Survive, Adapt, Evolve, Overcome.

Chapters

It Begins (votation period: closed)
larva 2 (voting period: Closed)
larva 3 (voting period: Closed)
larva 4 (voting period: Closed)
larva 5 (voting period: Closed)
larva 6 (voting period Closed)
Pupa 1 (Voting Period Closed)
Pupa 2 [first part] (Voting period closed)
Pupa 2 [second part] (voting period closed)
Pupa 2 [final part] (voting period closed)
larva 1 (voting period: Closed)

It Begins (votation period: closed)

‘so, i’m dead, honestly? It could be worse’ you thought to yourself as you floated in an endless grey void, death had claimed you at the ripe old age of 174, quite the achievement for an average man like you, an uneventful affair too; gone to sleep one night after a long day of lplaying VR Starcraft and teaching those gate-spamming Protoss mains not to mess with a true Zerg main, and then waking up in this god damned void!

Ah, VR Starcraft, truly one of Blizzard’s magnum opus, a massive multiplayer warfare simulation role playing game set in an alternate, non-canon timeline where Zagara was forced to flee after the destruction of Amon, being chased by rogue elements from both Terran and Protoss, igniting yet another, far greater and bloodier war that stretched across the entire galaxy, the game itself was a piece of art, witnessing the true scale of the units, being able to issue orders verbally, that units like queens and brood mothers could actually learn from you and help you coordinate your legions, or being an ‘heroic unit’ and diving headfirst into the enemy lines to slaughter them by the thousands on your own, truly, a work of art.

‘ah, I’m spacing out again’ you shook your head, sighing and looking at your hands, just like with the rest of you, had gone back in time, to your 25 years’ self, ‘well, at least I won’t spend the rest of eternity as a prune on legs’

“Greetings, human.”

“what the-?!” whirling around, you found yourself face to face with what could only be described as a human shaped piece of outer space, once you managed to get your panic down to acceptable levels, you spoke “w-what are you?”

The being tilted it’s head. Seemingly considering your question.

“Your kind know us as Random Omnipotent Beings, or ROB for short.”

“oh, oh! ohhh… so... I’m about to get isekai’d to another world as something more or less game-changing for them?”

“Indeed, and before you ask, I already decided what you will be.”

“can I ask what will be my new form? And where I am going?”

“You will be a Zerg organism, and you will be sent to an iteration of the universe known as my little pony.”

“…Fuck!”

“As an apologize for the inconveniences, a boon shall be granted to aid you in your new life.”

As soon as it finished speaking, a short floating screen with a list appeared before you, in it, there were quite a few very interesting things

(choose three)

[] Production Strains: you will be given the genetic blueprints for two new organisms capable of converting any type of energy into minerals and vespene gas

[] Dimensional Rift: every now and then, ruptures in the dimensional barriers will occur, letting dangerous creatures through, these creatures will be deadly and varied, with many useful traits for the swarm

[] Game Logic, son: your swarm will have the potential of reaching the production speed of the game, and surpassing it

[] Essence Spinner: you will be able to see and interact with essence the same way Abathur does

[] Dimensional Trap: once your swarm reaches a certain size, it will emit a signal similar to a displaced’s S.O.S. luring the more careless of their ilk to the awaiting maws of your swarm

[] Mutualistic Creep: the creep will automatically bond and form mutualistic symbiosis with the local flora, allowing it to produce more energy and biomass without any extra effort

It took you a while to decide, all of the options would be useful after all, but at least you made up your mind, hopefully it wouldn’t bite you in the ass later on, once your choices were made, the screen vanished and the ROB nodded.

“Very well, the upgrades will be applied once you make it to the planet, one more thing before sending you on your way, keep an eye out for these.”

The ROB extended a hand, a tridimensional rendition of the zerg emblem made out of crystal manifesting in it’s palm

“These are tokens, creatures with particularly potent essence will drop them upon death, collect as many as you can and bring them to a Hive, I think you will like what will happen then.”

Rising an eyebrow, you looked at the token, committing it to memory “not going to tell me what it does?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, as it would be considered spoilers, and it’s time for you to go, good luck, human.”

You felt your body start to fade, it was a strange sensation, and more than a little scary ‘oh god this is going to give me nightmares’ you thought, shivering in place as you lost consciousness little by little, eventually darkness took you, and you knew no more.

By the time you woke up, you found yourself in a vastly different place, looking around, you realized you were in:

[] A desert, vast and sandy and hot (the desert west of appleloosa)

[] A Wasteland, lifeless as far as you could see (badlands)

[] A thick and dark forest, you sensed plenty of dangers, and plenty of opportunities (everfree forest)

[] A Pony made tunnel, there was foul smelling water on the flour, you were on a stone sidewalk, near the water (sewers of canterlot)

‘well then, plan, first thing first, what the hell am I now?’ twisting your body, you found yourself to be a zerg larva, long, spiky, and with tentacles coming out of your mouth and ass, all in all, a not-so-tiny nightmare fuel snake-worm ‘okay, could be worse I suppose, now, I need a place to mutate and grow a proper brood’ with that objective in your mind, you began slithering/wiggling your way through your new home, looking for a place to set down roots.

All the while, completely unaware of the pair of compound, light blue eyes watching you from the shadows with curiosity and caution.

Queen Chrysalis, last surviving changeling queen, watched mournfully as her hive suffered in the blighted wastelands her kind had been forced into, every day was a struggle just to survive, her children fought tooth and hoof with the many deadly beasts that would love nothing more than to uproot her hive and devour everyling down to the last egg.

Right now, her drones were slowly removing the rubble resulting from one such attack, the creature, a strange worm-like monster covered in overlapping plates as hard to pierce as steel, had taken them by surprise, tunneling straight through one of the nursery rooms, and rampaging for ten long minutes before she had managed to finally put it down, the attack had cost the life of thirty-seven grubs, seventy eggs, and forty-three drones.

With a dejected sigh, the changeling queen slowly made her way through the tunnels to her throne chamber, and just as she was about to enter, she felt the mind of one of her infiltrators ping her through the hive mind.

‘what is it, child?’

‘my queen, you may want to see this’

The infiltrator’s memory flashed before her eyes, and through it she saw as a wound in the fabric of reality was torn open, briefly illuminating the surroundings, and depositing a single, strange, and quite honestly intimidating looking creature, it appeared to be some sort of worm, covered in segmented plates of rough looking chitin, tentacles on both ends, and a pair of bladed pincer-like mandibles on the head, the thing appeared to be unconscious, but after a second it began stirring, soon it rose a part of it’s body, as if examining itself, then it’s surroundings, and finally, it flopped back to the ground with a slight splat and slithered off.

There was something about the strange creature, something deeply unsettling, yet, familiar, what it was, Chrysalis frowned, couldn’t quite tell what was so familiar about it, but something in the back of her mind kept niggling at her, her gut told her it may be a good idea to keep an eye on the creature, and her gut never failed her before.

‘follow it, keep out of sight and try to determine if it will be a threat to our plans’

‘at once, my queen!’

Author's Note

hello and welcome to this quest, i hope you enjoyed the first chapter, to vote just place a comment with the selected option and it's 'box' checked, example:

[X] Dimensional Trap: once your swarm reaches a certain size, it will emit a signal similar to a displaced’s S.O.S. luring the more careless of their ilk to the awaiting maws of your swarm

larva 2 (voting period: Closed)

Deciding that discretion is the best option, you made your way to the cave, it took you a good two hours to reach it from your current position at the edge of the bog, and by then the moon was completely out, and apparently all zerg seemed to have night vision, because to you the environment remained clear as day, which worked to your advantage, being able to avoid a roaming pack of timberwolves by curling up next to a bunch of roots and simulating being a rock.

When you finally arrived to the cave entrance, you took your time to properly study it and the surroundings, the entrance itself was narrow enough that the manticore that attacked you the other day wouldn’t fit, an excellent bottle neck if you ever manage to research impalers, or hydralisks for that matter.

The area directly around the cave entrance was covered in patches of thorny bushes with some trees sprinkled here and there, fairly concealed, it suited you just right, slithering in, you found yourself with the fact that the entrance was more of a crack on a wall than an entrance, the tunnel itself was natural, with several ‘bridges’ growing from and connecting the walls, the ceiling was covered in bioluminescent worms, providing a soft blue glow, and allowing you to see the gems that speckled the walls and ground, slowly, you made your way to the bottom, examining one of the half buried gems.

‘an emerald, straight from the ground and already perfectly cut and polished, this world is all kinds of weird, but for now it works in my favor’ gems meant minerals, minerals meant drones, queens, zerglings and overlords, not much, but you’ve beaten well rounded armies with just zerglings before ‘well, enough reminiscing, time to find a place to evolve’

With that in mind, you ventured deeper and deeper, exploring as much as you could, all the while a strange feeling began building up, the deeper you went, the more noticeable it was, until eventually it clicked, as you entered a chamber like space, the pressure ‘uncoiled’ and you realized what it was.

‘This is it’ you thought, looking around the chamber ‘this is where the Swarm will rise, from the dark depths of the earth we will spread, through the lands, through the skies, through the seas, none shall escape us, for We. Are. Zerg! We. Are. Unending!’

Whisper shivered when a wave of Bloodlust* all but erupted from the larva when it reached the center of the chamber, it reminded her far too much of the creatures in the badlands, only far far more crushingly suffocating, Whisper felt like drowning, like a titanic being was crushing her very soul in it’s grip, then, as quickly as came, it went, slowly, as she regained her breath, Whisper dared to look back at the larva, and nearly gaged in disgust when it bulged grotesquely, carapace and flesh tearing away with loud, wet noises that made her stomach turn, then the dread and disgust gave away to confusion as she witnessed the thing the larva had turned into.

‘an egg?’ admittedly, the thing could barely be called that, it was about half again the height of Queen Chrysalis, sickly green, and covered in bony spikes, whisper didn’t hesitate in sending a ping to her queen, leaving her mind open for Chrysalis to see what she was seeing, along with her memories of the day.

‘what have you- oh… Oh… this could be bad, very, very bad’

‘my queen?’

‘the only other time I’ve felt this kind of bloodlust was when the trice dammed goat walked among the living’ her queen’s words made whisper shiver a little, everyone in equs knew of the goat, of Grogar, how could they not? When his birth created the badlands and the monsters that call the infernal place home, and his death reduced most of the world to barren deserts, no one dared utter his name, Grogar, the tyrant of an era before time, before the first alicorns, before even Discord, back in the era of the Great Hive, when Queen Chrysalis was but a grub, learning from the All-Mother.

The infiltrator gazed back at the egg and swallowed thickly, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach ‘orders, my queen?’

Chrysalis remained silent for a second, pacing back and forth in her throne room, weighting her options very carefully, her forces were stretched thin as it was, she couldn’t spare a force big enough to put down a creature capable of producing such all-encompassing Bloodlust, regardless of what stage of it’s development it was in.

But at the same time, if left to it¿s own devices, such a creature was a threat not just for her children, but for every being on the world, sighing heavily, the ancient Queen sent her orders to the faithful little changeling.

‘return to your original mission for now, I will send someling to meet with you in a week, they will deal with the creature’

Never in her life had Whisper been more thankful to return to her duty, the changeling wasted no time in flying out of the tunnels and magic fire engulfing her mid-flight, leaving behind a pink maned, yellow Pegasus mare that timidly made her way to a cottage at the edge of the forest, picking up multiple fruits along the way, smiling lovingly at the multitude of critters that ran out to receive her.

“h-hello everyone, i-I hope I d-didn’t make you wait t-too much, i-i brought some fruit”

Consciousness returned slowly, you were different, you could feel it, limbs, you now had them, there were other differences, but you couldn’t really identify them yet, your mind was still muddled, and there was only one thought currently in mind, get out of the cocoon.

Suddenly, your mind snapped into focus, your body jerked violently as it instinctually struggled against your cocoon, eventually it began cracking, splitting, until finally, with a final cracking sound not unlike that of breaking bone, you were free.

Recovering from that little ordeal, you took the time to examine your body.

"well... this is my life now, i guess”

You were:

[] A queen(medium combat capabilities, limited essence weaving, just enough biomass to produce a single larva or creep tumor, cocoon will degrade into creep, just enough to plant a creep tumor)

[] A drone (minimal combat capabilities, essence weaving locked for the moment, can mutate into hatchery right away, can collect resources right away)

[] A… chibi abathur? (minimal combat capabilities, frail body, sophisticated essence weaving, can produce and modify any strain as long as there are enough resources, cocoon can be consumed for biomass)

Author's Note

winning vote:
[X] Go back to the cave: less starting biomass, safer, hidden

well, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it

*Bloodlust: the most reliable way to measure a creature's viciousness, and the danger it poses, think of it as a powerlevel of sorts

larva 3 (voting period: Closed)

“unexpected outcome, will make difficult obtaining biomass, temporary setback, can adapt, will adapt” oh god, you even sounded and spoke like the original Abathur! ‘must not squeee, Must. Not. Squeee.’ Shaking your head, you turned to the egg, instinct demanded that not a drop of biomass be wasted, and you were not about to disagree.

Hesitantly at first, you began consuming the shell that had protected you during your evolution, the taste was… strange, like a mixture of fries and chocolate that didn’t completely agree with whatever passed for a palate in your new body, but you kept going until every bit of biomass had been consumed, once done, instinct guided you once more, turning your focus inwards.

It was a strange, ‘seeing’ Essence for the first time, to you, it ‘looked’ like a shapeless cloud of multicolored, faintly glowing motes interconnected with thin green lines, instinctually, you knew this was the Essence provided by the egg’s shell ‘simple, crude, effective, sufficient’ and just ‘beside’ it, was your own Essence, the motes glowed much more strongly, and the lines where thicker, it looked like a spiral galaxy that glinted and sparkled like the jewels of a crown ‘elegant, sophisticated, complex, good’

Carefully, you began experimenting, focusing on the egg’s Essence-you were more than a little hesitant to mess with, studying it, spinning it around delicately, you began understanding it the more you saw of it, you could see what gave it’s shape, it’s color, what made the shell as hard and sturdy as it was, and what allowed it to extract nourishment from the soil beneath it and provide it to you to fuel your evolution ‘useful traits, insufficient still, creation of creep tumor not yet possible, need more Essence’ with that in mind, you stopped ‘looking inwards’ and skittered/slithered out of the chamber.

The first thing that drew your attention once you were in the tunnels was the faint glow of the worms in the ceiling “hmm…. Bioluminescence, useful for places light doesn’t reach, or luring prey closer” you shook your head, now was not the time for distraction, you needed to get Essence to complete the creep tumor ‘blueprint’ you had floating around your head.

Once outside, the first thing you did was pick up a few leaves and eat them, the biomass they gave was barely worth mentioning, but the Essence they provided was all kinds of useful, with that done, you ventured a bit further outside the cave, the next thing you spotted was a snake, a green tree python to be precise, placidly resting on a branch just outside your reach, in the end it didn’t matter much, turns out your ‘scythes’ are sharper and sturdier than they look, a few chops later and you both had a branch and a snake to snack on, and with that, you had all the necessary Essence to cobble together a creep tumor.

With that in mind, you wasted no time in scurrying back into the cave to begin working on it.

It was a busy day in Canterlot, ponies going about their business, politics and shady deals occurring in the background, guards patrolling, and tourists bumbling about, nothing out of the ordinary, at least, until an anomaly in the fabric of reality ripped a tear in the veil between dimensions and spewed forth several black creatures of considerable size before closing again.

The creatures tumbled and rolled through the air, falling for a few seconds before regaining their bearing and leveling out, most of them flew away, always going in pairs, but a couple of them remained flying in circles over Canterlot, a series of constant high pitched ‘pings’, the city’s population, having witnessed the event, watched in bewildered silence as the creatures seemingly danced around each other in the air.

Bewilderment turned to terror when the creatures turned on a dime, nosediving towards the population below, civilians screamed, running every which way as the guards took aim with crossbows and magic “open fire!” cried one of the guards, bolts and blasts sailed through the air, but did little to deter the creatures, bouncing or splashing off of their thick rubbery hide “shields!” barked the same guard, immediately several unicorns’ horns glowed, pouring their magic into a solid barrier placed directly in the path of the creatures.

The first one veered sharply, rapidly gaining height, seemingly startled by the sudden appearance of the barrier, but the second one crashed into, and through the shield, the backlash of the shield shattering sending the unicorns reeling and leaving them vulnerable.

One unfortunate unicorn, directly in the path of the creature, still stunned because of the backlash, was skewered, his enchanted armor not even slowing the hard-as-titanium lance, the unfortunate unicorn was carried screaming to the skies “shining!” came the horrified scream of one of the earth ponies.

Some of the pegasi that had been chasing down the first creature broke off from their group, diving towards the second in an effort to aid their comrade, whose limp body hanged skewered on the creature’s lethal grasp.

It had taken you a while, spinning a strain from parts of different organisms was a slow, meticulous process, specially without vespene gas to help the process along, it had taken you the better part of four hours, but now that you had the creep tumor strain, you will be able to produce it from any source of biomass.

Now here you were, in a corner of the chamber, opposite from the entrance “process, messy, unrefined, must make better, later” it was terribly embarrassing, as you were more or less giving fuckingBIRTH! To whatever organism you made “hatchery needed as soon as possible” you grumbled, before grunting, and pushing, there was a disgusting bursting and splatting sound, and when you turned around, there it was.

A mound of tissue with bulging see-through sacs filled with pseudo organs suspended in green amniotic liquid of about twice the size of a zergling, it pulsed like a heartbeat, once, twice, three times, before burying itself into the soil, and seconds after, the deep purple ooze-like super-organism known as creep began spreading from the hole, for now it was a paper-thin layer, but as it acquired nutrients it would spread further and thicken, you knew it could become so thick, that a roach could bury itself in it without reaching the ground, but such stage was still a ways away.

With the foundations of your base well on it’s way, you were faced with a new conundrum, what to do next?

[] Continue making creep tumors, until having covered all of the cave

[] Make a couple drones, they’ll make things easier

[] Make a pack of zerglings and send them on a recognizance/hunting run

[] Write-in

Author's Note

winning vote:

[X] A… chibi abathur? (minimal combat capabilities, frail body, sophisticated essence weaving, can produce and modify any strain as long as there are enough resources, cocoon can be consumed for biomass)

hi! sorry for the delay, had to take care of other quests, anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter

larva 4 (voting period: Closed)

The desperate struggle between life and death in the skies above Canterlot were brought to an abrupt halt by a blazing nova suddenly manifesting before the creature with Shining Armor skewered in it’s lance, the raging inferno expanded angrily, engulfing both and briefly eclipsing the sun in it’s brightness, forcing both the pegasi in the air and the ponies in the ground to look away, the remaining creature gave one last cry, aileron rolling out of it’s path to avoid the raging nova, luck was not on it’s side however, as an alabaster blur erupted from the golden fire ball.

The air around the blur screamed as it tore through it, climbing higher and higher, devouring mile after mile in seconds, and just as it was about to reach the upper atmosphere the blur turned sharply enough to leave behind a shockwave that thundered, and shot down like the fist of an angry god, descending even faster than when it had climbed, in it’s descent, the blur became engulfed in golden flames, the fires taking shape akin to a drill and sharpening, the scream became a shriek just a second and a half before impacting the creature.

There was no sound at first, when the creature was violently ripped from the skies, only pure white light so bright it consumed and engulfed everything, then the shockwave of sound hit, the city shook as if struck by a physical force, some of the guard were thrown off of their feet, some were nearly flattened against the ground, the pegasi were thrown and scattered like leaves in a tornado.

When the dust settled, when the blinding light faded, when the royal guard could finally recover their bearings, the looked to the epicenter of the explosion, there, they found none other than their ruler Queen Celestia, standing tall in all her imposing glory, alabaster coat reflecting the light produced by her blazing mane and tail, wings spread wide, expression set in a severe frown as she regarded the charred mulch of a corpse that was the creature beneath her hooves, she cast her eyes across the guards before her, and spoke “Captain” her voice was melodious, there was a hint of warmth, but it was hidden by a hardness seldom heard in it.

Captain Steadfast Resolve stepped forward from among the guard without hesitation or fear “my Queen!” saluted the earth pony, relaxing when the demigoddess nodded, needing no further prompting “at approximately eleven fifty A.M. a rift of some kind formed in the sky at roughly three thousand, two hundred hooves from the city, spewing several of these creatures, many just up and left, but a pair seemed hungry” the old stallion sighed, shaking his head “it’s hide was like that of a death worm, turning away both arrow and spell, and that spike in it’s head was just like not unlike the teeth of a kraken, not even lieutenant Shining Armor’s shield, layered with eight others stopped it” at that, the old stallion looked up at the demigoddess “speaking of… is he…?”

“in the infirmary, with orders to be seen to immediately, my flames fed his life force, he will make it, but I’m afraid that it won’t be without consequences” Equestria’s God Queen’s tone was low, slightly mournful, but the only external sign of her sadness was the closing of her eyes, and the slight dipping of her wings as she folded them, the raging inferno that was her mane and tail calmed and settled, returning to the mesmerizing rainbow that the Captain has known since he was a little colt, her eyes, which had been until now pitch black clear with smoldering amber irises, returned to normal, the amethyst irises shining kindly, glinting like gems.

“was anypony else injured?” when Steadfast Resolve shook his head “very well” her horn glowed, and the charred corpse vanished in a flash of light “I hope it’s not to damaged for the gentlecolts in research and development” mumbled the Queen, trotting off towards the castle “come along Steadfast, we have much to plan, dangerous times are coming, and we must prepare”

You watched as the two cocoons bulged, shook and burst with a disgusting splatting sound and releasing the newly born drones into the world, it had taken you half a day to collect the necessary biomass, and a full twenty-four hours to grow them, but at last, you had the first members of your swarm, their presence in the Hivemind a quiet murmur in the back of you mind.

You took your time observing the drones, they were big, quite big in fact, by your estimate each was about as long and wide as a jeep, bigger that their original counterparts by a fair margin, their pincers looked like they could be used to crush a rhino’s skull, which made sense, given what they were for, both drones had a dull, beady eyed stare, they weren’t the smartest thing in the swarm, not by a long shot, but that was fine, intellect wasn’t really useful for their purpose.

They floated in place, waiting for orders, until with a mental command you had one go into the main tunnel, and start collecting gems, while the other went further out, into the forest to collect more biomass, while the drones worked you tinkered with the creep tumor blueprint, it was obvious to you that a hatchery would not fit in the cave, given that the chamber was about as big as a good sized living room, and a hatchery was a multi-story structure/organism.

The solution was both simple and complicated, the cave would serve as a skeleton to which attach the hatchery’s internal organs, and for that, you would need to make something to cover the cavern’s walls, the snake’s skeletal structure came in handy “skeletal structure, anchoring points, useful, frail, brittle, need more minerals” just as you finished your train of thought, the mining drone returned with it’s haul, a good five hundred kilograms of gems, consumed, crushed and mulched, were regurgitated into the creep, absorbed by it, and through it made available to you, curious fact about drones, in absence of a main structure, they were perfectly capable of processing ‘small’ quantities of resources into a gross mass that creep can absorb.

It’s load released, the drone went back to the main cavern to continue collecting and you continued tinkering, barely paying attention as the second drone returned, dragging a manticore’s mangled carcass* and proceeded to render it, tearing the corpse into bite sized chunks and devouring it, then regurgitating the resulting mulch into the creep.

By nightfall you had the beginnings of a skeletal structure covering the chamber, the ‘ribs’ growing from the creep and into the ceiling, tissue slowly growing between them and covering the chamber’s walls, soon you would have enough space to anchor one set of organs.

Taking your current situation into account, you decided to start with:

[] the digestive tract (more efficient resource collection)

[] the reproductive organs (more units faster)

[] the psionic/nervous system (greater range, finer control, allows body hopping)

Author's Note

well, here is the next chapter, drones won by landslide, which doesn't surprise me really, hope you enjoy it, oh and another thing, votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

simple right?

* those claws aren't for show

also, if anyone wants a reference about scale, here you go! for reference, ponies are the size of irl ponies

larva 5 (voting period: Closed)

The digestive tract seemed like a good place to start, it would free the drones of the need to render their hauls, and thus increase the speed of resource collection, once more diving into what you were starting to call ‘weaver trance’ you began assembling a rudimentary digestive tract, you had two blueprints to choose from, manticore and snake, but ultimately decided to discard and recycle most of the manticore’s essence seeing as it was the least efficient of the two, only keeping the musculature, bone structure, sight, hearing, claws, teeth, and venom, the rest was repurposed into raw biomass.

With that done, you began working on the first set of organs of your new hatchery, and while the snake’s digestive system was far more efficient than the manticore’s, it still left a lot to be desired speedwhise, you tried to tweak and improve what you could, and while what you ended up creating was a far sight better that what you started with, it still was a rough thing “simple, crude, inefficient, must improve as soon as possible” it would have to do for now, but it would have to do for now.

Once the designing phase was done, it was time to actually implement your new creation, slowly you coaxed the flesh and biomass to grow, it started as a bulbous growth at the base of two ribs, tendrils of flesh slowly growing upwards in the bone, the main mas bulged, pulsing and squirming as it slowly took shape under your guidance, a sack soon grew in the flesh covered wall between the two bone pillars, the sack would act as stomach and intestines, processing and absorbing anything dragged inside, once it finished formed two ducts began growing downwards.

The first tube expanded dramatically as it neared the ground, twisting and turning, the end of it growing a circular maw filled with thousands of small tentacle-like appendices, each equipped with a set of hook like constructs to grasp and drag the resources in, and the section deeper in growing rows upon rows of molars and and incisors, to prepare said resources for processing.

The second tube went into the ground and disappeared from sight, the purpose of this tube was to transport any material the ‘stomach’ couldn’t process, and deposit them in a secondary chamber it would grow, to be consumed by the creep tumor’s roots.

All in all, a patchwork rush-job for zerg standards, but it would have to do, at least for now, so with that done, you moved on to the next project/problem, defences.

Some would call it paranoia, others cowardice, but the fact that the only thing standing between you and everything in the forest were a pair of drones, luckily for you, traditional zerg blueprints were already available without the need for much experimentation, and one such unit was well within your reach, so without wasting any more time, you got right back to work.

This time the production time was faster, seeing as you didn’t have to start from scratch, but it was still not as fast as it could be with the aid of a spawning pool, nevertheless you continued working, the resourced the drones and the creep brought would be enough for six zerglings, not much, but sure as hell better than no zerglings, the embryos inside the cocoons were slow in growing, almost unbearably so, but by the end of the third day since they were created, the hardened shells of their prison began cracking and splitting.

Unlike the drones, the zerglings didn’t wait for the cocoon to break off completely, oh no sire, they tore their way to freedom with an eagerness not unlike that of a piranha in a feeding frenzy, and once they were out hissing and growling and snapping at each other, pushing shoving and nipping, their blades shaking and producing a rattle like noise, as if they were trying to determine who the alpha of the pack would be, it was fascinating, and more than a little bit intimidating.

They were at slightly above hip height on an average person, with their scythe like blades extending up to where the shoulders would be, the blades on said limbs were uncomfortably big, longer than a human torso was thick, glinting in the bioluminescent light, their minds were both similar and worlds apart from that of the drones, sharper, more focused, far more eager to go out and do stuff, but still dim.

Finally, when an apparent leader was chosen, the small pack settled down, looking at you expectantly giving them a mental command to patrol and remain unseen, you watched as the zerglings hissed, chittered, and took off, nimbly leaping over the returning drones as they returned, one hauling another cargo of gems, the other hauling a pile of wood, both drones deposited their hauls, and floated off again, in search of more resources.

The digestive tract worked fast, barely a minute and a half and already you could feel the resources becoming available to you, just enough for another pseudo structure, looking around, you realized there wouldn’t be much more space for anything other than the other two organ systems, with a mental sigh you got to work on the nervous system, or at least, tried to, but a mental ping from the zerglings snapped you out of it.

Immediately, you became alert, the message was simple, but urgent, intruders were making a beeline to the cave, another ping came soon after the first, and this time it was a memory, you tensed when the memory settled into your mind, ‘Changelings, fuck! How did they find out about me?!’

Quickly, you called back both the drones and the zerglings, racking your brain for a plan, trying to decide how to approach the situation ‘do I try to communicate? Do I attack? Fuuuck, it’s too soon!’ steeling your nerves, you took a deep breath to try and calm down, panicking now wouldn’t do you any good, the problem at hand needed a cool head, not a panicky moron.

Once more reviewing the memory, you saw something you were not expecting, the group, which was a dozen strong, had one particular individual in the middle, this one had an actual mane and tail, not at all like the see through membrane the others had, was slightly taller, slimmer, feminine, and her-you assumed it was a she- had actual eyes with pupils, and her wings were also of a slightly different shape than the rest, all in all, the changeling looked almost like a miniature version of chrysalis, with lighter colored mane and tail, the only thing missing to be a perfect copy, would be the antennae.

“interesting…”

Plan to deal with the changelings
[] Write-in

Author's Note

winning vote: [X] Digestive tract.

sup! new chapter, enjoy.

also, for those of you who don't know what a write in is, basically is a blank slate for the 'players' to suggest their own plan/decision, you will start seeing this kind of vote a bit more often after this chapter

larva 6 (voting period Closed)

Princess Damira marched into the creature’s cave accompanied by her personal guard, fully excepting to fight for her life, her memories of her departure from the hive still fresh in her mind.

“don’t you dare let your guard down Damira, not even for a single second, you hear me?” her mother’s voice carried a curt tone, but the changeling princess could feel the naked, borderline terror of her mother through the Hive-mind, even while on the outside the Queen was calmly grooming her daughter’s mane, subtly weaving and layering protective spells on her chitin, burning through what little reserves she had.

“I will, don’t worry mother, I will be as careful as I can, and I promise to return to you, safe” Damira then decided to break protocol just this once, turning around and surprising her mother with a heartfelt hug, Chrysalis to drop the comb in surprise, her magic fizzling out just as she was about to add yet another layer of protection, her surprise lasted for a second, before her mask broke, and the Changeling Queen let her worry appear plainly on her face, ears pinned against her skull, eyes growing watery, she let out a shuddering breath as she wrapped her daughter in a chitin cracking hug.

“please” oh how Damira hated to hear her mother suffering, she hated it with every piece of her soul “please be careful, i-I can’t lose another child, I c-can’t lose another daughter” the changeling princess tightened the hug, letting her mother sob softly on her whither, venting her grief at not being able to go herself, after all, the Queen was too important, too vital for the survival of the hive.

The changeling princess closed her eyes, contenting herself with hugging her mother, whispering sweet nothings to her ear.

Damira shook her head to clear her mind, the entrance to the cave was fairly well hidden, if they didn’t already know it was there, they would have missed it completely, stopping at the mouth of the cave, her captain called out to the rest “alright! diamond formation! I want everyling ready for anything, keep your eyes peeled and your spells at the ready”

Everyling nodded, they took their positions around Damira, and the group advanced into the depths of the earth to face the unknown creature.

They had been walking for barely three minutes before they met what Damira believed could be the creature, it had been standing smack dab in the middle of the tunnel they had been walking through, facing their direction, as they approached, the changeling princess studied the creature, taking in it’s worm-like body, its frail looking arms, upright-snake posture, it’s short stature, the thing honestly didn’t look like it could harm a fly even if it tried, but as a changeling, she knew better than anyone that appearances can be deceiving.

‘six unknown approaching through the earth, they are moving into a flanking positions, no hostility detected yet’ the mental warning came from the soldier at her left, far-sight if she remembered correctly, a skilled sensor. The rest of her soldiers tensed, ready to spring into action at any moment.

‘good job far-sight, keep us informed if something changes, the rest of you, prepare to layer shields the moment far-sight raises the alarm, princess, if things go south, teleport out of here’ Damira grit her teeth, masking her frustration from the hive-mind and nodding minutely ‘understood captain’

Finally, they were close enough to distinguish the eyes of the creature, the group stopped, the creature didn’t move from it’s place, merely watching them with an almost dismissive of them as a threat, far-sight’s comment made it all the worse ‘that thing is either stone cold monster, or really bucking good at keeping keeping it’s emotions under control, I can’t get anything from it’

That made Damira tense even further, not daring to turn her gaze away from it ‘just what manner of creature is this?!”

‘ohgodimgonnadieimgonnadieidon’twannadieagain!’ you may be suffering from a tiny little panic attack, understandable, you were in quite the vulnerable, a squishy in front of a whole squad of spell casters, true, you had zerglings surrounding them, and while you were fully confident in their ability to tear the changelings apart in a very short time, you were under no delusions that it would be fast enough to save you.

Sighing inwardly, you straightened, turning to look at the mini-queen, they seemed to jolt out of whatever funk they had been in, they tensed minutely, but the mini queen stepped forward, she tried, but couldn’t quite hide her nervousness ‘strange, why are they so tense?’

“can you understand me?” oh goody, they speak English, now, how to paint yourself…? Ah! Right, when in doubt, imitate Abathur.

“Organism Abathur, capable of complex verbal communication” the mini queen jolted slightly, probably wasn’t expecting such a deep voice from such a small body. ‘heeheehee…, oh god, I laugh like grunt’.

To her credit, the changeling regained her composure remarkably quick “my name is Damira, princess of the badlands Hive, I assume your name is Abathur?”

“indeed”

“if you don’t mind me asking, just what manner of creature are you, mister Abathur?” she looked both curious and cautious, and while you considered on how to answer, you caught slight movement from the changelings escorting the princess, they would twitch minutely whenever a zerglings would move, ‘oh, so they can sense the zerglings, just great’

Acting as if you didn’t notice, you answered “organism Abathur, evolution master of Zerg swarm” that caught her attention, eyes snapping to yours.

“zerg swarm?” when you remained silent, she frowned slightly, but appeared to let the matter drop, at least for now “you said evolution master, would you be willing to tell me what is that?”

Okay, here comes the turning point, if you worded your explanation correctly, you could secure yourself an alliance, hell they may even willingly join the swarm, like the overlords did.

“evolution master spins strands and sequences, collect essence, study essence, use essence to evolve swarm, make better, faster, stronger, look at flesh, see only potential, strands, sequences, can touch it, weave it, improve swarm for leader” you finished explaining, and waited anxiously, the princess narrowed her eyes in thought, you could see the gleam in her eyes, no doubt seeing the potential.

“I see…” she muttered quietly to herself, you couldn’t quite hear what it was that she was muttering, but judging by the spark of hope in her eyes, you had an idea, finally she looked back at you, “mister Abathur, can you do the same for others not of your swarm?”

“indeed”

“then…” What she did next was, honestly more than a bit surprising, she bowed low, knees on the ground horn scrapping against the rocky floor of the cave, mane pooling around her face, but not quite hiding it, the action shocked her guard, they were openly gawking at her, some sputtering, you thought you heard a ‘your highness!’ coming from the back “I, as princess of the last changeling hive, beg of you, Evolution Master of the Zerg Swarm, led us your aid” she rose her head, locking eyes with you.

If you were capable of it, your eyes would have widened at seeing the tears freely streaming from the princess’ own “my people fight against enemies too great, against unforgiving elements, against starvation, every day is a struggle to scrap up enough resources to keep the hive alive, we survive, but we do not live, so please! I beg of you!” her voice was thick with emotion, her face was twisted with desperation and a little bit of hope.

Really, in front of such display, there was only one option you would consider “organism Abathur will provide aid” her reaction was to bow again, whispering ‘thank you’ again and again

An alliance has been forged, what now?

[] Move to the badlands hive (greater danger, exotic essence to collect, chance of obtaining tokens)

[] Remain here, let the changelings move into the cave system, it’s big enough (greater safety, things proceed as they have been if in a faster pace)

The changelings will receive a full overhaul, Abathur style, make your choices.

Body shape
-[] Equine
-[] Feline
-[] Canine
-[] Write-in

Limbs (not counting wings)
-[] 4
-[] 6
-[] 8

Limb types
-[] Claws
-[] Paws
-[] Hooves
-[] Write-in

Tail/s
-[] 1
-[] 2
-[] 3

Tail ‘addons’
-[] Stingers
-[] Acid Spitting Glands
-[] Grasping Claws
-[] Write-in

Wings
-[] Feathered
-[] Membraned
-[] Insectoid

Eyes
-[] Compound
-[] Reptilian
-[] Mammal
-[] Avian

Armor
-[] Scales
-[] Chitin
-[] Bone Plates
-[] Write-in

Any other ‘addon’
-[] Write-in

Author's Note

winning vote: [X] Cautious diplomacy, with an ambush prepared

here ya go, new chapter, sorry for the delay, got two more quests to manage.

votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

Pupa 1 (Voting Period Closed)

The following days passed in relative peace, you continued to build the hatchery’s organs while the changelings moved into the cavern network, they looked wary of your zerglings at first, not that you blamed them, your zerglings were about half again the size of a changeling drone, and guard was just barely at eye level with them, the only ones with a clear size advantage were the princess, and the Queen herself.

Speaking of the Queen, she had been the last one to come, having stayed at the badlands’ hive to make sure every single one of her changelings had been safely moved to the caverns, the whole moving process had taken roughly three weeks, in that time you managed to make sixteen more zerglings, four new creep tumors and ten more drones, which you tasked with digging another chamber, it would be connected to the hatchery, and it would serve as base for the evolution pit, the second most vital zerg structure.

Of course, now that your new allies were properly settled into their new home, it was time for you to uphold your part of the deal, slithering across the creep carpet that was extending through the tunnels, stopping just at the entrance of the new changeling hive, as has become habit to you, four zerglings stopped behind you ready for anything, but otherwise acting very placid, you didn’t have to wait too much, a couple of minutes later, the regal, tall, slender form of Chrisalys emerged from the shadows, followed by an escort of seven guards.

“is it time then?” she asked, looking at you in the eyes.

You nodded “biomass and essence required for evolution acquired, voluntaries required”

Nodding, the Queen looked at one of her guards “Dart here has offered to be the first to test your modifications” the guard in question was a female, fairly large for a guard, being just a little bit taller than your zerglings, like the rest of her kin, the changelin’s chitin was dull black, sporting cracks and fractures here and there, her face remained a neutral mask, and her posture was tense, ready to pounce at the slightest hint of trouble.

Nodding, you looked at the guard, making sure she was staring back, then you turned around and began slithering to your, the zerglings following after you without need for ordering them, a new development that you had yet to look into, and unfortunately, something you will have to leave for a later date, seeing how you’ll be busy for the day.

You didn’t have to turn around to see if the guard was following you, the telltale squishing of hooves on creep was all the confirmation you needed at the moment, soon you and your test subject arrived at the hatchery, the zerglings dispersed back to the tunnels, leaving you and your voluntary alone, turning around to regard her, you spoke.

“process slow, painful, but safe” she stared back, repression resolute.

“I am aware evolution master, do as you must, if it is to help the hive and my Queen, then I am willing to go through hel and back” nodding at her declaration, you gestured for her to step into what appeared to be a sort of half-finished cocoon, the guard stepped inside without hesitation, and you closed the cocoon and got to work.

First came the extra messy part, the cocoon was equipped with a set of harpoon tipped tendrils, that all shot off at the same time, breaking the chitin and burying themselves in the soft flesh below, injecting enzymes and zerg micro-organisms that would make working on a non zerg body a hell of a lot easier.

Without further ado, you once more seeped into ‘weaving mode’ as you have come to call the tinker fugue-like state you get into when spinning and set to work in upgrading and studying the changeling, the first thing you did was add an actual digestive system, then you improved it to a Zergtm digestive system that would allow them to feed on creep, that alone took you about half a fucking day! ‘oh, I’m going to be here for a looooong fucking while’

Your work continued for the following two and a half days, breaking the changeling down cell by cell, and building her back up again and again, stretching, twisting and crushing her form repeatedly, the equine body shape was as inefficient and inflexible as they come, but you lacked the essence to give them anything else, so it would have to do for now, next up were the eyes, you would keep them compound, the design was primitive and basic, but it got the job done, so it would stay, for the moment at least.

Then came the wings, insect wings were exceptionally frail and not very good for speed, and without a proper rudder, were crap with maneuverability so you discarded them, and began working on a new set, the new wings were based on bat wings, but you took extra care in covering rigid parts in chitin, even the membranes would be hardier than what you would expect from a thin layer of flesh, bones too were reinforced as much as you could without making them too heavy, their size would allow the changelings to cocoon themselves in them, use them as shields.

Next up were the legs, you had a pretty solid idea, the entire body had received denser musculature, but the back legs would be specially packed with corded muscle designed to help push the weight of the body forward and changing the shape of the leg to digitigrade, replacing the hooves for bipedal dino styled feet with curved claws that would help dig into the terrain, or into an enemy.

Front legs received a second pair, then you modified the two pairs as much as you could, given the restrictive nature of the equine body-frame, they wouldn’t get much range in motion ‘another thing to fix later’ so for now you gave the legs a set of claws that were more for keeping a prey or enemy in place than for any actual ripping and tearing, it would have to do for now.

After that, you began working on the tail, you have chosen to give them a tail to partially compensate for the body’s lack of flexibility, it would be long, versatile, and be tipped with a stinger filled with four separate glands, each capable of producing a different toxin, a paralytic, a deadly venom, a sleep gas and a concentrated cocktail of adrenaline.

And finally, the chitin, compared to the rest of the overhaul, all you had to do is reinforce it, so you did, basing it off of the zergling’s armored chitin plating, with that done, you took a moment to appreciate your work, it wasn’t the best you could have done, but it would have to suffice, for now at least.

The overhaul will be spread to the whole hive, it will take time so you will be busy, in the meantime, what should your hive do? (you can only choose one)

[] Continue expanding

[] Make more drones

[] Make more Zerglings

[] Write-in

An important event will occur in the next chapter, change POVs to one Twilight Sparkle?

[] Yes

[] No

Author's Note

winning vote: armor: Chitin

eyes: Compound

wings: membraned

tail: 1

tail addon: stinger

limbs: 6

limb types: claws

body-type: equine

votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

well, here it is, sorry for the delay

Pupa 2 [first part] (Voting period closed)

Twillight sparkle, valedictorian of the Canterlot Royal War-caster Academy, personal disciple of her royal majesty Queen Celestia and current bearer of the element of Magic, paced back and forth in the waiting room just outside the surgery room her brother was being operated on, a heavy frown set in her features as she mentally went over a list of spells she could have used to stop, subdue or slay the creatures had she been in the city during the attack.

“Oh would you give it a rest already?” the gruff voice of her other brother snapped the purple unicorn from her funk. Twilight turned to glare at the young dragon known as Spike. Said dragon was busying himself by sharpening the blade of his axes. Twilight took a second to study her brother and companion. The dragon had grown much in the years she’d known him, with the help of enchantments and alchemical concoctions he had come a long way from the little runt that popped out of the egg that was her entry test.

Spike was what one would refer as a near perfect specimen of an adolescent dragon, tall and muscular yet agile and quick on his feet. A long, strong tail, a pair of strong wings capable of carrying him through hail and storm, powerful legs and arms tipped with deathly claws, a strong jaw capable of crushing even the hardiest enchanted armor and an enchanted flame that would eat through any barrier, physical or otherwise. All that coupled with protective runes meticulously engraved into each and every scale of his body, along with his choice of weaponry made of Spike a formidable combatant, and a worthy companion for a war-caster like Twilight.

“I can’t help it Spike, I worry, it’s my duty as little sister” huffed the purple unicorn, stomping her hoof on the tiled floor, only barely twitching at the cracks she made ‘right, the enhancement runic arrays are still activated’. Twilight glared at Spike when the dragon chuckled at her slight oversight even as her body was briefly lit up by flashing rune-work, “anyways” muttered the dragon, stretching a bit and leaving his axes leaning against the nearest wall.

“Mind telling me how exactly did that thing got past Shiny’s shield?” Spike tilted his head. Glowing, slitted eyes focusing on the unicorn “wasn’t his shield supposed to be almost impervious?” Twilight sighed, sitting by her younger brother.

“A combination of factors. The creature had a wingspan similar to that of a dragon in the beginning stages of adulthood, and despite it’s bizarre physiology, weighted a little more than one too. And if that wasn’t enough, it was moving at an estimated two hundred miles per hour” Spike grunted, straightening up and nodding in understanding “ah, that much force, concentrated in a narrow, sharp point, yeah, I can see what happened then” he muttered, sighing “those things where literally the worst matchup for Shiny”.

Further conversation was put on the backburner when the door to the surgery room opened, and out walked the head surgeon. Both siblings got up, walking up to the doctor, who, despite the rather intimidating form they cut, remained completely and utterly unfazed. He held up a hoof to stop their questions “he is fine” began the stallion, “he will make a complete recovery, Princess Cadenza made sure of that” he blinked, reading something on a tablet he was carrying.

“On that note, Mr. armor won’t be available for visits until tomorrow, there are some things not even Princess Cadenza is capable of healing, don’t worry!” he rose his voice, interrupting whatever the two were going to say “it’s nothing dangerous, Mr. armor only needs rest” the doctor’s reassurances served their purpose, calming the unicorn mare and the adolescent dragon down.

“Well, that’s a b-worp!” whatever Spike was going to say, it was interrupted by a sudden belch, the resulting gout of flame was harmlessly encapsulated in a spherical purple force field. Once the flames suffocated themselves out, the three beings saw a roll of parchment, sealed shut by a wax seal with her majesty’s symbol on it.

Taking the roll, Twilight opened it and read the contents, sighing seconds later “her Majesty needs us Spike, let’s go” she grumbled, turning to walk away, the dragon grunted, moving to follow his adopted sister after bidding farewell to the doctor.

Their arrival at the throne room was heralded by a brief salute from the guards positioned inside and at the doors. The pair walked along the carpeted floor, bowing deeply to their queen as they stooped at the foot of her throne, “your Majesty” they muttered at the same time, lowering their heads.

Queen Celestia smiled, nodding at both unicorn and dragon, “arise, I won’t have my children bowing to me like this” she ordered softly, looking at them with a small frown. Both unicorn and dragon rose, looking at their queen and surrogate mother expectantly. The solar alicorn rose from her throne, drawing both into a hug that they happily returned, once they separated, Celestia walked off, gesturing for her children to follow “I wish we could catch up, but this mater can’t wait” she explained, marching ahead.

The siblings shared a look, following after the queen, “so, what is the issue?” asked Spike, tilting his head at his mother and queen. Celestia looked up in thought, eyes glazing slightly as she became briefly lost in her memories.

“As you know, tomorrow will be the thousandth anniversary of my sister’s banishment” she began, lowering her head as old regrets began bubbling to the forefront of her mind “tomorrow will be the day her imprisonment will be over” she didn’t need to turn around to know her children had put two and two together.

“So… it’s time then?” asked Twilight, ears lowering at the prospect of what was to come while Spike clenched his jaw.

“Indeed” answered the alabaster alicorn, “you two will be departing to poniville in a few hours, there you will meet with the other element bearers and remain on standby, should I fall, it will depend on you to stop my sister’s rampage” Celestia sighed, “and hopefully cleanse her of the parasite”.

After they arrived at the Queen’s quarters, there, the queen turned around, finally allowing herself to drop any and all pretenses, drawing both siblings close and into a hug as she silently shook, both teens returned the hug. The peculiar family holding each other, no words were exchanged, they weren’t needed.

Shortly after their meeting with the Queen, Twilight and Spike returned to the hospital, to try and pay Shining armor a visit before they had to depart; this time they were guided to a room in the intensive care wing of the hospital.

There they found their brother, barrel bound as he laid in the room’s only bed, with Princess Cadenza by his side, both siblings marched to their brother’s side.

“Hey guys” mumbled Shiny, smiling weakly at the approaching pair, Cadenza smiling at them, offering them a nod but not saying a word, and sipping from a cup of something honey scented.

“How are you feeling?” asked Twilight, standing by her elder brother’s bedside while Spike took a seat at her side.

The older unicorn shifted a bit in bed with a grimace, trying to get comfortable, “like the luckiest stallion in the world” he said “the doctors say that the creature’s beak almost hits my heart, and that it’s thanks to the Queen that I survived long enough to get treatment” the stallion grimaced in discomfort, but settled when Cadenza laid a hoof on his shoulder and her horn touched his, magic flowing to and fro.

“So, any reason Candace has yet to speak once?” grunted Spike, raising an eyebrow at the bedridden pony and his pink companion, bringing up a point that had been niggling at him since entering, Cadenza was usually a very talkative mare, so her being quiet for longer than a minute was a bit worrying.

The alicorn in question flexed her magic again, and a couple of paper sheets floated into view from their place on the ground “long day in the hospital, sang myself hoarse” they read, and the dragon made an acknowledging grunt, settling back into his seat.

Twilight frowned at the revelation, “that… how?” she asked “how many ponies did you have to heal?” the mare’s incredulity was palpable, and it only grew when Cadenza only gave her a sad little smile, the meaning clear. The pink alicorn’s horn glowed, and this time, instead of a sign, her own magic solidified into words midair “there was a collapse in the mines, many near fatal wounds from the crystals falling on unfortunate miners” they read.

“But at least no one actually died thanks to you” said Shiny, smiling at Cadenza, who looked to the side, cheeks darkening a little and a shy smile appearing on her lips. Twilight and Spike shared an unimpressed look, before turning back to the older duo; Twilight cleared her throat “before you two get any more lovey dovey” she began, ignoring their embarrassed responses “I have come with grave news, the queen’s sister will return during this summer sun celebration”

Both older ponies lost all sense of cheer at that news “and here I am, strapped to a bed and unable to help” muttered the stallion, gritting his teeth in frustration, before going limp with a resigned sigh “looks like you’re leaving me behind again little sis” he chuckled ruefully, smiling with both nostalgia and pride at Twilight.

Said mare got closer, hugging her brother “don’t say that” she chastised softly “I just was lucky to resonate with the element” breaking the hug, Twilight held her brother at foreleg length “you focus on recuperating and getting on your hooves alright?” at his nod, the mare continued “Spike and I are being sent to poniville to gather the other bearers and prepare for a worst case scenario, when you get out of the hospital, you should gather your forces and do the same”.

Both older ponies nodded, with Cadenza’s horn glowing again, showing another message "i will assist the Queen, hopefully Love may be able to overcome the parasite" it read, a hope they all held, after all, in this world were feelings were tied to primordial forces of magic and nature, few things could match Love, but those that could… well, the less spoken about them, the better.

Before anything else could be said, Spike grunted, standing up “it’s time to go, or we’ll miss the train” he said, pointedly looking at a wall clock, Twilight sighed, giving her brother and her friend one last hug each, before turning to walk out “take care you two” she said, finally walking out of the room followed by Spike, who gave them a parting nod”

The train ride was uneventful at best, both siblings spent the ride quietly preparing themselves for what was to come. Soon, their ride came to a stop, and both got out.

And their world became Pink.

“Hi! You two must be Twilight and Spike! Welcome to poniville! I’m Pinky! Expert demolitionist and baker extraordinaire!” the pink mare rattled off shaking the unicorn mare’s hoof… and shaking the mare herself in the process too, then she zipped to Spike, leaving Twilight to try and gather her thoughts, and her things, that had all ended up being literally shaken loose from her person.

“We’ve been waiting for you two! Come on come on, the others are waiting!” chirped the mare after giving Spike a thorough shaking like she did with Twilight, before turning around and… bouncing away; somehow managing to blend into the crowd despite being bright pink. The two siblings looked at each other “the dossiers weren’t joking” whispered the dragon, an expression of dawning horror on his face.

Already feeling the headache coming, Twilight sighed, “doesn’t matter, we have a mission, let’s go” both siblings followed after the pink mare, a task made infuriatingly difficult with said mare’s ability to go unnoticed as long as she wished “how is she doing this?” grumbled Spike, sniffing the air to try and find any hint as to where Pinky went, and ignoring how the rest of the ponies here gave him a wide berth. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to know” answered Twilight, horn and runes lighting up to cast a tracking spell, only to have it fizzle out, much to her consternation.

Eventually, they managed to find a track, that lead to a quiet farm on the outer rim of the little town, the Apple family’s apple farm called sweet apple acres. The apple clan was, to put it simply, extensive, there was at least one or two branches of the apple clan on every settlement in Equestria, their family’s bloodline could be traced back to times before the sister queens, before the great alliance was forged, before even the Chaos Emperor’s reign. It could be traced back to the times where the great tree stood still, long before the dark one and his monstrous children blighted the world with their foul existence.

Hel, Twilight had even read some legends that may or may not hint at the apples being blood descendants of the Thunderer, the very first earth pony borne Alicorn!

A soft thump on the back of her head from Spike snapped Twilight out of her ‘science/research’ mode, as the dragon had taken to call her fugue-like state whenever she got invested in something of intellectual nature; and made her focus on the now, and the mares currently standing before her ‘wait… when did i… oh fuck me, I zoned out again’ she grumbled in her head, shooting the amused dragon a disgruntled glare.

“About time you snapped out of your daydream” snorted one of the mares, a cyan coated Pegasus with a rainbow mare and tail, currently lounging in a piece of cloud a little above Spike’s head level. Rainbow Dash, the fastest Pegasus to ever live, Equestria’s hurricane, as she was known in the higher echelons of the military, and bearer of the element of loyalty “I would introduce myself, but I get the feeling that you already know who I am” she said, throwing Twilight a lazy smirk.

“Indeed I do, miss Dash” intoned the unicorn in question, looking at each of the mares present “I know every single one of you” she said, making them stand a bit straighter, or in Dash’s case, sit up.

“Applejack Apple” she began, looking at the orange furred mare, who tipped her hat at her with a friendly smile “current manager of the sweet apple acres, daughter of Pear Butter and Bright Mac, the two most famous gunslingers of Equestria, and the ones responsible for putting an end to the blood feud between the Pears and the Apples” the orange mare nodded “damn right” she stated firmly, her pride in her parent’s history as clear as day.

Then Twilight turned to her fellow unicorn “Rarity Belle” she began, making the white coated unicorn smile and nod politely “famous seamstress, the current apprentice to Equestria’s master of whispers, and potion mistress to be” she said, and the amethyst maned unicorn bowed “the very same my darling war mage, it is a pleasure meeting you~” she purred, favoring Twilight and Spike with a half lidded smile, licking her lips in a very… suggestive… way that had them both shifting around a bit, adverting their gaze while feeling their cheeks get a bit warmer.

Clearing her throat, Twilight locked gazes with the next mare, who smiled shyly from behind her soft pink mane “miss Fluttershy, no last name” she began, noting the slight flinch of the Pegasus mare, “ranger of the Everfree forest, wildlife expert and beast master” the unicorn smiled slightly, nodding in respect at the shy Pegasus, “in the name of the celestial corps, I thank you for maintaining the beasts of the Everfree under control”

Fluttershy smiled hesitantly “i-it’s n-nothing, j-just doing m-my job”.

“Speaking of jobs” butted in the rainbow maned Pegasus, head hanging lazily from the cloud as she stared at Twilight and Spike “care to tell us what brings you to our little corner of Equestria?” she drawled, raising a lazy eyebrow.

Letting the smile slip from her lips, Twilight straightened “simple, the fallen Queen’s return will be tomorrow night” the revelation killed all activity, the mares all stilling and giving Twilight and Spike their undivided attention.

“Are you absolutely sure of this? Has it been confirmed?” asked Rainbow Dash, no longer lounging on her cloud. a severe frown set upon her features when Twilight nodded gravelly. The others had similar reactions; Applejack had her face hidden by her hat, but the war mage could see the muscles tensing and rippling under her coat.

Pinky was no longer smiling or bouncing, her hair had, somehow, straightened and darkened, covering half of her face, while the still visible half now sported a cold, calculative look.

Rarity kept a polite smile, but the dangerous glint in her eyes betrayed the mask.

Fluttershy lowered her head, a pensive, dread filled frown upon her brow, which, curiously enough, changed to an expression of grim determination as she rose her head once more, staring at Twilight in the eyes, but staying silent.

“What’s the plan then?” asked the rainbow manned Pegasus, staring at the siblings. Spike cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the five mares to him “quite simple really” he said “by orders of the Queen, we are to stay within the town limits at all times, and you ladies, are to begin the preparations necessary to awaken and bond with the Elements of Harmony, in case her majesty fails to separate her sister and the parasite”.

All five mares froze, staring in open shock at the revelation, unable to comprehend what the dragon just said. Spike meanwhile. stretched a bit, groaning as his back popped and yawning widely “and while you do that, I will check on the town’s militia, make sure they are in proper fighting shape, and check on patrol routes, just to be safe” he grunted, cracking his neck.

[] Follow Twilight and her ‘friends’

[] Follow Spike

Author's Note

Well... here it is... about eight months later... sorry, can't really say anything other than real life being it's usual bitchy self, hopefully the next chapter will be before eight days pass, i hopw y'all enjoy this one.

i was going to add a bit about a certain thing that got dropped in the dragon lands, but that's better left for later on

votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

Pupa 2 [second part] (voting period closed)

‘This place is quite strange’ mused Spike as he made his way through the main street of Poniville. The buildings were quite thematic; a bakery shaped like a cupcake, a boutique that looked like a carousel, a bar in the form of a beer mug; the list went on and on. Many buildings looked brand new, despite the behavior of the locals pointing to familiarity and routine ‘then again, with how close they are to the Everfree, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to regularly rebuild things due to monster attacks’.

Spike shook his head, focusing his thoughts on his current task. He marched on, ignoring the wary looks of the locals, but taking note of how some would subtly tense and leant forward slightly, ready to charge him down if need be ‘they are alert at least’. Smirking slightly, the young dragon marched ahead, mind whirling with many a thought.

Much to spike’s relief, Poniville’s garrison looked like any other garrison. A grey building of stone and steel, surrounded by protective walls and towers and placed between the town and The Everfree. The young dragon could spot a few guards keeping watch from the openings in the towers, or patrolling atop the walls.

“halt! Who goes there?!” shouted one of the guards closest to the gates, casting a stern gaze at the young dragon from his position on the wall.

“Spike the dragon! Of the Celestial berserkers!” shouted back said dragon, raising both axes, which flared to life with the characteristic golden glow of Celestia’s magic signature “open the gates! I bring dire news!” That seemed to be enough for the soldier, who nodded and galloped off to parts unseen.

Soon, the garrison’s metallic gates began opening, raising with a slow, ponderous creaking, and Spike walked inside, ignoring the resounding boom of the entrance slamming shut once more.

Inside the walls of the garrison, Spike took note of of the garrison’s layout. It was the standard ‘rectangle’ of walls surrounding a training field, barracks to the side closest to the town, supplies storage by the barracks, dungeon on the opposite side. Spike’s inspection was cut short when a pair of armored earth ponies marched up to him “the captain will see you now” said the one to the left.

Nodding, Spike gestured with his head “lead the way then”. The seemingly identical white(1) ponies turned and headed directly for the barracks, dragon in tow.

The captain’s office was more akin to an improvised war room than an office; there was a big square table at the center with a map depicting both Poniville and The Everfree, a bookcase shoved into a corner, and several chairs around the table. The map was apparently enchanted, creating a fairly detailed tridimensional projection of the area. Looming over the map and facing the entrance, was a more heavily armored and noticeably older Pony.

“sir!” said one of Spike’s escort, both of them snapping to attention. The older stallion looked up, sharp eyes scanning the three before settling back on the dragon “at ease soldiers, go back to your posts” both guards left with one final salute, leaving them alone, “so, what is a celestial berserk doing in this little corner of the kingdom?” asked the stallion, eyes narrowing “shouldn’t you be up north hunting wendigos?”(2)

Straightening, Spike spoke evenly and clearly “the Queen has sent me and her personal student on a mission vital for the survival of equestrian and the world as a whole” he said, making the captain frown in thought. Spike nodded, seeing the realization dawn on the captain’s expression “Celestia preserve us...!” he whispered harshly.

The older stallion got up from his seat, pacing and muttering to himself. Spike simply stayed silent, waiting. Finally, the captain turned to regard the berserk “what is the plan?” he asked, and the dragon smiled “well…”.

[] Trixie owes me a favor; her magic could be extremely useful to stall Queen Luna if push comes to shove

[] Our priority is to protect the bearers while they attune to the elements, so we are going to fortify the town as much as we can, I can call reinforcements if need be

[] Write-in

Time passed, the sun set, rose and began setting anew. After sending her children on their mission, Celestia had taken a leave from her duties for the following days in order to prepare. She knew where her sister would appear, so she had teleported directly after ensuring the kingdom had a proper regent.

The aged, crumbling and dust covered halls of what had she had once upon a time called home had greeted her with sepulchral silence. The old ruin that most of her subjects knew as the castle of the two sisters had been swallowed by The Everfree’s inexorable march centuries ago. It was the last place she ever saw her sister, the place where she was forced to use the elements against their nature, and lock her sister within her domain.

Celestia’s horn glowed, weaving the last of hundreds of runes into the castle’s stone; barriers, seals and traps aplenty, the solar alicorn knew she only had this one chance to get her sister back, and she would sooner chain herself to the deepest pit in Tartarus than waste time!

Her work done, Celestia stopped channeling magic, and the hundreds upon hundreds of runes inscribed all over the castle faded from view, hidden until the time to call upon them came. The immortal queen sighed, turning to head back inside the ruins, her armored hooves clicking audibly against the aged stone, echoing through the silent halls while the goddess wallowed in old mistakes.

"LUNA! What are you doing?!"

"What i should have done long ago sister! TAKING WHAT IS MINE!" (3)

The sun goddess winced, feeling the moon break from her hold and rising on it’s own accord. Celestia took a shaky sigh, her horn lit up, it’s glow engulfing her form as she conjured her armor on her body, and her halberd to her side. Gathering her courage, the solar monarch straightened and marched through the doors to the throne room.

And there she stopped in her tracks, freezing at the sight before her.

There, sitting in the decaying throne, was Luna, free of the parasite’s corruption, clad in the same armor she was using when the war began, her rapier at her side.

“…L-Luna?”

“Hello sister, it has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Author's Note

well, here is next chapter, and not almost a year later too!.... still way late though, i apologize for that.

1): the armor of Equestria's military is enchanted to make the wearer look exactly the same as any other pony wearing it, there is a method to tell each pony appart, but that's is a secret only known by Equestria's military.

2): no, that wasn't a typo, yes, those things are in Equestria in place of those shitty winter ghost things.

3): yes, that's a brief flashback of sorts. What? i'm lazy

votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

question for those of you who bother reading the author notes: how interested would you be in a quest about the remnants of the species in the Equestria planet trying to survive out in space/the multiverse after the world, the sun and the moon blew the fuck up?

Pupa 2 [final part] (voting period closed)

Silence reigned between the two sisters. One too shocked to speak, the other showing nothing as she silently watched the emotions shoot through her sister’s face.

“Luna how-“before Celestia could finish her question, the formerly banished ruler interrupted with a question of her own.

“Tell me, dear sister” began the ruler of the night, and Celestia barely suppressed a shudder at the lack of any tone in her voice “do you remember Blazing Dawn?” The question brought the solar queen short. The mare frowned in confusion.

“w-what? What doe-”

“Answer. The question. Sister” this time, Celestia couldn’t suppress the flinch at the dark undertone in Luna’s flat voice. Concentrating, the alabaster alicorn shifted through her memories, at first struggling to give the name a face, but eventually managing to find the correct memories. She an orange earth pony, his mane red like rubies, his coat orange like the dawn, clad in ebony armor, marching at the front of a tide of black, right by her sister. Celestia looked at her sister, brow creased.

“He was the captain of the night guard at the time” she answered, receiving a nod from Luna.

“Indeed, but not only that, Blazing was my personal bodyguard, one of my most loyal friends” her cyan eyes briefly lighting up while she talked about him, before they dimmed again and she lowered minutely. “For a time, he was more than just a friend” she finished, earning yet another flinch. The solar alicorn felt her ears fold against her skull, and her eyes widened in horror and she felt her heart drop to her hooves.

“No…” whispered the sun goddess, faintly shaking her head in sheer horror.

Luna favored her with a slight upturn of her lips, there was no warmth or mirth. A lone tear slipped down her cheeks, freezing before it could hit the ground as the temperature in the room dropped sharply and frost creeped on the ruined throne room “Congratulations, sister” she said, rising from her seat for the first time since their reunion. Her coat darkening to a dreadful pitch black. Her eyes becoming cat-like slits, and her teeth sharpening and becoming fang-like “you’re a kinslayer”.

The castle was engulfed in ice and darkness.

(shortly after Spike’s meeting with the captain)

Spike felt restless, which was understandable; the captain had decided to call an emergency meeting in the town center to inform the civilians of the cancelation of the celebrations. Needless to say, the townsfolk weren’t taking it very well.

“You can’t do that!”

“this is an outrage!”

“we refuse!”

the protests went on and on, the captain stared at the crowd with an incredulous grimace, a vein beginning to throb in his neck. Spike could practically see his patience snapping as he finally got fed up with their collective stupidity.

“SHUT UP!” he roared. He was actually almost as loud as Celestia’s royal ‘I’m done putting up with your shit’ voice! Spike grunted, shaking his head to try and get rid of the ringing, like most of the ponies present in the town center. After the ponies managed to recover their bearings, they looked up at the Captain, and flinched upon seeing the fierce glare he was casting their way.

“There are lives on the line!” the stallion slammed a hoof against the ground, the loud impact producing another collective flinch “this is not up for discussion! The curfew will be enacted and enforced if necessary!” Silence reigned for a good while, no pony had the courage to try and question the captain. Snorting, the stallion addressed the crowd one final time “that is all, the guard will be making rounds to make sure everyone is in their homes, good day” and turned around, walking away from the podium and ignoring the indignant calls from the gathered citizens.

Grinning, Spike moved to follow the stallion “good to see there’s some steel in those old bones of yours” he taunted good naturedly, earning a dry look from the captain.

“I aint that old, ya brat” he grunted, marching along towards the train station “so, who did you call?” he asked, glancing curiously at the young dragon.

“A couple of shield squads, a team of war mages, a squad of rangers and a friend of mine, she’s a fellow berserker” thinking for bit, Spike made a mental count “all in all, twenty-five units”

Humming in thought, the older stallion nodded and frowned in thought “better than nothing. At least we’ll slow the Princess down for a couple seconds if the worst comes to pass” he grunted, looking grimly determined. A sentiment Spike shared as he looked up, watching the sun beginning to set.

(at the same as Spike and Twilight's arrival to poniville)

You were running out of space.

The expansions had taken more room than what you expected, with the addition of drones and structure, the resource processing system alone had taken up most of the chamber you had first claimed, which forced you to expand further along your side of the caverns, fortunately your drones were remarkably quick in carving out a second chamber to house a bastardized version of a spawning pool you managed to cobble together using a mixture of changeling and vegetal essence.

It was during this process that you stumbled into a nasty realization; while you had the knowledge of how to produce units and structures from the games, you didn’t have vespene gas, at all.

This, while not a complete calamity, was still quite a problem. Vespene was crucial in the creation and maintenance of many zerg organisms, be it as part of their nourishment, or because of the various reactions to different elements and minerals, which in turn meant not hydralisks, no mutalisks, weaker Ultralists, no swarm hosts, no nydus worms, more sluggish roaches, no scourges, no queens, no brood lords, weaker vipers, etc. The list went on and on, “troubling, swarm dependence on vespene gas, glaring weakness, must find solution, swarm will adapt”.

Luckily, there were a few possible avenues you could research, hopefully something would come from them.

Research options (choose two)

[] Changeling biology (will require volunteers, Chrysalis would be more than a bit reluctant without assurance that no harm will come to them)

[] Pony biology (will require test subjects, the changelings may have a few cocooned)

[] Magic (the stuff practically saturates the air, but it’s more than a bit tricky) h̷̨̛͚̪͉̩͒͋͒͆̀̀̐͊̀̐̊̾̄̅̽̊̂̆̔͋̄͝͠͠e̶̼̫̟̣̞̜̭̗̘͍̹͉̰̦̳͖̰̲͇͌͛̉͘ḩ̶̻̥̙̰̘̭̯̥̮͓͕̲̣̲͙͈̩̹̱̫̾͑̒̆̊͒̾̓̂̽̀̈́͑̄͘͠͝͠e̶̤͕͇̘̖͉̻̱̻͂̍͆̌͑̍̋̕ͅͅh̵̯̪̝͌ê̸̢̢͉͖͎͍͖̬̩̠̲͖͚̟̗̜̬̰͈͎̠̼̲̦̖̍̄̀̐̐̈͐͆̈́̍̕͝~̵̡̛̙̜̗̝̲͕̩͔̳̠̌͌̏̽̽́͑͗̑̂̽̀̊̆̈́̐͛͒͛̓̍͝ͅ ̶̨͉̫̘̩̼̹̼̏͛̋̈́͝o̸̡̨̡̺̩̩͓̜̼̠̭͂̈́̈́͛̌́͆̈́̀̈́͊̋͑͌̎̑͒̕͝͝͝h̶͈͉̰͓̪̲̩̿̉̈́̑͗̉̃̚͠ ̶̡̢̭͍̖̗̭̘̻̇͒̏̓͂̆͑͂̆͘̚͘t̷̗̟͖̭͈͉̝̤̪̜̹̩̞̳̣̗̜͍̟̎̀͑͝ͅh̷̘̠̘̠̔͂̆̔́͊̈̕͝͝͝ę̴̡̛̳͕̰̻͉̹̟̤̝̹̠̖̫̲̏͂̈́͑̿͐͂͌͊͛͛̓͛͒̀̑̎̇̾̋̕͜͠ ̶̧̠̳̳̣̣͔͉̲̪͕̳̤̑̊̐̀̿́̅́̊̈́̑̍̕͝͝f̶͔̙̮̟̮̮̙̮͆̓͐̆̇́̈́͑̇̃̋̕͝͝ȕ̷͎͚͕̏̊̌͌̏̂̃͜n̴̡̢̨̢̡͉̞͚̱̰̫͖̬̖̳͉̘̥̱̰̺̣̆̀̄͒͌̏̉̔̅̈́̔ ̵̢̩̖̤̦̳̠͉̳̦̫̤̩̥̟͉̼̹͚̬̞̪̗́̔͌̈́̓̈́̀̊́̏̆͌̋̇̚̕͠͝͝͝͝ẁ̸̡̳̺͍̫̹̥̖̠̤̥͓̥̍͜e̶̡̱͎̘͕̫̝̮̲͛̅̄͐́̐̌͊͆́̐̓̈͌̋̐̒̀̈́͠͝ ̸̡̢̪͈̮͓̼̯̲͇̻͉͎̗͕͓͚͍̟̥̤̩̅̓̈́͜͝ͅw̸̨̨̢̛̤͉͙̰̙̗̜̱̜̭̖̣̜͕̭̗̞̙͍͚͌̑̎̀͛͛̈́͛̂̆̆̒̀̇̈́͆̊͋́ͅi̶̧̢̩̬̝̮̰̺͙̹͈̲̠͙̿̉́͆̿͝l̴̺̫̝͒̒̈ļ̷̨̨̪̥͉̖̳͖͙̱͎̳͇̑̌̓̓̄̐̄̉͜ͅ ̷̨̌̂̇͒̑̎̏̀̓̄̌́̾̆́̈́̅͑͑̚̕͠ḩ̴̧̨̥̻̥̹̝̺͎̼͙̯̘̻̬̬̘̰̲̗͋̾͊̋̐̈́̄̈́͆͆̾͗͐̑̉̅́̀͛̈͐̿̂͝͝ͅą̶̢̨̘͖͔͙̱̪͎̗͚̻̞̤̝̣̟́̋̓̀̈̿̇̅̄̆̊̔͒͋͒͘̕͜͠͝͠ͅͅṿ̶̡̲̪̜̑̂̿̇̌̿̑̍̐̌̋͌̀̔́̄̇̉̅̍͠͠ę̵̙̤̼͔͙̗͎̲̖̫̝̖͇̱͔̰͙̬̻̦̹̠̆͑͑̌̏͜~̸̧̭̻̘̲͖͔̖̉̈́

[] The Everfree (there is… something… out there, you can feel it calling to you every time your zerglings went out to hunt)

However, before you could begin preparations, a couple of your zerglings saw a changeling skitter into your part of the tunnels, she seemed unused by the changes still, stumbling and tripping over the extra pair of limbs every now and then, but overall making good speed towards you. Deciding to see what was happening, you slithered out of the second chamber to wait for the changeling to arrive.

“Sir Abathur! Sir Abathur!” she called, rounding a corner and almost stumbling as she saw you already waiting “gah!” scratch that, she did stumble, yelping as she tripped and faceplanted into the thick blanket of creep covering the cavern’s ground “Hr Hmbhth! Puah!” recovering quickly, the little changeling hopped to her claws, swallowing the lump of creep in her maw before looking at you again “the Queen calls! Urgent news! Come! Come! Quick!” she yelped again, turning around and skittering away.

Seeing no other option, you moved to follow, slithering as quickly as your legless form allowed ‘note to self, grow some legs sometime soon’ you mentally grumbled.

It took you a good half an hour to reach the chamber Chrysalis was currently using as throne room, having had to use a zergling as a mount due to the lack of significant creep presence within the new changeling hive. It was interesting, they had built resin channels for the creep to extend through while they covered the tunnels with even more resin.

“Queen Chrysalis” you said in lieu of greeting, bowing slightly from your position on your improvised mount.

“Sir Abathur” the changeling Queen gave her own nod, smiling slightly for a second before schooling her features “tell me, do you know og the godly sisters of Equestria?” she asked.

“Know Celestia, sister unknown” was your answer.

Nodding, Chrysalis closed her eyes and adopted a lecturing pose, back straight and claw raised “long ago, two sisters ruled Equestria, Celestia, the Queen of the day, and her younger sister, Luna Queen of the night” getting up, Chrysalis ignited her horn, enveloping the chamber illusory shadow puppets.

“Celestia was loved, celebrated, worshiped even” The puppets shifted and twisted, showing an alicorn in a high throne, many ponies of the three tribes bowing to her, dancing and seemingly showering prize on the smiling ruler, while the throne’s shadow stretched over a second, dejected looking alicorn “while Luna was forgotten and ignored…” the scene changed, showing the younger alicorn trying to approach a group of ponies, only for them to lower their heads, ears pinned against their heads as they retreated “…and sometimes even feared”.

Silently, you noted a small tinge of sympathy in Chrysalis’ voice ‘makes sense, who better to understand an outcast than another?’

“so sad and so lonely was the queen of the night, that she came to a decision” the scene shifted again, showing the dejected puppet suddenly straightening, slamming a hoof on the ground and seeming to spite something something at a distant and ignorant Celestia and her adoring subjects, and Chrysalis’ adopted a grave tone “if the ponies she fought and bled to protect would so easily forsake her night, then her night would forsake them in kind”.

Once more, the scene shifted, showing ponies tossing and turning in their beds, their sleep haunted by endless nightmares. Others cowered, unable to sleep as unearthly beasts prowled just outside the safety of their homes under shroud of the night; above all this, one alicorn watched impassive, looking down on the suffering of the ones that turned their backs to her with indifference “with her magic and her divine domain, Luna weaved a thousand nightmares to prowl in the dream realms, and called to the beasts that hid in the dark corners of the world”.

The scene changed once more, showing the forsaken queen standing before an amorphous blob “among the creatures that heeded her call, there was one in particular that was far smarter” the blob took a vaguely pony-like shape, bowing to the night queen with a twisted smile “it sook the queen, bowing before her and swearing fealty and friendship undying” the puppet Luna hesitated visibly, but eventually she reached towards the creature with a hoof, which it gladly took, flowing into the alicorn.

“for all it’s disturbing mannerisms and appearance, the creature kept its word, becoming the queen’s friend and advisor” once more the shadows shifted, showing both the alicorn and the creature, alone in a room, with the creature gesticulating wildly at what appeared to be a blackboard, while the alicorn sat on her haunches, nodding every now and then. “it comforted her when she was sad” now the shadow Luna was shown crying on her bed, while the creature sat by her side, embracing her with a look of worry.

“through its advice, the night queen gathered friends, allies, loyal subjects and more” now the scene showed a few other ponies bowing to a happy looking Luna, while the creature peeked from the alicorn’s ‘shadow’ giving her a ‘hoof up’.

“but then, one day, Celestia finally paid enough attention to realize what was happening” the scene shifted again, now showing Luna being confronted by an angry looking Celestia, both were shouting at each other, with the bigger alicorn pointing at the cowering creature behind Luna “sadly, this only widened the gap between the two, and sparked what one day would become the flames of a long and bloody war”.

Sighing, Chrysalis shook her head, dispelling the illusions “the story goes further, but the important part is that on the final clash between the two sisters and their armies, Luna and her companion were struck down by Celestia, and banished to the moon” turning to face you once more, Chrysalis looked you in the eyes “today, I’ve received word from one of my infiltrators in Canterlot that she would be returning in three days” she began “this presents an unique opportunity for us, be it to come out of anonymity and offer help, or to sabotage whatever they try against the banished queen” she said, looking expectantly.

Then it dawned on you, Chrysalis wanted to hear your opinion on the matter ‘huh, didn’t know she held me in such high esteem’ it was honestly a bit scary, but you took a deep breath, steeling yourself.

Choose one

[] Help the Equestrians
-[]How?

[] Hinder them
-[] How?

[] Other
-[] Plan?

Resources that will be available the day of Luna’s return:

30 zerglings

40 changeling soldiers

Author's Note

well, here's next chapter, it took me a fair bit to get it done, and i'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but i was also getting restless, hope you like it.

votes that don't use the right format will not be counted from now on, the right format is as folows

[X] vote option

in csase of options like this:

[]Option
-[] what? how? why? etc.

the little sub-option signifies a write in section for people to develop a plan of action, given the particularly restrictive nature of the comments, i'm rulling that editing one's own plans to change them to the plan of others in case of changing your mind will be accepted before the voting period closes

larva 1 (voting period: Closed)

Thick shrubbery, every way you looked it was the same, the Everfree Forest was more of a jungle than an actual forest, the ambient was humid, hot, and no matter how much you slithered, the sensation of eyes following you never quite left you.

It has been about ten to fifteen minutes since your arrival, and you had already crossed paths with one of the forest’s inhabitants, a manticore, a male to go by the mane it sported, at first you had been, understandably, terrified out of your mind, as such, your body reacted to the stressful situation on instinct, leading to you discovering one ability you weren’t aware zerg larva possessed, curling up like the world’s biggest pillbug, which lead to the current situation.

‘oh god dammit, leave me alone already!’ you yelled in your thoughts as the oversized cat gnawed on your shell, trying, and failing, to break through the hardened material that composed your natural armor, you were at least relieved to know that you had the stupidly tough armor of the game’s larvae ‘it takes a fucking tank to kill one of me, you ain’t gonna do shit! Give up already!’ unfortunately, your mental cursing was more or less ignored by the mythological beast, seeing as it was busy trying to pry you open to feast on the soft flesh hidden behind the shell.

Hissing in annoyance, you settled down and curled tighter, there was nothing you could do but wait for the damn thing to get bored, although, judging by the frustrated growls, you wouldn’t have to wait for long

Whisper the infiltrator felt conflicted at the moment, on one hoof, her orders were to observe the creature and remain unseen, with the Night Mare’s return so close, they could not afford even the slightest risk of exposure, many a ling had been lost to the beasts of the badlands, their numbers were at an all-time low, and they were stretched thin, protecting the hive, gathering food, gathering intelligence on Canterlot, and searching for somewhere to move the hive.

On the other hoof, the poor thing must be terrified out of it’s mind, completely helpless against a clearly superior predator, and a vague, obscure sense of familiarity urged her to help it, distract the manticore to let it escape.

In the end, caution won and the changeling settled down on the branch she was perched on, limiting herself to watching, it was thanks to that decision that she realized two somethings, the first, for as much as the manticore bit and clawed, it wasn’t even scratching the larva’s shell.

‘that’s one tough shell you have there’ thought the changeling

And the second, was the size of the damn thing! About two and a half times the length of a pony, but flat enough to pass below anyling’s barrel without touching them, extremely short, nubby legs that were barely enough to slither around, and very small eyes that couldn’t have very good sight, all in all, it was a strange body shape that offered very little in the way of advantages to survive, which lead to the conclusion that it was a larva, which would probably turn into something really bucking nasty, if she were to judge by the sheer amount of armor, and those wicked looking pincer-mandibles.

‘knowing my luck, it’s going to be the start of a doom legion of demon bugs’ whisper’s train of thought was swiftly dismissed as boredom induced mental ramblings, and the changeling resumed her duty of watching the larva.

After about half an hour of constant gnawing, clawing and trying to sting you, the manticore finally, finally, gave up, giving you one last bat with a paw, it trudged off despondently into the forest, to look for an easier prey, still, you waited for at least fifteen more minutes before uncurling, just to make sure it was gone for good.

‘just you wait, you piece of shit cat, you’ll be the first my brood hunts!’

After swearing bloody retribution against the manticore and all it holds dear, you continued on your journey, for the most part, you just wandered aimlessly, trying to find a place that was secluded enough, and spacious enough to fit a hatchery in, and so far you’ve had no luck, although you did find a cave that went pretty deep, deep enough that from the entrance you couldn’t see the other end, and a bog that most animals seem to avoid at all costs.

Looking up, you noticed the sun beginning to dip into the horizon, and the moon peeking from the other side ‘i really don’t want to stay out at night, something tells me it won’t be a good idea’

[] Go back to the bog: more biomass to work with, greater dangers, not really hidden

[] Go back to the cave: less starting biomass, safer, hidden

[] Brave the night, keep searching: ????

Evenings on Manehattan were normally a time for the usually bustling city to slow down, ponies getting out of their jobs to enjoy the sunset, eat something and then head back to their respective homes, and retire for the night, today, with a heavy rain scheduled, the streets were empty, with no one to watch the sunset, or the nebulous vortex that spontaneously formed in one of the many alleys.

Or the apple sized, emerald green, many legged, chitinous creature that was dropped from it, said creature chittered, four eye stalks rising from it’s center mass, it’s multi-pieced mandibles clicking rapidly as it spat a glob of green goo at one of the walls, that rapidly melted through the stone, creating a hole for it to crawl into, it’s bulbous abdomen struggling to fit for a second, before disappearing into it, at first there was silence, but then a screeching hiss echoed out of the hole, followed shortly after by a terrified scream that was abruptly cut off with the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart, followed by a dull thud and more squelching.

The whole commotion was hidden by the crack of thunder, and the dull roar of heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, miles to the west, in a city clinging to the side of a cliff, in a garden by a grand white castle, a statue chuckled.