Project: Chrysalis

2. The Hive

A desolate grey sky blanketed the field. It was never really different. This secluded corner of Equestria scarcely ever got the chance to enjoy its monarch's warm sun. Winters were especially unforgiving; the frigid wind blew unencumbered across the flat white plain. But today was a typical spring afternoon, and a light drizzle made the environment look all the more dreary.

Dr. Antlion stood on his porch, sipping a cup of coffee as he looked out onto the scenery. He had become used to living in self-imposed exile in the far Province of the Northern Plains. He had actually grown to like the weather somewhat. And the quiet air was perfect for his research.

After receiving his doctorate in biology at Manehattan University, Antlion was asked to join an expedition, in an effort to catalog new species in uncharted territories to the far east. The Royal Scientific Society paid him a hefty sum to come back with at least five new animals documented. He was well respected during his student years, and specialized as a zoologist, with a particular interest in entomology. He wrote his doctoral thesis on The Physiology of Members of the Myrmeleontidae Family.

Unfortunately, the expedition was doomed from the start. A combination of disease and difficult terrain killed several members, and the endeavor was called off before Antlion could join them. Feeling disheartened, the young doctor returned to his hometown, in fact not far from his current abode.

There he heard about a story from his childhood. Small black creatures inhabited the mountains, unknown as to what they were or where they came from. When he was growing up, Antlion, as did many others, thought nothing about these tales except the ramblings of old, delusional ponies. However, throughout college he contemplated the idea of another species to discover. Some nights he would imagine himself winning an award for such a discovery; a big trophy and fame. Biologist of the Year!

But there was more to the old stories he neglected to listen as a colt. The myths were long forgotten by everypony, sans an old stallion on the outskirts of town. He talked about some ponies who live out in the mountains, away from civilization. Some were his friends. Every so often, they'd disappear without a trace.

Antlion therefore decided to entertain the old pony's tale. He first investigated any books he could. Nothing. He consulted the old pony. The sightings were relatively recent. No literature published or mention in anything. Well, if nothing would come to light, he thought he should be the one to conduct research.

Using the lump sum paid up front by the RSS, Dr. Antlion built a small house near the mountains, and fully stocked it with all the lab equipment he would need; test tubes, microscope, preservation chemicals, specimen freezers. From there he ventured off into the mountains, always bringing his father’s old rifle in case the creatures wanted him to "disappear". And this is how he spent the next 5 years.

During that time, however, he discovered a building several miles from his house. It was a large, plain, grey concrete building that looked like some sort compound. Upon closer inspection he saw a sign labeled "Lab 28 - Restricted Access". As curious as he was of this mysterious building, he had another goal.

About 3 years ago, a remarkable thing happened on his way out of the mountains. Discouraged from having not found anything, Antlion's spirit immediately lifted up as two black creatures crawled slowly towards him. They were weak, looking starved and cold. He moved closer to examine them, but not two minutes later, they both just...died.

Bringing them back to his lab, he studied the corpses. They weren't very big, only about as large as a small mare. They had a small upturned horn and insect-like wings. Covering their whole bodies was a black, chitin-like shell, and a dark blue iridescent carapace on the back. He stored the treated one away, and placed the other on a metal table. A dissection commenced, and revealed an organ structure not characteristic of insects, but more akin to ponies. Stranger still, they possessed both an exoskeleton and bones, as well as red blood. The only major difference was the brain; there wasn't one. The cluster of never tissue in its head was probably just an advanced type of ganglion, good for mostly autonomic and motor movements.

Had circumstances been different, Dr. Antlion would have published his findings, and presented the specimens to the scientific community. But shortly after his chance discovery, he wandered to the lab, his main goal being completed. Hiding behind a hill, he noticed some pony emptying a waste basket into a dumpster. Later at night he investigated the bin and found some pieces of paper. Most of them were just receipts and the like. However one paper caught his attention.

It was some sort of report and, judging by the incomplete paragraphs at the top and bottom, was part of a larger multi-page document. The words originally didn't make much sense out of context. But the next morning a knock on his revealed several ponies dressed in suits demanding that the doctor leave immediately. Not knowing what else to do, he threatened to shoot them.

Afterwards Antlion realized...perhaps there's more to this than he thought. He would continue his research, and secretly investigate the lab. Every so often the ponies would come back, and every time the doctor would threaten them. In between threats, he examined all his samples and tried to find a correlation between his unknown creatures and the document. A single sentence caused his suspicion: "Exoskeleton primarily composed of keratinous plates." Chemical analysis suggested the same for his "pony bugs." This was a trait so far unique to them.

Antlion stood ready for a final journey into the mountains, ready to find another specimen. He never got his hopes up, as in 8 years, he only found those two. But he was searching for a hive of some sort today. He looked at a map of the region, dotted with black X's, and eyed one spot still unexplored. This was it, he thought.

Several hours later he stood at the rim of a long extinct volcanic crater. There, blighting the ground was a giant greenish structure. He did it! He finally found the hive!

The ecstatic stallion ran down the slope, seeing no sign of activity. A bit closer and still nothing. The entrance to the hive was massive, but the whole thing looked weak and in need of repair. With light coming through thin green membranes in the roof, Antlion saw thousands of black shells lying on the ground. Each shell was a creature, just like the two he had back home. Only these were decaying. Their shells were cracked and falling off, revealing red flesh perforated with maggots and other insects. Some had entrails and blood strewn about. None were moving. He lightly tapped one, causing the putrefaction gases to escape from the carcass. Further into the hive were even some wolves feeding on the "pony bugs."

On his way out, though, Antlion came across what perhaps was the only live one. It struggled to stand and walk towards the pony. A weak green glow came from its horn. The doctor matched the glow with one from his own horn. The creature however paid no attention. It merely came closer, with each step causing more of its exoskeleton to fall off. The joints leaked blood and soft underbelly flesh hung on by what seemed like nerves. The creature quietly cried in pain. By the time it was five feet from the stallion, its forelegs gave out, physically breaking, revealing fractured bones and bloody marrow. Antlion could have sworn the tissue looked as if it were trying to regenerate. With one final shriek, the creature's face fell off, bit by bit. The now dead animal lay on the ground, joining the rest of the swarm.

The doctor wasn't quite sure what to think. Were they killed by a disease? Is this how nature so cruelly ends their lives? Were they attacked? And where was their queen? They appeared to have once lived similarly to bees or ants. Surely they had a matriarch. His pondering was cut short as the hive structure began to collapse. He ran out, watching what may have been a glorious building crumble to dust. Bowing his head, Antlion left the crater and walked back home, where perhaps the last two of his creatures were.

Along the way, though, he saw Lab 28. But something was wrong. Ponies ran around frantically. It was too far for him to see fine details, but it looked like a crime scene. Yellow tape blocked off a building as several uniformed ponies brought out...body bags...that were blood red? What was going on? Before he left, out of the corner of his eye was a long black object, handled by more ponies.

Something was going on here, he thought. And Dr. Antlion was willing to bet that it had something to do with the deaths of all those insectoids.