MLP x ALIENS: Feuding Hives

The next three days passed without event. That's not to say that the hive wasn't without anxiety. News of the creature had spread like wildfire, and no changeling would dare to wander the immense corridors of the hive at night. There had been rumors that the royal guards had found a bunch of dead ponies just a few miles north of the hive, and that the parasitic monster that burst from Andrena was multiplying.

The most restless of all was Queen Chrysalis.

She had spent the last few days pacing around her chamber, fearing for the safety of her subjects. She knew all too well that these rumors were true. She began losing sleep, and when she did, her mind was bombarded with vicious, cruel nightmares of death, and of losing her kingdom. The scariest nightmares were the ones she had about a terrible parasitic queen, with rows upon rows of massive, knife-shaped teeth, longer than her horn.

Nightmares of her trapped in a dark room, surrounded by hundreds of the smaller creatures, before feeling hot breath on her face and seeing its nightmarish head roll into view. The unholy monster would pick her up in its massive, spindly, humanoid hand, viscous clear slime dripping onto her face. The massive monster wouldn't eat her, but instead, call to her in a sickeningly soothing voice, despite its mouth not seeming to move. It would caress her soothingly, and beg her to come home. It called for her, begged for her to join its underlings, and reassured the changeling queen of her worthiness to it. Despite the creature's appearance, its demeanor was disturbingly maternal, eerily calming. It would beckon her to become one with the hive, saying how desperately she wanted her to join their ranks, and that she loved her.

Queen Chrysalis would always wake from this nightmare drenched in tears, choked by chest aches, and scarred with the trauma of such a terrifying, surreal dream, and eventually, Queen Chrysalis stopped sleeping entirely. The nightmares were too much for her overworked mind to bear. When her royal guards entered the chamber upon hearing her screams, she would attack or frighten them, dismissive of her condition. She was in no shape to rule.

Soon enough, her fears would become a very disturbing reality, as many changelings throughout the hive began to disappear, and the pungent odor of death began to fill the castle. Exactly five days after the creature had been born, Chrysalis addressed her subjects.

"Listen closely my subjects," She shouted from above, overlooking her subjects from a tall pillar of rock. "In light of recent events, I have come to a decision. Things will change around here. No changeling shall travel anywhere alone, even within our hive, and none shall travel after sunset. When the sun falls, I, along with my elite guard, will patrol the corridors of the hive until the sun rises once more. If you are spotted, severe punishment will follow. For your own safety, obey your curfew."

The changeling queen inhaled deeply, her voice starting to crack. She stamped the ground in front of her, trying her best to appear composed. For the first time she, and her subjects, were in danger within the walls of their own hive.

"As your queen, I command you all to stay alert, my subjects. We shall overcome this new threat in due time."

At that, she leapt from her perch, and landed in the crowd with a hiss. Her subjects backed away, startled as she swiftly walked back toward her quarters. There, she stayed hidden, alone with her brewing insanity.

Queen Chrysalis was becoming desperate to save her hive. She had lost 14 of her 500 loyal subjects to this new menace.

Empusa entered her chamber slowly, calling to his queen.

"Queen Chrysalis..?"

Once more, the changeling queen's neck twisted unnaturally to address her subject angrily.

"What?"

"W-What's going to happen i-if the royal guard can't catch the creatur-"

"Silence, we will succeed in catching this pest. My royal guard is highly trained--"

"I'm not so sure..."

"Well then, perhaps you should MAKE YOURSELF SURE," she shouted angrily. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Empusa nodded nervously, whimpering.

"Now, leave my chamber, and never interrupt me mid-sentence ever again, or SO HELP ME I WILL--"

She stopped herself, then sighed.

"Get out. Now."

He hurriedly trotted out of the queen's chamber with his tail between his legs, his wings twitching nervously. Queen Chrysalis sighed, hissing as she turned back around, and began to sob to herself. Despite how strictly she treated her underlings, she tried not to raise her voice at them. At times, this proved difficult, but the one thing she never, ever did was threaten them. The changeling queen was beginning to lose herself to her lack of sleep and her anxiety.

If only she knew what was to come that very same night.
That night, Chrysalis' mind once again tortured her with a vicious nightmare. A nightmare of her hive being slaughtered by the vicious parasite queen. It's jaws opened, covering the changeling queen in a viscous, clear slime. Its breath reeked of decay and death.

The monster, as usual, did not attack Chrysalis. It once again called for her to join the monster's underlings. The changeling's insides shivered and churned as the motherly voice caressed her mind.

Queen Chrysalis awoke with a jolt, sniffling to herself. She barely had time to recover from the nightmare before hearing what had awoken her: the screams of her underlings. She raced out of her chamber, her eyes meeting a sight that rattled her to her core.

This scene was all-too familiar to Queen Chrysalis, only it wasn't a nightmare. Changelings fighting and running from the parasitic monsters, only to be torn to pieces. Her hive was under invasion. At first, she thought she was still dreaming. Only when the severed head of one of her underlings slammed into her side and knocked her to her knees did she realize what was happening.

The echoing screams of her underlings rattled her soul, her insides churned, and her mind ached. The echoes of her minions eventually caused her to cave.

Queen Chrysalis let out an ear-splitting shriek, which grew into an anguished yell. Both changeling and beast seemed to shiver at the hideous, echoing warcry. A pair of the monsters leapt toward the distraught queen. Chrysalis gripped one's neck with her teeth as it clawed into her side, scarring her exoskeleton. She launched it through the air, before feeling razor claws digging into her flank. She kicked out, thrusting her attacker into the wall behind her. The creature shrieked, and leapt toward her again. Queen Chrysalis' eyes locked onto the creature, and she charged forward, pummeling the beast into the wall. She felt her horn wedge between the rib-like exoskeleton of her target, and plunge into its boiling hot insides, before she whipped her body around, sending the beast flying into another one of its kind. Her horn began to sting and tingle as the odor of burning chitin assaulted her mind.

"PERISH! PERISH! I CONDEMN THEE!" The changeling queen shouted with unbridled fury. "LEAVE MY CHILDREN ALONE YOU BASTARDS!"

Her voice echoed as she continued to attack the invaders, stomping in their tubular heads, cracking their exoskeletons, squishing their insides, all the while tainting her own exoskeleton with their blood. Her body began to ache as she tired from her relentless assault. She felt a small tug at her wing, turning to face what she thought was an invader.

It was one of her own, whom she vaguely recognized by his blue eyes.

"Let's go," Attacus shouted. "We're evacuating! We've got to hurry!"

"I SHALL NOT LEAVE MY CHILDREN TO DIE!"

"You can't help them, my queen!"

Queen Chrysalis paused, looking at the devastation occurring around her. She began to shiver.

"We need to go!"

Without another word, Queen Chrysalis began to follow her underling, before flying ahead and covering his escape. There were already changelings outside, rapidly flying northward. The cold night air whipped past the changeling queen's face as she shouted back into the death-filled hive for any and all to fly North.

"FLY NORTHWARD, MY CHILDREN!" She shouted, her voice breaking as she did. "FLY NORTH AND SAVE THYSELVES!"

At that, Queen Chrysalis took flight, her wings buzzing rapidly. Her body began to ache more and more, her wings stinging suddenly. She turned her head to look back at the changeling hive. Screams echoed through the cold night air, before Queen Chrysalis suddenly felt a sharp sting in her left wing. She came barreling down, plunging into the trees below. She caught herself on an awkwardly positioned branch, catching her fall, before clambering to her hooves, and leaping to the ground. She tried taking off again, but her wings wouldn't let her. No matter how hard she pushed through the pain, she just couldn't get any kind of lift. She looked at her wings, her breath hitching as she noticed the smoldering holes in her wings. Now that she inspected herself, she found her body laced with dozens of spots where her exoskeleton had began to bubble and melt. Worst of all was her horn, which had been melted and eaten away at, like plastic in a fire.

Her mind began to swirl with sorrow as her adrenaline wore off. The pain tore away at her consciousness, causing her to stumble and fall. Before her mind shut away completely, she could hear the faint, desperate cries of Attacus and Empusa, calling to her with worry...