MLP x ALIENS: Feuding Hives

For the first time in weeks, Queen Chrysalis had a restful sleep. Nightmares, or any dreams for that matter, did not reach her tortured mind. The welcome darkness of sleep had claimed her.

When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself in a cocoon produced by her underlings, hung from a large, dead tree. Chrysalis burst from the cocoon, falling to the ground. Her entire body ached and stung from the burn wounds.

"Your majesty!"

Queen Chrysalis turned to face the source of the shout: Attacus.

"Are you okay, my Queen?"

Queen Chrysalis stuttered to find the words, before nodding.

"How did I get here?"

Attacus stuttered, then lowered his head.

"Empusa and I found you collapsed in the woods. You fell from the sky. The creatures' acidic blood tore at your wings, causing you to fall-"

Queen Chrysalis stepped back. "You...saved me," She muttered. "Why?

Attacus paused, before continuing.

"You're our queen. Without you, our hive would be doomed," Attacus murmured. "Without your guidance, lots more changelings likely would have died-"

"How many of you died," The queen asked nervously. "How many changelings perished in the attack?"

Empusa's voice came from behind her.

"We don't know. Including us three, about 50 of us are here."

Attacus continued Empusa's words for him. "And by here, we mean the Badlands. It's about a four hour walk from here to Macintosh hills, and another four hours from there to the nearest pony settlement."

"Have the remaining changelings found a place to settle down temporarily?"

"Not yet," Empusa stated defeatedly. "A few changelings have begun tunneling into one of the nearby rock faces, but have made little progress. We're all very tired."

Queen Chrysalis nodded solemnly.

"Very well. Which rock face has been tunneled into?"

Empusa pointed to a raised plateau in the distance. Queen Chrysalis began to walk toward it, leaving the other two changelings no choice but to follow.

The desert heat bit at their exhausted bodies as they trudged across the barren, dead landscape of the Equestrian Badlands, the sand and dirt staining their hooves a faint, orangish tan. Queen Chrysalis approached the large hole in the side of the rock face, and the four exhausted, dust-covered changelings leaning against the nearby wall. The four changelings shakily rose to their hooves, before kneeling before their queen.

"As you were, my underlings," The queen stated dismissively. "Now is not the time for such formality. We're in a time of despair."

She walked into the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness. There came a few bright flashes of green light from inside the tunnel, followed by a thick blast of orange dust, coating Empusa and Attacus. Queen Chrysalis emerged from the tunnel, now coated in the same orange dust as the others. Empusa and Attacus couldn't help but hold back giggles.

"What is so funny, you two?" The queen hissed with annoyance.

"Nothing, your Orange-ness," Empusa snickered. At that, all of the changelings began to cackle with laughter. Queen Chrysalis grabbed Attacus, hissing with rage, before seeing her reflection in his eyes. She dropped him, and scoffed.

"I've taken on the hue of the desert," She muttered. "Wonderful, just wonderful."

"Welcome to the club, Your Majesty," spoke one of the other changelings. "You're one of us now."

Hours later, the sun had begin to set. More changelings had since made it to the badlands. The number of survivors accounted for now numbered at 63, including Chrysalis herself. The surviving changelings had worked in shifts to carve out the inside of the plateau into a temporary home. There were about 30 rooms, with entrances connecting into a large, central chamber, meaning that some changelings had to share a room. Queen Chrysalis had tunneled her living space deeper into the earth in the central chamber. This new 'Mini-hive', as some called it, had an earthy, orange hue. Some appreciated the change in scenery, while others missed home.

Every changeling here knew that this hive wasn't going to last the Changelings forever. Queen Chrysalis had to come up with a new plan. A plan to take back her home. Queen Chrysalis knew that she couldn't take on the invaders alone. Killing just five of them had left her beaten and defeated to the point of near-death, and with a near-broken horn. A new question had emerged into the mind of every changeling: What were these vicious beasts? Where had they come from?

Rumor quickly spread around the hive that these creatures were in fact, not of this world. Eventually, Attacus caved to the rumors, and told the changelings where he had had found them. The creatures, were in fact, aliens, and Attacus had found them in what he believed to be a crashed spaceship.

That night, Queen Chrysalis curled up in her chamber. The screams of her underlings echoed in her mind, but she was able to find it within her to drift to sleep within the serenity of the changelings' new home. Her eyes slowly shut, and her mind began to drift into a deep sleep.

Her sleep was interrupted by Empusa and Attacus walking into her chamber.

"What is your bidding," She called to her underlings. "What brings you here at such an hour?"

The two approached her slowly. Chrysalis hissed at them with annoyance.

"Say something!"

The two spoke not a word. It was now that Chrysalis could see something about the two changelings. Their face showed no emotion. The two changelings moved like robots, pinning Chrysalis to the wall of the chamber with impossible strength, as a third changeling entered the room.

"It can't be...No...Not you," Chrysalis stammered. "You're dead!"

Chrysalis stared at Andrena as she aproached, climbing up Chrysalis' underbelly to come eye-to-eye with the Changeling queen. Andrena's mouth opened, revealing an all-too familiar second jaw, surrounded by needle-like teeth.

"No! NO! NOOOO!"

Chrysalis squirmed defiantly as the second mouth extended with sudden speed, plunging into Chrysalis' own maw. A sickening, warm feeling creeped down her throat and through her body, as the familiar, maternal whispering filled her mind.

"Join us, Chrysalis. Join our kind in everlasting peace. Mother is waiting for you. Mother loves you."

Chrysalis' eyes flung open, and she awoke from her vivid nightmare with a scream. She shivered with fear, then with curiosity and bargaining. She had escaped. She had lived. She had saved all she could, why were the nightmares continuing--

Despair hit her as the thought crossed her mind.

In the other hive, on nights that a nightmare came, a one of her underlings disappeared the following day. Perhaps...

Queen Chrysalis rushed out of the chamber frantically. At first, nothing seemed amiss. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, however, she realized something. The walls were moving...

Not the walls.

She felt a claw in her flank, and let out a blood-curdling warcry, swinging around into the attacking alien, She landed a heavy blow on its dome, before being grappled by more of the beasts. She swung around, clawing and bashing at her assailants. Changelings emerged from their rooms, pushing the aliens from the walls, causing them to fall. This did little to stop the aliens. Empusa and Attacus were quick to spot Chrysalis, helping free her from the clawing hands of the Aliens. Attacus disappeared into a cloud of green light and mist, emerging as a massive Timberwolf.

The wolf dove into the swirling sea of vicious monsters, throwing them away, before Attacus shifted back to his regular form. With the help of Empusa, the two were able to help their queen to her hooves.

Without warning, an Alien descended onto Empusa. Empusa's scream was cut short, as the Alien plunged its inner mouth into the back of his skull, the inner mouth exploding out from between his eyes, stopping just short Attacus's own face. The alien tossed the limp body aside as Attacus and Chrysalis made a break for it. They reached the exit of the hive, forcing aside several aliens. Changelings hovered around the hive, unsure of what to do.

"ATTACUS!"

Attacus turned to find Queen Chrysalis facing the entrance of the hive.

"LEAD THE OTHERS NORTH UNTIL YOU REACH RAMBLING ROCK RIDGE!"

"That's just south of Canterlot!" Attacus shouted back. "Are you sur--"

"DO IT!" The queen screamed, grappling his shoulders. "I COMMAND YOU!"

Attacus gulped, and took flight, shouting orders to the other changelings. Queen Chrysalis faced the oncoming horde with seething anger. When the first alien leapt from the darkness, she pummeled it back into the other, then using her magic, she screamed loudly, tearing the Alien's head off. She flung both head and body into the wall of rock with incredulous force.

"DIE YOU BASTARDS!" The Changeling queen shouted, tearing the aliens apart with her magic.

"PERISH! PERISH! PERISH! BURN IN THE PITS OF TARTARUS! YOU SHALL ALL DIE!"

One after another, Aliens were torn apart with the Queen's magic. Suddenly, an Alien landed on her back, tearing into her. Queen Chrysalis flung the Alien into the oncoming horde, before being attacked by another from behind. Soon, Chrysalis found herself surrounded by the Aliens once more. She kicked and screamed.

"I AM QUEEN CHRYSALIS! I SHALL NOT DIE TO YOU FILTHY LOVELESS MONSTERS!"

She felt herself growing weak. The aliens didn't care. They piled upon her, clawing at her. With a last desperate blast of magic, she blasted a nearby wall, causing a massive explosion. The changeling queen was flung across the desert by the shockwave, coming to a hard landing against a rock face. She then began to fall several dozen feet, before slamming into the dirt below. The Aliens could be heard in the far distance screeching. Queen Chrysalis could see with her fading vision as the massive pillar of sandstone that had once been the temporary home of the changelings began to collapse, burying the aliens in sand and stone.

When Queen Chrysalis awoke, she stumbled to her hooves. Her wings were once again too weak to fly. Her whole body ached with exhaustion and injury. Her exoskeleton had been shattered on her left forehoof. The bright green flesh underneath stung in the hot desert air. Queen Chrysalis began to limp northward, before collapsing once again. She yelped in pain.

Chrysalis was angered beyond words, beyond description. Her very soul had been tormented by these creatures. She wanted nothing more than to see them burn in the pits of Tartarus.

Her ears cocked up at the sound of hoofsteps.

She turned around to see the baby-blue, youthful eyes of Attacus.

"Your Majesty...Are you okay?"

Queen Chrysalis couldn't answer. Simply speaking was a chore for the battered changeling queen. She raised her wings, twitching them slightly, and raising her right forehoof.

"There is a search party. I'll notify them. Rest here."

At that, Attacus buzzed off somewhere to her right, leaving Queen Chrysalis to her thoughts...

When she woke, she once again found herself cocooned. She slowly emerged from her slimy prison, then rose to her hooves, wincing and sitting down to avoid pressure on her broken forehoof. Attacus, and about three dozen or so other changelings faced the queen. It clicked in her mind that these were the only survivors, but what caught her eye was the surrounding location. Queen Chrysalis looked up, and realized where she was: Canterlot Mountain.

"Attacus, what is the meaning of this?"

"Your Majesty, we have all come to a decision. It may not be a unanimous decision, but it is our last hope."

"What have you decided on?" The queen winced. "What is it that you plan, Attacus?"

Attacus inhaled deeply, then exhaled. He was nervous, Chrysalis could tell by the way he twirled his hoof around. He could tell that he didn't want to tell her...

"We cannot fight these monsters, Chrysalis," Attacus whimpered. "We need the help of the ponies."

Chrysalis' eyes slowly widened, and she rose.

"You...WHAT?"

Attacus backed off, whimpering more.

"W-We need to face Celestia, ask for her help."

"We do not need their help, Attacus," Chrysalis hissed out. "Those ponies are the last ones I want to ask."

The other changelings began to whisper amongst each other, then another stepped up.

"Attacus is right."

Queen Chrysalis glared at the rogue changeling, then back to Attacus.

"We are NOT asking Celestia," She continued angrily. "I didn't come all this way to BOW DOWN TO SOME PATHETIC PONY PRINCESS!"

She paused, gathering her thoughts.

"I ought to banish you two for even suggesting the idea..."

Attacus looked to rest of the changelings, then back to Queen Chrysalis.

"Are you willing to banish your entire hive?"

Queen Chrysalis once again stared at her subjects. There were about 30 of them left now, and they were all beaten, exhausted, and scarred.

"Queen Chrysalis...I may just be your advisor...But as your advisor, I advise you to make this decision...With all due respect, your majesty...This threat is above what we can deal with," Attacus added. "Twice we've fought these creatures...and Twice we've lost."

Chrysalis' expression began to fade from anger, to sadness. She sniffled.

"Why," Queen Chrysalis began. "Why must it be like this? I had everything for us. And these vicious beasts took it all away."

Attacus pressed his hoof to her shoulder, only to get it slapped away.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Attacus cowered back, but spoke up.

"Your majesty...You've already lost so much...If we continue like this, running away and fighting when we can, we won't last much longer...We'll die too. You need to step up, and put this feud aside...These creatures don't just threaten us, they threaten Equestria as we know it. Sure, maybe we could threaten the princesses and capture the elements of harmony, but we've been defeated in the past."

Attacus sighed, then continued.

"These creatures do not understand defeat or death, nor do they care. They will fight tooth-and-claw until they've destroyed everything. They won't just take over and rule Equestria, they will destroy it. They will kill everything living until all that is left is them."

The words spoken by Attacus echoed in the Queen's mind. Her nightmares, her screaming underlings, and now this. Finally, after all of this time, she cracked. With a deep inhale, she began to tear up.

"Fine...I'll go. I'll do it.

The changeling crowd did not erupt into cheers or applause. After all that had happened, it was impossible to do so. But what they could do was smile, and smile, they did...

A sparkling rainbow of light shone through the stained glass windows of Canterlot's royal throne room, illmunating the long, red carpet leading up to the Alicorn princess' throne. In this throne sat the princess of the sun herself, Princess Celestia. By her side stood two unicorn guards, armed with lances, unmoving and stone-faced. Celestia hummed to herself, inspecting a long, winding scroll from one of her advisors.

Celestia's silence was interrupted by the deafening thud of the Royal hall's door being flung open. The guards raised their lances defensively at what stood at the end of the hallway: a grizzled, scarred, changeling queen with a twisted, melted horn. She limped slowly across the red carped, one of her drones followed close behind, nervously whimpering.

"Halt where you stand," One of the guards shouted, his horn glowing. "Halt, I said!"

Queen Chrysalis did not listen, but instead, kept trudging forward, until pausing about eight feet away from the throne. She slowly raised her wounded hoof, shielding her head. Her hair covered her face.

Celestia rose from her throne, and stepped down onto the carpet, approaching the Changelings.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"PRINCESS!"

Celestia raised a hoof at the changeling queen.

The little changeling at Chrysalis' side, Attacus, spoke up.

"Wait, princess-"

"I'm tired of waiting. Prepare to attack!" The royal unicorn guards stood by either side of their princess, horns and lances aimed at the changelings.

"On my command..."

"WAAAAIIIIT!" The small, pitiful voice rang out. Attacus slid across the floor, in front of his queen.

"Please...Spare us...We mean no harm."

Celestia raised her hoof. Her expression slowly fading from anger to curiosity.

"Hold position." The alicorn glared down at the small changeling.

"You are certainly brave, little changeling," The princess began. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Attacus," He whimpered. "My name is Attacus, your highness...Now if you please...Queen Chrysalis and I..."

He inhaled, then sighed.

"We need your help."

The princess raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching. Her thin, flowing mane danced through the air, brushing against Attacus' face.

"Help?" She stared at the pair. "You invaded my kingdom and caused terror throughout, and you're asking me for help?"

Queen Chrysalis finally rose her head, facing the Princess she had come to despise so bitterly.

"Princess," She began. "I...I'm sorry. If there was any way to erase my past mistakes, I would. I was desperate. My kingdom needed love to survive. My subjects were starving--"

"And?" Celestia continued, interrupting her. "That gives you no excuse to do what you did."

For the first time, Queen Chrysalis whimpered in front of not only one of her subjects, but one of her longest running enemies.

"I know, Princess...And I'm deeply sorry...I was..." She paused, searching her mind for the words.

"I was desperate. Desperate to save my subjects," She began clearly, standing confidently. "And if it weren't for my desperation, I never would have come then..."

"...and I never would have come now."

Queen Chrysalis began to cry, falling to her knees. Attacus moved in to comfort her, but was pushed away.

"My subjects...They are dying. They are being ruthlessly slaughtered. I have come not only to beg for your help in vanquishing this new threat, but to warn you of coming doom."

Celestia backed away, hesitant.

"One of my subjects discovered something out in the uncharted west of Equestria. A species of vicious, ruthless monsters that slaughter indiscriminately...I've tried to fight them, I've tried...Tried and failed. They have ruined my hive and ruthlessly wiped out my subjects...there are very few of us left..."

The alicorn's face became somber.

"And if what you're saying is true, Chrysalis," Princess Celestia spoke, "What's stopping them from killing my subjects?"

Attacus approached the princess.

"There is nothing stopping them, Princess," Attacus spoke softly. "I'm afraid that they already have...My sister was the one who found them. She was the first one to be killed by them...You see, these monsters, or rather, the babies...They require a host. They're parasites. They grow inside of you, and then burst out...My sister was infected, and the parasite that came out of her...It...It infected five ponies out in the woods just North of our hive, near the railroad track..."

"Sister."

The voice of Luna echoed from behind the changelings as she entered the room through the open door, causing them all to stare back at her.

"The changeling...I'm afraid he speaks the truth. Just a few weeks ago, a train travelling from Appleoosa to Silver Shoals was reported to be four hours behind schedule, and five passengers were unaccounted for. Their cabins were found with shattered windows..."

Attacus looked back to Celestia, nervous. Queen Chrysalis once again spoke up to Celestia.

“In such an unfortunate time, such an unfortunate circumstance, why should our old rivalry be left alive? Why should we feud over a difference so petty and bitter, when both of our kinds are equally endangered?”

Celestia paused, then began to smile slightly.

"Queen Chrysalis...You're bold, you're cunning, and I daresay, you're wicked," she said, stepping to Chrysalis' side. "But if there's one thing I know about you, it's that you don't know when to run away from a fight."

Chrysalis looked to Celestia, her sorrowful expression becoming one of fear.

"That fact that you've come here today, and begged for help, and that you're willing to throw away old rivalries to defeat a greater evil...It shows great maturity. It takes quite a lot effort to admit you're wrong, believe me, I'd know, but I can see it in your eyes..."

Celestia paused, staring into the eyes of the changeling queen.

"I'm not quite sure if all of Equestria willing to forgive you...But as of today, I am."

Queen Chrysalis, with tears in her eyes, stumbled forward, falling into Celestia's chest. Celestia, startled, stumbled back, but accepted the hug. Queen Chrysalis began to sob deeply right then and there. Attacus, once again, tried his luck at hugging his queen for comfort, and was finally rewarded with it.

"As for where you'll be living in the meantime," Celestia added. "I know of a secluded, ancient castle in the Everfree Forest, where Luna and I used to rule."

Queen Chrysalis looked up, smiling.

"That would be much appreciated, Princess..."

Princess Celestia smiled, then looked to the royal guards.

"Guards, prepare a Chariot. I shall escort our newest ally to their new refuge."

At that, the two royal guards trotted off, and Celestia escorted the Changeling queen out of the courtroom. Attacus followed close behind. For the first time in quite a while, Attacus felt comfortable with giving his queen a well-deserved smile.