I managed to keep my breakfast as the feeling of wind blowing against my mane mixed with the warmth of sun creeping up my legs, soon reaching my neck, encompassing what felt like a hug. I had to squint to observe the vast expanse of desert ground, sparse vegetation consisting of shrubbery with a few trees that looked suspiciously similar to mountain laurels thrown in. Despite the relatively barren landscape, considering what I was accustomed with, I couldn't help but break into a smile. The ground was pleasantly warm as I approached one of the bushes, letting my legs brush the twigs, a tickling sensation spreading from the point of contact.

As I spit out a handful of the gunk that no doubt took hold inside the houses and basements of the rural town, I could help but admit that I missed this. The feeling of simply being, stretching my muscles, feeling the wind on my skin, simply breathing was akin to a luxury I almost forgot. I hummed a tune I wasn't familiar with as the black liquid sizzled and dried under the bright sun, the chimeras in the back of my mind purring in dissatisfaction.

Another failure. It seemed that no matter how much I changed the cells, they remained all too susceptible to ultraviolet radiation. I sat down amidst the bushes, getting comfortable for a moment. What else could I do? Growing the 'dermal' layer of calcified chitin took time, something I might not have. If I could somehow re-purpose the host organism's cells to work for me, maybe I could've made a literal dermal layer over the sprawl, which would've, in theory, protected the thing from UV radiation.

But that meant I had to engineer a virus, something I had no idea how to do. In the back of my mind, I felt an uncertain purr of the chimeric 'operating system' that took care of most of the biological functions and chemistry of the bodies my mind inhabited. It wasn't the sound of protest, rather an assurance that without a great risk to my continued existence, such a feat was all too risky to undertake. Not only would it require to more or less terminate my bacterial cells to avoid friendly fire, or at the very least leave a 'backdoor' to allow infection, I had to find a permanent host to anchor myself to, a body that had to be tough enough to withstand the changes that would follow.

Furthermore, to allow the sufficient range of variability, something required to adapt to the world around me, I would need the ability to access the non-coding regions of the host's DNA and replicate them, in a controlled manner, if possible. This would invariably lead to massive restructuring of the body, with no guarantees regarding the host's survival. Yes, the possibilities that would've opened to me were great. Complete assimilation of the host's, and possibly other bodies, mimicry and control of the form and function of living creatures, far beyond the hormonal prodding that I was doing to the infected ponies right now.

The possibilities for evolution were staggering, but so were the risks. The chimeras rumbled in the back of my mind, reporting to 'look into it', but as a last resort.

I felt a certain allure to having a permanent body, not having to forcefully thrust myself into another mind, but having my own, not merely piloting a borrowed body, but being fully in control of one. Not having to resort to being a quadruped. Why? Maybe I was being sentimental. Or maybe, it was because without doing normal, 'human' things I would be no better than the infected roaming Appleloosa right now.

And still, I wished for a human body, not a pony or griffon or whatever mythical creature roamed this planet. Why? Because I was human? That wasn't true, not completely. My biology wasn't human, even the mind that I shared with chimeric constructs wasn't all human. But did I want to be?

Yes. Even if I would never be completely human again, I wanted to have a human body. Just for some peace of mind.

I shook my head. I had to shelve the idea of insulating the sprawl against UV radiation. On second thought, that particular weakness wasn't much of a concern, as I found the underground spread of spike-like protrusions was sufficient enough, If only Appleloosa had a sewer system... but I realized that I needed something better to up-end the sisters.

With the military might of an entire nation at their beck-and call, they would simply overwhelm me. As much as I could throw at them, I would run out of bodies sooner or later, and that's not counting they probably have something to counteract the infection I'd try to spread. In a full-on frontal assault, I predicted I would last no more than a week, give or take a day.

Another possibility was the use of a weapon of mass destruction of some kind. They may not have nukes, but what their kind lacks in technology, they make up for in arcane sciences. This town didn't have many talented spellcasters, but I'd bet half of my neural network that Celestia can incinerate this little podunk with but a thought. Or, at the very least, cover the whole town with a dome and let me starve, these ponies were still alive, after all. These problems were solved by hiding a decent amount of material underground, waiting out the strike/siege, and continuing on with my plans.

All of the above hinged on my perception of Celestia, based on human preconceptions of political figures ringing true, but I also had to consider other options. From the accumulated memories of the townsponies, princess Celestia appeared in a different light, a pony who cared deeply for her subjects, wished nothing but the best for them, and vehemently defended their safety and wellbeing, a person who, I believed, would take great offense to squandering the life of even a single subject.

If the former assumption was correct, then I was golden. I could request negotiations as her forces approached, using the more pony-like of my infected as a messenger, while showing off my potential with smashers and breachers. I could propose to her a deal: her very personal bio weapon to wield as she pleased, subordinate and conscious of friendly units, deadly and loyal... To a point.

If she agreed I could bide my time, and when the opportunity presented itself, break out into the bigger world, spreading to do as I pleased. And even if the negotiations failed, I could hide in some deep, dark hole and attempt the restructuring of my body, a risky undertaking, but a worthy one in the end.

If the latter was correct, I was, for the lack of a better word, up a sheet creek without a paddle.

Still, my deal with Luna wasn't all bullshit. I could in theory resurrect the dead ponies, I could even restore their personalities, each archived neatly in my neural network. The catch was, that I needed the ability to replicate their cells, something that my current bacterial body refused to do, the best it could do was influence the body of an infected subject to cause the production of their cells, but I was pretty sure that would produce a cancer-ridden host, rather than a resurrected pony.

In that case, she'd decimate me with the might of a thousand suns, which would, again, prompt the aforementioned change.

So I had to change... or I had to change.

Lovely.

I rested my back against the hot, sandy ground, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, the sun's rays breaking through my eyelids, turning my vision a shade of orange.

What was it that I wanted to do, beyond ensuring my own survival? I had an extraordinary ability to terraform the environment, coupled with an exceptional control over infected organisms, not on a cellular level, for the time being, but as a substrate for my own cells, all the while influencing its biochemistry. How many problems would be solved by such an ability? How many illnesses wiped from the face of the earth, acres of land saved from desertification through terraformation, scientific breakthroughs fueled by hundreds of minds working as one?

Such a gift, as sudden and, perhaps, unwanted, as it was, could not be squandered. Did I want to use it to help ponies? It was a tough question, for sure. I could begrudgingly admit that I was indebted to them, at the very least, morally. My actions were horrific, unhuman, they suited my condition quite well. And yet, my mind was human, a part of it, at least. I understood the pain that I caused, knew that It was wrong, but also knew there was no other way. If I could forge an alliance, or at the very least bargain for a truce with the Diarchy, I could repay the ones who guaranteed my survival with the least I could do: give them their lives back.

But a lasting, continued cooperation? I chuckled inwardly. Was I going to help the species whose rulers were capable of simply outliving their opposition, incinerating their enemies with the might of the sun, or freezing them in the cold, lunar light, monitoring their citizens through their very dreams? No, they were going to be fine on their own.

I turned over and layed on my stomach, purring as the sun warmed my aching back.

At the same time, Luna knew I was human, which implied humans existed here, or ponykind was capable of traveling to a place where they did. Perhaps I could offer aid, either in exchange for this information, as unlikely as the Diarchy was to reveal it to me, or as means of lulling them into a false sense of security, the latter being a more likely option.

I sighed, feeling the chimeras rumble in the back of my mind, reporting intruders approaching the town perimeter. I dearly wish I could lay under the warm sun for just a little longer, but the voice of reason triumphed instead. I stood up, the protective carapace bursting from under the skin, covering vital organs of the body I was currently inhabiting.

No corpses this time.

Hopefully.

"Are you certain this is the right way, sister?" Celestia asked cautiously as Luna's horn glowed with a steady flow of magic. "We don't know what the spell would do to him, if it works at all. Such cruel spells were seldom used in the past, and rarer still today."

"What choice do we have?" Luna retorted with a genuine question. "Do you wish to throw our ponies at it until it is overwhelmed, and risk having them succumb to this plague?"

"I wish to have a civil conversation with him, to reach a compromise." Celestia pressed. "Nopony is beyond redemption, proven their misdeeds are reversible. And from what he told you, his are."

Luna frowned. "We must prepare for the worst, sister. Even Discord, for all his infuriating tomfoolery, never stooped to murder. As cruel the spell is, it should prevent the creature from causing further harm. You will have your conversation."

"And I believe it will be a fruitful one." Celestia said with a hopeful smile.

"But if it's as uncooperative as I suspect, then we will do what is necessary to protect Equestria, together." Luna looked intently at her sister, her voice assertive.

"Together."

Captain Lucky Leaf watched the husk of a quaint little town, the bird's eye view granted by his chariot allowed the unicorn to plan his next move. His company consisting of a hundred ponies approached the frontier settlement an five hours ago, and as per the Princess' orders, were working on erecting a force field around the area. Coming to their aid was the master of defensive spells, Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire himself, in what now was officially an international operation. While the area was undoubtedly smaller than Canterlot, it proved to be a unique challenge owing to the multitude of spells embedded into it, a good dozen of them responsible for scanning those attempting to pass for illnesses or deformities.

Oddly enough, her Lunar Majesty specifically instructed not to enter the town, stating it was a quarantine operation first, and a search and rescue second. He kept his doubts to himself, following her orders to a tee, and yet wondering why the townsponies' safety was basically a non-priority. He shook his head and motioned the pegasi to land, watching as the menacing black spikes jutting out of the ground and buildings at odd angles grew closer and closer. He stiffened as the shambling black silhouettes grew clearer, the ponies not differentiating from their patrol paths ever since his company arrived.

He dismissed the pegasi as he dismounted the chariot, giving the colts and fillies a much needed rest. He scanned the immediate area for their shield expert, quickly finding his target standing at a minimum safe distance from the barrier, intently watching one of the shamblers. His horn shimmered with a light cerulean aura as Lucky Leaf approached him, the crystal captain's concentration unbroken when the stallion addressed him.

"Sir!" He offered with a salute. "The shield looks nominal from up above, no breaches or strains." He paused for a moment, wondering if the stallion was paying attention to him, continuing when Shining nodded, his eyes on the shambler. "No aggressive behavior from the shamblers thus far, although my earth pony specialists detected seismic activity within the shield's borders, uncommon to this area." A worried expression graced his features as his de-facto commander remained silent. "Is... Is something wrong, sir?"

"Son, come take a look at this." Lucky Leaf kept his protest to himself, he wasn't that much younger than Shining, after all, following his command instead. "Do you notice anything odd." Leaf squinted and surveyed the street before him, noticing nothing out of the ordinary, as applicable as the word was in their situation. Among the stumbling patrols, he noticed one stallion standing still as stone, not a single muscle twitch to betray his stoic posture.

"That's the stallion we met upon arrival, sir." Leaf began, gauging the Captain's reaction.

"Notice anything different?"

Leaf cocked his head to the side, noting pony's eyes were darting from one pony in his field of vision to another, a shiver running down Leaf's spine when the stallion made eye contact with him.

"It's just watching, sir. From what I can remember, it hadn't moved from its spot ever since we arrived."

"Now that's where you're wrong, he wants us to think so, but take a closer look. You see the way the shamblers are moving?" Leaf followed the Captain's lead and noticed that every shambler, at some point of their patrol, walked close to, if not directly behind, the one who stood still. He stood silent for a good minute, making a straight line from the standing stallion to somewhere deeper into the town.

"They're... Covering his tracks." Leaf's brows furrowed as he watched the stoic stallion, a little warily this time. "But why'd they do it? How's he commanding them?"

Leaf heard a ragged sigh from his fellow unicorn, Shining's voice weary as he continued.

"Changelings operate in a hive-mind consciousness. Essentially, a Queen issues commands straight from the hive to her generals, who are usually closer to the action. These generals, in turn issue orders to the drones." His voice was practically dripping with venom when he finished. Leaf didn't question where the Captain obtained this knowledge from, very few dared to ask what he'd seen and felt during the Siege of Canterlot.

"You think 'lings are responsible? Sir?" His mind caught up that he was talking to his superior, the stallion hurriedly throwing in the formality.

"I'm not sure." Shining shook his head, still eyeing the odd pony. "But we can't rule it out. What I do know is that it looks a hell of a lot like them. And I don't like it one bit." Shining finally broke eye contact, turning his head to face Lucky Leaf. "I want one of the candies to look into this, get a second opinion. Celestia knows they're still familiar with how it all works. Dismissed."

"Sir!"

Shining watch Lucky Leaf trot away, and once he turned, he could've sworn the thing stood a little closer.

The chimeras rumbled as they felt another intrusion on the host's mind, hurriedly mobilizing the defensive systems they erected ever since the last time a guest showed up unannounced. It was a terrific solution, as simple as it was natural. Without an explicit command from the host, any interlopers would be forced to wade through a labyrinth of disjointed memories, cobbled together from dozens of minds, a system that got more secure the more minds the host accumulated.

An immune system for the mind, of sorts.

To say that the chimeras 'watched' the two alicorns arrive into the mindscape would be a lie. They didn't have eyes or ears, after all. A more apt comparison would be that they experienced it, the visual and audio interpretation wholly reliant on their host, who was currently greeting the two visitors with open arms, however applicable the analogy was.

Their disapproving purrs were silenced by the host, and the chimeras obeyed, for such was their purpose. The white one, known as Celestia, the Lady of the Daybreak, the Princess of Equestria was wearing a mask of politeness, no doubt practiced to perfection in all her years of ruling. While the danger she possessed was clear to the host, he still thought she possessed a certain beauty and grace once attributed to deities, and couldn't help but admire it. She radiated a sort of confidence that one only experienced as a child, comforted by their mother after a hard day at school, or an injury of some kind.

In stark contrast, the deep blue alicorn, the one that evoked titles as Mother of the Night, and the dreaded Nightmare Moon, lived up to her reputation with a stellar consistency. The host was wary around her, not quite ready to follow the chimeras' advice to shut the mares out of his mind, but entertaining the idea. She was definitely a fighter, the fact more evident when compared with her sister. Was Luna the better, or more experienced fighter? The host didn't know for sure, but the brutality of ancient history was definitely fresh in her mind, and it showed.

"Ah, your Highnesses! To which do I owe the pleasure?" The host spoke with a slight bow, choosing to approach the situation in a more diplomatic manner. He noted that Luna wanted to speak up, but held her tongue out of respect for her sister.

"It is my duty as a Princess to look after my subjects." Her voice was pleasant, but neutrally so. "I couldn't stand idly by when I came across your... intrusion."

"Ah, that." The host chuckled in an attempt to appear amicable. Unfortunately, the chimeras were unable to assist him in the matters of social etiquette. "I believe I must apologize, Princess. My arrival was as hectic for me as it was for the townsponies, and I want to say I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience I caused. Is there anything I can do to mend my relationship with ponykind?"

Luna once again held her tongue.

"You have caused far more than an inconvenience, from what I heard." Celestia's tone remained calm, but the host didn't miss the accusatory note in it. "I'm not sure what your customs are, but for ponies murder is a grave crime, one not taken lightly."

"Oh, I must assure you that my kind's customs are very similar to yours!" He turned to face Luna, an innocent expression on his face. "Why, during our last meeting, your sister identified me as human, so you must be acquainted with our culture to some level."

"That she did. But I'm afraid it isn't as close to us as you'd assumed. " Celestia parried. "I don't believe I've caught your name? It's awfully stifling to be restricted to pronouns, don't you agree?"

The host paused for a moment, trying to recollect his past.

ERR
MEMORY NODE DAMAGED
RECONSTRUCTION PRIORITY: LOW

"I... I don't know." He surprised himself with his honest reply. "But I suppose you can call me James. It's easy on the ears."

"James." Celestia rolled the name around in her mouth, appraising its owner. "Do you understand that for us to show leniency, you must be true to your word." She took a step closer, before lowering herself onto the ground and into a sitting position, now on an eye level with the host.

"Can you truly undo what you have done to my subjects?" She raised a hoof when he was about to speak up. "Be honest." A small, but genuine smile graced her features.

"I-" He took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks at the exhale. "I need time." The host replied, his arms supporting his head. "I can do it, but it's not an easy process."

Finally, Luna couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Sister, do you honestly believe this cur?" She protested, her patience at its end. "I've seen what this fiend was capable of, the extent of his modifications." The host noticed a a shiver of anger rock the Lunar Diarch's body. "He is playing you for a fool, the both of us!"

The chimeras noted the situation was growing dangerous, notifying the host of the possible need to retreat. As usual, he ignored them.

"Oh, and you're an expert on biochemistry manipulation all of a sudden?" He snorted. "Funny, I can't remember any of the books on Nightmare Moon's brief coup that mention any of that!" The host's momentary satisfaction at getting under Luna's skin was replaced by intense fear as her horn ignited.

"YOU FILTHY MISCREANT! YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A TONE!" Luna spoke in something the locals called 'Canterlot Voice', and it was very surprising to the host. Finally, the chimeras' warnings were taken into account as the dream slowly began to distort, the security systems in place taking their time to fully come online.

"Sister, please!" Celestia hissed at her sister, the latter biting her tongue. "James, please refrain from insulting-" She noticed the panicking expression on the host's face, their surroundings growing blurrier by the second. "James?"

"Sister!" Luna bellowed, looking around with a concerned expression on her face. "The dream is collapsing, the thing is trying to leave its own dream, to trap us within it!" Her horn flared once again, burning brighter than before. "We must cast it now, or we might not get another chance!"

Celestia bit her lip as the dream crumbled around them, the host reduced to nothing more than a silhouette.

As the golden-blue light flashed across the dreamscape, the chimeras felt a multitude of things.

They felt the scream of their host, as scream of pain and fear. They felt three sapient presenses disappear from the dreamscape. And finally, they felt an unfamiliar absence, an absence that indicated they failed in their primary purpose.

ERR
PRIMARY HOST CONSCIOUSNESS NOT FOUND
ATTEMPTING TO REESTABLISH NEURAL LINK
ERR
NON-VITAL FUNCTIONS RELEGATED TO AUTOMATED ALGORITHMS
ATTEMPTING TO REESTABLISH NEURAL LINK
ERR
ATTEMPTING TO REESTABLISH NEURAL LINK
ERR
ATTEMPTING...

I was alone. For the first time since turning into... whatever I was, I found myself to be completely alone. No memories of other ponies to rifle through, no pesky chimeras to bother me with this or that, telling me what to do.

On second thought, I probably should've listened to them a bit more.

Ever since Moonbut ripped me from my body, I heard nothing but my own thoughts, an odd experience, I had to admit.

Ah, speak of the devil.

The world around me, consisting of a black void, mind you, rippled and bent, a sea of stars apparating on the 'night sky'.

"Wow, so subtle Moonbut, I really wonder who this mysterious presence could be!"

She faded into a corporeal form, her hardened features not filling me with confidence.

"Jest at your own peril, beast, for you are at our mercy now."

"And what do you want me to do? Surely even someone as thick as you must understand that I cannot fix your subjects from here!" Surprisingly enough, Luna paused, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm not sure how our posterior relates to the conversation, but I assure you we can be very convincing." I really didn't like her smile.

"And what about Appleloosa? Think the chimeras are going to take my disappearance lightly?" It was her turn to be confused. "If you think you've won just because you're separated me, you're sorely mistaken." A toothy grin split her mouth.

"We don't have to return you in one piece, now do we?"

Lucky Leaf shouted orders as powerful earthquakes shook the entire camp, ponies running around in a panic. The seismic activity took him by surprise, as well as the rest of the camp. Furthermore, the unicorn guard tasked with keeping up the shield had to double their efforts as the shamblers suddenly made a move to break through. The stallion focused his own magic, pouring himself into the spell.

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

He opened his eyes to see a massive figure, easily the size of a Princess, covered from head to hoof in black chitin, approach the barrier.

It emitted an ear-splitting roar, rearing its front hoof to strike the barrier.

A powerful migraine pierced the Captain's cranium, his vision growing dark.

Author's Note

My man James made an oopsie, a real fucky-wucky, if I do say so myself.