. That's all they needed and they'd know he was supposed to fly. Just how dense could someone be?

"What kind of robot do you think that is?" a Terran asked, stopping to ogle Gallus.

"Some sort of modified Predator?" another muttered, leaning in to look through Gallus's visor. Trying to discern some sort of circuitry.

"Move along, citizen," Gallus said, making them scramble away screaming. He chuckled. It was true that the helmet and armor made him look like a robot out of Spike's comic books, but it was still hilarious to help them realize their error.

As he walked he still caught snippets of conversation that the local Terrans were comfortable saying around a "robot".

"...can't believe we were abandoned."

"...can we trust these pirates to save us? What if they sell us?!"

"...I heard Raynor was on the side of the zerg!"

The Terrans at the colony had reacted with mixed feelings to being saved by Raynor's crew. It was slightly unreal to see the lack of gratitude from some of the colonists. Their own protectors had abandoned them, and yet here were more than a few who were happy to complain about being saved by Raynor.

Still, it was not his job to worry about that. He glanced at the sky. Soon he would be up there… and it wouldn't be an easy job. Zerg pods would be crashing into their area, and there were of course flying units and zerg that could shoot him out of the sky.

"Hey kid," the voice almost made him jump, but he managed to not embarrass himself.

"I'm here, what's going on?"

Raynor's voice crackled a little, as the display with his face appeared in Gallus' vision. "Matt informed me that the zerg are beginning their invasion of this part of the planet. We're starting now. I want you to get up there and communicate with my troops. Any zerg you see, you tell them, got it?"

"Got it," he replied, trying not to sound too nervous. He hefted his weapon and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It was time to go. He took off with a powerful beat of his wings. The systems activated immediately, and with the boost, he didn't feel the weight of his armor at all, and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Sure the tests had worked out, but Swann had only had time for a few basic ones with the incomplete version before Gallus had to strip it off so that it could be finished. The fact that he was not on fire right now was a good sign as far as he was concerned.

"Doing a fly by," he reported, "Nothing so far, I can see the ground vehicle."

"Alright kid, follow along with it. I have a couple of bunkers already set up ahead, keep an eye out for them, the zerg will definitely attack those if they want to take over the colony."

"Right. I mean, yes sir!"

He could hear Raynor chuckling. "You'll do fine kid. Just aim steady and shot when ready, if you can't, just relay info and stay out of combat."

Gallus swerved out of the way, the only warning he had was a darkening of the air around him—like a cloud passing in front of the sun above. However, unlike the cloud, zerg pods were enveloped in flames, quite solid, and would kill him immediately, armor or not, if he got hit by one.

He watched the organic mass splatter into the ground below, covering the area in that strange, black miasma that the zerg spread all around the ground they took. With scary speed, zerglings emerged from the mess and started heading towards the barracks.

"Zerglings approaching from the west!" he called in, watching as the turret on top of the barracks swirled immediately towards them and started firing. He saw other pods and took not of their location. "Raynor, I saw two pods crash to the east and one north east. I'll head over to observe."

"Roger that kid, stay alert and fly back immediately if you're in danger, the zerg won't chase you too far."

Gallus didn't bother replying. Tilting his wings to catch the wind, he glided over the highway, above the huge transport full of civilians that was being escorted by Raynor's troops, and past the patch of land next to it. The planet itself reminded him of the outskirts of Ponyville. It was full of farms and fields where crops were growing. He tried to figure out why the zerg would attack this place. Did they also eat the same thing? What possible advantage could they get here, other than maybe destroying the scientific research?

"Zerglings are running through the fields to the east of the road, not that many, but might just be the start of the latest batch. I don't see any sign of the pods from earlier."

He watched with a grimace as the zerglings rushed out of the foliage towards the waiting marines and were torn to shreds. It brought back sudden images of Sweetie's legs being torn to shreds right in front of him, or Quantum becoming nothing more than chunks of bloody meat, becoming nothing more than stinky piles of flesh, vapor rising from their bunt remains into the cold air of Agria. He felt sick, and suddenly very aware that he could just as easily end up as minced turkey too if he wasn't careful.

"You alright, Gallus? Computer's showing your flight a little erratic."

"Y-yeah," Gallus said, fighting the sudden bile rising in his throat. "I just need to rest for a moment. The suit is throwing off my normal flight instincts. I see a rock formation over there I should be safe enough to perch on for a bit."

"Roger that kid, as soon as you rested, I want you back in the base. Your observations are pretty useful, but if more tweaks are needed in your suit, we'll have Swann look at it."

"R-right."

Gallus curved around the area and flapped his wings to drop his momentum, landing a bit more heavily than intended on the flat top of a large, plateau-like rock raising over the fields. All around him, he could see plants. In the distance, off to the east, northeast, he could see a few zerg pods had crashed and started spreading that goo of theirs, so he quickly reported it before taking off his helmet and taking a big gulp of air.

He made sure he was alone, turning off his microphone, before he started pacing. "What in Tartarus am I doing?" he muttered, "I'm less sturdy than any zerg! A stray bullet or a slashing claw will kill me!" Stopping again when he felt the urge to throw up, he took a moment to gather himself and breathe.

Griffons were a rowdy bunch, and Gallus knew the difference between being nervous, an adrenaline rush, or being downright terrified. He had been really nervous as they descended into the planet, cramped as he was with a bunch of bipeds into a small metal box. It had been close to triggering his claustrophobia, but the short duration of the trip had helped. He had felt tight and slightly claustrophobic in his armor—but he was able to fly and run and breathe… it was just getting used to being uncomfortable… but this… this feeling was different. It made him queasy.

It brought memories of bone and sinew and blood splattering, warm and coppery onto his face. It brought the mental image of Sweetie's face contorted in indescribable pain as she was horrendously ripped by bullets designed to bring down tanks. It brought back the guilt… that he had managed to cross. That he was safe. That his wing just hurt… that it wasn't him who had their legs turned to mince. That he wasn't staying behind. That he was glad it hadn't been him on the other side of the portal, being torn apart and watching others run.

Zeratul had said nothing, used as he was to sacrifices in battle, but Gallus wasn't a warrior. He was just a year away from graduation from the School of Friendship. Could Twilight's teachings even be relevant here, where everycreature was more likely to kill you than listen?

He shook his head, noticing the blinking red light from within his helmet. He frowned and picked it up, trying to figure out what was wrong.

That's when the pod crashed into the side of the rock formation, black miasma and fire exploding all around him. He barely had time to scream before the world collapsed around him. He tried to flap his wings, but the rocks around him batted them down hard. If his armor hadn't been so sturdy, he would have probably broken them.

He hit the ground hard, losing his breath from the impact and coughed in the dust. Groaning, he pushed himself up. He couldn't see his helmet. It was probably crushed under the rocks behind him. High above, he could see sunlight pushing through the collapsed rocks. He should still be able to climb up there and escape… the gap was narrow, but not too small for him, even with his armor. And if it was too small for the armor… well. They could always build him another.

A skittering sound behind him made him turn around quickly, eyes wide. From the shadows deeper in the cavern emerged several toothed, scythed creatures. He knew them well. Zerglings.

Slowly, as to not to provoke them, he raised his rifle. His claws worked within his armor to activate all of its combat protocols, and he was very thankful of the time he had spent working with Swann on the armors before.

He glanced up at the crevice. If they attacked, he'd have to retreat while shooting. He might be able to use the armor's boosters to reach it quickly and…

The zerg slowly retreated into the darkness.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

And then he heard her.

"Hi Gallus…" Her voice came from all around him, an unnatural, reverberating echo to it. From within the darkness, she slowly emerged, carapace shining in the light from the sun outside, her mane made of chitinous tentacles rather than hair, although somehow still retaining her original colors. Her horn was a little longer, jagged and splitting slightly at the tip. Vicious-looking scythes stood at attention, emerging from her back, and gossamer wings buzzed lightly. She was taller, as tall as he was in his armor, slimmer and decidedly more sure of herself.

"Sweetie Belle…"

End Chapter

Author's Note

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Chapter 013: Join Me

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 013: Join Me

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Sweetie Belle followed her zerg as they dug a tunnel under the surface of Agria. Right now her plan was proceeding as planned. Following the Queen's advice, she wasn't worried about the loss of zerg. That was simply not their role… to survive, that is.

She hadn't intended to reveal herself yet, but seeing Gallus on top of the rocky mountain he was standing on, like a knight in shining armor… too good to pass.

She had ordered her zerg to dig under him, to bring him down here to where they now both stood. He, the wary hero; she, the queenly zerg.

"Gallus," she whispered as she slowly paced around him. To think, back home, she had been initially intimidated by griffons. Their sharp beaks and claws, their confident, cocky demeanor, the rippling, tight muscles under their coat, their large, long wings. When she had seen Gabby for the first time, she was afraid she was going to be eaten, even if she had logically known that wasn't going to happen.

But now, Gallus seemed intimidated by her. It was just so funny! He followed her warily, a terran weapon held in his armored claw, but he wasn't firing. She slowly tightened her circle around him, until she was standing in front of him, looking at him eye to eye.

She smiled, a bit self-consciously. He had gorgeous eyes. It had always been one of her favorite things about him, ever since she had met him. Sure, his confidence was admirable, but those eyes expressed a lot more than contempt or defensiveness… they always had. And she had noticed his looks, just as surely as he had noticed hers as they had crossed paths more and more often in Twilight's School of Friendship.

The thought of home deviated her thoughts. He was here. He was alive!

Grinning at this, Sweetie lunged forward.

Gallus had always liked Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. They were energetic, fun, adventurous and—Sweetie and Apple Bloom particularly—really pretty. Not that he would ever admit that to professor Applejack or professor Rarity. But regardless of what they were, they had never been seductresses, and Sweetie suddenly acting like this… was, well. Nerve-wracking. Especially in this situation. Anywhere else, he might have played along.

In a cavern, surrounded by deadly creatures that were for some reason just hovering outside his senses? Eenope. Nopenopenope.

So, he watched her warily, anticipating her attack. Raynor had warned him this wasn't her anymore. The creature in front of her might look and sound like Sweetie, but her sudden sensuality and aggressiveness, and well, the fact that she wasn't a pony anymore were stark reminders that she was not herself anymore.

So why was he having so much trouble pulling the trigger?

"Gallus," she whispered, laughing a little.

He swallowed and turned with her slowly until she stopped in front of him. Oddly enough, she wasn't monstrous as he had expected. She looked very similar to her old self, just… as if someone had mixed her up with Ocellus or something. Chitin and insectile features aside, this was definitely Sweetie Belle.

Suddenly her eyes went wide and she grinned showing off her brand new fangs and pincers and launched herself at him. Instinctively, Gallus took a desperate shot, knowing full well that he was dead, there was not way he would survive… the hug?

"You're alive! Oh my gosh, Gallus. I was so worried!"

"What?"

She held him close with almost crushing force. Despite his armor, he didn't think he would be able to struggle out of the surprise embrace, but she wasn't trying to kill him or bite him, she was laughing, just like she had on the train.

"S-Sweetie?" he stammered.

She sniffed, and leaned back, grinning. "Who else?!"

"But… you… zerg… what?"

"Oh." Sweetie blinked and stepped back. She glanced up at the tip of her blade and looked at Gallus quizzically.

"Sorry, I thought you were going to eat me," Gallus said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Eat you?" Sweetie asked, leaning slightly on him. "I knew terrans were dirty-minded, but I didn't know it was contagious."

"I-what?! You're the—you know what? Forget it." Gallus stepped back and glared at her. She was a conundrum right now. He knew Raynor hadn't been lying to him, so... why? "What the hell are you doing here, Sweetie?"

"Well, duh." Sweetie waved her hoof around. "I'm stopping the zerg from tearing you apart."

"You know what I mean.'

Sweetie sighed. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

"And?"

She shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. I need to defeat Raynor. Queen's orders."

"Those are civilians out there, Sweetie," Gallus hissed.

Sweetie looked away. "I know."

"They can't fight you."

"I know."

"You can let them—"

"No!" Sweetie interrupted, glaring at him with an intensity that almost made him step back. It was mostly his survival instinct that stopped him. He somehow knew he couldn't step back in front of the zerg. But why?

"It's because I'm talking to you as an equal," Sweetie said, as if reading his mind. "Gallus, just… come with me. Let me finish the mission and come with me. We can go back to the Que—"

"Are you crazy, Sweetie?" Gallus asked. "How can you allow this to happen? Forget that. You give up on the zerg and come with me. Let's go back home."

Sweetie sighed. "I'm sorry, Gallus. If I could, I'd let the people leave… I wish I could just convince everycreature to live in harmony… but right now… I have my orders."

The ground around them shook suddenly and Gallus looked around with worry. "What happened?!"

"I won." Sweetie stared him straight in the eye, but did not smile. One of her scythes gently picked up his helmet and gave it to him. Now that he was paying attention to it, he could hear the faint, desperate chatter. "I'm sorry Gallus, I wish there could have been another way."

"What did you do, Sweetie?" Gallus asked, his throat tight.

"I wish we were on the same side of things…" Sweetie said, stepping back. "But you have to go, if you want to go back to the Terrans."

"I—" despite the stupidity of the action itself, Gallus embraced Sweetie. "Come with me," he whispered into her ear as the zerg around him hissed and growled. "Please. Please come with me. You're still you. Somehow. You can't be—you can't be a monster."

"Gallus…" Sweetie said softly, embracing him against her. "I-you will not think the same once you're out there. Please remember that I'm still your friend. I'm sorry."

"But Sweet—" Gallus' shout was interrupted by two large pincers grasping him roughly (but not with deadly force) as a mutalisk flew up with him to the top of the mountain, and doing a back roll, threw him up in the air, where he had no option but to turn on his engines or splatter on the floor later.

"Sweetie!" he shouted , flying down close to the top of the hole, but deep under, all the zerg were gone. It was then that he looked around and gasped. The main road, where the vehicles had been going through, had collapsed completely, and swarms of zerglings were flooding into the giant ravine that had been created. In a daze, he put on his helmet and flew around.

"Gallus! Kid! Fly back to us, we need to get out of here!"

"Raynor," Gallus gasped, "what happened? I was trapped in the mountain…"

It took a moment for Raynor to reply. "Nydus worms. They collapsed the road when the transportation vehicles were on it, and then they did the same to the spaceport. They hid their attack while other worms acted normally."

Gallus could tell Raynor was barely keeping his emotions in check. He glanced down at the devastation. There were thousands of terran lives down there, being killed by zerg. By Sweetie. He closed his eyes for a second and then banked to the side, changing his direction back to camp, and evacuation.

"I'm sorry, Raynor," he said, Sweetie's exact words to him echoing in his head.

"It's not your fault, kid. The zerg are changing. And we need to do the same."

"Sweetie Belle."

"My Queen." Sweetie Belle stood on the jagged rocks that had once been one of the mountains that had protected the road from immediate swarming. Its side had collapsed underground along with the road and trees, leaving something that looked like a fang, curving slightly at the top towards the road, like the mauws that were about to close around the survivors. "Raynor has fled, I have succeeded."

"I know, my pet, well done. I see there are still terrans left alive."

"They're ours now. To be infested or killed."

"You do not sound happy, Sweetie. Shouldn't you relish your first victory against Raynor? The fact that you have fulfilled my demand?"

"I-I do," Sweetie said as she watched the people that had survived the fall being shepherded under her orders into a large group of thousands of individuals. All those lives. In her hooves. "But I don't—I still believe we could do better, my Queen."

Kerrigan was silent.

"I will follow your orders, my Queen, and I will follow them gladly," Sweetie continued, feeling that perhaps she was making a dent. Tiny as it was. "Can I… try to make them work for us?"

"What possible use could terrans have for us, Sweetie?" Kerrigan's voice was gentle. "The terrans will not bend to our will."

Sweetie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought about everything she had learned from Twilight. Everything she had learned here. Equestria might not be perfect, but it had worked for multiple species to work together. And the binding glue was...

"We can show them that they can be part of us," Sweetie said. "We've got their lives in our claws. They have no escape. No means of survival but our generosity. If we're honest with them and give them the option to serve and help us, if we show some kindness… terrans are creative, they build amazing things. They can build them for us. Especially if we gain their loyalty."

"Abathur is reminding me that we don't need those structures or weapons. That their loyalty is irrelevant, and kindness for them is a weakness. I'm inclined to agree."

"No, we don't need the structures" Sweetie agreed. "He is right. But that's not all, and you know it. We need to change. This battle was won thinking outside the box. Right now, my Queen… there's not that many zerg that can do that."

When Kerrigan didn't reply, Sweetie looked down at the masses of people. She couldn't hear them, but they were looking for their loved ones, fearing for their lives. Those that fought back were killed immediately and messily. She knew she wasn't getting her point across, especially to Abathur who was… her eyes widened.

"My Queen, up until now, infestation has always a violent, immediate effect, and we usually just get mindless drones correct? But sufficiently long exposure will still infest individuals, right? What if… what if we could… experiment?"

Silence. Then, "Abathur is intrigued. And I share his curiosity. Go on."

Sweetie gulped, looking down at the people. "W-what if… we infest them slowly? What if they cooperate in becoming something new? What if… the results of that is an actual evolution?"

"Why are they herding us like this?" Ariel Hanson muttered, as she knelt next to an injured soldier. She had managed to stop the blood from flowing, but had to wonder what was even the point at this stage. They were all dead or infested.

Thousands of her people had looked to her for guidance, and she had failed them. Even Raynor hadn't been able to win this fight, was that just an indication that the zerg were going to win? Did it matter?

She looked down at the pin on her breast pocket. It was the coat of arms for her colony; the planet Agria and the caduceus behind it. It represented a world dedicated to science. Some of the universe's most brilliant Terran minds were here with their families. And the dominion had abandoned them. They were alone—truly alone—and at the mercy of the zerg.

And zerg were not known for being merciful.

A loud roar cut through the din of voices, immediately silencing the thousands of people there. She heard loud stomps, and the ground shook under them as—not one—three ultralisks approached the corralled people of planet Agria.

Above them several types of zerg flew and the people started panicking. The ultralisks roared again, but this time there was something different. A voice. Young. Almost childish in how cheerful it sounded. "Citizens of Agria, I will speak to whoever is your leader now."

Ariel swallowed, but then took a deep breath and started moving through the crowds of people. At first, they didn't budge, but as they slowly turned when they felt her push, and recognized her, they slowly started spreading to the sides, stone-faced and scared, providing a straight path that kept opening up towards the ultralisks.

She started walking, noticing others had emerged from the masses to join her. She recognized the security administrator for Hudderstown, and the mayor of Green Acres among them. They all gave each other wary looks as they made their way to the front, where the strangest zerg of all waited for them.

"My name is Sweetie Belle," the zerg introduced herself, "and I have an offer for you and your people."

The security administrator for Hudderstown spat on her. "We will never—"

He never finished his speech. With lightning-fast movements, the zerg's scythes dismembered him in a shower of blood. It was so fast he probably didn't even have time to register pain.

Ariel trembled. She felt a shiver, stuck right between her shoulder blades. But this was… "He didn't speak for all of us," she blurted out, earning a resigned look from the mayor of Green Acres, who nodded and stepped back with the others, allowing her to take the spotlight.

The Sweetie Belle zerg looked at her up and down, and smiled. "Great! Then let me explain what I have in mind."

End Chapter

Author's Note

So, this is outside of the regular publishing date, but I feel like I haven't been releasing enough chapters lately. I could even consider this last Thursday's chapter. :twilightsheepish:

Chapter 014: Coming to Terms

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 014:

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Sweetie Belle stood in the meeting room with the terran leader for Agria, Ariel Hanson, and a few other local leaders, all seated except for the scientist.

"You want me to do what?"

"I want you to work for me," Sweetie Belle said, prowling back and forth in front of the human, 'much like a griffon would', she thought, amused. "I want you to heal the injured humans, give up your weapons, and work with the zerg I assign to you to see if we can find common ground."

Ariel crossed her arms. "And why would I do that? You're going to eat us!"

"Maybe," Sweetie acknowledged, "but then again, maybe not. I don't have any particular hatred for humans, and my friend Gallus is hanging out with Raynor… I think the best chance we have to get along together would be with a small control group." She glanced around. "Like say… your colony."

"Why should I believe that you won't just kill us all?" Ariel insisted. "Zergs and Humans have never coexisted together without violence. And then there's the infestation… the more we are exposed to you, the more we're likely to change."

"That is true," Sweetie said, stopping Ariel in her tracks. "But right now, you don't have many choices. I'm trying to save your life and that of your people, but cooperation is needed. You know that you are of no real value to the Dominion, or they would have helped you. This world is considered lost to the Zerg."

Ariel looked thoughtful, so Sweetie continued, trying to channel her inner Twilight Sparkle, "At this time I'm the Zerg Queen in charge of this planet. I want to prove to my queen that we don't have to annihilate everyone in order for things to work in our favor, if we can manage to prove to her that we can survive together this could be the start of a new way of things. Believe me, doing things this way… it needs to work if we want all our species to eventually coexist."

"What about infestations?" Ariel prodded. "Exposure to zerg usually will lead to that, can you control it too? If you don't mean us harm, why can't you let us go?"

"I am not allowed to let any more colonies go." Sweetie weighed her options and sighed."I hate politics."

This drew a snort from someone in the room, but she didn't acknowledge it, even if the other terrans smelled like they were about to die of fear.

"I originally come from a place where we have several different species living on the same planet," Sweetie said, drawing everyone's attention as she approached one of the windows and glanced outside. "It wasn't perfect, but we made it work. Just on my specific species alone we had four distinct physical differences… wings, horns, lack of both, or both included. And then we had over ten completely different species, all sapient, all living on one single planet."

That started a round of murmurs.

"And what happened when the Zerg got there? Did you all get infested?" a man, who Sweetie thought had been identified as the Mayor earlier, spoke up.

"Nothing. We Zerg have never been there," Sweetie said. "There was no infestation in Equestria."

"We don't want to be monsters! Just because you were infested doesn't mean—" Another terran spoke up. Head of agriculture, was it?

"I was turned into a zerg by terrans experimenting on me," Sweetie interrupted, her voice turning cold, "after they shot me and my friends while we were lost."

She glared at him, feeling her pincers twitch in aggravation. She took two steps forward, holding him in place with her eyes, and a voice full of venom. "They drilled and split my horn almost to the root even though I begged them to stop! Terrans stabbed my back with needles the size of your finger! They never stopped even though I cried for help! I screamed for hours! I thought I'd never see my sister again, or anycreature I knew! An—" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath when she realized she had started shouting. "It was Queen Kerrigan who came for me." Her voice was softer now.

The silence in the room was palpable now. Ariel looked horrified, stuck between wanting to comfort her, and reminding herself that zerg were the enemy.

"Even though that happened," Sweetie continued into that silence, "I held onto the hope that other Terrans were not like that. Twilight, my former teacher, told me to always remember that everyone was different, and deserved a chance. In Equestria we had our own share of sociopaths, monsters, and extremists. But I understood that not all creatures were the same just because of a species or trait."

She snorted. "My first friend here was a protoss by the name of Zeratul," she said, making them lean back in surprise. "He told me that those terrans did not represent all of you." She looked them all in the eye before she walked to the front of the room. "I want to prove Twilight and him right, and I want to prove to the Queen that not all is going to be lost to war or greed."

She stopped pacing and turned to face them. "I'm not going to lie. You will be infested or die, there's no escaping that," she said. "But you can choose to do this willingly and accept that change and evolution are also parts of life. This way you still remain individuals."

She raised her head, looking down at all the seated representatives with a small measure of disdain."If you'd rather think that all you're going to be is monsters after you change, then let me know now. That way, we can do it Kerrigan's way, so when it happens—and it will—you won't remember anything. You will effectively die and be nothing more than mindless beasts merely resembling terrans. It's your choice. Limited as it is."

She walked to the door. "You have two hours to tell me your answer," she said over her shoulder as she closed it behind her.

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion █

Raynor was arguing with Matt and Tychus, but Gallus' mind was not on them. His thoughts were still on Agria, with a certain young zerg queen. The planet had been completely overwhelmed. When they had escaped the atmosphere, he had seen thousands of zerg pods flying down, with several spaceships of the invasive species surrounding the lost world.

A world that Sweetie had conquered for her queen.

It was unreal, but so was the fact that she… she didn't just look vaguely like the Sweetie he knew. It was her. Sure, she looked slightly different… she was taller, for one, and much deadlier, and moved with deceptive sensuality… but more than that… she sounded like her, she talked, laughed, and felt like her.

She had had him in her grasp, there was no way that he could have escaped, and yet she had allowed him to go unchallenged. She had held her zerg back while talking to him, and despite the fact that she was his enemy at the time… she had felt honestly happy to see him. Or at least that was his impression.

He wasn't sure what Raynor's experience with this Kerrigan creature was, but there was no denying to him that Sweetie was there. Maybe a little twisted, maybe looking different, and deadlier, and possibly sexy—he hadn't really made his mind up on that one, on the one claw, scythes; on the other, scythes—yet, underlying those changes was the sweet pony unicorn he had really only started to get to know during their trip.

"So what's the plan, Jimmy?" Tychus' voice made Gallus look up from his musings to study the three terrans around the map.

"We can't do anything here for now… the majority of the fringe worlds have been attacked, and it seems like something's going on in the Meinhoff System, where most of the survivors are gathering," Matt offered, pulling out a holographic display of the planet. "Information is vague, but it seems some sort of plague has hit the colonists that made it there."

"But… we can't just leave here," Gallus blurted out. "What about Agria?"

Raynor sighed. "Kid, we got lucky that we managed to evacuate whoever we could, but the world is completely in the hands of the zerg. We can't help them, or your girlfriend. But we can help others."

Tychus growled, shaking his head. "I don't like it, Jimmy. We should just concentrate on getting our hands on things we can sell to Moebius. All this runnin' around, helping colonists is not going to help us if we can't finance anything."

Gallus was about to say something, but a look at Raynor—who shook his head—made him clamp his beak shut.

"If this is what I think it is, this needs to be contained," Raynor said, locking eyes with Tychus. "We do that, or we risk having far worse things at our back when we carry on with the big fight." He shook his head, turning to Matt. "We failed the people of Agria… it's time to lick our wounds and get back into the action where we can make a difference."

He walked over to Gallus, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We can talk later, for now get some rest."

Gallus sighed. "Right."

When Ariel stepped out of the building where she and the other surviving leaders of the Agria colony had been discussing their options, she had been amazed to see the calm. Humans still looked fearful, but also, in awe… and she couldn't blame them. She could hear a song, seeming to resonate all around them, and what really made that special, was that the zerg… all of the zerg… were simply standing there, swaying to it.

She had never, in her wildest dreams, imagined she'd be less than a block away from a mesmerized Ultralisk that was rocking its head gently to a song.

The song wasn't in a language she knew, but it carried in the wind, clear and warm. It was an odd thing to hear, in this place, at this time, but it was undeniably beautiful. Even other humans were listening to it, although she was glad to notice they weren't mesmerized like the zerg themselves.

She followed it and stopped, once again surprised. Zerg Queen Sweetie Belle, the monster that had conquered their world, trapped them, and given them an ultimatum barely over an hour ago, was sitting on a bench across from the camp's hospital. She was gently stroking the hair of a little girl that had curled up next to her, and somehow fallen asleep.

The look in Sweetie's eyes was so gentle that for a moment, all she could see was a pure white unicorn with a purple and pink mane singing to a lonely, lost child. She gulped, recognizing something else in the zerg's eyes: longing. Sadness. It was just for a second, and then it was gone, along with the song when the queen noticed her and bid her come closer with her other hoof.

Ariel licked her lips nervously, but approached them, noticing that the zerg all around had returned to their normal, threatening behavior.

"Her name is Suzie. She's lost her mother," Sweetie said, glancing down at the little girl. "I don't know if she's here in this world or if she was one of the few that were able to escape with Raynor."

Ariel took a deep breath. "We'll ask around," she said, "but Suzie here won't be the only one."

"I know," Sweetie said. "My queen is pleased with me for now, and eager to see what we make of this place. Since I'll keep authority until told otherwise, I want you to assign people to the effort of reuniting families. If one of their members, parents or children, are injured, they still should be kept aware of their location." She narrowed her eyes. "Children should not be separated from their parents for any reason."

Ariel nodded, but the order itself surprised her. She needed to know more, if she was going to somewhat attempt to trust this creature. "It's an odd order… Throughout history, separating families has been a convenient way of intimidating and controlling others. I'm surprised that as conquerors you wouldn't do that."

"And you call us monsters." Sweetie shook her head, looking down at the little girl. "I know what it's like to be separated against my will from my family. The thought of using a child to threaten parents, or a parent to scare a child… it sickens me."

"You are not like any zerg I've ever heard of," Ariel said, almost chuckling.

"And neither will be you," Sweetie countered, "if you choose to."

Ariel sighed. "We're split. Some of us want to try your way… keep our memories, our individuality and sense of self, but trusting a zerg is very hard. The others don't want to participate in your experiment."

"Suzie!" A voice called, panicked, and a woman came running over to them. She was dressed as a farmer, a bit dirty, but otherwise in good health. She stopped dead when she saw Sweetie over her sleeping daughter, tears and fear in her eyes.

Sweetie let out a tiny sigh, and gently shook Suzie's shoulder. "Suzie? Suzie… someone's here to see you."

"Hmm?" the little girl yawned and cuddled up more into Sweetie's side, making the zerg giggle, and her mother almost screeched in horror. Thankfully, she was able to hold it in, and Sweetie nudged the girl again until she opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing them before staring around and spotting the woman next to Ariel. "Mommy!"

She jumped down from the bench and ran over to hug her mother. "Mommy! I spoke to the Zerg Queen!"

The woman picked her daughter up and, giving Sweetie a look that was an odd mix of horror and gratitude, as well as a small bow, started walking away. But Ariel and Sweetie could still hear her talking.

"She was so nice! Her name is Sweetie Belle! And she can sing!"

The pair watched the walk back into the camp, then Sweetie sighed. "We don't have a choice. We have to make this work… if the leaders cannot make up their minds, then we should ask the people." She turned to look at Ariel. "Reunite the families first, as quickly as possible. Then I want you and the others to join me in front of all the terrans here. We'll give them the choice."

Ariel swallowed, but nodded, watching as Sweetie jumped into the air and flew away. She turned around and headed back to the others, wondering once again what her own choice would be.

End Chapter

Author's Note

I'm returning to work. This story, as well as Ranger, Sparkle's Number 1 Assistant, Sunset's Isekai and others will be worked on as we go on. I don't have a set schedule, other than I want to publish something every week. Thank you for being patient with me, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as usual all your comments and feedback are welcome.

~WD

Chapter 016: Getting the Message Across

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 016: Getting the Message Across

2504, Koprulu Sector, Korhal IV █

The image on the screen showed Sweetie Belle, pincers open, a snarl on her face as one her scythes cut a marine in half, while the other impaled another straight through the helmet.

"What do we know of this new zerg queen?"

"Officially?"

"All of it."

"She's an experiment gone rogue. Unknown species. Unknown origins. It was established almost immediately upon capture that she was sentient, but in danger of dying. She was added to the current zerg experiments on planet Zuras II, and modified. She had unprecedented levels of control over psionics, which seemed to be focused on her horn. She was not fully developed as far as the scientists could tell, but neither was she an infant or child. A teenager, if you will. She was rescued by the Queen of Blades and surprisingly inducted into her swarm with full cognitive capabilities."

"That is unusual. Kerrigan would not share power so easily." A pause. "Change like this… concerns me."

"Power and responsibility. She was tasked with conquering other planets, including Corsaire 2, and most recently Agria. She has battled, survived, and even defeated Raynor in Agria. It is also reported that she has as of yet unconfirmed effects on zerg. During the test labs other subjects seemed to respond to her in unusual ways."

"Unusual how?"

"Unknown, those files were destroyed when the base was taken by the Queen of Blades."

"I see. It interests me that she has been given so much freedom. It is unusual for an unproven entity to suddenly be trusted so easily."

"Well, there are theories, sir."

"Oh?"

"Indeed. As I mentioned before, Corsaire 2 was taken by this new queen, but the terrans were allowed to leave unmolested once they had surrendered and stopped fighting. Reports have come through from surviving on-the-ground troops that this young queen was unusually forgiving. Friendly even.

"We have reports from two troopers and two sisters who traveled with the young queen to meet with General Warfield. They all reported the same thing; the young queen was displeased with the loss of life. She stopped the massacre as soon as she could, personally saving one of the terran sisters from her own troops and escorting them safely to the rendezvous point."

"How peculiar."

"Although the official announcement was that General Warfield carved a way through for those he had saved to evacuate safely, his actual report explicitly stated that queen… Sweetie Belle—"

"Sweetie Belle? Is this confirmed?"

"Um, yes. Queen Sweetie Belle, upon hearing that operations to evacuate survivors would not happen lest the zerg were far enough for the ships to come in, actually ordered her zerg to retreat in order to allow for the colonists to evacuate."

"Could this… Sweetie Belle zerg be a possible ally against Kerrigan?"

"Doubtful. The Queen of Blades would not give such power to another if she doubted their loyalty."

"Sweetie Belle. I do not believe that name is appropriate for a zerg queen to be known amongst my subjects. Think of a new name for her. Inspire fear. If she is as forgiving as she seems, then make her a liar."

"Yes, your majesty."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion Bar █

"...and with a heavy heart it is that we deal with the loss of planet Agria and many more at the claws of the Queen of Blades and her pet, the Maven of Lies. Through violence and treachery these two abominations have spread the zerg across our territory, and allowed pirates such as Jim Raynor to take advantage of the weakened colonies."

He clenched his fist, staring straight at the camera. "But fear not, citizens of the Dominion, for our vengeance shall be swift. We will rain our ire on them like the fist of an angry god!"

"Why are you watchin' that, kid?" Raynor sat down at the table where Gallus was glaring at the TV. "It ain't good for ya."

Gallus snorted. "This terran, Mengsk. He has a gift for theatrics."

It was Raynor's turn to snort. "You can say that again." He glanced at the griffon. In the months after the attack on Agria he had taken to training with his troops, and had slowly started to build up more muscle. He was much more confident in his battle armor, more experienced with it, good at following orders, and thus more effective in fights, sometimes even taking the lead when appropriate.

It was a bit hard to imagine that this warrior was really little more than a young adult. He had a diligence to him now, a newfound purpose… whether that purpose was something Raynor considered wise… well, he wasn't one to judge, considering his own situation.

"Here we are, busting our feathertails to save people, and what does he do? He just spits on all the sacrifices and friends we've lost for what, just for ratings. Because he's desperate for his people to like him. Between him and his bootlicking mouthpiece, Vermillion, he's got millions of people fooled."

"They're fooled because they want to be kid," Raynor said, shrugging. "Doesn't make it better, but anyone with half a brain should be able to see past the lies. Or they do, but they don't care. To them, we're nothing more than names and numbers. Names of people they should hate, and numbers… not people."

Gallus sighed. "It's not right," he mumbled. "And now he's spitting on Sweetie's name…"

"That he'll keep doin'. Fear is a powerful tool. Unfortunately, in that case, there's more than the usual xenophobia at work. Zerg really are that dangerous, whether they are the adorable kind or not."

"I know." Gallus tore his eyes away from the TV. "How are you doing? That… encounter in Tyrador VIII…"

"I'll be fine," Raynor interrupted. He glanced down at his drink.

"Any news?"

Raynor shook his head. "Nothing. We've sent scouts over to Sweetie's sector, but she's got that area as secure as zerg can make it. Not even the Protoss have had an easier time trying to invade it to purge the planets there specifically."

"Zeratul?"

Raynor shook his head. "Not this time… it was other acquaintances. I'm not sure what's happening there, but when even the protoss are having second thoughts… anyway, I hear Selendis is in charge of that, I'm sure we'll hear from them either way."

"Do you think they'll kill Sweetie?" Gallus' voice was low, even.

Raynor chuckled. "Kid, if there's one thing I've learnt is that zerg Queens are not that easy to kill. If she's half as strong as she seems to be, she'll be able to escape."

Gallus frowned, but nodded.

"I came to tell you that we know where we're headed next. Better get your gear ready, it ain't gonna be pretty."

Gallus and Raynor looked up at the TV, where Mengsk was shaking his fist. "We will retake our planets, our colonies and then chase these monsters until they are nothing but a barely remembered nightmare!"

Gallus shook his head. "Where I come from… Nightmares are not just something you can forget." He started walking towards the exit. "Nightmares are real, they haunt you, they come down from the darkness between stars and take the light away. If he really thinks he's got nothing to fear… he is very mistaken."

Raynor watched the griffon in silence, a chill slowly working its way down his spine. "I hope you're wrong, kid."

"This sector is under the control of the new Zerg Queen?" Selendis asked, overlooking the several planets in the system they were currently monitoring.

"That is correct," one of the disciples reported.

"Is there any indication that they aim to—" she was interrupted by a flashing light.

"Executor, we are being hailed."

She strode forth, so she could look at the screen unhindered. "Is it Terrans?"

"No…" the disciple's voice carried a deep sense of disbelief, something he should work on, she mused. "It's from the Zerg Queen."

"So she wishes to speak to us before the battle? Very well then." Selendis drew herself up, tensing in anticipation. "Put her through."

She had heard that this zerg was different from any seen before. That hadn't given her comfort: Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades was a zerg like no other, after all, and she had been a bane on the Protoss for as far as she had existed.

This creature, this zerg—for it was a zerg, there was no doubt about that—however did not seem as malevolent, or even threatening as the Queen of Blades. And this put Selandis more on edge than if it had been a horrible abomination, threatening their existence.

"Greetings! It seems you are investigating zerg space. As you must be aware by now, it is highly inadvisable to try and fly straight through here. If you wish to engage in violent actions, please leave a contact number."

"Contact number?" Selendis muttered.

Undeterred, the zerg continued, "if you need assistance in re-mapping your trajectory, contact your local government for advice, consult the star-charts, or better yet, go back to where you came from. At this time we are not looking for ambassadorial exchanges, trading agreements, or open borders. All tourist attractions in this sector have been closed down for the time being. Thank you!"

This was followed by a short beep, and after several moments of silence, the screen simply went blank as communication was dropped.

Selendis stood there for a moment, unsure on how to react. Finally, she turned an imperious look to the disciples in charge of communications. "What just happened?"

Incredulity echoed once more around her, and it was not just the disciples that expressed it. "It seems that it was a pre-recorded message, Executor."

"A-a pre-recorded message?" Selendis repeated, still trying to process what had just transpired.

"It is set on a loop, repeating the signal at specific times. Our calculations indicate that it correlates to two units of what Terrans call hours."

"This is highly irregular. This Queen is not acting like a zerg, and that is dangerous." Selandis could already feel a headache coming. "We might need more information. Contact Jim Raynor. I believe he was last reported in the vicinity of this sector."

"Of course, Executor."

It took but a few moments for Jim Raynor to appear on her screen. "Greetings, Jim Raynor."

"Selendis," the Terran responded with a deferential nod of his head. It was hard to read terran expressions, but his voice sounded unsure. "To what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"We are monitoring zerg activity in this quadrant, and I heard of a new zerg queen rising under The Queen of Blades' banner," she explained. "We are wary of them expanding closer to our territories."

"Ah," Raynor nodded. "I had heard about your incursions. We have kept track of things as well, but although she serves Kerrigan, she has not attempted to expand her territory so far since their initial push." He sighed. "That's not to say we haven't encountered her and Kerrigan in other planets, but those are predictably closer to Korhal."

"Indeed. This new queen's actions are a deviation from zerg expansionism and all consuming hunger, and thus we have remained hesitant to initiate our purge. Recently, however, a new development has occurred."

"Oh?"

"We received a message. Transmitting it to you now." She nodded at the disciple who had stayed at attention, waiting for just that order.

She waited patiently as Raynor listened to the message, trying to read his expressions. Knowledge of terran body-language could be of potential use in the future, after all. There was some twitching of his mouth, but nothing she could identify either way.

She did however hear a snort, and Raynor did as well, turning to face someone outside of the video. "Anything to add, Gallus?"

"Nothing, sorry. It's just… funny hearing Sweetie channeling her inner Rarity."

"Jim Raynor," she spoke up, "I do not understand. Is this queen channeling a new strangeness?"

"No, no," the voice responded before Raynor could. "Rarity was Sweetie's sister. Is. Anyway, it's a good sign that she's done this."

"Send the Protoss to voicemail?" Raynor asked, stepping back so she could see the curious creature that was speaking.

"Well, yes, but in her best imitation of her sister's voice." The creature shrugged. "It means she's not transformed into an unthinking beast. As much as I will fully agree that that message is not going to stop Mengsk from sending troops to attack, at least smarter people will not just jump into an unnecessary fight."

"Unnecessary?" Selendis raised her head, glaring at the creature. "The zerg consume everything, and destroy everything. They are chaos."

"Well," it said, "that might be. But ponies are creatures of Harmony, and Sweetie Belle's sister is the Element of Generosity, one of the six Elements of Harmony. Even Discord wasn't able to defeat them. If anycreature can make sure the zerg at least don't kill everything in their path… it's Sweetie."

"Delusional." Selendis shook her head. "Does this creature speak for you, Raynor?"

"I don't know what to believe," he replied, grudgingly, by the tone of voice. "When I met Sweetie the first time, she offered to let us leave in peace in exchange for technology we couldn't leave behind. When she conquered Aria, she didn't attack any retreating ships, nor did she follow beyond what Kerrigan claimed as her territory."

"In any case," the creature Raynor had identified as 'Gallus' spoke up, "it's a moot point. You won't believe us because it's hard to believe. I know your history with the zerg, but… please give her a chance at least to present her case."

"I shall think about it," Selendis said. "But I cannot promise anything. The Purge of the Zerg cannot be stopped for sentimentality."

"I guess that's the best I can hope for," the creature replied, nodding in thanks. Rough around the edges for both Terran and Protoss culture, but he seemed polite. "Did Sweetie ever reply to your message?"

Selendis tilted her head in confusion. "We did not send her any messages."

"Oh." Raynor cleared his throat, a technique terrans used occasionally to underscore a slight discomfort, not necessarily of a physical nature. "Well, you're supposed to speak up your message after the beep."

End Chapter

Author's Note

A bit more levity in this chapter, mixed with the propaganda that Mengsk uses against our heroes.

Before you say anything, I know that Selendis is ultra hard-core. I never said here she was going to be Sweetie's friend, but our favorite pony-spacebug is a bit different than she is used to. We'll see what happens next.

Chapter 017: Securing the Colony

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 017: Securing the Colony

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

The screen in Ariel's lab lit up, and a decidedly uncomfortable-looking Protoss appeared on it. What exactly made her look uncomfortable wasn't clear. Perhaps it was the slight shift from side to side before gathering herself into a militaristic posture. Or perhaps it was that she had stared off to the side as if to confirm that she was indeed transmitting.

"This is Executor Selendis. Your expansion has been noticed, Young Queen, and we have come to purge you from this part of the universe." She hesitated for just a second. "I have replied to your request for additional information for our approach. When we arrive, you will feel our wrath. Anan pokahl."

Ariel gulped, glancing at Sweetie Belle, who shook her head sadly. "Well, we figured they would only be confused by the voicemail only so long. But seriously, what a stick in the mud."

"Sweetie—my Queen," Ariel gritted through her teeth, "the Protoss have a long tradition of destroying any zerg they find. My—our colony here will be completely obliterated by them unless you destroy them first!"

"Yeah…" Sweetie sighed. "That would be a problem. Unfortunately Kerrigan is currently occupied, and I don't want to distract her… that and I am supposed to join her soon. This is not something I should ignore. I don't really want you and Suzie to die just due to association."

Ariel stared at her.

"Okay, or the colony," Sweetie granted, "but I do have my favorites and I'm not going to pretend I don't!"

Ariel rubbed her temples. "Why—okay, no. That's for later. What do you intend to do about the army of Protoss approaching us?"

Sweetie stared at her. "I… you know, I haven't had tea in a while."

"You what?"

"I feel like tea, I'll go get some tea… or since I'm a queen I should have someone bring me tea? I should have asked Twilight what princesses do, but I never really thought I'd be one."

"You don't have a plan?!"

"Fine, let me ask my queen." Sweetie closed her eyes. 'My Queen, an army of Protoss approaches Agria.'

"I am currently in battle and unable to send more forces your way, Sweetie Belle. Take this as an opportunity to prove yourself to me and learn more about our enemies. Deal with them."

Sweetie sent a general feeling of understanding the orders and accepting the challenge before smiling with the confidence only the clueless could muster. "I guess we'll wing it."

"Queen or not, I swear…"

"Don't worry, if this works out, I get the feeling Kerrigan might do it for you."

"Executor, we are receiving a message from the Zerg."

If Protoss rolled their eyes, she would have. "We have already replied to their voicemail request."

"This is a live transmission."

Selendis straightened. "Patch it through."

The Zerg Queen on the screen was indeed the one that had sent the messages earlier. Selendis studied her as the queen studied her, each measuring the other as was appropriate before battle. Again, the immediate lack of violence or threats threw Serendis off. By now, Kerrigan would have attempted some sort of mockery or provocation.

"Greetings, Selendis," the young queen said, her eyes sparkling with an unknown glint. "I am Queen Sweetie Belle, welcome to Agria."

Even before being turned into a zerg, Selendis had never encountered Sweetie Belle's species, which made reading her even more difficult. The tense aggressiveness of the common zerg, or even the predatorial silent threat of Kerrigan was not present in her. Or if it was, it was very well hidden.

"If your intention is to mock us with your greeting—"

"Oh! Not at all," the queen interrupted, "my sister was very thorough when I was growing up, teaching me to welcome guests properly. I was just doing that. Do pardon me if that was not the way to do so for your people. The only other Protoss greeting I know is well… I simply didn't think you'd take it at face value from me if we just met."

"You know a Protoss greeting?" Selendis repeated. "How would you have learned this? Who could have taught it to someone such as yourself?"

"Rude. Are you implying I am unable to learn new things just because of how I look?" Sweetie asked, raising an appendage to her chest and shrinking back a little, as if she had been threatened.

"I—" Selendis had never seen a zerg like this. She glanced around and saw one of her templars shaking their head disapprovingly. 'What is happening here?' She straightened out. "That was not my intent."

Sweetie smiled, unfolding back into a more casual look. "I'm glad. No true friendship can exist without understanding!"

"Friendship?" Selendis asked, not liking where this was going.

"Yes!" Sweetie nodded firmly. "For friendship is Magic! And as Princess Twilight Sparkle taught me, it starts by understanding each other, or trying to."

"Is that another zerg?"

"Oh. No." The zerg queen's strange ears bent back and she leaned a little to the left, looking down. "No… that was… my sister's best friend, back in my original world."

Selendis nodded. "Understood. Regardless, Queen Sweetie, I am afraid that you are mistaken, I am not here in search of friendship. I am here to purge your planet."

Sweetie tilted her head. "Why?"

"It is the only way to stop infestation. Everything must be purged, or you and your world will be a threat to Protoss—"

"No we won't."

"...to Protoss… what?" Selendis could already feel a headache coming. Why was she even talking to this zerg?

"Because we have no intention of invading Protoss space at all!" Sweetie said, smiling. "That, and this world's infested have already been contained and shipped to Queen Kerrigan. Everyone that remains is terran or zerg."

"What do you mean terrans?" Selendis asked.

"Um, have you scanned Agria?"

If she were human, Selendis would have snorted. "Doing so would have immediately alerted you that we were planning to attack."

"So instead you left us a voice mail?"

The silence on the bridge was palpable.

Since she was only transmitting her image from the chest up, and the rest of her body was out of sight, Selendis slowly curled up her hand into a fist. "Yes," she forced out.

"Well! That was very nice of you!" Queen Sweetie complimented her.

Which didn't make Selendis feel any better about it. But she had done what she had done, and by the Khala, she was going to go through with the whole thing.

"Why don't you do that now?" the zerg offered. "We already know you're here, so you might as well see for yourself what I mean."

Selendis didn't trust this queen, but she nodded to one of her templars to do so.

"Executor. There are terran colonies in this world… unmolested. Nearby groups of zerg have settled into self-contained areas, and the two groups seem to interact somewhat, but we do not detect any known strains of infestation."

Selendis didn't trust this. She needed more information. "What are you planning?"

"Look," Sweetie continued, "my first friend in all of this strange universe I've found myself in, is a Protoss. Granted, he hasn't stopped by since I was turned into a zerg, but I hope he realizes I'm still me."

"You cannot hope to convince us to spare you with such an excuse," Selendis replied, narrowing her eyes when Sweetie chuckled. "Do you find this threat amusing?"

"No, no… it's just, I was just remembering what that protoss said to me, he said: 'You must not give up hope, for it is a force that can lead you to many places. It will keep you strong, and help you in the most dire of straits.'" She shrugged. "It's just… such a nice thing to say to a lost traveler. His words helped me keep my sense of self while the Terrans did this to me."

"Terrans did that to you?" Selendis asked, taken aback. She had assumed… this needed to be reported.

"Yes." Sweetie straightened up. "And as you can see, despite the hate that I should feel for this species, I have endeavored to make it possible to coexist. My Queen is at war with the Terran emperor, Mengsk. I support her, but I do not believe in hate, all-consuming anger, or that peace even with those that would normally rather see us burn is not possible."

Selendis leaned back. The Khala offered no answers to this. The intent was clear to destroy all zerg… but it had not always been so. Alliances had been built before, although inevitably betrayal would come. Somehow though… "I want to believe you," she admitted, "despite the past history of our people. But I see no reason to do so."

Sweetie tapped the tip of her appendage to her chin, seemingly in thought. "Your main concern is our invasion of Protoss space, correct?"

"Among other things," Selendis said, "such as purifying your world of infestation."

"Well, as you can see and you have scanned, there's no risk of the infestation you've seen before happening here."

"That's a lie."

"Okay, that's a lie," Sweetie acknowledged. "There's always risk, I suppose, but I give you my word that this colony will never create the infested you need to destroy." She seemed to shiver. "I was too close to becoming one when I was turned. I hate bringing such a fate to anyone."

"So what do you propose?" Selendis asked.

"Well, why don't you set up a base here or nearby?"

Selendis stared at the queen, unsure if she had heard right. "You want me to do what?"

"Set up a base to keep track of us," Sweetie repeated. "It doesn't have to be here in Agria if you feel that would be a risk to your people. We have scythes and serrated teeth, I get it. It's kinda scary. Just understand that Mengsk has promised to cleanse this system of all alien influence, so you might be targeted as well."

Selendis gave Sweetie a look. "Terrans will never be able to take us down."

"Yeah, I've heard," Sweetie said, nodding. "But I can offer you something even better… if you do agree to work with me and leave a garrison to protect Protoss space… and this world too… my zerg will protect your garrison from any outside force that attacks it as well. And I will let you know in advance if our situation is to change."

"Are you offering an alliance?" Selendis asked, aghast. "What could you possibly—your queen would never…" She fought the instinctual urge to drag a hand down her face. It would be undignified.

"Well," the zerg queen admitted, flinching a little and looking away guilty, if Selendis had to guess, "she said to me: 'Deal with them.' And uh, well, she didn't specifically order me to use violence."

She fought it. She really did, but she couldn't help her own laugh when more than one of the many tense protoss in the bridge practically snorted. Quickly recovering she spoke again, but this time she couldn't help being less aggressive. "Your Queen is not going to be happy about this."

Sweetie shrugged. "Probably not. And I'm sure I'll be punished… but I would never forgive myself for putting the people and yes, even the zerg, that trusted me to make this world work out in danger if I didn't even attempt to stop needless killing."

Selendis nodded. Having a garrison created here would allow Protoss forces to grow relatively quickly. There was no need for immediate violence, and they could supervise this new queen's actions without fear of reprisal long enough to have a force too strong for Zerg or Terran to take down easily. "Very well then. I shall deploy a garrison to one of the nearby moons. Be warned that once they are there, they can summon the Golden Armada at will."

"Do you promise they will not attack us and respect the lives of every sentient living on this planet as long as we have a non-aggression agreement?" Sweetie asked, all seriousness in her demeanor and tone.

"As long as they make no move to invade Protoss space or attack us, and you give me your word that any infested that appear are dealt with appropriately… the Khala will permit this."

Sweetie nodded. "Then I need to make sure that everyone here knows what will be happening. Thank you, Executor Selendis. En taro Adun."

Selendis was taken aback by the words, but she could sense no mockery in Sweetie's words, even though she didn't seem to understand what the words themselves meant. "En taro Adun, Queen Sweetie Belle," she responded as goodbye as the transmission ended.

The bridge was entirely quiet for a few moments before Selendis said aloud what everyone there was wondering, "Did I really just broker a peace treaty with a Zerg Queen?"

"Discord and Celestia on a romantic date, that was scary!"

Ariel was still staring. She looked down at her hands, noticing that her knuckles had turned white with how hard she was gripping the table. Slowly, she forced herself to release it, and took a deep breath. "I can't believe you managed to do that."

"Me neither!" Sweetie Belle's wings were buzzing. She shook her head and started pacing. "Something else has to be going on… do you think—"

"That you have some sort of unknown power?" Ariel interrupted. "Never mind. Stupid question. I am quite certain of that being the case. There's a passive effect you have on those that meet you. I do not think it was an intentional result of the experiments that were done on you, or even Queen Kerrigan's changes." She paused. "When I think of Gallus, I think I also sensed this… on a smaller scale."

"Maybe it's just something natural to the people of my planet. But that's not important right now… I need to think back on the conversation before Kerrigan finds out and kills me." Sweetie sighed. "Alright, so… I promised Selendis stuff I probably shouldn't have."

"Yes. You did."

"But on the other hoof, they'll protect our planet and by extension you and Suzie…"

Ariel raised an eyebrow.

"...and the colonies." Sweetie added. "So that is covered. Now I need to head out to meet my Queen."

Ariel walked over to Sweetie, placing her hand on the young Queen's shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"

Sweetie sighed. "I don't know, but I did what I could… I didn't exactly contradict my queen's orders but… I know this is not what she meant. I'm just trying to be a good queen. I'm not Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, or hay, even Luna. I guess I could have started a fight, but I don't want you all to die without trying to prevent it."

"I know," Ariel said, leaning down to give her a hug, which Sweetie carefully returned. "Be careful."

"Thank you," Sweetie said. She pulled back and nodded to two nearby zerg to approach. She leaned her horn to Ariel's head, surprising her, but she held herself in place as she felt the strange psionics of Sweetie's so-called 'magic' and suddenly… she could feel them. "I'm going to leave two bodyguards with you. This is Snips." She motioned to the Hydralisk. "And this—" she motioned to the Roach "—is Snails. They will be your backup while I'm away. Through them you can calm down the nearby zerg if there's any problem."

Ariel's mind wasn't exactly overwhelmed, but the alien presence in it was… disturbing. She realized then that she could also feel Sweetie, who smiled at her. "What… did you do?"

"Well, you're my right hoof Terran," Sweetie said with a grin, which Ariel noticed now didn't seem as remotely threatening as it had just a few minutes earlier, despite her knowing that her Queen wasn't trying to attack her.

"Am I…"

"More zerg than earlier?" Sweetie asked. "Yes, a little. But you're not exactly infested, you just had unused psionic potential. I don't think it's ever going to be as strong as some of the Terran Specters we have heard about, but it is enough to communicate with your fellow zerg."

"I—"

"The change will eventually happen," Sweetie reminded her gently. "You count me as a friend, and the feeling is mutual. I think of you as my voice here… you should start thinking of yourself as zerg as well, even if you're still… mostly Terran."

Ariel took a shaky, deep breath, but nodded. "This is… harder than I thought it would be. Even something so small…" She shook her head, standing straighter and managing a trembling smile at Snips and Snails. "I'll be okay." She gulped. "Where will you be going?"

"The last message from my Queen included instructions to head to Char," Sweetie responded. "I'll go there and join her. A big battle is brewing… and she'll need my help."

Ariel nodded. "Fair enough… good luck, my Queen."

End Chapter

Chapter 018: Tradeoff

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 018: Tradeoff

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Char █

"I hate this place," Gallus stated. "I hate it so much. You have no idea. It's worse than The Badlands and Griffonstone combined."

"Bah, what's not to like, birdboy?" Tychus asked. "Can't you appreciate the simple beauty of the place?"

"I guess you wouldn't mind the ashes that cover everything, given you smoke cigars inside your helmet," Gallus grumbled, "but ignoring that doesn't make it better. This place is designed to charbroil any creature that steps on it!"

"So what, you're afraid that half of you will be breaded and left out to fry?"

"Even if that worked, this place would make anything exposed to it inedible."

"Exactly. It's just like being back in prison."

"Alright you two, keep it down," Raynor ordered as he approached with another grumpy-looking terran.

"Tychus."

"Warfield. How's the arm?"

"Better than ever," Warfield chuckled, showing off his transforming mechanical arm. The terran shook his head. "I still can't believe I owe you two my life. Between you boys and Sweetie Belle I'm beginning to think I'm actually just crazy and committed to a padded room, and just haven't realized it."

"Wait, Sweetie?" Gallus asked. "You know her?"

Warfield, who Gallus remembered now was the Dominion's general who Raynor had sent his forces to rescue, glared at him for a moment. "And what the hell are you supposed to be?"

"This is Gallus, the griffon," Raynor said. "He's from the same planet that Sweetie came from originally."

Warfield's demeanor relaxed just an inch. "I see. So you knew her from before she became a Zerg."

Gallus grimaced. "Yeah. How did you meet her?"

"She conquered the world I was planning to retire to," Warfield grumbled. "Had a nice, lakeside view too." He sighed. "We lost a lot of good men and women… but she allowed just about everyone to escape when I asked nicely."

Tychus let out a guffaw. "Yer telling me you surrendered to the zerg? What, you couldn't hold your own until the evac ships showed up?"

"They weren't coming, Tychus," Warfield growled.

Tychus frowned, but didn't retort, choosing to chew on his cigar while Warfield shook his head.

"Too many Zerg. They were going to leave us… but Sweetie Belle called back her entire army to give them enough space to feel safe enough to evac the last of us."

Gallus shot Raynor a glance.

"Hey now, don't give me that look," Raynor said. "It's true that Sweetie is not your normal zerg, but you can't forget that she is a zerg."

"That is true, boy," Warfield said, glancing down at Gallus. "I count myself lucky that Sweetie had a heart then, but she didn't hesitate killing others, or sending her zerg to tear apart everyone else. As much as I'm grateful for her mercy then, I can't expect that it will continue indefinitely."

Gallus sighed, his mind going back to Agria. The cavern. Sweetie's aggressive self-assurance. The genuine happiness in her eyes when she saw him. How he felt when he saw her.

Gallus gulped, then shook himself to steer his mind away from where his thoughts were going.

"Oh yeah, he's got it bad," Tychus said, elbowing Raynor.

"I don't know what it is about you pirates and hooking up with murderous hybrid alien females," Warfield said. "But you'd better keep your heads in the right place."

Tychus snorted and shook his head. "Whatever. Just don't get us killed for a kiss."

"I would never kiss Sweetie Belle, Miss Rarity would flay me alive!"

"Yeah. That would be easier to believe if you weren't grinning so much, kid."

"Anyway, I brought you boys something," Warfield said, the mirth leaving his face. He stepped to the side as four more terrans brought down a container that opened up to reveal one of the Xel'Naga devices.

Raynor and Gallus exchanged a glance. If the emperor's son was to be believed, this was their way to bring back both Kerrigan and Sweetie.

"Well," Tychus said, "what are we waiting for? Let's punch through their defenses!"

"Easy there," Raynor said. "With this here, and if Valarian is right, we might be able to turn back both Kerrigan and Sweetie Belle to normal. We can't mess this up."

"With their forces it's going to be a tough battle. We won't be able to use the artifact until it's completely ready," Warfield said.

"With so many zerg… can we even do this?" Gallus asked.

"We have a way," Warfield grumbled. "According to the Mobius boys, we can discharge waves of energy that should eliminate any zerg within its reach." He took a cigar and put it in his mouth, chewing on it as he contemplated the device. "Problem is… once we use it, it takes time to recharge."

Raynor snorted. "At this stage… we'll take all the help we can get."

Kerrigan sat on her throne, her right hand placed firmly against her face as she listened, with eyes closed, to Sweetie's report.

Predictably Izsha jumped in the moment the younger queen finished talking and started berating her, but Kerrigan was still processing things.

Protoss.

Kerrigan had known when she had given Sweetie the chance to keep her own mind, that she was taking a risk. While not as powerful as her, the strange alien-turned-zerg had amazing psi potential, unknown skills, weird ways of using her powers, and an all too happy-go-lucky attitude for a zerg.

It was an experiment. Sweetie was endearing, but subservient, and through her connection she could sense that the younger queen saw her, Kerrigan, as a surrogate sister of some sort. She was unquestionably loyal, but the way she viewed her, also tainted the way she would interpret her orders, comments and intentions.

Because to Sweetie, she was family.

And it was very hard for Kerrigan to not embrace that, given all she had sacrificed and lost. Sweetie's affection was honest and carried no resentment. There was no fight from her to usurp her, unlike other queens. No zerg-like need to succeed at her cost to replace her.

Truth be told, Kerrigan would have disposed of her if that was all she brought to the table. Not out of hate, but… out of compassion. However, beneath her sisterly devotion, there was a burning desire to prove herself Kerrigan's equal. To get what she wanted, to grow and evolve and consume… in very different ways, but still there.

Sweetie wanted chaos and harmony together, where she could direct it to where she saw fit. Under her smiles, under her songs and her uncanny ability to empathize with her enemies to the point she had seen Raynor and even Tychus hesitate to shoot her, not out of fear, but a desire to help before they gathered their wits, Sweetie was a predator ready to jump and kill to satiate her hunger.

Her young lover… the so-called griffon in Raynor's army was an object of desire for Sweetie. Feelings she had buried when she had been a unicorn filly (something that, Kerrigan had to admit, was just… a bit too much to be real despite the evidence currently being chewed out by Izsha being right in front of her) had evolved and matured into something else. Whether that was out of Sweetie's want for harmony or true admiration for the unfortunate soul was up in the air. And Kerrigan still had to make up her mind on what she thought of that.

But… Protoss.

And not just any Protoss, but that bitch Selendis. Executor Selendis. She could only imagine the trouble that obnoxious zealot was in right now because somehow, Sweetie had decided that 'deal with them' did not mean 'kill them all.'

Oh no. That was too easy for Sweetie. No no. 'Deal with them' apparently meant: 'Use diplomacy to ensure that one of the most obstinate beings in the universe—who just happens to have dedicated decades of their existence to the eradication of our kind—signs a non-aggression agreement with us despite their historical disdain for such, and essentially promise to not raze the planet with fire when hybrids appear because they are a different variant than the one they know. Oh, and make sure they secure the border while you're at it.'

It was hilarious. And slightly worrisome.

"Izsha, enough."

Immediately her assistant clamped up and pulled back, hovering expectantly, no doubt wanting to see her queen punish the upstart. And she should. But now was not the time.

"Sweetie, you know you creatively interpreted my orders despite my clear intentions."

"Um…" Sweetie sighed and lowered her head in submission. "Yes, my queen."

"And you knew that you would face consequences for this, did you not?"

"Yes, my queen."

Whatever Sweetie's many faults were, she had apparently finally learned not to interrupt and talk too much when she'd only end up digging herself deeper. This was good.

"It has come to my attention that Raynor and his crew are allying themselves with the Dominion. They have brought us that which we want. Do you feel it?"

Sweetie Belle nodded.

"We must bring the Xel'naga device to us. Already it sends wild zerg into a frenzy, its pull cannot be denied. It must be mine!"

"Yes my queen."

"Raynor has started moving his troops. I want you to lead others around to attack their base while they concentrate on breaking through my front." She smirked. "This is not a strategy they are prepared to face from us… because they have never faced two queens at the same time. They will be wary, but not enough."

Sweetie nodded.

"Destroy their Dominion troops, and I will consider your punishment… reduced." Kerrigan looked down at Sweetie. "And this time, don't hold back. Use your power. Use your anger. Use your hunger. Prove to me you are Zerg."

"Yes, my Queen!"

"But, my Queen!" Izsha immediately spoke up. "She dared make peace with our enemies—"

"Had she not," Kerrigan interrupted, "she would still be at war and not here in Char to assist us. I expected she would arrive as the battle drew to an end at best." She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at her assistant. "She did not fail me exactly, but she also did not do exactly as she knew I intended. She will be punished accordingly."

"Yes, my Queen." Izsha pulled back, head bowing down deferentially. She was another that would not betray her, but Kerrigan knew that her assistant had a lot of limits to her intellect. Perhaps… no. Sweetie was enough for a fanciful experiment. The end of everything was close enough that she should put her energy into consuming it all.

The roach hid among the rocks overlooking the Terran camp. There was a lot of movement, with Raynor building a fortified front all around the Xel'naga artifact. It would be a tough battle… but one that she ultimately was thankful for.

Seeing through the roach's mind, Sweetie smirked. Warfield had set up at the ready a bit further away. That meant that she needed to attack at the ground level while her queen took on Raynor and got the artifact.

"Sweetie Belle, I will commence my attack. Jim has been kind enough to bring the completed artifact to me here. We shouldn't disappoint him."

Sweetie nodded. There was no way Raynor could beat Kerrigan here in Char with the extreme advantage they had in numbers alone. But the Terrans were entrenched in a good defensive position, and well armed too.

"Destroy Warfield's army. Do not let him get stronger."

Sweetie released the mental connection and studied her hatchery. Larvae, drones, zerglings and hydralisks waited for her command. She could build up more, but she needed to act fast or her attack would not deter the ground troops.

"Alright then, let's pile up the pressure while we build up more of our forces," she muttered, then smirked.

[Base is under attack.]

"Dammit, they already started!" Raynor growled. "Gallus, stay with Warfield. Tychus, cover my back but don't leave the area unguarded! Move! Move!"

Gallus flew over Char, dodging the fire of the zerg attempting to invade Warfield's camp. He had remained behind to assist the terran in keeping the camp secured as best as possible, serving as a scout and occasional combatant, but now that Raynor was covering the North Eastern front, he had instinctively jumped into the air to survey everything.

Ever since his last battle with Sweetie, he had promised himself to never underestimate a zerg queen again.

"So what do you see, Griffon?" Warfield asked, his face appearing in the small monitor he had in his helmet.

"Nothing but the regular masses of zerglings and a couple of hydralisks you're already repelling," Gallus reported. "Most of the action seems to be from Raynor's side of the camp. I'm thinking they're planning something."

"Good instincts, kid," Warfield growled into the radio, "zerg these days are nothing if not unpredictable."

"This reminds me of one of Sweetie's strategies," Gallus muttered under his breath. "General, I think they might be using worms."

"Good call. Let's get some surprises ready just in case we have to face—"

The transmission was interrupted in an open channel by none other than Sweetie Belle, who managed to wave at Warfield with one of her scythes. "Hello, Warfield!"

"Sweetie Belle?" Gallus asked.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Hey Gallus! I somehow missed you, and you know I like to keep my eyes on you."

Gallus could feel his cheeks burning. "Sweetie, Rarity would be upset if she heard you say things like that."

"Why? Did she already claim you? I knew she liked them—"

"No!" Gallus hollered. "It's nothing like that!"

"Then I see no problem other than you not being here next to me."

"Uh, I guess I could leave you kids to it," Warfield said into the radio, completely unable to hide his amusement. "I could arrange for the barracks to be clear for you, Sweetie Belle, if you cease your attack."

"Warfield!" Gallus shouted into the coms.

"...really?"

"Sweetie!" Gallus wasn't sure if he sounded excited or offended to the others, but he forced that thought to the back of his mind. "You two can't just decide to do that!"

Sweetie snorted. "Oh, come on!"

"Sweetie, why would you ever—" The image of Sweetie prowling around him in that cave hit him like the Ponyville Express and he shifted his focus to something much less appealing. "General, why would you ever—"

"Sorry General," Sweetie interrupted, sounding a little dejected, "as fun as it sounds, I can't do that, I'm already on shaky ground with my Queen for interpreting her orders creatively in Agria. I don't suppose you'd be willing to abandon everything and run screaming?"

"I'm almost afraid to ask what you did to get on Kerrigan's nerves," Warfield said. "And I owe you my life, Sweetie Belle, but unfortunately—"

"I understand," she replied, a sigh coming across the radio clear as day. "I figured it wouldn't be that simple this time, but I thought I'd give you the chance anyway. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what's about to happen."

"Hey, hey," Gallus spoke up. trying to quell down the nagging disappointment at the turn of events, "we really don't have to do this."

"Gallus, report back to base," Warfield ordered. "See you on the ground, Sweetie Belle."

"General, I should be able to convince her to back down, we just need to get me through to her!"

Warfield sighed. "Kid, I've seen this before with Raynor. You put too much faith on who these queens used to be, and not on what they are now. You may know the Sweetie of old, but I know the Sweetie of today… and if she had any intention of letting us go, she'd have offered a chance to do so. Surrendering is not an option and you know it."

Gallus sighed. "And given what's going on it wouldn't be even if she offered."

"Exactly, so I don't want to hear complaining. So better get to it!"

"Yes sir!"

At that moment the ground started shaking and Warfield grimaced. "It seems that your guess was correct."

Gallus nodded. "Good thing we prepared!" Still… there was something in the air… something familiar…

Just as the first of the worms should've broken through the ground, the troops rushed over to take cover and took aim at the raised ground, ready to begin firing the moment the creature emerged…

"Nothing?" Warfield asked, just as stunned as the rest of his troops. "What th—" he didn't have enough time to react before Gallus had picked him up with his modified armor's help and was already halfway through the camp just as the griffon's shout to disperse started to register.

Before his eyes, glowing particles swirled around the middle of his troops for a few seconds, lifting up into the air just as the biggest lightning bolt he had ever witnessed crackled across the air in front of him turning everything from dreary rusty red to a light-blue for just a split second as his troops were obliterated before his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Tychus shouted into the radio.

"Unicorn magic!" Gallus roared over the wind that followed the blast, circling down to drop Warfield in front of the remaining troops. They hadn't sent everyone there, thankfully, anticipating that Sweetie would try something different.

"She fried them all!" Warfield gasped. "Could she do that all along?"

"That big?" Gallus shook his head. "Even for most unicorns that's too much on demand. Sweetie must have been charging that for a while, even when she was talking to us!"

Warfield snapped out of his daze when the first two Nidus Worms emerged, the one they had anticipated earlier bursting through the glass-surface that the lightning strike had created, south of their camp, the other to the west, their mandibles opening into the air with a roar as they landed heavily and zerglings and hydralisks poured out at full trampling speed towards them. "Open fire! Gallus, lead the air strikes!"

"Sir!" Gallus jumped into the air barely dodging fire from one of the many Mutalisks that were suddenly flying at them from the East. "How in Tartarus—"

Before he could order the few Vikings they had, the western wall exploded as several banelings rushed in, straight for the spaceport. "Crap, General—!"

"I see them!"

It was then that Gallus spotted Sweetie Belle, moving like a perfect predator out of the Westernmost worm. She rushed past the other zerg, taking a high leap into the terran forces and slicing them to pieces faster than they could react. Their reactions were not quick enough to do more than nick her armor with their weapons and she had demolished the resistance there in seconds before she and her swarm moved to destroy the barracks.

"Reinforce the barracks!" Warfield shouted as Gallus escorted him next to the artifact, "if we lose them we're goners!"

"I'm on my way!" Raynor replied.

But it was too late. The barracks was on fire already, and zerg had almost infiltrated the building. Warfield drew himself up. "Brace for impact!" he shouted, smashing down on the console and activating the artifact's Nova Pulse.

"Wait!" Gallus shouted, as the energy built up in the machine, "Sweetie's here!" And then everything was washed in white-blue light.

Chapter 019: Roots of Hate

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 019: Roots of Hate

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Char █

'I'll convince Queen Kerrigan to let Gallus and the others live if I can…' Sweetie repeated to herself as she sliced her way through droves of unnamed Terrans. 'She has a soft spot for Raynor, right?' she reasoned as one scythe ripped a weapon and hands from an unfortunate solder, while the other decapitated him when the screaming started. 'She knows Gallus is mine, and I have felt her respect for Grampa Warfield… Tychus is a bit of a nag, but I like him, he's fun in a fight. I'm sure she'll go along with it after we win… after all life without enemies is not fun…'

And she had no doubt they would win.

Her gambit had played beautifully, and beyond the amount of shock and damage she had caused, it was also the first time she had used her magic as Harmony intended since she had been captured and transformed.

A spell!

A real honest-to-Twilight spell, after so long! It had felt so good to do that… like rediscovering a love for muffins. Or drinking a glass of water after days in the desert.

It was like taking a shower after being in the mud or taking a deep breath of fresh air during a chill morning. It was invigorating. Empowering. Cleansing and addictive all at the same time. Things seemed more clear and it was as if the world was back into focus again… somehow, even if she hadn't sensed any sort of haze before.

She needed to practice more though… since the magic had hurt a little, going through her system, but magic was coming back to her like a torrent of memories and experiences. She was sure she'd be able to do all of the magic she had learned up to that point… and even more, now that she had so much more sheer power.

Even if channeling her magic had been challenging with her split horn… even a bit painful, especially with the amount of energy coursing through her body as she built it constantly and held it back until she could no longer keep an iota more of magical energy… and then she had released it.

And it had been glorious.

The exhilaration of the magical spell functioning, the energy burning through her, leaving her tingling as it gathered in the sky of Char above the Terran base and, at her command, struck down her enemies… she had never been able to do something like that in Equestria.

Her magic was stronger, but her body as it was originally wouldn't have survived the exertion, and she'd have ended up with a burst horn, like Tempest at best, possibly dead at worst.

She felt giddy, giggling as she cut off the legs from under a Terran and impaled another through the face.

She hadn't even known if it would work! But taking the risk for her queen had been worth it, and now she knew she could do so much more than any other Zerg, Terran, or Protoss.

Already she could feel through the Zerg's connection the imminent win… and then, the crescendo of voices she had been hearing ever since the Terrans had set up the artifact rose to a high pitch.

She didn't know what clued her in, but in a second, her magic swirled, forming around her like a bubble, and a second later she had to flap her wings furiously as she fell back to Char's surface, several klicks away from the Terran base, with half of her right hind leg and tail missing.

"Did I just teleport?" she gasped, but then pain flared in her head and she lost control of her wings, slamming into the surface of the planet with more force than anticipated.

Far away, where the Terran base was, she could see a shockwave of blue energy disintegrating all of her Zerg.

She groggily looked up at it, blinking in confusion. "What—"

"An impressive defense. But not nearly enough to stop us."

Kerrigan's voice came to her mind like a rag of oily water. The voice of her queen was welcome, but there was something there… something wrong. As if something that she hadn't noticed before was holding her queen back from… something.

Sweetie struggled to her hooves, already regaining strength. She glanced back at her severed limb, which was quickly regenerating to the point where she could walk again a few seconds later.

Soon, she would be combat ready. Before she could think too much on what she had felt, Kerrigan spoke again.

"We have immeasurable numbers… and theirs dwindle by the minute."

"Y-yes my queen, but what the hell was that?" Sweetie asked, checking herself for other missing pieces and finding none.

"Just a distraction. I was more surprised by your ability to escape than Raynor having an ace up his sleeve.

"It's still… painful."

"Pain is just a sign of life. They might have pushed you away and forced me to regenerate, but they will not last long. The end is near, Sweetie Belle.

"It doesn't have to be the end. This can still be turned around."

Sweetie blinked. "Um… did you say something?"

"Concentrate, Sweetie Belle. This is a battle we cannot afford to lose. Do you have any more tricks like the one you performed?"

Sweetie nodded, even if she knew that her queen could not see her. "I believe so, but I'll need a moment… It's been a long time since I used my powers this way."

Kerrigan didn't answer, but Sweetie could feel the presence of her Queen once again on the battlefield. The fact that the Xel'Naga artifact was strong enough to not only damage Sweetie, but push the Queen back?

It was a risk they couldn't allow to exist. Not unless they controlled it. And to be able to do that, she needed to think outside the box again. Could she teleport again and steal it?

When Prof. Quantum State had explained teleportation to Sweetie, it had been… understandable, on a superficial level. She hadn't been slacking in her magical learning, but her focus wasn't in magic. Still, she had somehow internalized the feeling of it, when she had assisted Quantum in casting it.

Perhaps that had been his intention all along. University professors were sneaky teachers, after all. She hadn't allowed her unicorn instincts to take over since being released for fear of the Zerg side consuming her… but instinctual reaction was very different from performing the same feat with intent.

Teleporting was out of the question. It was unreliable for now. With practice… yes. Now that she had done it, she was able to replicate the magical 'feeling' associated with the spell matrix she had to internalize. it would take time to perfect, but she'd get to be as good at it as Twilight!

She paused, as Kerrigan sent an actual Leviathan into the field. She could feel the panic from the Terrans almost as if it was a palpable force.

"Oh, hay no. I'm not letting her have all the fun!" She cackled, taking flight towards the Terran base again, still gathering her energy as she directed her Zerg to flank the units that had amassed in a desperate attempt to stop it.

"Sweetie!"

She barely had time to dodge as Gallus almost tackled her, and it took more effort to resist slashing his armor in half when he dived past her. "Gallus! Be careful, I almost cut you in half!"

She prompted her troops to ignore the Griffon as she hovered in place, allowing him to fly up to her.

"Sweetie Belle. Do not waste time with that creature."

She cringed, but sent a mental message back. "My queen, I'm planning a large scale attack, but I need to gather energy. Gallus will not stop me."

"I shall be the judge of that, Sweetie Belle," Kerrigan sent back. "If you keep defying me, I might lose my use for you."

"I understand," she silently messaged back.

"Don't stop Raynor. They are close... so close to freeing all of us!"

Sweetie gasped, faltering in her flight for just a second. "What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Gallus asked, glancing at his HUD to make sure Warfield wasn't about to blast the Xel'Naga artifact again, but it needed to recharge enough for another blast.

"I… heard another voice. It sounded like the Queen but—"

"Sweetie, I'm not sure what's going on," Gallus said, "but you know this is nuts, right? Don't keep doing this! Can you imagine what your sister or anycreature back home would say if they saw you killing others like that?"

Sweetie shook her head and glanced at him with half-lidded eyes. "Really. Well, that hasn't stopped you from killing Zerg."

"That's because they'd kill me if I didn't fight back!"

Sweetie snorted. "And what happened to us?" she asked. "Were we welcomed with open arms? Were we offered help when we didn't attack anycreature?"

Gallus tried to dodge, but his reactions weren't as fast as Sweetie's, and her scythe went straight through one of his rockets. She brought them both down, slamming him into the surface of the planet.

"No!" she snarled. "They didn't! They obliterated Quartz! They tore me in half! They experimented on me and turned me into a Zerg! Why should I not defend myself? Why should I not fight the cause of all this misery!" She used her other scythe to run through the other thruster in his armor before lifting him up.

Gallus was unhurt, and struggling, but she held him in place with her psionics. Her magic wasn't even necessary. "Why do I have to think of peace when all they do is conquer and kill! If it's not us it's someone else. When I work for peace I get shot at! I don't want to kill but I'm not going to stay still so they can kill me!"

"They're not—they're not all bad!" Gallus growled, raising his armored claws to grasp her scythes. "Raynor is not like the ones that attacked you! He's helping me heal you!"

She saw another blast of the Xel'naga artifact destroying the Zerg that had gotten too close. Rather than running, she created a shield with her accumulated magic around her and Gallus, grunting as the psionics slammed into it, but she held strong. "Idiot! What if I don't want to be cured?!"

Gallus flinched, relaxing his grip a little before shaking his head. "Why wouldn't you?! This is not you talking, Sweetie, you've been—"

"Changed? Of course I have!" She clenched her teeth, her pincers clicking in frustration before she looked back up at him. "But I'm happy like this! I-I'm happy being part of something bigger! Being different! I like being sexy and I like being bad!"

"Sweetie…"

"Back home you'd never even spare me a glance."

Gallus gulped. "We never hung out much an—"

"Here you do." Sweetie interrupted. "I can smell it. I can see it and sense it. Here you want me." She grinned. "And not just to save me. I think you like it when I get aggressive."

Gallus chuckled nervously as she lowered him down. He glanced at his thrusters, broken through and leaking fuel, although thankfully repairable. Once again Zerg ran past the pair of them, a real stampede in an effort to destroy the last defenses of the Terrans.

"I have purpose. I have… somepony I want and who wants me, even if we haven't figured this stupid situation out." She gave him a small smile. "I have a mission and I have friends and responsibilities. I can make a change here like I never could back home." She drew herself up. "It's selfish. And I don't care. I want to be someone people across the universe speak of in awe and respect. I can change this universe for the better, Gallus… I really can, and you guys have no chance of surviving this battle. Please join me."

"Not like this Sweetie…" Gallus insisted, he pushed back extricating his armor from her scythes. "Look at all the lives you're taking!"

"And how many lives is Raynor taking too? Of his own kind? Or Protoss?" Sweetie countered. "Whatever you want to say to me, you can't pick one side only! The only difference is the monsters we fight! Mengsk is a tyrant that used his cronies in the media to convince billions that he was a legitimate champion of justice!" She paced back and forth within the confines of her shield.

"And what did he breed?" she asked the griffon, "Intolerance! Fear! Hate! He betrayed his allies and championed tyranny! He divided people that should have been friends! He—he's the same type of absolutist that created the unicorns first movement in Equestria! Thank Celestia we have Twilight there, but here? Where the greatest 'authority' is corrupt? Do you know how hard it was to get Selendis to sign a peace treaty with me because everyone is so damn used to betrayal?!"

"That's why Raynor and the others are fighting him! Y-you could join us! We can cure you and we can fight together while we find a way home!"

"He's working with Valerian!" Sweetie said, motioning wildly with her hooves. "What's the point of getting rid of a tyrant to replace him with its spawn?!"

Gallus chuckled. "Yeah, a lot of people in the ship had issues about that… but Raynor isn't here for glory or to pave the way to a new empire. What he cares about is saving people… and that's why he and Valerian are working together. He's not like his father."

Sweetie snorted. "So you say. But they have lied about a lot of things."

This time it was Gallus that advanced on her, taking off his helmet as he stared at her. "Yes. So I say. Since when am I not on your side? Since when don't I care or would lie to you? I want us to go home… together."

"It's now or never, General!" Raynor's voice buzzed from the helmet on the floor, making the pair of Equestrians look down at it, blinking. "Hit it!"

"Oh, shit…" Gallus gasped, turning to see the Xel'Naga artifact light up with much more strength than before, and then flashing with such intensity that all Zerg in its immediacy were evaporated. The energy blast hit Sweetie's shield like a battering ram, cracking it immediately.

Sweetie's eyes were wide with fear as the energy surge continued to break through her shields. She shook her head and with panicked speed, turned halfway and projected another spell within her shield dome, which somehow seemed to be holding.

Gallus recognized it. A teleportation portal, just like the one that Quartz had used to evacuate him and Zeratul through to safety. She was going to escape… but how—he gasped, as he realized all of the cracks in her shield coalesced into the portal.

He wasn't a magical genius, but he had been around enough unicorns to recognize transfer of energy. She really was going to escape.

He couldn't allow that. This was the one chance he had to cure her! "Sweetie!"

She barely had time to react as he tackled her, breaking her concentration enough for the shield to explode around them and the Xel'Naga Artifact's energy to envelop them. But that wasn't the only thing that exploded. The explosion of energy lit up the fuel that had spilled from his thrusters.

Selendis pondered again her agreement with Queen Sweetie Belle of the Zerg.

Already she had received various communications and argued back and forth with the other Protoss about her decision… but something in her resonated with Sweetie's intentions.

The Zerg had to be cleansed. But what if not all Zerg were the same? What if it became a matter of perspective, rather than aggression? What if that was possible? What if this world… Agria… was the bridge that would bring the Khala to its next level of evolution?

Order and chaos… Sweetie didn't seem to believe one had to destroy the other. It was an odd feeling, to consider those concepts again, and realizing that one could not exist without the other.

Could… Sweetie really achieve this balance?

As she stood on the bridge, she considered this. Here was a planet conquered by the Zerg, but its inhabitants not destroyed or absorbed into the Zerg collective. Here was a planet that had been abandoned by the Terran government, and had willingly joined forces with a Zerg Queen to survive.

The scans did not lie. Zerg were there… and she was not foolish or naive enough to believe that infestation was impossible, but… there was no indication of violence being used, past the remnants of the destruction brought upon the planet by the last battle.

After that… Terran children were still going to their educational institutions. Farmers were farming, the few small cities flourishing. Zerg were actively helping. Although Queen Sweetie Belle was gone, the Zerg acted as if they were receiving specific orders still, which meant that something down there had the potential to order them around, yet no sign of other queens, or even Overlords had emerged in their scanners.

"Executor, we're detecting a spike in energy on the bridge!"

Selendis turned around to where a circular portal had opened. Beyond it, she could see the surface of a world… The scent of ash and death came through immediately, followed by a flash of light that shook the entire bridge, and two creatures tumbling through as the portal imploded.

In less than a second, she and her troops had surrounded the pair, weapons at the ready. She had barely recognized the two creatures when Queen Sweetie Belle started screaming in pain.

"It hurts! Celestia… help, it hurts!"

Selendis moved forth and, gripping Gallus' shoulder, threw him off of the Zerg Queen. Or was she? Most of the armor and pincers were gone, as were the scythes, the chitin armor was thinner, lighter in color, and the gossamer wings seemed brittle, but that wasn't the worst part.

The young alien was screaming in pain, most likely because her horn had split in half almost to the root, and lost several pieces, exposing the soft interior where, if she were to guess, it was mostly made of nerves. The confident young queen was squirming in pain and screaming nonsensical names between whimpers.

"Sweetie!"

She interposed herself between Gallus and Sweetie. "What did you do?!" she demanded, glaring at the other alien.

"S-Selendis?" Gallus seemed to finally recognize her. "What?" He turned around, "How are—"

Sweetie's screams continued, and Selendis turned around just as a team of scientists, sent to her base to study the Zerg, arrived. "Anesthetize her, now!" she ordered them before she turned to face Gallus. "That damaged appendage… how important is it?"

"It's—" Gallus gulped. "It's how she uses her ma-psionics! I've heard that trauma to the horn can be deadly… and if not treated quickly could leave her stunted forever."

"He is correct, Executor," one of the scientists said, turning to face Selendis. "The… horn… from what I can tell from its composition… its potential is beyond even our own sensitivity to psionics!"

"How was it damaged?" Selendis asked, refraining from making any sort of comment over what the scientist had declared.

"Uh, I-I think it was when she opened the portal that we came through… it happened just as her shields were destroyed and the Xel'Naga artifact hit us."

"Executor," the scientist dared to speak up, drawing her attention. "I am unsure of the details, but it seems to me that this appendage, the damage done to it by the Xel'naga as well as clear previous trauma are potentially going to kill this… um, creature."

Selendis looked away for a moment, thoughts burning. The Kalah had no answers for this. There was no precedent. But there was also no precedent from what they could learn and she had promised to mutually protect and help each other… on the one hand, a Zerg. On the other, her honor. "Fix it."

The scientist gasped. "W—"

"What is your name?" Selendis interrupted.

"L-Lasarra, Executor."

Selendis nodded. "I remember you. You and two others were originally stationed to go to Kaldir to study the Zerg."

Lasarra nodded. "That is correct, Executor. With the… current arrangement, our expertise was deemed more useful here."

"Excellent. Then I am appointing you in charge of saving this Zerg. Queen Sweetie Belle's life is in your hands. She is an ally at this time, and we have a mutual agreement to protect each other. Do not make the Protoss into liars, Lasarra."

"This… is a zerg?" Lasarra asked, staring down at Sweetie as if seeing her for the first time. "I-I see."

"Can you save her horn?" Gallus asked, "she needs to be able to channel somehow… even (a shudder ran through his body) Tempest Shadow's horn wasn't so badly damaged."

"Is that what she used to open a portal?" Selendis asked. "Where were you before here?"

Gallus sat down. "Char." He let out a long sigh. "I think… we defeated the Queen of Blades."

Chapter 020: A True Mission

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 020: A True Mission

2504, Koprulu Sector, Agria's Moon█

"Executor, what do you mean our mission has changed?" Lasarra asked. It was a little late to ask, admittedly, given that they were already set towards their new destination, but if her life project was going to be tossed to the side thanks to politics, she felt she deserved at least an answer.

Executor Xos, head of the research team heading to the distant world of Kaldir, shook his head, glancing at the feisty Khalai scientist. "Sometimes I forget that you are not a warrior as some your brethren have started to become."

He turned around slowly to face her and the other scientists fully, his stance proud and rigid. "We have received our orders. Even if this was commissioned by the Khalai Caste, we all answer to the Hierarchy. And the Hierarchy has decided to send us to join Executor Selendis in the orbit of planet Agria."

"Selendis?" Lasarra gasped. "But she—Executor, her calling is the exact opposite of ours!"

"Enough, Lasarra." The Executor placed a hand on her shoulder, reminding her not only of their size difference, but also—coincidentally—just how distant their ranks were and would always be no matter what she did, discovered or created.

Xos wasn't forceful, but he didn't have to be. As kind as he was, he was not Khalai, after all. He was Templar, and their places were not equal now or ever. He was high-ranking enough to be assigned leadership of this dangerous mission, and named Executor as befitted a Templar who would command such a number of Protoss. And even he answered to one such as Selendis.

After all, there were Executors, and then there were Executors.

Lasarra bit back a retort. This battle was lost, and as bitter as this realization was, it was in a way to be expected. Protoss didn't see Zerg as anything but a plague to be destroyed, and Selendis was more than eager to lead that extermination.

"Executor," one of the pilots spoke up, "we are arriving at the second moon of Agria… we have detected Zerg in the planet itself, and even some patrolling the space around it."

"Are we to be support for the troops?" Xos asked aloud, turning away to stride forth to see the displays properly. "This makes no sense. We are not a warrior vessel. Are they so desperate for troops?"

"Is that a Zerg Leviathan flying within range of our base's weapons?" Lasarra asked with an almost hushed tone.

"There does not appear to be any signs of battle, Executor." A beat. "Receiving transmission."

A holographic image of Executor Selendis formed on the bridge and everyone stood at attention until she nodded. "Executor Xos, I am glad to see your vessel has made good time coming to us."

"Indeed," Xos replied, bowing. "It was a surprise… our mission was one of exploration and science. We did not expect to suddenly be called to battle."

"You are not here for war," Selendis replied, making Lasarra glance at her curiously. "A situation has evolved with the Zerg Queen in charge of planet Agria. A situation that presents… unique challenges."

"I… am afraid I do not understand, Executor," Xos said.

"As I have stated, it is a complicated situation. You will be briefed soon. Approach the base and meet me at the command center. Do not engage the Leviathan. It will not attack you."

"As you wish, Executor."

The communication cut and the crew was awash with nervous energy, although none of them betrayed it. They were not as undisciplined as a terran crew, so instead of the sideway glances and surprise they would have shown were that the case, the crew simply stared forward.

Well. Most of them.

"That is…" Lasarra stepped close to the window, staring at the zerg Leviathan as it drifted slightly away as it continued its apparent patrol. "Incredible. I never expected—we never dreamed to be able to see, much less approach such a vessel."

"You let your eagerness show, young one."

Lasarra caught herself and turned to look at the Executor, who had walked to her side to stare at the Leviathan.

"Never forget that those creatures, as… intriguing as you find them, have an inherent hatred of all we represent. Do not forget what they did to our people. What they took from us."

Lasarra stood straighter. "Of course not, Executor. How could I? None of us can. None of us will."

Her answer was the right one. Xos nodded briskly, while the other Templars on the bridge exuded agreement. To them, the Leviathan floating outside was an aberration and an enemy that would attack at the slightest provocation. To her, it was a thing of… well. Not beauty in the traditional sense, but of sorts. Dangerous, and unpredictable, but beautiful in its own way… not that the others would ever understand where she was coming from.

Even her fellow scientists looked at all things Zerg as mistakes of the cosmos.

'But still…' she thought, her outward appearance as calm and collected as any Templar could expect of a Khalai scientist. 'What if war wasn't the only choice?'

She shook herself as she felt the ship slow down. Even though the ship didn't shake as it docked, and deceleration was something no one could perceive inside the ship, there was still a sense of loss of momentum that defied rational explanation in the realm of physics.

Dampeners, artificial gravity, shielding, environment control, power control, everything was perfectly designed to not create any such sense, and yet, she (and indeed many others she had spoken to) still felt something when docking a once-moving ship. Some would argue that it was a psychological reaction to the knowledge of their arrival, but if so, why did she still feel it when not knowing they had arrived at a port?

Lasarra focused, clearing her mind. Questions had defined her infancy, and her younger years, and still defined her today. Questions had opened her to the universe, to searching for understanding of a variety of topics, but now was not the time to question her perceptions of movement.

Already Xos was giving orders to coordinate with the base to establish their science center. Again, the bitterness of crushed dreams danced in Lasarra's mind. 'One step at a time. We'll finish this and head over to study the Zerg properly. Whatever Executor Selendis wants us for can't be—'

"Executor Xos!" one of the Templars called out, his tone urgent, "Executor Selendis requires immediate assistance from the science team."

Xos didn't even hesitate. "Lasarra, your and your team will be transported now." She hadn't even bothered to nod, instead rushing over to join the others, who had been alerted to the bridge. As soon as she was next to them, Xos' voice reached them. "Templar. Initiate transportation."

Lasarra didn't exactly sigh in relief, but she did sag a little once the zerg queen in her custody stabilized. All readings had remained consistent for several minutes now, and the zerg was fully unconscious, pain free, and ready to operate on.

Operating on a live zerg had been one of the several challenges she had anticipated undertaking when she and her team had been originally scheduled to head to Kaldir among other less invasive investigations. Social structures, environmental consequences when not engaged in battle, etc.

When her whole team had been re-routed to Agria by the order of Executor Selendis no less, she had been understandably upset. She was part of a very small group of scientists that understood there was much more to these creatures than most other Protoss even dared to consider.

Zerg were bestial, powerful, relentless, unending, overwhelming… but also excruciatingly adaptable, and yet specialized. They were not all mindless, their intelligence estimated to range from that of an insect-like drone level of understanding of the world, to the incredibly complicated Overlords, and beyond into the realm of the Overmind or a Queen like Kerrigan herself.

It had been a purely academic endeavor, with studies that would generate understanding of these creatures on several levels previously left unexamined, and now it had been turned from that into the service of the military, where their knowledge would be used to make even more weapons.

Or so she had thought.

Her team hadn't been briefed at all about the current situation until they had been presented in front of the Executor herself. Rushing in to find two previously unknown species of aliens in the command center had been startling, but one of them was screaming in pain and she had precious little time to hesitate.

In an instant she had slid down to her knees next to the squirming alien, and although there were some familiar signs, it hadn't truly registered that this was another type of Zerg… a Zerg Queen no less, who Selendis of all Protoss had apparently befriended, (or at least found common ground with).

Now, Queen Sweetie Belle was under her supervision. Anesthetized, the zerg still whimpered and muttered occasionally, but it was in no pain. The damage to her horn had been extensive… it could prove to be irreparable, and had Lasarra not applied immediate anesthesia, her thrashing around might have exacerbated the damage to the point of complete loss.

This Queen's body was… different. Hard chitin didn't cover every inch of it as a mostly solid armor, in fact, she had what seemed like soft fur of some sort, while her 'hair' was a bicolored tentacle of sorts, more akin to chitin-like material that waved and behaved almost like the legs of a spider would.

A microscopic analysis of her fur had also revealed that, as thin and soft as they were, the follicles were truly just miniature versions of its 'mane'.

The analysis of the nervous system was inconclusive. It was exceedingly advanced around the horn area even before signs of the initial Zerg mutation, and even now defied even their understanding of psionic capabilities.

Lasarra leaned back from her reports and stared at the Zerg for a moment. Her future really depended on what she could do here, and that was precious little. There wasn't any technology that could heal that kind of burnout and damage, and even the self-regeneration of the Zerg was stunted by the effects of the Xel'Naga artifact that had purged… some amount of Zerg influence, but clearly not all of it, which was curious enough.

Apparently Queen Kerrigan had been nearer the Xel'Naga's explosion and had been unable to escape. If this had been the result here… what could the result there be?

Lasarra stretched after checking no one was around. It was unseemly to do such a thing when in company, after all, then summoned several documents. She had work to do. And a Zerg Queen to save… for science.

"Gallus! You're alive!"

The griffon sagged, sitting back as he studied Raynor's face on the screen. "Does it surprise you?"

Raynor chuckled. "Kid, you've surprised me a lot of times. What the hell happened to you? Where are you? The communication seems to be coming from a Protoss ship?"

"It's… well, it's not a long story," Gallus said, leaning forward. "Sweetie used her powers to open a portal and try to escape. I tackled her, and ended up inside a Protoss base with her."

Raynor's eyes widened. "I'm even more surprised you're alive then. I don't think the Protoss would be very understanding of a Zerg and an unknown species appearing there suddenly."

"We go lucky," Gallus replied, smirking slightly. "We arrived at Selendis' command center."

"Holy—" Raynor shook his head. "I never thought I'd hear someone say that a Zerg got lucky by appearing in front of Selendis. Was she nearby? Why there?"

"Ah well…" Gallus cleared his throat. "Not… exactly close. We're in a base on a moon orbiting Agria. Sweetie teleported us all the way here."

Raynor stared at him for a full minute. "I'm—what?"

Gallus nodded. "I recognized some of what's happening from some of my classes back home… she used the energy coming at her to open a portal… we had just talked about how she made a deal with Selendis so I'm sure she was thinking about her when she opened it."

"I see."

"The Xel'Naga artifact… it almost killed her."

Raynor winced. "How is she?"

"She's being treated by the Protoss," Gallus said, looking down. He glanced up. "What about you?"

"We have Sarah in a safe place… I can't say more," Raynor said, straightening and growing serious.

"I understand," Gallus said. "I'll… stay here for now. I want to keep Sweetie company."

Raynor smirked. "Of course. Take care kid. Let me know if you need anything."

"Same." Gallus said, saluting.

The fingers tapped on the desk.

"Ah well…" Gallus cleared his throat. "Not… exactly close. We're in a base on a moon orbiting Agria. Sweetie teleported us all the way here."

The fingers stopped.

"Get me Agent X41822N."

Chapter 021: If Needs Be

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 021: If Needs Be

2504, Koprulu Sector, Agria's Moon█

"It's been fortuitous that between my and Suzie's heightened Zerg empathy, we have been able to keep most of the Zerg on the planet under control in the urban areas, and elsewhere Sweetie's presence is still felt enough for the other Zerg to not go feral," Ariel said, "but if she dies…"

Selendis straightened. "That will not happen under my watch. We have an alliance and I will not betray the Khala or my honor by doing any less than the impossible to save Queen Sweetie Belle."

Ariel looked pained. "Please do… or we might see this experiment of peace and harmony perish before it has taken its first real steps. I'll forward my own scans and theories to your team."

Selendis nodded as the transmission ended. It was interesting that the human thought herself as Zerg now, but had lost none of the empathy, or individuality that made her who she was. Truly, Queen Sweetie Belle had started something different.

Currently, Selendis was in the same lab as the scientist she had assigned to save Sweetie's life, while Gallus sat, watching the tank where Sweetie Belle floated. The griffon had rested and his talk with Raynor had appeared to calm him somewhat.

The fact that the Queen of Blades had been defeated was a tremendous event, and she had informed the Hierarchy of it as soon as it had been confirmed. There were claims of another queen out there, attacking some unpopulated worlds, but without Kerrigan…

She shook her head, coming back to the moment. Lasarra and her team had arrived just in time, thank the Khala, and her trust in the headstrong Khalai had paid dividends, as far as she was concerned.

Already the rest of Lasarra's team was working on a joint project with Ariel, so that when the Queen was at full health, she would authorize it. It was both a reward to Lasarra, who had submitted the original request for their previous project, and an opportunity for these scientists to help the universe with a deeper understanding of the Zerg, who she was beginning to… tolerate.

In specific cases.

Under very particular circumstances.

And in an extremely limited quantity. In fact, the ability of the Xel'naga artifact to cleanse Sweetie and Kerrigan to an extent was eye-opening, and ever since, whenever she had delved into the consequences and implications… that perhaps, if it weren't for an… additional corruption her own world wouldn't have…

Shedding those thoughts abruptly, she turned to face the scientist, who was currently quickly scanning the transmission from Agria. "How fares the Queen, Lasarra?" she asked, noticing Gallus perk up to look at them.

"Stable, for now," the scientist responded with some reluctance. "I wish I could do more… my understanding of these nerve endings is increasing, Executor, but they are as complicated if not more so than our own nerve cords."

Selendis nodded, having already come to that conclusion herself. "But unlike ours, which helps us connect to the Khala as well…"

"Hers are specialized in molding energy from the Void," Lasarra concluded, showing some surprise at Selendis' insight with a very slight widening of the eyes. "We must reconnect the coils, synchronize them with her own bio-energy, balance the output with the input from the void… this is…" She shook her head. "Executor, we—I don't have the knowhow to fully heal this Queen."

"What are you saying?" Gallus asked, jumping to his paws. "If she's not healed—you heard what Ariel said about Agria! And… when we go home, I can't jus—"

"At ease, Griffon Gallus," Selendis interrupted, making him blink in her direction. Perhaps that was not the way his species identified themselves, she mused, but that was inconsequential at this time. "I sense that Lasarra was going somewhere with this."

They both turned to face the scientist in question, who almost flinched before straightening up and, taking a deep breath, stepped forth.

The moment she did that, Selendis knew she wasn't going to like hearing what the Khalai had to say.

"Executor… while we don't have the knowhow at this time, I have heard… whispers that there is one who has mastered the kind of phase-smithing that we require."

Selendis gazed at the other Protoss in silence for a moment, considering her words. "There is no biological way of restoring the Queen?"

Lasarra shook her head. "Even with the Queen's Zerg-enhanced healing, this damage essentially scarred her. That will not heal. The damage to her nerves is extreme… in fact fixing… healing with this technology as I propose will undoubtedly be very, very painful. Potentially deadly if not performed by a master of this art." She raised her head. "I am proud of what I have accomplished, Executor, but I cannot attempt this knowing that my chances of failure are so high, when there are others we could ask for assistance."

Selendis nodded. "I see." She turned away from the scientist and the griffon, walking to stand in front of the tank. The creature inside floated peacefully, twitching occasionally as if dreaming. She could see her own reflection on the glass overlapping the helpless creature she had grown to respect in so little time to the point of arguing with the Hierarchy on the viability of something she would have scorned not two months ago.

She turned again to face Lasarra. "Why do I know I am not going to like your suggestion?"

To her credit, the Khalai only flinched once. "The ones who have developed this technology… are Nerazim."

Selendis almost took a step back and clenched her fists. She checked her words, biting back enunciating them, while in her mind the word traitors echoed with almost malevolence, but she forced herself to calm down as she noticed the other two conscious beings in the room had taken a step back from her.

That loss of self-control was not appropriate. Not in front of a lesser caste, and not in front of a guest.

"The… Nerazim, you say?" She forced her hands to unclench. "I suppose if any would…" She trailed off, reminding herself of the greater purpose of this. Oh, she could almost sense Artanis' amusement already. When the Hierarch heard about this… but what was more important, her ego or the mission? Her ego or her honor? She raised her head. "It will take some time to convince them."

"What?" Gallus asked, even as Lasarra nodded. "Why?"

Selendis calmed herself, reminded that the alien was not privy to their internal conflicts. "In order to get their help, we would need to contact their Matriarch or someone of equal importance," she explained, "in doing so, we will need to explain the necessity of this, and, as the Nerazim are not… allied with us under the Hierarchy, it will inevitably fall into politics."

"Oh." Gallus looked down, then he looked up again. "Well, I know a Nerazim. He's kind of important."

Artanis would definitely be amused.

It was all Selendis could do to remind herself that the Nerazim on the screen was not in front of her now to cut down, nor was she in a position to challenge him, seeing as they really needed him more than he needed them.

"Friend Gallus," Zeratul acknowledged, nodding his head at the young griffon. "It is good to see you doing well, although you are keeping different company since I saw you last."

"Prelate." Selendis deigned to nod in his direction.

"Selendis," Zeratul replied, and she was glad that there was no derision coming from him. She had almost expected the traitor to mock her. Instead he nodded at Lasarra, who shifted uncomfortably and nodded back.

Selendis shook her head. The Khalai's youth was showing in her uncertainty. She would have to train her to be more assertive with her body language.

"Hey," Gallus began, a start so informal it almost made Selendis herself shift, despite her earlier thoughts. "So, I'm not sure if you heard, but Sweetie Belle became a Zerg Queen."

Zeratul knew Sweetie Belle. Of course he did. Selendis' mind went back to that first conversation with the young Queen, and how she had spoken about a Protoss friend, and then finished by wishing honor upon Adun. Of course.

"I had heard, young Gallus, and I am sorry we could not save her from such a horrific fate."

Gallus cleared his throat. "Yes, well, um… how do I explain?" He glanced behind him, then motioned with his wing at Lasarra. "You already know Selendis, well, this is Lasarra and she has a request."

Gallus stepped back, muttering something under his breath. Selendis took note of it, unfamiliar with the expression 'hot potato' and its meaning under the circumstances.

Lasarra for her part was doing her best not to be intimidated, but even if she was doing fairly well for a Khalai, it was painfully obvious she had not been prepared to be thrust into the spotlight in front of such an infamous Dark Prelate.

"At ease, friend Lasarra," Zeratul spoke. "We are not enemies. Speak your mind."

With a slight nod, the scientist braced herself and spoke, "Queen Sweetie Belle is currently under my supervision. She was badly damaged by a Xel'naga artifact which had come to the possession of the Terrans. In order to restore her, we need to… recreate in a way her horn. This goes beyond my skills in bio-engineering, and our overall ability to heal her."

"Heal a Zerg Queen?" Zeratul asked, turning to stare at Selendis.

"Queen Sweetie Belle and I made a mutual defense agreement before she went to Char," Selendis explained, hating the need to share information with who was almost a sworn enemy. "I believe it is in our interests to see this alliance blossom."

"Indeed," Zeratul said, again the lack of mockery almost throwing Selendis off. "Repairing nerves…" he turned to face Lasarra again. "You seek one of our phase-smiths."

"Ah, yes, Prelate," Lasarra said, gaining a little more confidence. "I have heard word that some of your compatriots have been working on technology that allows this."

Zeratul looked at each of them for a few moments. "Nerazim use this technology… and I owe Sweetie Belle—" Selendis and Lasarra exchanged glances" —both as a friend and as a warrior." He paused, as if considering, before nodding. "I will arrange for this to happen, although my mission takes precedence and I cannot be there myself."

He turned to Selendis and bowed. "Will you allow one of my own into your ship, Executor?"

Selendis rolled her shoulders back, presenting the image worthy of her title. "They will be under my protection."

"Very well," Zeratul nodded once more. "I will speak with Nerath and convey the importance of this matter. Once she agrees to help, she will contact you herself."

"Once?" Selendis asked, unable to help herself, "not 'if'?"

Zeratul allowed a mild amount of amusement to come through. "Executor, would Lasarra have ignored the potential of studying a Zerg Queen as she has?" He shook his head. "Neither would a phase-smith of Nerath's abilities allow the opportunity to discover what she can in the ways of the Void and our—and the Zerg—connection to it through our nerve clusters. This is what her family has dedicated itself to do since the Exile."

Chapter 022: Disconnected

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 022: Disconnected

"Nerath."

Jerked from her current project, the short Nerazim turned around to face the interloper. "Father." She tilted her head slightly, studying him. "You seem troubled."

He walked fully into her lab, pacing around a little as he was wont to do before facing her. "I have received a request from Zeratul."

She blinked. "It was my impression that the word 'exile' implied a lack of further contact." She shrugged. "I suppose self-exiles do things differently."

"I wonder if you have spent the many hours you have in here sharpening your wit instead of forging."

"As always, father, you wound me with your astute observations, but I will note that I am still a work in progress."

The taller Nerazim chuckled, shaking his head, but then straightened up, regarding her seriously. "His request is not an easy one, and was addressed to our family's elders. It has been approved."

"I get the distinct feeling that the revelation of the nature of this request is not going to be pleasant for me."

"It is not."

Nerath didn't exactly cringe. She had seen it coming. "What is it, then?"

"He has requested, on behalf of Executor Selendis—and thus with the blessing of Artanis himself—for one of our most talented phase-smiths to assist in a difficult medical procedure that is to remain secret."

Nerath crossed her arms. "Ignoring how unlikely it would be for Selendis to work with Zeratul is hard enough. But why come to our family for that? Surely there are much better prepared healers to deal with the matter of healing. We so-called phase-smiths don't have much to offer… unless…" Her eyes widened. "The void channel?"

Her father gave her a look.

"I'm still deciding on a proper name."

"In any case, that is indeed the case," he responded, once again pacing around the room, and resting his hand on some of her designs as he studied them.

"But father, we cannot give them the designs!"

He glanced at her.

"We can't!" She insisted. "Surely they understand this?"

Her father released a breath and nodded, turning to the table once again for a moment, then finally walking back to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Zeratul has promised that the designs will not be handed to the Khalai, and despite Vorazun's dislike of him, we all know his honor is without question."

Nerath sighed. She knew this was true. They all knew, even as they shared Vorazun's pain over the loss of her mother. "Very well. I shall prepare." She hesitated, walking up to her console and bringing up information about Selendis, although there wasn't anything really new that wasn't widely known to the Nerazim. "Do we really not know what this is all about?"

Her father shook his head. "No. All we know is that Executor Selendis herself requested this of Zeratul, and that it involves a long term mission she is part of."

"Fine." She glanced at the picture. "At least she's pretty."

"Please don't start a war," her father said with a sigh, just as he stepped out.

The echoing voice of the Protoss Templar accompanying him as he turned around yet again.

"Tell me, Gallus of Equestria, does your whole species have so little patience?"

"Griffons?" Gallus snorted, pausing to glance at his companion. "I'm extremely patient, for a griffon. Granted, I might not be as patient as Celestia herself, but I'm not godlike or immortal enough to embrace inner peace to any extent close to that."

Ganox regarded him with that slight tilting-up of the head that indicated the Protoss was amused.

"Tell me, are all Nerazim usually late?"

"I would not know," Ganox said, his voice more an indicator of a shrug than his body language. "For I have not met any Nerazim myself. They are part of the Daelaam, yes, but not of the Khala. With its absence, their thoughts, and their traditions remain a mystery to most of us."

"I suppose that makes sense," Gallus said, starting to pace again. He had repaired his armor as best he could from his experience working under Swann, the blueprints sent by the engineer, and equipment helpfully provided by one of Selendis' phase smiths.

The metal provided and the sources of energy were less heavy than in the original design, but he now wore enough golden highlights on his blue armor that he now looked like a beefed up version of himself that had somehow joined the Royal Guard back in Canterlot.

If he ever set paw in the Hyperion again he'd probably be teased about it before Swann tried to pry it open to see how it worked.

Ganox shifted. "I am curious, however. Your friendship with Dark Prelate Zeratul is unusual, but you seemed to be more comfortable in your conversation with him, than with any of us, despite us being allies. Why is that?"

Gallus paused, then sighed. He turned to look at Ganox. "Am I that obvious?" he asked aloud, but before Ganox could answer his rhetorical question, he continued, "It's hard for me to understand this Khala of yours. I don't know how I could live with sharing my every thought with my entire species."

It had taken him weeks to get used to wearing such heavy armor, and even though the Hyperion was huge, he would still get sudden claustrophobic attacks if he went into a room and the exit was blocked… and if Zeratul hadn't used his mental powers to help him adapt to the thought of the huge vacuum of space behind a (relatively speaking) thin wall of metal and cables between him and instant death, his life in the spaceship would have been a real nightmare, if at all possible.

Unaware of his thoughts, Ganox nodded lightly. "And so, the fact that the Nerazim have no connection to the Khala…"

"It's that individuality that I can relate to, yeah," Gallus completed, sitting down next to the Templar, who remained standing. Gallus contemplated the lack of… anything really, other than rocky outcroppings around them. "On the one claw, I can relate… sometimes I wish that I could tell everything, absolutely everything to Smolder, or Sweetie, or Silverstream, or any of my friends.

"I know Smolder would tease me, but she'd also stand beside me to help me face whatever was holding me back." He grinned. "I know Yona would offer to pound whatever it was to a flat surface for me. I know Sandbar would sit down and work it out with me. I know that Ocellus would try to find some egg-headed way to solve the problem. I know that Silverstream would be more than happy to cheer me up, introduce me to others that could help and go with me the whole way." His smile turned gentle. "I know Sweetie would offer me her hoof, dust me off, and face whatever I need by my side."

"Indeed, that Khala allows everyone to share in those experiences as you share them, it is not invasive."

"Yes. I understand that, but… I guess what I value out of that in a big part is that they're all individuals and we can't just project our solution to each other with absolute clarity, if that makes sense?"

"It does not."

Gallus rolled his eyes. "Okay, hear me out." He paused to contemplate his words. "The thing that makes all of their effort and support all the more valuable to me, is that each of us, as individuals don't know what the other is thinking, we just know that we're there to help each other. If Silverstream could just… I dunno, transfer her whole idea to me, it… I feel it would lack that sense of choice, that… um, what's the word… will to help? despite not knowing if it's going to or not. It's difficult to explain."

"Clearly." Ganox's voice was not mocking, but he was very much not impressed with his explanation.

"Well, okay," Gallus sighed. "You know Sweetie Belle."

"The Zerg Queen, yes."

"She has something like the Khala that you have with the zerg."

When Ganox's eyes flashed, Gallus quickly waved his claw. "I know it's not the same! What I mean is, she can share all she wants with the Zerg, but she also is part of a greater whole, just like you are part of a greater whole through the Khala, right?"

"...right," Ganox conceded slowly, very much not happy with the Khala being associated with something the Zerg would do.

"When I spoke to her, she told me that she loved the feeling of being part of something much greater, which I think you can understand. But… unlike the Khala, she can never be… absorbed into it. She can never lose herself in that… and although I really understand that it's not an issue for you… it's… a horrifying fate to me."

"And that, strange creature, is why the Nezarim originally rejected the Khala," a female voice said as its owner emerged from the shadows. She had dusky, dark skin, a shade lighter than Zeratul, and was also short, for a Protoss. Like Zeratul, her eyes were green, not blue, but unlike Zeratul's silent confidence, her way of walking and talking revealed a Protoss that somehow was borderline mischievous.

Ganox straightened, studying the female for a moment. "I presume you are here on behalf of the Nerazim to assist us? Are you the phase-smith? You move like a warrior."

"All Nerazim are warriors, Templar," the female responded, "for is not life a battle, and those that continue to battle known as such?"

"Ah." Ganox said. "I begin to see why you would consider the lack of Khala a blessing, young Gallus."

"Oh?"

"I cannot imagine the headache my whole species would get from sharing their thoughts with this one."

It had been somewhat odd that Nerath had been told to meet emissaries on a derelict planet so that she could travel with them to her destination. Usually, the information would have been passed to her, and she would have just made her way there, but she had found herself warped from her fathers ship to the surface of this chunk of rock in order to meet them.

She had immediately cloaked herself and hid as she made her way to the meeting point. Not out of fear of enemies, but because observing her contacts could give her some insight into the nature of their request, and more importantly insight into how they thought.

If they had indicated any intention of stealing her secrets… well. She wouldn't kill them, of course, but there would be no chance of assisting them at all.

Thus, she had watched, observing for the first time the strange creature that had arrived with the templar. At first, she had assumed it was some sort of automaton, or robot as the Terrans called them, but this creature was actually flesh and blood under an odd combination of Terran and Protoss tech. Nothing too advanced that she could see, but functional. Curious.

Their conversation had been enlightening. This Gallus creature knew Zeratul personally. It was perhaps due to him that she was here at all. It also had some interesting thoughts about the Khala, and the more she watched him struggle to identify what had so disgusted her ancestors, the more she could relate to him.

When he finally gave voice to what her tribe had also said so long ago, she decided to reveal herself, and soon they were on their way inside the Templar's ship.

It wasn't until they warped right next to a Zerg Leviathan that she started questioning her life choices, and somewhat regretting teasing Ganox. Her words had surely crossed some Khala-induced cultural taboo and she had unwittingly awakened the desire in him to end all of their lives once and for all.

When the Leviathan did not attack, and simply moved out of the way to reveal the Protoss base on one of the moons of the planet below, the secrecy started to make sense.

It wasn't that the secret couldn't be shared. With the Khala, probably every Protoss that cared knew about it. No, the truth of the secrecy was that these damned Khalai had lost their minds, so that, if they shared what was truly happening, no creature with a semblance of sentience would ever entrust their lives to them.

These Protoss were crazy.

Author's Note

Nerath comes from the official StarCraft short story: One People, One Purpose

Chapter 023: Changes

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 023: Changes

2504, Somewhere█

Sweetie.

Sweetie, where are you?

Can you hear me, Sweetie Belle? Can you sense me?

The voice was so familiar. Sweetie Belle stood and turned, her wings fluttering, her pincers twitching.

Sweetie Belle?

"I-I can hear you! I can hear you… but who is this? Your voice sounds familiar, but I don't—"

What had happened? The last thing she remembered was… Char!

She looked around wildly, trying to sense her Zerglings, the Queen… to spot Gallus, or the Terrans. She braced herself for the impact of the Xel'Naga Artifact's wave of destructive, burning energy against her shield.

But there were no echoes in her mind from her Zerg.

There was no comforting presence from her Queen in the back of her mind.

Gallus was nowhere to be found.

She had no shield up, but there came no burning energy.

Sweetie Belle!

The voice… that familiar, distant voice. It was calling her from somewhere nearby, but her Queen…

A flash in her mind. An escape route… a-a portal! Burning memories; her shield shattering like thick glass into shards that evaporated into the aether as the energy slammed into her… but no, not the energy! It was Gallus!

The energy had seared into her, burning away her senses and her powers and her identity and her purpose.

Sweetie gasped, eyes wide as she turned around in place. Hadn't she died? Hadn't the Xel'Naga Artifact destroyed her like it had destroyed the other Zerg? Like it had erased the Queen from her mind?

Who was in charge now?

Sweetie Belle!

That voice. That… annoying, nostalgic, constantly-calling voice! Why wouldn't it let her think?

Sweetie Belle can you hear me?!

"I'm trying to think, Twilight!"

Sweetie almost stumbled back when she shouted, eyes even wider. "Twilight?" It felt like centuries, like the life of someone else, but the voice of the alicorn clawed its way from the recesses of her mind where she had stored all of her precious innocence and hopes…

"I can hear you, Sweetie! Where are you?"

"I'm here!"

Sweetie Belle suddenly found herself standing on a gigantic structure of some sort. It extended far in front of her for quite a distance before it met a wall and a gigantic door. The whole place was made of metal and green-blue energy, with wisps of the latter following unseen circuit routes.

The whole thing was incredible. Who could have built it? Surely not Terrans or even Protoss. It extended high above into some sort of rhomboid, and she imagined it might hold a similar shape under her… although she wasn't going to risk flying out there to find out for sure.

Beyond the edge of the platform where she stood, she could see space… but space like she had never seen before. Light expanded all around, barely allowing her to see the stars in the distance between small gaps in the rolling energies surrounding her. Novas and energy clouds rolled around the area around her, distant and yet close, as if trapped in some sort of current she could not feel from where she stood.

"Sweetie!"

She turned around, blinking. Right in front of her was Twilight Sparkle herself.

"Twilight?" Sweetie shook her head. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Never mind that, Sweetie… what… what happened to you?" Twilight's voice was low. She slowly walked around Sweetie Belle, studying her new form, but somehow didn't recoil in horror.

Suddenly remembering who she now was… what she was, Sweetie cringed. "A lot has happened, Twilight. Not all of it good."

The princess—no, her friend and teacher trotted closer, cautiously. "You… look very different, your aura signature is there but, it's changed." She shook her head. "Not to mention your looks, you kind of look like…"

"A changeling?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah… I wondered at some point if they were some sort of Zerg subspecies, but it doesn't make sense."

"Zerg?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.

"That's what I am now, Twilight," Sweetie sighed. "Enemy of all who live. Queen of the hive. We live to feed and to evolve." She snorted. "Or that's what they tell me. I think there's other ways."

Twilight considered her for a moment, stopping at leg's length. "It sounds like you've had it rough."

Sweetie sighed and sat down on the gray metal floor. "Not just me. Gallus too. And… Quarts."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Are they okay? Did the same thing happen to them?"

"Thankfully not… Why don't you sit, Twilight? I have quite the story for you."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Agria's Moon█

"And you did these calculations on your own?" Despite the inherent incredulity of the statement, Nerath couldn't hide the respect in her voice, which Lasarra appreciated with quiet dignity.

"Indeed." She summoned up another diagram for the Nerazim to observe. "With the assistance of the Terran-Zerg scientist, Ariel from planet Agria, I was able to obtain scans and information prior to her current circumstances. As you can see the damage from the Xel'Naga Artifact was not as absolute as we had feared."

She gestured and brought up one of Ariel's earlier scans to appear next to a current one. "Rather than destroy Sweetie Belle," she continued, "it eliminated the contamination of the Zerg in her, leaving behind what I can only describe as dormant, pure Zerg biological components."

"This is amazing." Nerath started pacing, considering the information. It was… odd, seeing a Protoss do such a thing not out of frustration or anticipation of a fight, but rather out of excitement.

Nerath was around the same age as Lasarra herself, but comported herself much differently, and while she could feel the slight amusement from the other Protoss in the room at the Nerazim's antics, to her it was… endearing to see one of her own people being so… openly alien. And yet, familiar.

Fascinating.

"I see you kept the nerve endings from fusing shut," Nerath noted. "Good… also good that she's unconscious since the pain would probably break her mind in a second." She ran some scans humming to herself as report after report was generated under her parameters.

Curious, Lasarra edged closer to take a look. "Is this… accurate? Queen Sweetie Belle is currently engaging with Void energies even though she is unconscious?"

"What a fascinating species, isn't she?" Nerath answered with a playful undertone, not exactly addressing her question, but yet confirming it at the same time. "Thousands of open nerve endings that exclusively connect to different wavelengths of void energy, each specialized yet complimenting the other."

"This must be how her original species is able to alter the world so much more than we are," Lasarra whispered. "If the Griffon Gallus' explanation earlier of their capabilities is true, these 'unicorns' are able to manipulate reality itself."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Nerath said, shaking her head. "It's good that you contacted me… a normal Phase crystal wouldn't be up to the task of handling these energies. We'll need to find a Khaydarin crystal of sufficient quality to adapt to this energy."

Lasarra blinked, then nodded slowly. "We cannot use a processed crystal… it has to be designed into a perfect fit for this purpose."

"That is correct," Nerath said, exuding satisfaction. She then visibly sagged as she considered the images and information. "This will require my full attention, and I must start now to work on the nerve endings, cataloging each for function and design so that we can create the proper power foci."

It struck Lasarra again as odd. The body language of the Nezarim was different from that of the Khalai, but familiar enough that she could recognize signs of approval. To think that those not part of the Khala would have to rely constantly on the observation of these minor shifts of body language and tone of voice to further understand each other, such as Terrans did with different species, was… humbling in a way.

This learning experience was very rewarding in itself, even if this aside was completely outside of their current experiment. Learning never ended.

"I will leave you then to your Phase Smithing, Nerath," she said, reining in her thoughts back to the matters at hand. "I shall consult with Executor Selendis to find the appropriate Khaydarin crystal to bring it to you."

Nerath nodded, then hesitated. "You are welcome to come back and… assist, if you so wish. I will only ask that you allow me to keep my secrets when needed."

"Of course."

2504, Somewhere█

To say that Twilight looked horrified was an understatement.

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry you've been through all of this!" Twilight hung her head low.

"It wasn't your fault, Twilight," Sweetie responded, reaching out to gently brush the other mare's mane out of the way. "I've learned that easily manipulated conspiracy theorists exist all over the universe." She snorted.

"I can't say that that brings me any comfort," Twilight chuckled between tears. "But after what they pulled off at the university, their movement lost momentum, and eventually was rejected by society as a whole… I just wish that epiphany hadn't come at the cost of your lives."

"I'm still here, you know, and Gallus is alive too."

Twilight nodded, her smile growing slightly. It was comforting to see that her friend and teacher still cared so deeply for them.

"If you think Unicorns First was bad, you should see what Mengsk and his cronies have done over here," Sweetie said, turning to stare at the stars with a visible shudder. "I was unfortunate enough to watch one of Vermillion's videos and the level of anger and idiocy was enough to make me feel like my neurons were wilting."

Twilight laughed at that, looking up at her with some warmth. "I can't say I'm not still horrified by your transformation… and I can't understand your, um Zerg nature. It seems too prone to violence and voracity for me to do so… I can't understand many of your changes, Sweetie Belle, but I can see you have grown, and I am proud of you for how far you have come, and how much you have survived. Not many could."

"You should be proud of Gallus too," Sweetie replied, allowing herself to smile fondly at the memory of the griffon. "He's taking things a bit too seriously—"

"Can you blame him?"

"I guess not, but my point is that he learned a lot of engineering from the Terrans, he learned to fight, and learned to survive as well. He's grown into a fine specimen."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I think I have some gossip for Rarity now… well, gossip that she might appreciate."

"Ha, I wish." Sweetie grinned, leaning forward. "He's interested, but he's holding back. I think it might be my mandibles." She clicked them together, making Twilight's smile turn a bit sickly. Sweetie sighed. "Scared?"

"If I didn't know Thorax that would probably freak me out more than it does," Twilight admitted, "but no… when I found you here, I knew it was you, and after talking to you I was able to accept that you had changed. But I still feel the magic of Friendship in you, and I also feel the heart of someone that I grew to love as if you were my own little sister." She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "It will take some getting used to."

"Thanks, Twilight."

The alicorn sighed. "It's going to be hard explaining this to the others, Sweetie."

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "It's enough to know that you are all still looking for us. I'll tell Gallus that I met you here in… um, wherever we are."

Twilight looked around curiously. "You don't know where this is?"

"No…" Sweetie walked to the edge of the structure and stared at the galaxies beyond. "It's like nothing I've seen in the galaxy so far. No stars match this. No fortifications that I heard of were comparable to this in any way shape or form. Wherever we are… it's beyond me."

Twilight trotted up to her, joining her in staring at the infinite universe as it expanded in front of them. "I don't even have the words to describe how beautiful this is," the alicorn admitted. "To think… despite all the horror and violence you have experienced, Sweetie, that there are sights like these so far beyond Equestria's system."

"Maybe one day you'll get to see them," Sweetie said. "Once my Queen is satisfied… maybe I can go back."

"I'll wait for you and Gallus here… with Rarity and our friends. We're all waiting for you, Sweetie. And if I find a way to go to you—"

"Don't." Sweetie turned to face Twilight. "I want you to. But, please don't. Not right now. Not until it's… safer."

Twilight stared at her without betraying her thoughts, then, with a deep breath, she nodded.

"How long do you think we have before I'm… back with my Queen, or you're needed back in Equestria?" Sweetie asked.

Twilight seemed to look at something, or someone before turning her attention back to Sweetie. "I have time."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Sweetie said. "How about you tell me about Equestria now?"

Twilight chuckled and sat down next to her. "I guess we princesses can gossip as we want."

"Well, technically I'm a Queen," Sweetie responded, "but I won't pull rank."

Twilight shook her head with obvious amusement. "Well, after you disappeared…"

End Chapter

Chapter 024: Parallels

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 024: Parallels

Equestria Several Months Ago█

The School of Friendship had held the funeral for Sweetie Belle and Gallus after a month had passed without news or headway into their location. Investigations into the unicorn that had caused the incident to happen had revealed the ugly side of the long isolation of Equestria from most other nations, and the deep roots of unfounded hatred and resentment that had fed from the most insular of fanatics to even educators and politicians.

The distractions in dealing with these homegrown terrorists had not slowed Twilight down on her own personal research, but despite months of experiments, she didn't have any proof of anything other than the fact that a bomb had gone off and taken with it three lives, two of which were very dear to her, her friends, and students.

Trixie had taken Gallus' disappearance particularly hard. Having felt personally connected to the griffon from the moment she had defended him from Grandpa Gruff, to watching him outgrow his fears, she had been devastated. Starlight Glimmer and her had even attempted time travel, but the forces activated by the Quantum Sphere disrupted time and space so severely that they risked being caught in the energies involved and destroyed.

Despite their protests, Twilight had to put her hoof down and forbid them from trying again… on their own. A series of experiments had ensued from that with all three brilliant mares trying to figure out how to cancel or channel those energies to their benefit.

Eventually they had discovered that the Quantum Sphere had not only opened a simple teleportation, but with the added, mysterious result of the bomb, it had catapulted the energy output beyond the current reality. It had pierce time, space, dimension and conceptual thought. It was simply beyond the magical potential of their incredibly powerful group of friends and acquaintances to imitate or even approach.

Sunset Shimmer and Science Twilight had been contacted to see if the technomagical approach of the human world and the magical knowledge of Equestria could pierce through this veil, but it had been fruitless. Without a starting point in their own dimension, there had been no way for them to even get past the point of theory.

Between Discord, Luna and Celestia, she had figured something could eventually reveal itself, but even Discord was at a loss. His chaotic magic could only be focused to an extent, and if the three of them had been tossed across the universes opened too many possibilities for a magical solution from him.

And he had tried to the point that Rarity had insisted he stop after Fluttershy had come crying to her, as he had run himself so haggard from the strain of attempts that he had almost faded out of their reality.

Nocreature wanted to give up. Not Discord. Not her, not the princesses…and not the Crusaders.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had sought out Zecora in the Everfree Forest. The shaman had used all of her might and knowledge, but the whispers of magic and the spirits she communed with had given her inconclusive results.

Time had passed and the experiments had slowly died off. Mystical artifacts proved inefficient; spells limited. Imagination slowly dried away until all most of them could do was stare listlessly at the failed attempts from before.

None of them had wanted to hold the funeral.

But they had to, because months of desperate effort had passed already, and despite their loss, life moved on.

Ocellus had steered Silverstream away from the lab with the help of Yona and Smolder to their home in the forest, where Sandbar had prepared some food. They had cut themselves for a few days, keeping the devastated hippogriff company, while also preventing her from descending into repetitive experiments.

Rarity's parents had insisted that she stop too… after chasing down Daring Do and insisting to go adventuring to find random items of power to help her, she had almost been killed during such an adventure, with only the intervention of Daring and Rainbow Dash stopping her from dying in a very messy and painful way.

The griffons had mourned in their own way the loss of Gallus. Grandpa Gruff hadn't been seen for weeks, with only Gabby being able to confirm the old bird was still alive, just terribly depressed, guilt-ridden and refusing company even more than usual.

Once the funeral happened, the wind seemed to die under the sails of those desperate to find their friends, or at least whether they even lived still. A lot of creatures simply resigned themselves and moved on, however reluctantly.

At least officially.

Twilight still found her students huddled in the library from time to time, looking over texts and experiment results, and she even joined them occasionally.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would sometimes come by with some research paper for her to validate, and Rarity, Fluttershy and Discord would travel to undisclosed locations for 'camping' trips that, upon their return, would drag with them an aura of displacement… as if they had been somewhere outside of the reality they were all familiar with.

It had been an accident that she had been able to sense that at all, having been engrossed in another experiment of her own, and that is what had given her the idea.
"Magical-aural dimensional resonance."

Applejack passed her a tissue.

"I didn't sneeze!" Twilight growled.

"Ah thought you did," the farmer countered, "Ah don't know what that was, but it didn't sound like the Equestrian Ah learned growing up."

"My dear Applejack, that leaves entire dictionaries worth of material to work with," Discord said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Rarity, while Fluttershy struggled between holding back a giggle and frowning disapprovingly.

The trio had become much closer since the accident, having been working together to find any trace of Sweetie, Gallus, and Quantum.

"In any case," Twilight said after clearing her throat to get their attention back, "I think the theory is sound and ties with the suggestions I've gotten from Sunset Shimmer and her friends." She used her magic to materialize a diagram she had been working on earlier.

"Waaaait…" Rainbow Dash gasped, staring at it. "Is that the outline of the hoofball tactics tha—"

"It's not," Twilight interrupted. "It's a visual representation of my theory. As you all know, when I asked Sunset and the others to investigate a technological means of finding our students, they were stumped by the lack of a starting point of some kind where they could dimensionally map a potential trajectory across theoretically proven levels of reality."

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Trixie said. Then she shook her head sadly, stage-whispering to Starlight: "Poor Twilight, she's really lost it."

Starlight however shook her head, focusing on the diagram. "So… you've figured out a way to provide them with that?"

"Yes!" Twilight said, grinning. "It all came together when Discord, Rarity and Fluttershy returned from their last trip. I have been experimenting with dimensional wavelengths and realized that while we cannot pinpoint things from here… we can use our Equestrian wavelengths while dimensionally displaced to have a starting point to perform a search once we leave our universe. Wherever we go, we can use a tracing spell alongside some of Sunset's technology to start a proper search!"

"Right." Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "What does that mean?"

"Basically we need to detect our specific type of energy from outside this universe," Starlight explained to the others. "We've been on the right track but had the wrong starting point. We start from outside with our, um, energy signature. So when we do that, we should get three results at least… one for this dimension, one for the dimension we use to perform the experiment, and finally…"

"One from where Sweetie and Gallus are!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"Yes!" Twilight said, grinning.

Present Day, Equestria█

"She's back!"

It took a moment for Twilight to get her bearings and recognize the voices around her.

Discord was giving suggestions, but apparently staying out of the way. Rarity was closest, fussing over her. Trixie, Sunset, Sci-Twi, Starlight and Starswirl were arguing closer to where the magical technology machines were located.

She couldn't see…. everything was hazy-white, and she panicked for a second, but then she remembered had expected that and knew her vision would return to normal in a few moments.

A bit further away she could hear the nervous voices of the crusaders, Spike, and her students. Full house today at the lab.

"Twilight." At the sound of Celestia's calm voice, everyone else quieted down. "Twilight, how do you feel?"

Twilight gulped, took a deep, slow breath and let it out gently. "I feel… I feel okay." She used her magic slowly, checking herself, checking the flow of energy, checking for variations that would show if anything had changed, but found none… just a slight trace of the Void, as Sweetie had called it, but again, that was to be expected.

In fact, it was wanted. She carefully cast a spell that activated the machine where Sunset and the others were, and the several measuring instruments in it recorded the all the relevant wavelengths—three-dimensional and four-dimensional, thaumic and radioactive—that she would need to reach that place again.

And she would. But she needed to rest… and to talk to the others.

She gulped, thinking back on her conversation there. On the dangers Sweetie had made her aware of, how unprepared they were for… any of it, if it ever came to their part of the universe.

Slowly her eyes cleared and she was able to make out the worried faces of the others as the whole group slowly approached.

"They're alive," Twilight said. "Gallus and Sweetie… they're alive."

The cheer was almost deafening. Immediately voices rose again, discussing plans on how to reach out to them again. Making the system more efficient. Go pick them up….

"No!" Twilight blurted out before she controlled herself.

"Twilight?" Rarity asked, surprised. "What do you mean no?"

She braced herself. "There's… a lot to talk about. We can't go there, not yet. I need to talk to Sweetie again before we even consider the idea, and even if it's possible it might not be for the best."

"Twilight," Princess Celestia spoke up. "What are you not telling us?"

Twilight's thoughts were a jumble. She needed to think and organize them. "Quartz is dead."

The room became quiet.

"Gallus and Sweetie are stuck on opposite sides of a war that we can barely begin to imagine. Sweetie is…" She hesitated.

"What's wrong with Sweetie?" Rarity asked, her voice low. "Tell me, Twilight."

"Sweetie is no longer a pony… not exactly."

"Did she turn into a h—"

"No." Twilight interrupted Sunset. "There are humans there, called Terrans," she clarified, ignoring her student's confused looks. "Gallus is part of the crew of one of the Terran faction's rebellion's leader. Sweetie is now a… she called them Zerg."

"Twilight—"

"Enough." Celestia turned to face the others. "I understand we all want to know what happened to our friends. But we need to give Twilight some space and a moment to collect herself."

"I'm sorry, Rarity," Twilight said. "Give me a few minutes. I have to go write down everything Sweetie told me. But… for what it's worth, despite her changes… she's okay, she's fine. She has friends and an army behind her to support her. I believe she's as safe as anycreature can be right now where they are."

In fact, if she were attacked, it would be more likely that her enemies would be the ones in danger. She thought, keeping that to herself as Fluttershy and Discord helped Rarity over to the Crusaders to talk a little.

"Twilight?" Silverstream ventured.

"Gallus is fine too, he's a bit more mature now, that's all," she said with a gentle smile at her students, who looked very relieved indeed.

Once she was on her hooves, she looked at everycreature in the room and rolled her shoulders with a sigh. "There's too much to tell, and it was all told to me by Sweetie, so bear in mind we're hearing one side of the story here. Let me get things organized and we'll talk." She looked at Rarity, who didn't seem to happy about having to wait, but after a moment, her friend sighed and her shoulders slumped.

Rarity gave her a tired smile. "At least I know she's alive and well."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Agria's Moon█

"I don't know if she's going to make it."

Gallus and Lasarra glanced up at Nerath from their game of chess, which Gallus barely remembered how to play, but knew enough to teach the scientist the basics and soon was losing consistently against the observant—and much less impulsive—Protoss.

"That is not a very encouraging thing to say," Gallus admitted, secretly thankful for the reprieve from a series of consecutive, embarrassing losses. "Weren't you very certain she would be fine just a few minutes ago?"

That was one thing he had learned about Nerath: if things didn't work out immediately as she expected, she assumed failure.

"Why hasn't she awakened?" the Nezarim said, pacing around the lab and gazing worriedly at Sweetie, who was now floating placidly in a tank full of liquids that, according to the Protoss, would heal whatever wounds were left.

"Already the scans indicate the neural connections are working perfectly! The zerg genetics have healed so thoroughly there's not even scar tissue! Her system has accepted our adaptations! She should be up and murdering us right now!"

"And that statement worries me more than your urgency at her recovery," Lasarra quipped.

At first, the pair had been worried, but soon had grown to understand that Nerath, for all her skill, had little patience for medical recovery. Her work was usually done with machines and with Protoss that were at least compatible with her technology.

The unknown factor of how the Zerg Queen would recover, if she would really be able to use her improvements, and the weight of just how much hinged on this working at all was making her even more stressed.

"I don't like not knowing even less than you do," Gallus reminded her. "I care a lot for Sweetie Belle. But you've gone from calling absolute failure to success to failure again that I'm starting to think you should be sedated."

Suddenly an alarm rang out in the lab, and both scientists were on their consoles in a second.

"Her thought patterns are spiking!" Nerath cried out with joy. "She's waking up! We've done it!"

Gallus would have joined her excitement, but he had been observing Sweetie as she came to. And the look of abject horror, then anger that crossed her face sobered him up very quickly.

The next thing he knew, the container exploded into pieces, and Sweetie was flying at him, snarling with anger, and scythes at the ready to dismember him.

End Chapter

Chapter 025: Heartbeat Of Her Swarm

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 025: Heartbeat Of Her Swarm

2504, Somewhere█

After what seemed like hours talking to Twilight, reminiscing, discussing magic, and even learning, Sweetie felt herself awakening almost as soon as Twilight also started to fade.

"Twilight… I'm not sure I can come back here," Sweetie confessed.

"It's okay, Sweetie," Twilight responded, watching her with an almost-proud smile. "I'll explain things to the others, and all that we discussed and I taught you should help you… you'll find a way. I trust you."

"I'm sorry I turned out like this," Sweetie cried out. "It's such a betrayal of—"

Before she could finish, Twilight hugged her tight. Sweetie hugged her back as the alicorn spoke: "I'm proud of you. You've changed and things are different, but we can't prevent change or always be happy with it. But you're strong, and you're still yourself. Keep growing, Sweetie…" She leaned back and smiled. "Evolve into a better pony. A better Zerg. A better everything. You can do it."

"Twilight…" and then their forelegs went abruptly through each other, as if they were never really there.

The strange place where she had met Twilight Sparkle faded slowly into mists of energy and she felt her consciousness being pulled away from the edge of the universe.

At least she now knew everycreature back home was okay, and not only that: they hadn't been forgotten. As tragic as things had been… according to Twilight, the attack that had caused their accident had caused a shift in mentality even in the most resistant groups in Equestria, and even outside its borders.

Sudden, public confrontations between Twilight's 'faction' and xenophobic nationalist groups like Unicorns First, had sparked community interest into examining that mentality and its origins. She hadn't gone much into the details, but according to her, that public interest had slowly degraded their narrative, chipping away at the lack of logic and fear mongering until very few even remained after a closer examination had revealed all the flaws in the logic of their hate.

This wouldn't really help to get Sweetie and Gallus back sooner, but it was nice to know that when they went back, these groups would be practically buried.

But that was the funny thing about ponies and beings in Equestria, Sweetie supposed; they reacted strongly to change, but once they understood it, they were eager to adapt and change, embracing the new and discarding old prejudices, like Ponyville as a whole had done with Zecora.

Now, she knew she was going back to the Zerg. To her Queen and Ariel and her swarm; to Gallus and Zeratul and Selendis, and all the other friends she had made. As her thoughts went from Twilight to her current place in the universe, memories flashed back more intensely than in the void where she had been before.

2504, Koprulu Sector, Agria's Moon█

Now she remembered the last fight on Char. The pain of all her nerve-endings burning in white-hot fire, her teleportation, crashing into another place, with overwhelming, blinding pain… that seemed to be gone now, dulled, somehow, but she found herself in a familiar, and disturbing sensation.

As she struggled to fight away the grogginess in her mind, she could feel and even smell the liquid surrounding her. It wasn't the organic, welcoming pool of a Leviathan. It was… different.

It reminded her of that place.

The place where she had been torn apart and experimented on.

The memories of her torture came back to her, along with the feelings of despair and horror, her own thoughts as she had believed she would drown so far away from home echoed in her mind, as if brought back from so many months ago.

'Not like this! Please, oh Celestia! Not like this… Rarity! Gallus! H-help me!'

She had been so helpless as liquid was forced into her lungs.

She felt her horn gathering energy, channeling it through her body as her cells started regenerating at full Zerg speed. She was stronger now!

The memory came unbidden again:

She felt the drill touch her horn.

"No! PLEASE NO!"

Not again. Never again!

Just like that time, she could hear voices, unclear through the liquid surrounding her and the barrier separating them.

She remembered her desperate crying, her horror-filed cries for mercy all ignored by her captors.

"IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! I'LL NEVER SING AGAIN! JUST STOP! RARITY! HELP ME!"

She twitched. She wasn't going to allow this to happen again.

Not when she could fight back!

Not when she was Zerg!

With a gurgling roar, she unwound from the pitiful curled-up position she had been in while floating in the liquid. She felt tugs and snaps as the tubes connecting to her body ripped apart, and her scythes shot forth, crashing through the barrier keeping her inside with tremendous force, then spread open to help catapult her out of the tube into the midst of her enemies.

She flew at the one straight ahead, a small voice in her head crying for her to stop, but her instincts wouldn't allow her to hesitate. Hesitation was death.

Hesitation meant torture and pain!

Just as she was about to tear the blue blur in front of her to bloody chunks, something slammed onto her side, sending her flying violently against a white, curved wall. She barely managed to counter the attack with a swipe of her scythe, feeling it slice into something before she had to spread her wings and forced herself to turn in the air, landing with all hooves on the wall, clinging to it as she hissed at her attacker… it wasn't Terran.

"Sweetie!"

The voice…

"Sweetie Belle! Calm down!"

"What—Gallus?!" The voice could only be his. She hissed, closing her eyes and shaking her head as the sound of an alarm siren blared around her. She ignored the sound of a door sliding open, of several feet stamping as troops ran in, the hum of weapons…

She opened her eyes, breathing hard as she took in her surroundings. The room was clean, curved with inlays of gold and blue crystals, a tank with its front cracked open dripped clear, glimmering liquid onto the floor, and across it were Gallus and two female Protoss she didn't recognize.

A short pang of jealousy shook her as she forced herself to breathe. Other Protoss were in the room, weapons ready. One of the females, a dark-skinned Protoss that reminded her of Zeratul held her left arm gingerly, where a wound was gushing blood.

She was then the one that had tackled her. But who had she… oh… the blue blur… it could only be Gallus. But… wasn't he with the Terrans? What was happening here?

"Weapons down!" a familiar voice called.

Sweetie turned around, wide-eyed to stare at the Protoss that had walked into the room, not recognizing her for a moment, then, she placed her. "S-Selendis? What… where—"

"There's much to explain, Queen Sweetie Belle," Selendis said gravely. "Stand down."

"I—" the strength seemed to leave Sweetie's body all at once, and she collapsed heavily on the floor. "What… I'm sorry, I—" she looked up at the Nerazim that was slowly approaching her. "It was like I was back… being tortured… I didn't recognize—"

"I will survive," the Nerazim said. "And I am glad to see my skills have proven true." The Nerazim's voice changed slightly, almost teasing. "I'm guessing you don't have a headache?"

"I—" Sweetie raised a hoof to her head in confusion, then blinked as she slid it up her horn… feeling the smooth chitin exterior suddenly become something else. Not bone. Not chitin… but she could still feel, and her magic flowed perfectly, even better than before! The pain, all of it was gone!

"What… happened," Sweetie asked, looking up from the Nezarim, to Gallus, then to Selendis."

"Allow Gallus, Lasarra and Nerath to help you heal fully," Selendis said, indicating each with a gesture of her head, then waving her hand at the troops who left the lab, albeit a little reluctantly if their body language was any sign. The alarm was turned off and was replaced by the usual hum of a base or ship. "They can explain how you came to be under our care. I will message Ariel as well, to inform her that you are awake."

"She knows," Sweetie said, sensing not only her second-in-command, but also her swarm nearby. "I imagine she'll be contacting you shortly."

Selendis nodded. "Once you're up to date, you and I will talk. A lot has happened in the last few hours… some of which you…" her look encompassed all four of them, "will want to hear soon."

"Thank you." Sweetie said, resting her head on the floor. "I don't know yet what happened, but being here in your care tells me enough about how much I owe you. I'm glad to have you as a friend, Selendis."

The Protoss Executor paused, studying Sweetie silently for a moment before nodding stiffly and leaving the room.

"Huh," the Protoss female that had been identified as Nerath said, "I think she was blushing."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria█

Ariel leaned back from the microscope, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The cells she had been examining, skin cells belonging to her, to be precise, told no lies: the carbon and nitrogen, the glucose content in her basic composition was changing… not as drastically as the almost gooey changes she had seen in those that had been fully infested by the original Zerg strain, but if she took a magnified look at her own skin, it was… different. Like miniature scales.

A feeling on the back of her senses told her that the Zerglings outside the city were getting restless, and just like that, her acknowledgment alone was reason enough for them to calm down.

When she had feared becoming Zerg, she had no idea that a change like this could be possible. She thought that her evolution would mimic the ones she had witnessed in videos and prior studies. A violent consumption of the original material (her) to be replaced with Zerg cells that overwhelmed the original body with their voracity, creating monstrous, deformed beings that were never truly Zerg, but also not their own species anymore.

Sweetie had accomplished something unthinkable up to this point by convincing Kerrigan and Abathur to integrate rather than infest. She had a feeling that her minor psionic capabilities had something to do with her personal growth in addition to Sweetie's push, and it had less with power and more with acceptance.

The people of Agria that had remained, had understood and accepted that a slow conversion was going to be their fate, but unlike prior ones, they held to the hope that it would not deprive them of their sense of self.

Ultimately, Ariel believed that the Zerg infestation would reach a breaking point where embracing the changes fully would make the difference in results. The human-Zerg population of her Queen's planet was not only getting fully used to the Zerg living there, but also, slowly… very slowly, they were starting to regard their more bestial brethren as less of monstrous beings and more as equals.

There was of course an understanding of capabilities. Which Zerg were stronger, faster, more able to kill, but it was balanced by the equal understanding that the original Zerg were developing of these new members… how they might be more feeble in combat in most cases, but definitely superior in strategy and planning, something Zerg as a whole could not do outside very few exceptions, such as Queens Sweetie and Kerrigan.

She had to wonder though… if intent was part of the process, and acceptance made it flow in a positive way so far, what would happen if her people rejected the idea? Would the infestation become aggressive and turn them into different creatures than the other human-Zerg hybrids?

Or would it have advanced enough that it wouldn't matter?

As she sighed and started to type her thoughts into the computer, she felt Sweetie awaken. And she wasn't the only one, she could feel the more advanced hybrids in the population react, and the entire swarm on Agria became abuzz with excitement.

Ariel quickly finished her notes and headed over to the transmitter. It took a few, frustrating minutes but she was able to get patched through to the lab, where Nerath and Lasarra were performing a checkup on Sweetie, who sat on the table, waiting patiently.

Her Queen's gaze went to her when the communication came through, and a smile spread on her lips.

Ariel didn't know what to say. Sweetie looked Zerg, but not. Her carapace had been replaced by what appeared to be fur, and although her pincers were still there, they were smaller. Her horn was now a bit straighter, and in a spiral of its original bony structure and one of those green power crystals that Nerath used, ending in a sharp point.

Her scythes rested on her back, folded, but looking sharp as ever, and she could see the gossamer wings flutter slightly when Sweetie greeted her.

Her Queen looked different, but well. And her presence was stronger than ever. She could feel the other Zerg basking in her power, and the relief of the few human-Zerg hybrids in tune with the swarm who were not exactly aware yet of what was happening, but could feel the positive reaction from it.

"It's good to see you, Ariel," Sweetie said. "Thank you for taking care of our swarm."

"My Queen… my friend," Ariel found herself getting a little emotional. "I'm glad you're back."

"We'll be there soon," Sweetie said with a gentle nod. "As soon as I've spoken to Selendis."

"We'll be glad to have you back," Ariel said. "I'll let Suzie know. She's been asking me about you every day."

Sweetie's smile grew, to the point where her mouth expanded back, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

She had looked more innocent for a moment there, but right now, she was definitely revealing herself a true Zerg.

"I look forward to it."

Had she been a human still, the smile might have seemed threatening, but the empathic link they shared allowed Ariel to fully appreciate how touched her Queen was, despite the horrified looks of the Protoss there.

Ariel nodded, and smiled, her own lips revealing her own set of fangs. "See you soon, my Queen. You're just in time to celebrate the new year."

Chapter 026: Ghost

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 026: Ghost

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

"Greetings! It seems you are investigating zerg space. As you must be aware by now, it is highly inadvisable to try and fly straight through here. If you wish to engage in violent actions, please leave a contact number.

If you need assistance in re-mapping your trajectory, contact your local government for advice, consult the star-charts, or better yet, go back to where you came from. At this time we are not looking for ambassadorial exchanges, trading agreements, or open borders. All tourist attractions in this sector have been closed down for the time being. Thank you!"

Beeeeeeep!

"Whatever you do," Nova growled to the communications officer, "do NOT leave a voicemail."

"A-Aye, aye, ma'am!" the man stuttered, slack-jawed like just about everyone else in the ship. "W-we would never!"

"Just make sure of it," Nova replied, massaging her forehead. "Voicemail? Really?" She shook her head. She had heard this zerg queen was odd, but warning off visitors via an automated message like this one was ridiculous. "What kind of idiot would fall for that?"

Nova grunted and focused on her task.

The force accompanying her was as big as the one that was heading over to Research Station EB-103, but quite honestly she would have preferred to be on that mission rather than her current destination.

Raynor had ignored her warnings and sided with Tosh. Kerrigan herself was in EB-103. Those two were the real danger… but instead she had been sent to the edge of the colonies to find a zerg named like some sort of candy.

Still. Nova followed orders, and her orders were to capture or kill the so-called Queen living far away from the center of conflict. It wasn't clear to her why Mengsk was so worried about a random Zerg Queen.

Sure, they could be a problem, but it wasn't something they hadn't dealt with before. It wasn't another Kerrigan.

"I need a review of everything we have on planet Agria in the last few cycles," she ordered.

"There's not much, agent," the first officer of the ship responded, bringing up several holographic screens. "We stationed a permanent force in 2500, and helped them fend off a pirate attack or two. The world is heavily invested in sciences and several individuals of interest had set up labs there."

As he talked, several pictures and names came up. No one she really cared about. Some names sounded familiar, but not in a way that really caught her attention. Probably people that had been on the news at some point.

"During a Zerg invasion in early 2504, we attempted to secure the civilians…"

Nova interrupted him by entering her own input into the console. She smirked. "You mean you tried to escape and left them to die."

The officer coughed. "The planet was deemed lost to the zerg. After we left, all we had were some reports from the news about Raynor crashing in and saving some more civilians before being forced to leave by the new Zerg Queen, Sweetie Belle."

"What a name." Despite her derision at the name, Nova frowned, however. Sweetie Belle had forced Raynor to leave? That was certainly an achievement. Raynor and his troops might not be in her friendly book, but they were no slouches, and Raynor was infamous for being such an effective strategist and leader.

"Since then, other than her appearance at Char, it seems this zerg queen has limited her actions to this specific planetary system. Overall information on her seems to indicate she is a surprisingly peaceful zerg, as that goes, with confidential reports of her earlier appearances citing several instances of mercy and even providing assistance to evacuees."

The officer brought up more reports. "Our long-range systems also detected a Protoss Armada heading toward planet Agria, but nothing has been heard of them since. They were presumed destroyed."

"Even the Protoss?" Nova muttered. "Their defenses must be incredible."

The officer hesitated. "If I can ask, agent, why are we being sent to eliminate this queen in particular? There are reports of other queens that are—"

"The exact reasons are beyond our paygrade, officer," Nova said, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "I cannot disclose all I know, but I am allowed a minimum of information. Do you know of Emil Narud?"

The officer nodded immediately, standing straight. She could sense his distress, but he was holding up admirably. He'd never be worthy of her full respect, but it wasn't often she met someone outside the corps that held themselves well enough.

"Dr. Narud believes that Queen Sweetie Belle is as potentially dangerous as the Queen of Blades herself," she said. "Right now she's weakened, but the aberration in her behavior is and should be concerning to everyone." She looked him straight in the eye. "Zerg destroy. They expand. They don't just stay in a small territory." She paused for effect, studying his reaction. "Understood?"

"R-right."

Seeing that he had acknowledged the importance of the mission, she leaned back, allowing him to breathe a bit more calmly. "Do we have any new information since then?"

The man shook his head. "Our attempts to send ships have failed consistently. Our last spy shuttle was only able to send us a capture of a Leviathan circling the moons of Agria. Monitoring of transmissions between the moon and the planet, indicate that Sweetie Belle is currently on the planet itself, in what used to be one of the largest settlements."

The images brought on screen showed… a normal-looking settlement, not a zerg nest like they had expected. "I don't like working with this minimum amount of information." Nova muttered. "Why is the surface of the planet not completely infected? How old are these?"

"Our satellites caught those almost a month after the invasion, before they were all destroyed by the zerg."

"How about our cloaked ships? Have we sent any?"

The officer shook his head. "They have met the same fate, and there was not much interest in spying on a destroyed world."

"I see." Nova trusted her instincts. Sure, sometimes she had to fight them down when following orders, but when it came to missions, she listened. Especially if it involved the planning stages. And even more so if the enemy had somehow changed their modus-operandi.

A still-functional human settlement on a zerg dominated planet? That was not natural.

"Show me a visual of the scouting missions."

"Ma'am," the officer immediately brought them up and they both stared at them. With Raynor and Kerrigan stirring trouble closer and closer to Mengsk's center of power, there had been little actual interest in Planet Agria once it had been thought lost to the zerg. Therefore there wasn't a wealth of information that they could extrapolate from those few trips, but there was something that stood plenty obvious to her at the moment.

"Do you see it?" she asked.

The man nodded soberly. "All of the entry points have been within the radius of the moons… do you believe there's a zerg base there?"

"It makes the most sense," Nova murmured. "It would normally be a safe assumption that following the dark side of one of the moons would serve as a buffer to the scouts, since it disrupts certain types of scans and obviously line of sight… but if this invasion was planned by first setting a base on one of the moons, then that approach would backfire."

"So what do you suggest?" the officer asked.

Nova pondered the question for a moment. "The lack of information is a big problem, but we have to work with what we have," she stated. "Mengsk has made it very clear that Sweetie Belle is to be eliminated one way or the other. I would have preferred to do it stealthily, but it won't happen, not with a force this size. Still… some modicum of stealth would give us an advantage, however brief."

She brought up a map of the space around the planet, overlapping the routes the scouts had taken and shook her head. Predictability had been the scout's undoing, but it would be to her advantage now. "I have an idea." She activated a simulation and moved their forces into position.

She glanced at the paling officer and, reading his thoughts, she grinned. He understood. This was his chance for glory.

Nova piloted her small infiltrator ship—a short-distance vehicle small enough to not to be identifiable by normal tracking systems—coming into normal space outside Agria on the opposite side of the planet, with her full cloak engaged just in case there were any patrols in the area.

She was going in dark, with the rest of her plan depending on the officer in charge of the battalion keeping a tight grip on time. Of course her success did not hinge on other people doing their job, however.

That would be ridiculous. There was a reason she mostly worked alone, after all, and it certainly wasn't because people were that reliable. No. If things went according to plan, she'd just have an easier time about it, but only an idiot would have considered a single avenue of attack (and retreat).

So far, things seemed to be going well. There were certainly zerg in the planet, and patrols around it, but none were aware of her presence, and the leviathan and other space-faring zerg were currently on the opposite side of her location. If everything went according to plan, they would remain there.

As soon as she crossed into the airspace within Agria's atmosphere, Nova hit her first snag. She had been expecting the type of zerg world she was used to: occasional ruins and few wild nature areas, and vast masses of land covered in zerg Creep and crawling with zerglings and other evolutions… and she certainly spotted a few of those.

But none of them were overwhelming the planet, and there were even large towns completely intact—with humans in them—living right next to the zerg territory! It was surreal.

In fact, if her systems were not lying to her, there were zerg currently in the human towns, but there was no fighting. No calls for aid.

Carefully maneuvering towards the main colony, she encountered more instances of peaceful cooperation between the two species. Reaching the main colony, she set her ship down in a secure area and snuck into the city, shrouded in her camouflage.

Is this what Mengsk is afraid of? What Dr. Narud spoke of when comparing this Queen to Kerrigan? Any other zerg infested world would already be completely overwhelmed. People would be turned into abominations… and there's no denying there's a bit of that… some of the humans seem just… a bit feral. But they act normal.

She had taken to the roofs to avoid potentially bumping into a zerg or human. There was something wrong here and she had knew she couldn't trust humans willing to work with zerg like this.

There seemed to be some sort of event going on in the main plaza. Nova took off in that direction, hoping to find out more about the location of the queen, when she found herself staring across hundreds of people (and zerg) at her mission objective.

She had found Queen Sweetie Belle. And Executor Selendis. And one of the humans of note in the reports. And also Raynor's pet griffon alongside several other Protoss, including a Nezarim.

What the hell was going on?!

There was an air of anticipation as more and more humans and zerg gathered together. Nova narrowed her eyes. What was she witnessing? A declaration of war?

Queen Sweetie Belle raised a hoof and that's when Nova realized she looked different. Less… Zerg. More… unicorn?

The audience of combined species seemed to hold their collective breath as Queen Sweetie Belle smiled. "Happy New Year!"

END CHAPTER

Chapter 027: One Shot

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 027: One Shot

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Rushing things never led to anything good, so Nova took out her rifle and studied the gathered group through the sights. Selendis looked as arrogant as ever, not a trace of any sort of visible corruption on her or any of the other Protoss, including the Nerazim, and another female that seemed to shrink back in front of the crowd.

The six or so Zealots guarding the podium on both sides, (standing impossibly side-by side with two Hydralisks) also showed no signs of being controlled that she could see, especially as they kept glancing occasionally at the large zerg killing machines next to them.

Raynor's pet was armored up as usual, although his armor had clearly been also modified with Protoss technology. He stood there, almost comfortable at times, at others looking conflicted, but also uninfected. In fact, most humans looked decidedly uninfected, although the woman standing next to him and Sweetie Belle… she had a sheen to her, almost like her skin was actually scales, like a reptile.

If it was an infection, it was very subtle, and she didn't show any signs of the creep that seemed to cover converted victims.

The supposed Zerg Queen also did not look like Nova had been told. Her horn was not split, like in the reports… it was a solid, spiraling mix of what seemed to be exo-skeleton and the powerful crystals that the Protoss used. Her body was covered in a soft, pale-white chitin that covered insectile wings. Although she did still have the pincers around her mouth, and her mane's hair was clearly made up of those strange tentacles that had replaced the follicles for Kerrigan as well.

It wasn't her job to assess her enemies in non-combat situations while on a mission, but she had to wonder how much of the information she had been given was even remotely accurate. Everything since she had arrived was different than expected.

There were no infested cities, no overwhelming amounts of zerg, no fighting between humans and their natural predators. The presence of the Protoss was a very bad sign indeed, especially since it actually backed up the rumors that this queen was actually able to bring peace… the same rumors that had made her so dangerous in Mengsk's estimation that he had ordered Nova herself to eliminate her.

Nova's eyes narrowed. It wasn't really a question of whether she should do it or not… she'd have them remove the memories as soon as she got back, but right now… a sliver of doubt wormed itself into her heart.

"Hello everyone!" Sweetie Belle said, her young, innocent-sounding voice another thing that just… didn't match a death machine like a zerg. It was the same voice she had heard while on her ship, telling visitors to turn away from Zerg space. "I am glad to report that I am much better now, as you can all see! During the battle at Char, Queen Kerrigan suffered heavy losses and I was seriously injured, but I managed to escape to safety, where my friend Selendis and her science team saved my life, and I am so glad to be back here with all of you!"

'People and zerg are cheering for the Protoss.' Nova shook her head with a grimace. This was too unbelievable. The people on the streets included children, and she had spotted a pregnant woman among them! They stood, unafraid, side-by-side with zerg… creatures that could rip them into shreds in an instant. 'What is this madness? Is this Queen somehow able to control them? But how could she do that to the Protoss? And not just any Protoss, but Selendis and her… armada…'

Nova cringed and gritted her teeth. She had been so distracted by the unbelievable sight in front of her that she had ignored the danger she was in, and now it seemed like her window for distracting the off-world defenses would be a lot shorter than anticipated if her crew was going to have to fight both Zerg and Protoss.

She couldn't contact them either. Not here. And they would be striking soon. She didn't have time to wait. The Zerg Queen was in her sights, and however curious she was about her, there was no real need to listen in order to fulfill her duties.

She aligned her shot and pulled the trigger just as a young human girl of about nine or ten years old ran up to hug Sweetie.

"No!"

It was almost too late.

Almost.

But, as if her thought had resonated with the Zerg Queen the moment she had realized she'd pulled the trigger at the worst moment possible, the zerg's head had snapped up and her shot smashed against a shimmering, crystalline barrier that dissipated it completely.

There was a moment's pause, as if the universe itself couldn't believe what had happened, and then, pandemonium. Screams and people running for cover, Sweetie hiding the little girl behind her just as the Nerazim standing at the podium disappeared out of view, while Selendis ordered her guards to take defensive positions.

The armored griffon had taken to the sky, joined by several flying zerg.

Nova had mere seconds to escape.

She took off running just in time to see the rooftop where she had been standing be torn to shreds by something. She didn't dwell on what had caused it, merely on getting as much distance as possible without dropping her shroud.

Something spotted her somehow, because she was bombarded from above by Terran, Prottos AND Zerg attacks that obliterated the side of the street she had just barely managed to rush through.

A group of zerglings was blockading the street, but instead of hesitating she used her psionic powers to dash through them like a miniature comet, scattering the creatures into the air. She sent psionics ahead of her as she turned a street corner, managing to dislodge her pursuers for a few, precious seconds.

If she wasn't able to take down the queen with a shot, then a nuke would do. It was unfortunate that it would incur the loss of so many civilians, but chances were they were already infected. In a way, it was a mercy.

She opened up her communicator, but only got static. She tried again, but no luck. That could only mean one thing. Making sure that the distraction she had created had kept her pursuers off her back, she stepped away from the wall she had been hiding behind and stared straight up.

The night sky was lighting up with distant explosions. Her surprise attack had encountered not only Zerg, but a Protoss armada, and with her on the ground under complete blackout communications, there had been no warning.

She was alone.

"Crap!" Gallus shouted the moment the translucent shield around them burst into light fragments when it was hit. "Sniper!" Sparing a worried glance at her, he immediately jumped into the air, intent on pinpointing their attacker.

One of her Hydralisks had lunged across the palisade and attacked the building it had come from. She could feel confusion, and regret, and then the emotions were shoved aside by an iron will. Their enemy was dangerous.

Still, she had more immediate things to deal with. "Are you okay, Suzie?" Sweetie asked the little girl she had hurriedly pushed behind her. She could see Gallus hovering over the town and others combing the place to try and find her attacker.

The young human nodded, her budding zerg powers interlacing with Sweetie's, assuring her that she was okay. "I am, thanks to you!"

"I'm glad," Sweetie said, grinning as she drew the young girl in for an encouraging hug. "You should hurry to your mom. I'm not sure how things will go from here."

Suzie's slitted pupils didn't detract any adorableness from her wide-opened eyes as she stared at Sweetie with worry. "But will you be okay?"

Sweetie's smile did not fade. She nodded and carefully ruffled the girl's hair. "I'll be fine."

After staring at her for a moment longer, Suzie finally nodded and ran off to her mother, who was standing just next to the Hydralisk body guard that had stayed behind, nervously looking from it to Suzie.

It was interesting to Sweetie how Suzie was definitely embracing her inner Zerg, just like Ariel, but her mother, still resisting that newer aspect to her nature, showed no signs of changing. Rather than upset her, she found herself pleased by this. But… she turned to face the city, eyes narrowed. Now was not the time.

"I have to admit," Selendis said, walking over to her now that the little girl was gone. She had looked pretty intense a moment ago, and Sweetie knew she was communicating with her people. "Your reaction was impeccable," the Protoss said, nodding.

Sweetie shook her head. "I almost didn't make it in time. I just sensed a flash of horror and regret… and acted on instinct."

If Selendis had eyebrows, she probably would have raised them in surprise. "And that was enough to prompt you to raise that shield?"

"As I said, it was instinct…" Sweetie chuckled. "As a Cutie-Mark Crusader I got so used to danger that the shield spell was one of the first things I was taught, and it became second-nature to cast it as a gut-response to something like I felt."

Selendis looked impressed. "A Crusader, you say? So you were a warrior back home?"

Sweetie couldn't help but grin. "More like a cause for concern." Her smile faded as she looked at the city. "My Leviathan tells me they were attacked."

"Indeed," Selendis said, watching impassively as Ariel and Lasarra assisted the humans that had injured themselves in the panic. It was something that seldom, if ever would occur with the Protoss, connected as they were by the Khala. All things considered, it hadn't been as bad as she had expected. "But between your forces and mine we destroyed all Terran ships. Whoever is here is on their own."

"I can still feel them," Sweetie said, her gaze leaving the Protoss to study the area. "They've eluded my zerg. But they're still around. Somewhere."

Selendis remained quiet for a few moments. "There are very few operatives with such skill. And this being a Terran invasion…" she grew silent. "You should reach out to Raynor."

Sweetie blinked. "Will he have the time for me? I don't think he likes any Zerg Queen outside of Kerrigan."

"But you are different, aren't you?" Selendis asked rhetorically. "Some insight will help."

Sweetie considered her words and nodded. "I will."

"This is Gallus," a communication came in. "We've found our visitor's ship. We're taking it over. Whoever they are, they're not getting out of here."

"I see, thank you, Gallus… and be careful."

"I… yeah, I will. You too, Sweetie."

Nova cursed under her breath. No ship, no support, surrounded by enemies. Unable to trust anyone… she was in trouble.

But she still had a mission, and she was going to fulfill it, one way or another. As long as Queen Sweetie Belle lived, Nova would not surrender… or retreat.

Chapter 028: Opportunity Comes

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 028: Opportunity Comes

2505, Koprulu Sector, Umojan Protectorate█

"I don't have time for this," Raynor growled at the techie that had walked up to him, trying to stop him from stomping down to where Sarah was being experimented on for his daily visit.

"But sir… it's a transmission from a Zerg Queen!"

This gave him pause and he stopped long enough for the techie to make an attempt at regaining his breath. There was only one Zerg Queen left that would attempt communicating at all, and she hadn't been in the best condition the last time that Gallus had contacted him. "Fine. Where can I talk to her?"

"This way."

He was led to a conveniently close room where a screen was quickly summoned by the techie. The face that greeted him was… different than before. Although she still had the side mandibles and fangs, Sweetie's horn was no longer jagged and cracked, resembling now what a unicorn's should look like.

She smiled, and despite the clearly-zerg sections opening up, it lacked the immediate sense of threat that such a gesture would have caused if it came from any other zerg. Once more, he had to forcefully remind himself that she was incredibly fast, powerful and almost merciless in combat. Her two scythes were still visible behind her, and were obviously ready to slice her enemies in half… if they were lucky.

"Sweetie Belle," he said as greeting.

"Raynor! It's good to see you!" Sweetie Belle said, and he could almost believe it. Her slitted eyes were warm, although that faded alongside her smile as she sighed. "How is my Q— Kerrigan?"

He mulled over what to tell her, if anything, before sighing as well. "Recuperating. She's not one of you now."

"Good," Sweetie said. She grimaced and repeated, "Good. We're going to miss her presence… I know I will. But I'm glad she's with you and cared for."

She's being sincere. Raynor took a deep breath and nodded. He didn't need to say anything about that. However… "So what is this call about? I doubt it's just for pleasure."

Sweetie grimaced. "Unfortunately, you are correct. We've had an incident and Selendis suggested I reach out to you."

Raynor frowned. Putting aside the fact that he was still somewhat baffled by the Zerg/Human/Protoss alliance happening in Agria, the fact that an incident had taken place in arguably the most dangerous place to attack in the known universe was concerning. "What type of incident?"

"Gallus said that humans call them 'Ghosts'," Sweetie said. "One managed to infiltrate the city, and there was an attempt to distract us by attacking the fleet… the human invaders were destroyed in space, but this Ghost escaped. I can still somewhat sense them. They're powerful and skilled."

Alarm bells rang in Raynor's mind as he considered her words. "There are very few ghosts who would be able to survive those conditions, much less evade capture… I can only think of one. And if she's involved, we're all in danger." He started typing quickly, mind churning more and more worrying conclusions. "I'm sending you a contact… have Gallus when you call. I need to go."

Sweetie nodded and he didn't wait, running out of the room. "Where's Valerian?!" he asked a nearby Marine, grabbing the armored man by the arm.

"I'm here," the man in question answered, walking up to him. "I heard you received a transmission from the Zerg Queen? I—"

"There's no time," Raynor said. "We're about to be attacked!"

The other man blinked in confusion. "How do—"

Whatever Valerian was about to say was once more interrupted, but this time by explosions that shook the entire building. Valerian and Raynor both managed to maintain their balance, used as they were to combat inside ships, but the structure around them had suffered severe damage. Cracks had spread through the roof, and minor explosions could be heard in the distance.

"I'm going to get ready," Raynor said. "Start evacuating."

"What about you?"

"Someone has to cover your backs."

She could feel Sweetie Belle. Very, very far away. She couldn't communicate with her now, as she used to, but to Sarah Kerrigan's surprise, she had received a strong emotional message a few hours earlier.

ALIVE. HEALTHY. FRIENDS. SELENDIS. ARIEL. SUZIE. GALLUS. AGRIA. MISS YOU.

Simple, but also non-intrusive. Had she chosen to, she could have blocked it without any effort. Whatever was happening out there, Sweetie Belle, her little murderous zerg queen of adorableness was okay, thriving, and surrounded by friends.

She had sent the barest of acknowledgments to Sweetie Belle. Even though she wasn't… exactly a Zerg anymore, she could still commune with them, something that she needed to keep quiet. At least for now.

Everyone here was studying her. On edge. She was no longer the Queen of Blades, but her power—which had been exceptional before her conversion—had grown exponentially and the Xel'naga machine's… attack… had just removed the zerg part of that equation.

And while that meant she wasn't quite zerg… it also meant she still wasn't human. She also wanted to make sure that the infection was gone and it was safe. Her rage boiled under actual self-control. Her righteous anger at Mengk's betrayal was still there but it wasn't a hunger that extended past her reason.

Not anymore.

Oh, she'd kill him, alright. But her purpose wasn't fueled by hunger and evolution anymore. She'd plan, carefully and methodically, and then she would strike that monster down once and for all.

And that made her think of Sweetie Belle and just how different she was. With a more human mind she could again examine the Zerg Queen's actions in the past and she had to suppress a chuckle at how she had gamed the natural inclination of all zerg, and even her Queen's orders… something no other zerg would dare.

It brought a new perspective to her actions, and she had wondered for the first time just how much freedom she truly had at the time, and how much instinct and zerg hunger had dominated her as well.

She sighed and glanced around. Raynor should be there already. It was unusual for him to— alarms blared and the entire structure around her shook, throwing her thoughts away from her lover to the present.

"We're under attack!" someone shouted outside her containment. She could hear and feel the turrets firing back, the sheer kickback making the place shudder.

So much for calm, methodical planning.

She stood up, harnessing her power as explosions and crashes shook the building once more. She knew what that meant… she had ridden pods like those a lifetime ago.

The enemy was here.

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

"Hm," Sweetie frowned. "Tosh." She turned to look at Gallus. Her eyes then went from his perplexed face to his wings, then roamed towards his tail. "Tush?"

"Sweetie!" Gallus' voice almost broke, and his face turned an adorable shade darker as he turned slightly to avoid her gaze. "Tosh is a Specter. A different kind of Terran specialist, although they're not aligned with the current government."

"Specters… I think I remember something about them," Selendis said. "Did they not use dangerous chemicals to increment their power?"

"That I don't know, but if he's needed I am a bit worried." Gallus glanced at Sweetie. "Specters are… basically assassins."

"Well, I was just the victim of an attempted assassination, so I think maybe fighting fire with fire is good advice."

Gallus sighed. "Alright, I'll call him. Where's the communications room?"

"I'll lead you to it," Ariel said, motioning with her hand for him to follow. Gallus nodded and did so, leaving Sweetie with Selendis and the other Protoss.

Gallus took the opportunity to glance at the terran. Or former terran, at least. There was a feral aura to her now that didn't use to be there. Her walk was more confident, and her slitted eyes were bright and alert.

She was very similar to how she had looked when they had met, not so long ago, but she hadn't had fangs, and her mouth did not stretch as much as it did now when she grinned. Her skin was taking a grayish-green tint to it, like… what it would look like if someone was spray-painting her skin, although he was close enough to see that it was a… well, not natural exactly, but a result of her being now covered in scale-like chitin.

He didn't doubt that a straight shot would not kill her immediately now.

"I must look very different, for you to stare for so long," Ariel said, glancing down at him. "Or at least I hope that's the reason for the staring, because I wouldn't want to deal with a jealous Sweetie Belle."

"What? N-no," Gallus stammered. "Not that you're not attractive but I was just—gah I'm making it worse!"

Ariel chuckled.

He shook his head and gave her a baleful glare before letting out a sigh. "No. I was… just thinking that you don't look that different from before. Not really. Not like other infested terran I've seen."

"Ah." Ariel took a shuddering breath. "That. I guess we dodged the bullet there."

Gallus grimaced. "I don't get it. You're still infested, how is that dodging the bullet?"

"I don't know how to really explain it," Ariel said after a moment of thought. "I have all of these instincts, but they're not destructive. I know I can harm others now more easily than I ever could. I know I could just… let go and morph completely if I wanted, but I don't… and I'm still zerg. And I'm still human."

"I know I'm staring at proof that it's not so, but my understanding was that it was impossible for something like… you to exist," Gallus said, then when she smirked and raised an eyebrow, he elaborated, "Or not you specifically, but so many people here. That little girl, Suzie, for example is a bit more zerg than you are, but she's not acting like one. And I saw many people showing little signs of being infected, but none seem overwhelmed by it. I don't get it."

Ariel walked him into the communications room and rubbed her neck. "I'm not sure either, I'm trying to understand it too… but I think it has to do with Sweetie Belle."

Gallus blinked. "What?"

"She… well, she's not a normal Zerg Queen."

Gallus snorted. "No kidding."

Ariel smiled fondly as her eyes turned to look behind them, in the direction where Sweetie was. "I think… it's because we've all come to love her in our own way. At least, those of us who have embraced the change."

Gallus blinked, and his face must have shown his confusion because Ariel smiled at him. "When she invaded Agria and we were left to die, we were all sure that we'd be killed or forcefully infected and turned into mindless soldiers.

"But instead of forcing us to do her bidding, Sweetie convinced us to work together, then explained that through exposure it was probably inevitable that we'd end up converted into hybrids. But it was her honest wish that we had some sort of choice… it wasn't an easy one. It was either do or die, but I feel like that was the influence of the Queen of Blades and zerg instinct, rather than Sweetie's wish.

"Suzie, myself and many others slowly came to know her better, and as we started accepting her for who she was, the changes started happening." She looked down at her hand. Her nails were long and sharp. Probably strong enough to scratch his armor. "But they stopped when we willed them to. They're… symbiotic."

She shook her head. "It's hard to explain, but I know that although I am changing and my understanding of things is changing with me… I am me. Which is something that I know I would have lost if I had been infected any other way."

She motioned at the machines. "Anyway, here we are, go ahead and make the call. I'll be with my Queen."

Gallus nodded as he watched her walk out. There were many thoughts running through his mind, but he didn't want to delve on them. At least… he felt a little bit better about things in general. And that was something.

He turned to the machines and entered the destination he wanted. It didn't take long before a familiar face appeared on the screen, grinning at him.

"I knew I would be getting a call from you," Tosh said. "You need help with a Ghost, yes?"

Chapter 029: Once in a Lifetime

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 029: Once in a Lifetime

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Nova huddled behind one of the houses nearest to the edge of the city. She wasn't miserable, or terribly uncomfortable, or even worried. It was an ingrained habit; even if her camouflage was on, the act of not making herself a target (however unintentionally) was simply a net-positive for her.

At the moment, most of the attention was focused on her ship and her enemies were focused on searching around the area where they had taken it, ready to spring a trap for her if she tried to get it in order to escape.

But that was far from Nova's mind. She already had a plan for that, and it was secondary to her main objective anyway: Killing Queen Sweetie Belle. Leaving Agria without achieving that was not an option.

The problem was how to get close enough to her to do so. Hiding and listening to the humans here, she now knew that Sweetie Belle had been recuperating with the Protoss off-world, in a base they had constructed together on one of the moons.

Ignoring how mind-boggling that was on its own (Protoss, human and zerg working together like that), it presented the very real possibility that Sweetie might leave Agria in order to protect herself, however unlikely.

And she really felt it was unlikely. Sweetie Belle was definitely a conundrum, innocent, yet vicious; kind yet capable of acts that anyone in their right might would call 'cruel' and, from the videos she had watched, calling her a 'murderous little bug' wasn't too far from the truth. Yet she talked peace, and even seemed able to achieve it, where so many had failed.

Why?

Mengsk had called her a Maven of Lies, but could lies alone account for all of this?

No. She was sure there were lies. There were always lies. But there was more at play here, and the more she saw this, the more urgent her mission became. Not just because of the threat, but for her own mental health.

In order to be the best at what she did, she always—always—had her memory wiped. 'Short' memory wipes left most of her memories intact, but removed recent incidents and memories that could affect her performance.

She had never been stuck in a situation where she was reconsidering her actions. It was unthinkable. Unacceptable… she frowned. Abnormal. This was not normal. Something else was happening here. She slowed her breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on building and rebuilding her mental defenses.

Nova wasn't sure if she could feel anything affecting her, like some sort of passive power, but if Sweetie Belle possessed such a thing, it was powerful enough to affect even a Protoss as strong-willed as Selendis.

She needed to act. She needed a plan. But… what?

Nova pushed herself off the wall and, crouching, started moving around the area, pausing to let people, and even zerg, walk by without spotting her. 'What can I use to lure her out?' she thought, then her eyes widened.

Raynor's griffon was strolling down the street in the company of two Protoss that had been with Sweetie Belle on the stage. She had called them 'friends'. She wasn't sure about them, but there was something she had plenty of information on was that the Zerg Queen had a soft spot for the 'griffon'.

The hint of a plan started to form in her head as she kept her eye on the trio and followed them carefully, and at a distance. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she hoped they'd split soon… if her plan was going to work.

Gallus wondered at how much life had changed for him within a year.

Assassination attempts, politics, guard duty, war… these were not things thad troubled Gallus' thoughts back in Equestria. As a teen griffon, he had concentrated on studying and getting to know his friends and prospective more-than-friends better. Certainly Silverstream and Smolder had shown interest in him, and well, they were not hard on the eyes either, and he wondered how much of Sweetie's forwardness was really due to her zergification, and how much was already there and he hadn't noticed.

Those three were surprisingly similar to Yona and the gang. It was odd, in retrospect, that they hadn't been closer… that they hadn't tried.

And while the crusaders had been just a tad young to join them at the beginning of his start at School of Friendship (although they were technically already graduates), the age gap was just a year or two. The trio of mares was versed in death-defying shenanigans much earlier than most other students, and they had been very open and welcoming of new cultures.

He kind of regretted not inviting them to join them more often.

"I must admit I am surprised by how comfortable Queen Sweetie Belle is to have two females keep you company, Gallus," Nerath said, the Nezerim's tone of voice betraying a hint of humor into it.

Gallus, whose mind was on other matters, didn't really think about it. "Well, herds are pretty normal in Equestria, so having multiple willing partners of other species and genders is not such an odd conc…" he trailed off, frowning as his words caught up with his mind. "Wait, what are we talking about?"

"Whether we're part of your herd with Queen Sweetie Belle or not."

"Nerath!"

"I'm not in a relationship with Sweetie!" Gallus exclaimed eyes wide as he stepped away from both Protoss. "I'm not in a relationship with either of you! Why are we talking about making a herd?!"

Lasarra was rubbing her temples, while Nerath simply tilted her head. "I am confused, friend Gallus. I was merely asking if she would be upset, but I did not imply any of us were in a relationship. Unless this is something you have been considering?"

"I—" Gallus opened and closed his beak several times, trying to say something while his eyes very obviously studied both, which in turn made Lasarra's uncomfortable blush more evident. "Okay, I get it, haha, you're joking."

Nerath nodded. "Of course I joke," she said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. Gallus allowed himself to relax for a second. "The question is," Nerath continued, "whether it is that I'm joking now, or I was joking then."

"You are making Gallus uncomfortable with your jests," Lasarra said stiffly.

"Just him?" Nerath chuckled. "Fear not, Gallus, for Lasarra has no such intentions… if only because the Khala wouldn't permit it."

"You are not bound by the Khala," Lasarra countered, and Gallus could have sworn she sounded flustered.

"No," Nerath said simply. "I am not."

She continued walking leaving the other two behind to stare at her. When Gallus realized he was following her movements a bit too closely, he shook his head. "We… should keep going," he said to Lasarra, who also pulled herself together.

"Yes." She glanced down and caught him staring up at her. They both looked away. "She'd managed to rattle us."

"Yeah." Gallus sighed, and looked back in the direction of the town hall, where he had left Sweetie. "Yeah."

"Our meeting was foretold, little Queen."

Sweetie studied Tosh. The Specter had a dangerous air around him. He came across friendly, affable even, but there was a glint to his eye that spoke of an iron will that would stop at nothing to achieve his objective.

She could respect that. Plus, he reminded her of Zecora. He didn't speak in rhymes, but his focus on esoteric knickknacks and traditions gave him this witch-like aura that made her think fondly of Zecora's effective use of different magics and potions.

"That appears to be the case," Sweetie said, smiling at the dark skinned, muscular man on the screen. "I think Gallus already explained the situation here to you, do you think you can help?"

Tosh hummed, looking away as he considered her words. She knew it was a bit of an act. He would've said no immediately if he had any issues working with them. He was intrigued, but he was cautious. Even more reason to respect the terran.

"Your location was not the only one hit, little Queen," Tosh said after a moment. He looked back straight at her. "Raynor has been captured. Kerrigan is on the loose, and now you have a Ghost problem… it seems our dear Mengsk has overextended his hand and we now have several strings to pull."

"The Queen is—" Sweetie blanched. "Is she okay?!"

Tosh shrugged. "Not much is known by my people thus far, but she is being helped by Raynor's crew. It is a matter of time before she comes to you."

"Then I must be ready." Sweetie straightened. "What can you tell me about this ghost?"

"That you're lucky to be alive," Tosh said. "I believe Nova might be the ghost stalking you."

"I've heard that name before, but I'm not familiar with her."

Tosh laughed. "You're still alive; so chances are you wouldn't be." He sobered up quickly. "It is but a guess," he clarified, "however with her skill and power there would be only one other location where she would have been assigned during Mengsk's latest attempt."

"Kerrigan."

Tosh nodded, smiling as Sweetie came to that conclusion. "Correct. However, you have been a growing thorn on his side. Reporting of your kind actions and your willingness to aim for peace is a thorn to his side, undermining the narrative of his xenophobia."

"The Queen did always say I was too soft."

Tosh snorted. "I think we all know that is not true." He leaned forward, eagerly smiling. "I have seen you fight. You are zerg through and through. A new kind, sure… but soft?" He chuckled again. "That, I do not think so."

"Why, thank you!" Sweetie said, grinning, her pincers clicking at the compliment. "It's nice to meet someone that appreciates my different managerial style."

Tosh chuckled. "I can just see you are not one to cross. There is something dangerous there, little Queen, in your eyes. A hunger. What haven't you told your non zerg allies so far? I must know who I work with, if our interests are to align."

Sweetie's pincers froze in place, but her gossamer wings trembled, betraying her emotions. She stared intently at Tosh. "I want… I hunger for change. I want change. I crave it. I want things here to bend to MY will and change so I can finally go home!" she hissed. "I want revenge for what was done to me, to save my Queen, to save my friends, my family here and then be reunited with all we left behind. I want everything. I want to have my cake and eat it. And if the only way to do it is to kill any that stand in the way of my dream…" She glowered at the Specter. "Then I'll build it on a hill of bodies."

Tosh studied her for a moment with an unreadable expression. Then he grinned. "I think we can work together. For I too, have a dream that I hunger for, little Queen."

Sweetie stood straighter, eyes narrowed as she studied the terran. "And what is that?"

"A once in a lifetime opportunity to also get what I want." His smile faded and he locked eyes with her, his intent and seriousness very clear. "And I will need your power."

Sweetie tilted her head. "I hope you're not expecting me to do something crazy in exchange for your help."

The terran specter laughed. "Oh no, little Queen, not at all. I believe this will work in both of our interests."

Sweetie allowed a predatory smile to cross her face. "Then I'm all ears."

Chapter 030: Never Let It Go

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 030: Never Let It Go

2505, Equestria █

Ever since Sweetie and Gallus had disappeared, both the Crusaders and the rest of the Student Six had isolated themselves from everycreature as much as possible. So, whenever they weren't at school, Gallus' friends would retire to their own little private space provided to them by the Tree of Harmony.

The Treehouse was right in the middle of the Everfree, where the Castle of the Two Sisters used to be, and while it was certainly not exactly safe to get there, they knew their way around well enough to reach it without problems, and the upside for them was that, outside of Zecora and Twilight's friends, very few creatures would venture out there to bother them.

Thus, Twilight had flown over in hopes of discovering more details that could help her understand Sweetie's transformation, and with the similarities she had to a certain species that lived in Equestria, she figured she could both, pass on the good news, and get some insight into possible connections.

She landed in the open yard in front of the Treehouse, which glistened with crystalized magic that contrasted with the broken, gray rock of the crumbling castle. Taking a deep breath, Twilight approached the tree house, wondering how best to tell them all that Gallus was alive.

"Ocellus," Twilight called finally, knocking on the door. "Ocellus? It's Twilight Sparkle. I have some questions for you… and some news."

The door inched open, and the changeling's eyes were barely visible through the little crack. Out of all of her students, Ocellus had isolated herself first from just about everycreature. And it was Twilight's understanding that outside of her friends, which she had let get close eventually, she still refused to stay around any creature that had known Gallus and Sweetie.

Twilight could understand why, too. Changelings, especially the reformed ones, had an especially tough time dealing with loss that affected many others.

As a species intimately aware of everyone's emotions, everycreature that suffered around them compounded on their own feelings, creating a dangerous cycle that could end up with very real consequences if they didn't monitor themselves carefully… or removed themselves from the area.

Thankfully Ocellus was not in any danger of falling into a self-destructive depression. While her friends suffered too, they also loved and cared for each other more than enough to be supportive of each other and therefore her. They still grieved, but they were not lost.

"What… kind of…" Ocellus's dull eyes slowly regained light as she stared at her. "Hope… happiness?" She fluttered her wings. "T-they're alive?"

Twilight smiled. It wasn't a full-fledged grin of victory as she would've displayed if things were not… different, but it was enough for the changeling to grow excited.

"I-I can't believe it!" Ocellus cried. "Come in! Are they back? They're not hurt are they?"

"Ah, that's… complicated," Twilight said, following Ocellus in as the others slowly walked into the living room, having heard the commotion. "And that's what I want to talk about to all of you, but you specifically, Ocellus."

"Yona heard Ocellus!" the Yak said, staring straight at Twilight. "Is what Yona heard true? Are Gallus and Sweetie Belle alive?"

"Yes, they are."

Twilight couldn't help but soften her smile as the group cheered. Sandbar and Yona hugged tightly, while Smolder picked up both Ocellus and Silverstream and held them close. The dragon quickly hid her face in Silverstream's mane, but Twilight had spotted the tears of joy.

Not that she'd bring it up. She knew dragons generally had a tough time dealing with feelings.

"Alright, everycreature," she said, loud enough to draw their attention. "Let's talk." Once all their eyes were on her and the hugging groups had separated, she took a deep breath. "This is going to be tough to hear, but please let me tell the whole story first."

She walked over to the table in their living room and projected an image of Sweetie Belle as she was now. "Gallus and Sweetie Belle were transported far away…"

"Well," Smolder summarized. "That sucks."

"It's awful!" Silverstream added. "They're both in a war! And on opposite sides!"

Twilight turned to look at Ocellus, as the changeling studied Sweetie Belle's form. "What do you think?"

"I can see why you would think to check with me," the changeling said, sitting back and shaking her head. "But we changelings are not these zerg you speak of. Sweetie's legs having holes in them is a bit similar, but nothing else about her matches us, or what I know about our species." She gave Twilight a cautious look. "As far as I know, we are a species native to Equestria, and she's unable to change shape, right?"

Twilight nodded. "From what she told me, yes." She gazed sadly at Sweetie's image, unable to hide a shudder when her eyes drifted up to the split horn.

Ocellus followed her eyes. "It's a lot of… transformation."

"I know," Twilight said firmly. "But she's herself. That much I know. Different, perhaps more dangerous, but definitely herself."

"Change happens to us all," Ocellus said. "It's unfortunate she suffered so much when it came to her."

"But she's alive!" Smolder declared, crossing her arms and nodding sagely. "And that's enough to fight for a way home. Have you told the Crusaders?"

Twilight shook her head. "I've barely managed to explain things to Rarity and the others." She sighed. "I… don't know how they even feel right now. I do feel like the Crusaders will be more welcoming and understanding, but Sweetie might not receive a very positive welcome from everycreature here."

"You can say that again," Silverstream mumbled.

"Ponies afraid of different species or creatures from different places are dumb," Yona declared. She shook her head. "Too common." She glanced at Twilight and a small smile formed on her lips. "But they better now than before."

Twilight nodded. "We have time to pr—"

[Twilight.]

She blinked, and suddenly she was back in the vast, empty and alien place she had been before when she had searched for Sweetie.

"Sweetie?" she asked, turning around in a circle, until she spotted the other… well, the zerg-unicorn hybrid. "You… look different." She stepped closer to the younger mare, admiring her crystal-fused horn. And it wasn't just the horn, Sweetie's carapace was more streamlined… thinner, even if it gave her the sense that it was somehow stronger than ever before.

"Yeah," the young queen said, smiling. "My friends really did come through… Gallus, Ariel, Lasarra, Nerath and Selendis… I even heard that Zeratul had helped too. I was really close to not making it."

"You're with Gallus now?" Twilight asked.

Sweetie sighed. "I'm trying, but the dumb gryphon keeps saying that Rarity will skin him alive if he touches me."

"That's… not what I meant," Twilight sighed, blushing a bit and shaking her head. "I keep forgetting you're both old enough now to think about… that." She glanced at Sweetie. "You know how close he is to Silverstream, Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, and Sandbar, right? Particularly the first two."

Sweetie shrugged. "They can all join my herd." She grinned when Twilight stared, her shinny white pincers clicking in amusement. "I like them all too, and I wouldn't want Gallus to feel bad about choosing if we could all have fun."

"I'll let them know," Twilight deadpanned. "But I'm sure you didn't bring me here to talk about relationships."

"Oh. I know. Sorry, I didn't mean to throw it in your face," Sweetie said. Then, before Twilight could figure out if the apology was actually offensive, she continued, "I do actually have an emergency, or I wouldn't have risked this… I don't know how to control this dream realm well, and I need help with some spells, and… I don't have anyone here to teach me."

"We might have to consult Luna on this, but…" Twilight studied the younger mare's face. "What do you have in mind?"

"Twilight?"

Twilight blinked and stared at Ocellus and the others for a moment. The group had gathered anxiously around her. She then frowned, rubbing her hoof on a sore spot on her cheek. "What…"

"You suddenly spaced out and wouldn't answer!" Silverstream said, her worried eyes studying her teacher intently.

"Why does my cheek hurt?"

"Oh," Silverstream smiled. "Smolder said that she'd watch ponies wake up after a couple of slaps, so I did!"

"A few times," Sandbar provided, rather nervously.

"You woke up before it was Yona's turn," the yak said, sounding a bit put down. "Yona was looking forward to slapping pony princess."

Twilight turned to glare at the dragon, who shrugged and smirked. "Hey, it worked in the movies."

"Y—you know, never mind." Twilight took a deep breath, extending her foreleg in a slow, sweeping arc in front of her, just like Cadance had taught her. When she was feeling better, she rolled her shoulders. "I was contacted by Sweetie… it seems not much time has passed here."

"Only a few minutes," Ocellus said, leaning in with interest. "How long were you with her?"

"A few hours, I think," Twilight said, thinking back on the training. "She's a very diligent student now."

The others exchanged glances, so Twilight smiled. "Gallus is with her. He's not been transformed into a zerg, I asked. But it appears Sweetie would like to talk to you all at some point about something."

"Oh, did she finally confess her love for him?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes bu—" Twilight teleported to the other side of the room, while the others backed away very quickly from the sudden appearance of the pink menace.

"Pinkie!"

"Hi Twilight!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Rarity is feeling better and she wanted to talk to you about what you told us," Pinkie said. "And if Sweetie is getting her own herd with everycreature here, then I'm sure she'll want to talk to all of you about it too!"

Smolder blinked. "Wait. Herd?"

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Tosh had arrived a few hours ago, and had been led to a large room protected by several Protoss and zerg, where Selendis was discussing something with a human…ish woman named Ariel.

He could sense the latter was no longer fully human, but it appeared that his contacts were right about the rumored Zerg Queen not being the same kind of monster as other queens. He was never really happy about third-hand information such as what he had received from communications that came mainly from Raynor's group… and even his people weren't one-hundred-percent sure about the strange zerg.

Gallus trusted her, though. And that said something, although he suffered from the same ailment as Raynor and had some sort of bug fetish going on. Tosh shook his head, pushing those thoughts away.

These were not his enemies. In fact, they could very well be his friends moving forward. No one here reacted to him in the way terrans did when his Specter history came up, and he had a mutual interest shared with the young queen.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to meet her in person yet. She was sequestered inside a room, meditating, or something. He could feel the psychic energy emanating from that room… and something else. Something that tugged at the edge of his consciousness and his familiarity with the spiritual world.

Magic was happening, whether the scientists wanted to believe and quantify it or not, and he wasn't able to witness it. He grimaced internally, being careful to keep his expression neutral while waiting. There was so much he could learn from the young queen.

Apparently she had resembled an actual unicorn, like the Terran legends of the long-lost past before being transformed into a zerg. What else did they need as a sign that there was more to the universe than the sad obsession over science to the exclusion of other wonders?

Either way, Tosh waited eagerly for her to come out, and for the fate of everything to change.

Chapter 031: Dilemma

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 031: Dilemma

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

"So, how long have you thought of us as attractive?" Nerath asked as they approached the building where he had been given a room.

"Nerath…" Lasarra groaned, no longer even bothering to deny things. "Clearly this is a new thing for Gallus as well as us, do you need to make things more difficult?"

"True," Nerath said, nodding.

Just as both Gallus and Lasarra were about to relax…

"How will you handle the orifice difference?"

"Okay!" Gallus squawked, quickly pressing the panel to open the door to his room. "This is my place. I think I should go in and do things. I'll see you later, alright?"

"We'll be waiting… with Sweetie Belle," Nerath said, and this time Lasarra did punch her in the arm, looking as scandalized as a Protoss possibly could.

"Sure. Bye!" Gallus sighed and leaned against the wall of his quarters the moment the door closed behind him. He was sure that, if Protoss giggled, he would have sworn the two outside would be doing that just outside his door. He snorted. He could almost feel their amusement even as they walked away.

Teases. Both of them.

It didn't help that his understanding of beauty really did extend to Terrans and Protoss as well. He wasn't sure how that would work and he wasn't about to ask Nerath. Maybe Lasarra, IF—and only if—Nerath wasn't about. At least the other Protoss would understand it was of… clinical interest.

For the most part.

Yeah. Mostly.

Definitely mostly for that. The thought of Nerath's confident sway, the way the phase-smith moved like a huntress… "Nope!" He thought of Lasarra, how the proper and curious Protoss brimmed with eagerness to learn and had an appealing intellectual— "Ugh." He shook his head to get the pair out of his mind, and his thoughts went to Sweetie. "Okay, no. That won't help."

He tried to think of home. The devastated ruins of Griffonstone. The Evefree Forest. Ponyville. His friends… and then, unbidden, Smolder and Silverstream were grinning at him in his mind. A memory of the three of them cuddled together. He thought about how nice it would be to have them here, so they could meet…

He stood there, staring at the wall across the room for a moment. "Cold shower. Now."

He put down his rifle against the wall and grimaced. "What's going on?" he muttered to himself, glancing back at the closed door. Both Protoss were gone, he could feel it, but his thoughts had been with them much more than he would have otherwise guessed.

There was much in his mind about all of this, and it was worrying. He was no stranger to pheromones, to hormones and animal, intellectual, or sentimental attraction. Sure, he wasn't quite an adult about the whole thing most of the time, but he was also not usually a bundle of nerves almost ready to pounce on the first invitation.

Even when hanging out Smolder and Silverstream, thoughts didn't usually go in that direction until the end of the day when they would just be together. They were there, for sure, but not overwhelming… not constant.

Something was up, and he had the distinct feeling that it was Sweetie's fault, whether she knew it or not. The worst thing was that, if he was right, and she found out her pheromones or something were affecting him and others, chances were she'd take advantage of it.

His mind went back to the cave, with Sweetie slowly stalking around him, ready to pounce.

"Right. Shower."

He shrugged off his armor and turned on the shower, letting the water flow for a few seconds before walking in under the cold spray. He stayed put, shuddering a little as the cold water eventually made it past his feathers and fur and let it run down before soaping himself up and rinsing humming to himself.

"Winter wrap up, winter wrap up…"

There was an enemy on the loose but… still. He took his time. It was nice to relax and let his stress go, if only for a little bit. Besides, he hadn't slept in almost two days, it was no wonder his mind was all over the place.

Eventually the cold shower did its job and he shut it down before shaking off the excess water. Sure, towels were useful, and yes, he'd use one, but this made the process faster. He dried his head with the towel, then most of his fur before throwing it over his shoulders. He'd need to preen his feathers soon too, he noticed, since being encased in armor wasn't doing them much good.

Just as he walked past his armor, he paused, frowning, then turned to look at the pieces. "Wait, wasn't my rifle right here?"

He didn't know what hit him. A second after his brain processed that his rifle was gone, a heavy weight was over him, making him stumble and collapse. He tried to get up, but whoever was on top kept him down, he turned and twisted on the floor until his back was to it, raising his claws to attack, but his assailant sat on top of him, pressing his own gun under his beak, making him stop long enough to stare and process who he was seeing.

"N-nova?"

The terran woman snorted, rifle held steady. "Gallus. It's been a while."

He felt anger boil through him, but the gun—and Nova's power—kept him in place despite his best efforts. "So it was you that tried to shoot Sweetie!"

"Things may have been different if Raynor had taken my offer instead of siding with Tosh," she replied, shrugging but keeping the rifle steadily pointed at his face.

"You really think that?" he asked, giving her a deadpan look.

She smirked, leaning down a little to stare him in the eye, getting real close to his beak. "Probably not. But it's not personal." She blinked, then frowned and got up, looking down at him with a grimace. "And I don't know where you thought this was going, but I guarantee you that it's not going to end the way you seem to think it is."

Gallus felt himself blush and broke eye contact. "Do you mind if I jump into the cold shower again?"

"Psychic pheromones?" Sweetie asked.

Lasarra shifted in place. "Of sorts, Queen Sweetie Belle. It seems your actual pheromones are very active for some reason right now, and… it has started to 'leak' through your psychic connection to those you find… um, attractive."

Sweetie Belle blinked and looked around. Selendis wouldn't meet her eyes, and Tosh had a grin on his face that somehow managed to convey that, while he was thoroughly enjoying the revelation of what she was doing to others, he was still holding back his laughter.

"So Gallus…" Sweetie started.

"And Nerath…" Lasarra's telepathic tone gave the impression that. if she used sounds to communicate instead, she'd be clearing her throat at that exact moment. "...and myself."

Sweetie considered this as she looked intently at both female Protoss. "I do have good taste."

Nerath chuckled, the shorter Protoss all but projecting a shit-eating grin. "I agree, and Gallus already talked to us about your 'herd' custom. I'm all for it."

"Nerath!" Lasarra cried, her telepathy making everyone wince. It had been a bit too loud. "Behave yourself, we are in front of the Executor and Queen Sweetie Belle. This is not the time!"

"Hmm." Selendis muttered. "You have always had a strong empathy and interest in the Zerg, Lasarra. I suppose, as odd as it is, it is… predictable as an outcome."

Sweetie imagined that the embarrassed scientist would have bitten her lip had she had any. Lasarra was strong minded and mostly unafraid to speak her mind, still, the scientist did have a lot of respect and deference for the Executor, and so managed to control herself and not offend her superior, although given the Khala's connection, it was very likely that Selendis knew exactly what her underling thought of her comment.

Selendis shook her head, then turned to face Sweetie. "As amusing as it is, we are treading new grounds here that I am not sure we should until you have better control over those powers, Queen Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie blinked. "What do you mean? It seems to be only affecting my herd."

Ariel stepped forth. "My understanding of Nerath's original technique is that it is design to complete the nervous system that, in the case of the Khalani, connects them to the Khala. Your horn might be different, but the technology applied to you is experimental, so there might be some additional unintended effects."

Sweetie sighed. "I'll try. It's going to be hard, now that Gallus is here."

"Nevertheless it is something worth putting effort into controlling," Selendis advised. "Now that your horn is complete and you have access to your old powers as well as your zerg abilities, change is once more unavoidable. But you can head recklessly into this new… evolution, heedless of the consequences, or you can use our help in guiding it into its fully-formed potential."

Sweetie hummed as she thought about it.

"...and I must suggest—in the strongest words possible—that you take us up on the second option," Selendis added.

Sweetie sighed. "We'll figure that out in due time."

"I am somehow not comforted by this," Selendis muttered. Which, Sweetie had to admit, was an interesting thing to hear in her mind. Did it really count as muttering?

She was about to make another comment, this one with the intention of getting a reaction out of Ariel, who was clearly also influenced by her pheromones, when a sudden chill ran down her spine. "Gallus…" she said, eyes widening.

Nerath and Lasarra looked at each other, and Ariel put her hand on Sweetie's shoulder. Their link was a lot stronger than they had guessed… but if they all felt it…

"He's in danger."

Prologue

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Prologue

2504, Somewhere In the Koprulu Sector █

At first, there had been pain. She could still remember it… searing pain so strong that it had dulled out any other possible reality. Living flesh, torn, nerves exposed… burning tears in her chest and legs… it had seemed like if part of her slowly stopped hurting, the pain would increment in kind in other areas.

When she had been moved, dripping blood, spasming and almost drowning in her own blood more than once until a bump or turn allowed her to throw it up.

What a weak creature she had been. Now there was no pain. She floated in the primordial, viceral source of life. Her blood had long stopped seeping out. It had long stopped itching and hurting. No more needles of pain driving like malicious stabs into her very soul.

Things were mostly quiet. Soothing.

Among occasional swirls in the currents, and random bubbling sounds, words echoed in a sort of dull echo around her. She could hear them just above the cadence of her beating heart, which was itself as loud as she could ever remember it being. Much like those very silent nights, when she would sometimes lay her head on her pillow, she could hear it... like drums in the dark.

Whatever liquid she was in, it enveloped her completely, and she knew that—in the darkness and gooeyness of the substance—she should have felt scared and disgusted.

Except...

The darkness was warm and welcoming. And lately, occasional pulses of light and energy flooded around her. There were voices too: some gruff, some growling, some hissing, some crackling… and one… one sweet... gentle, but powerful… so powerful, looming like an ocean slowly rising above the land.

Gentle and peaceful… building up… slowly... and behind it, immeasurable force.

She loved this voice. She wished she could sing to it. It reminded her of her past life… of fuzzy figures in her memory, full of power, magic, and purpose. But even more, this world where she found herself in… it brought back deeper, older, much more visceral sensations.

At first, she couldn't understand what the voice said. But, as she floated in the golden, warm liquid that reminded her—somehow—of before she was born, it slowly made sense. She was once again, part of something larger; she was once again within the womb of life, and outside, the voices continued; argued; changed from noise, to meaning.

And she knew the gentle voice. The one with true power; the one she owed her life and very being to.

She knew her as her queen.

But even more importantly, her mother.

Time passed. Days, weeks, months… years? It was all a haze, a continuous barrage of changes as her mind developed in ways that defied her original nature. Every day, she became more.

She didn't know how long she'd been there, how long the changes had been working on her; the tightening of muscle and the shifting of bones… her skin becoming armor-like, her teeth elongating, no longer designed to chew, but rather tear through almost anything. None of it painful, in fact, this change was welcome, it was as if she was being embraced into a new life.

At one point, she thought she would be scared. Maybe it was when her alabaster fur had parted on her back to let new, unseen appendages grow. Maybe it had been when she had felt her hooves harden, or her horn twist and split.

She couldn't see it, but she knew just how much stronger it was now. Before, she might have used as a desperate means to defend herself, risking her magic and a lot pain were it to break. Now? She could just feel the power, how its very composition remained the same, and yet… it wouldn't break unless incredible pressure—way beyond what she should encounter—was placed on it.

Or maybe, when she had considered fear before the physical changes had started. When she hadn't understood. When... she was scared and hurt and bleeding. Left for dead.

When she had been found and brought here to her mother. When she had felt her magic probed, her mind caressed by a gentle breeze of whispered words and encouragement for the first time in... in—

Ever since she had left her home.

Now, after almost dying for no reason, she had been promised a new life.

She felt it. It was the time to emerge. Time to see herself anew, for the first time ever. Time to evolve.

She expanded her new, chitinous, almost-bony appendages from her back, scythe-like, she thrust them up, piercing through the hard shell that had contained her until now.

She burst out, a screech of savage victory, strong, free, confident and with new purpose.

Her old life was but a memory. Useful, for future reference and conquest. For now, she had other objectives.

For now.

She could feel the summons, the mental caress of of her mother, welcoming her into her new life. Not as a stagnant, inferior and weak species, but as a true warrior. Thirsting for blood, to grow, expand her clutch.

And first and foremost to serve her Queen.

She was finally ready to join the Swarm.

Chapter 015: The Choice is Yours

Starcraft: Queen and Country
By Wanderer D
Chapter 015: The Choice is Yours

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

"Sweetie Belle, how goes your experiments on Agria?"

"Things are going well so far, my queen," Sweetie responded, looking down from where she was perched at the top of one of the buildings at the mass of humans slowly walking into the plaza where she would speak to them. "I believe most of the human leaders are willing to cooperate."

"Abathur has expressed his doubts about the viability of your… experiment, but he has been ordered to provide infestation samples that are less… virulent." She paused for a moment. "Depending on how that works, it might be used as a weapon against the dominion."

Sweetie didn't like that idea very much, but simply accepted that it was what it was. "Understood, my queen. I will keep you informed of my progress."

"Once you have things in order with your colony, I want you to come to me. There are plans in motion where I can use your song to its potential."

"Yes, my queen."

"We can't just… join the zerg!"

Ariel rubbed her temples and gave the head of agriculture a helpless shrug. "These are the two options we have been offered. I admit they are the ones given to us by the enemy, but it's either work together or die."

"We could wait for the Dominion to come back for us," someone else muttered.

"In any case, our options are limited, and so is our remaining time." Ariel stood up, resting her hands on the table and looking at each of the others in turn. "Are we going to represent our people in this, or not? Already everyone is being gathered at the plaza, and those that can't make it are being set up where they can watch on screens what's happening."

The silence in the room was almost palpable.

"At this stage it's less a matter of compliance, and more about controlling the chaos," Ariel said after the silence had prolonged enough. "Sweetie can simply kill us or convert us, but her experiment hinges on our cooperation."

"Is it something we can use to buy more time?" the mayor asked.

Ariel shook her head. "I don't think so. We're one colony, and while I think she'd rather this work out, I don't believe we could dissuade her from forcing the experiment. It's like she said, the choice is really whether we can believe that we'll be able to remain individuals, or simply be infested like other terrans in the past."

"Can we even trust this creature?"

Ariel shook her head. "I don't think it's a matter of trust. She seems… better than any zerg I've ever seen, which gives me some measure of hope, but trust…" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She doesn't seem to be cruel, at least. If we cannot trust her, I at least believe she's being honest about wanting this to work out. Whether it is because of her truly believing what she says, or simply out of wanting to complete her mission, that I can't guess."

"Doing this is betraying the human race," the head of agriculture said. "We can't decide this for everyone."

Ariel pressed her lips and glanced at the door. "It's time."

The crowd was nervous, but quiet. While they didn't know what this was all about, they knew it was going to decide their fate in some way or another. Some whispered conversation reached Sweetie's ears, from where she watched in the shadows.

"Will they let us go?"

"Are they going to kill us?"

Those were the most common questions, coming up and around. Among other, less pleasant ones. She sighed, glancing over the whole group. This was a chance for all of them to evolve. To be better, get a purpose… earn their cutie mark, in a way.

She turned to face the terran leaders as they were escorted to her by two zerlings. She let them pass for the most part, indicating that she would speak with their representative. "Did you decide?"

Ariel gave the others a glance, then shook her head. "No. We felt that we cannot speak for everyone in these circumstances."

"I expected that," Sweetie said. "That's why I asked… have you decided?"

Ariel blinked. "Me?"

"Yes." Sweetie nodded. "You. I know you're a brilliant scientist and a leader. You have much to offer, and I certainly have a preference for what to do with you… but I can't in good conscience force you to choose what I want. I'll respect whichever result you choose."

"You understand it's very much a false choice," Ariel said. "At the end of the day you're still getting what you want."

Sweetie snorted. "If all I wanted was drones, I'd make more." She regarded the crowd. "But I'd rather have friends."

Ariel joined her as they walked towards the podium. "This is an unusual method of making them."

"It's not a friend-making method at all," Sweetie countered. "But I have to work with what I have. It's not like I've had good experiences with your people when I wasn't a threat. Looking like I do now, if I had approached you all peacefully, I'd have been shot on sight."

To that, Ariel had nothing to say.

The crowds quieted down as Sweetie took the stage and Ariel joined the other terrans. Around the whole assembled colonists loomed the Ultralisks, blocking the sunlight, while other zerg scampered around the area. They were all there still alive at her pleasure, and they all knew it.

"Hello, everyone," Sweetie said to the crowds. "I know you are afraid, and I know you want to know what's going to happen moving forward. I've been thinking a lot about what to tell you… I'm fairly young, you see. Barely a teenager by my species' standards."

She paused, her pincers clicking slightly as she gathered herself. She'd performed a couple of shows in Ponyville, and certainly commanded her troops, but public speaking wasn't a skill she dominated.

"When I came here, I discovered much to my horror, just how little trust exists in this part of the universe. How quick creatures are to hurt each other, and how easily someone as unprepared as I was could lose everything… and everyone in an instant."

She paced back and forth on the stage, the attention of all citizens on her. "As I told your leaders, I wasn't captured by the zerg. It was terrans that did that to me… and it was the zerg that rescued me from suffering further horrific experiments.

"I am part of something bigger than I ever thought I'd be part of," Sweetie Belle said. "Joining the swarm wasn't just a new chance at life, it was purpose and even identity. It changed everything for me… and I didn't have a choice when I was mutated, but I had a choice to be more, or to simply be zerg… and I offer a similar choice to you."

This started a frenzy of whispers, some louder than others. When she felt a cadence was builting up, she slammed her hoof on the stage, quieting everyone down. "I'm not going to lie to you, there is a purpose to this. As time passes by, if you choose to ally yourselves with me willingly, you will change. But I guarantee that you'll remain you. That is the point of what I want to achieve here. If it was just a matter of turning you into servants, I could have done so much quicker."

"The rest of the Terrans have been trying to get rid of you all this time," Sweetie pointed out into the silence that followed. "If it wasn't the Confederacy, it was the Dominion. They left you behind to die, and the only ones that attempted to get you out are the very people you vilified for years." She glanced around the crowd. "Maybe it's time you gave someone, or somecreature else a chance."

She took a deep breath. "Make your decision. If you don't want to join willingly, you can step to the right," she pointed to the side of the plaza, where several zerg had stepped in line (a very dangerous line) to indicate where they should go. "If you do…" she motioned at the city. "You can return home. When the time has come, whatever leaders remain will organize with you for further instructions."

Sweetie stepped away from the crowd, shaking her head. "I hate public speaking."

"I don't think you did that bad, all things considered."

Sweetie glanced at Ariel, who had walked up to her. Her zerg hadn't stopped the terran, seemingly having gotten used to the idea that she might be around Sweetie a lot.

"That's kind of you," Sweetie said, looking away. "But it's going to be a really hard time for your people. No matter what I said, I'm essentially telling them that it's my way or the highway."

"What an oddly Terran way of expressing things." Ariel sighed. "You don't want to do this, do you?"

Sweetie Belle was silent.

"Why don't you let us go?" Ariel prodded. "If you don't wan—"

"It's not about what I want, but what my Queen wishes," Sweetie said, looking at Ariel. "I think that she's better served by people with individual capabilities, and knowledge, and willingness to help." She shrugged, her scythes jiggling a little in the air. "If that just happens to save a bunch of lives, well that's just the cherry on top."

Aiel sat down on the floor, next to the young queen, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around her legs. "Will I really still be myself? How is that different from becoming a 'normal' infested?"

"You wouldn't have any control over your actions," Sweetie responded, still looking at the arguing crowd. Already some terrans were splitting to go off into the city or towards the zerg lines. "You become deadly, but ravenous. You don't follow anything but your instinct and orders from your queen. Who you are… what differentiates you from any other terran, is lost forever. Your knowledge, your dreams, everything is forgotten except for the hunger and the need to evolve. You might retain the ability to speak for a while, but it wouldn't be you speaking."

"I see."

"I'm sorry."

Ariel looked up at Sweetie and smiled just a little, then leaned her forehead on her knees. "I believe you… my queen."

Three shouts echoed in the street, one young, the other older and panicked.

"Sweetie Belle!" the little girl ran towards the queen in the middle of the street, drawing the attention and horror of many adults, who looked panicked at what might happen.

"Suzie!" the girl's mother, and presumably her father, were running after her, but not quick enough to stop the young terran from hugging Sweetie. They stumbled to a stop just a few feet away, which was not really a safe distance at all, but the young queen wasn't about to tell them that.

Instead, she gently returned the hug and stepped back to hoof distance so she could look at the little girl in front of her. "Hello, Suzie. It seems you're scaring your parents again."

Suzie didn't look happy, however. She sniffled. "My dad doesn't want us to stay, so he says we should go away with the others that are going with your zerg. I don't wanna go! I like it here!"

"Suzie!" her mother gasped, looking up at Sweetie. "I'm so sorry your highness…"

"Eeh," Sweetie cringed. "This brings back memories from when Princess Celestia visited Ponyville." She looked at the two terrans, knowing full well others were listening in. "For now forget the titles. I figured cases like these would come up, so I want to hear your thoughts." She looked at Suzie's father, who gulped, but held his ground. "Why do you want this for yourself and your family?"

The man gritted his teeth, but managed to stammer out a response. "I-I think staying and working w-with y-you is a-a betrayal o-of humanity." When Sweetie didn't kill him on the spot, he continued a bit more confidently. "Working with Zerg or Protoss doesn't really help us. If we join you with our full capacity… we're committing treason."

"To who?" Sweetie asked, tilting her head.

"Uh…" the man looked around. "Um, to t-the Dominion! To humanity."

"So… despite the fact that the terran governments have actively betrayed you and acted in their own self-interests, lying to you about who you can trust, feeding you bit by bit who to hate, you still think they represent your entire species?" Sweetie asked. "They have left you all for dead multiple times, only coming back to claim ownership when the danger is gone."

When Suzie's dad didn't respond to that, she sighed. "I have… had time to think on this, you see." She ruffled Suzie's hair with her hoof, smiling at the little girl. "The reason I'm here is fear. That is why I was turned into a zerg, and the reason I'm fighting a dear friend, and lost someone I was starting to like and respect." She looked the man in the eye. "Terrans did this to me, yes, but it was somepony of my own species that couldn't see beyond their fear and xenophobia that caused the accident that brought me all the way here to happen."

"But it's no—"

"It is the same," Sweetie said. "I know I sound… sanctimonious. But the bottom line is that there are those that only work for their self interest, and those that try to help others along the way. Doesn't mean they don't have an agenda, but they don't tell you to hate or fear others. I don't want… I won't tell you to hate terrans for abandoning you to your fate at the scythes of the zerg. But I think that if your decision in all of this is based on a sense of loyalty to those that constantly work against you… maybe you need to think about things a bit more objectively."

The man grimaced. "I don't want my Suzie to become a monster."

"I understand," Sweetie said, smiling at the girl who was now looking at her with wide eyes. "And she won't, if your family stays here. I know that it doesn't seem like much of a choice if change is still happening. It isn't. It's not the way I wish things could be. But there's no way out of this where you all remain fully terran, but there is a way forward with your very sense of self still intact, and then there's the way you're choosing."

He balled his fists, unable to look at her or anyone else.

"The choice is between you three…" Sweetie moved forward, placing the back of her scythe gently on his shoulder. (He still almost jumped, but she kept herself from smiling at that.) "And I will respect it. But I'll miss Suzie if you go that way."

She glanced at the little girl. "She's my very first terran friend, after all. That, and I want to ask you to at least not act out of pride. I really believe one choice is better than the other. Which one do you pick…" She walked away, pausing to give Suzie a last hug, looking over her shoulder at the man, who was now holding his wife. "That… Well. You know."

She had walked a few blocks when she heard the voice of her queen.

"You are still too kind to these terrans, Sweetie Belle."

"I know. All that stuff has been coming back to me lately so I couldn't help but lecture him." Sweetie almost let her shoulders droop, but she didn't want anycreature to see any weakness from her. "But I also want them to see that you're not a monster."

"Oh, but I am. Mengsk and his people will soon remember that."

End Chapter