Life for the Data

Life for the Data

Chapter 5 – Enter unto Equestria

A sand lizard sat atop a stone, his throne. He looked down at the many specks of sand that made his lands, all ten inches of it. An invasion force of one was sent from a rivalling tribe; he valiantly stepped down from the throne and went to battle. Each lizard kicked up dust and left nasty gashes (about the size of a pin scrape) against their mighty hides.

But before the attacker could claim his prize and declare victory, a massive gust of wind like no other sent him fling away, leaving the near death lizard dumbstruck. Soon, a mighty claw touched down mere millimetres away, nearly cleaving him in half. He suddenly forgot about his mortal wounds and retreated to his brother’s rock for cover.

Kalahari spotted the tiny creature, snorting, “Lizards.”

He lowered one of his wings allowing for the remaining Changelings to climb off board. Soon the Queen and what few Changelings left with the ability of flight touched down as well. Kalahari made sure to flex his wing a little which caused Star Glow to falter, falling off.

Star removed his face from the stone, helmet saving his muzzle from becoming bloodied and gave Kalahari a poisonous glance. The Sand Drake pretended to afraid before laughing and walking into the gorge. Chrysalis could not help but smirk at the Ex-Equestrians misfortune, though she coughed and began to walk alongside Kalahari followed by Coronamon. Kalahari’s trained eyes tracked the walls, watching for pesky Sand Eels. The eels were relatives to the Canyon Eels that lined Ghastly Gorges walls, but were smaller and could leave the walls to make the kind of kills not possible to their larger brethren.

He spotted a small grouping of holes in the wall and fired a stream of sand their way, covering it with quickly hardening sandstone and effectively neutralizing the threat. Chrysalis shuddered as the sand solidified, memories of the foul creatures returning to her mind.

Coronamon looked at the filled in holes with wonder, “What were those?”

Chrysalis looked down at him, “Sand Eels, like Canyon Eels only smaller and can come out of their walls. If even one got out, you might find yourself cornered with a monster that looks a little like Kalahari only with hundreds of tiny razor teeth.”

Coronamon looked back at the sealed holes, thankful that they were holding as the creatures inside pounded against the new stone, but he was confident he could take one.

They continued their march into the crevasse, which soon began to divide into multiple sections. Kalahari lead them through with little difficulty, having lived here for a few years after he was resigned from the old army.

The time they spent was uneventful, a small canyon wall covered with tiny holes was quickly covered by Kalahari as they neared it, and the occasional rock fell from either time or the wind, which had a tendency to blind those without sandstone for skin.

As they came to a cross road, Kalahari stopped.

Chrysalis stepped beside his now lowered head, eyes deep in thought, “What is it old friend?”

Kalahari’s four eyes searched the wall for landmarks that should have easily survived the canyons tearing winds and dry climate, instead, he found them covered with sand, thick and course.

“I am lost; these walls are new, meaning the canyon has spread in the past century or so. I apologize, but it is all in the air from here on out my Queen.” he responded, looking at the queen with two red eyes.

She nodded, “It is quite alright, I should have suspected they would do that after a few years. Darn it all, if only we could travel the same older routes, but those are now covered in guards.”

As they began to devise a way to traverse the new canyon, Coronamon turned to the Changelings.

“So, what do you think Equestria is like?” he asked, giving the occasional glance towards the two old timers.

The one in front shrugged, “I don’t know, something like lush fields and air saturated with love. The Hive Mind gives words, not images.”

Coronamon crossed his arms, “You know I never really got that whole ‘Hive Mind’ thing.”

The Changeling thought about it for a while, “Well, I suppose you could think of it like this: You have a mind, you can think, sing, dance, et cetra, but, with the Hive Mind, everyone else’s singing and motions are shared, allowing us all to hear and feel. It’s more of a on and off thing really, some say we always had to be connected to it, but nowadays, we just tune in every now and then to see what’s up.”

Coronamon nodded, thinking it sounded more like the internet really.

“Okay, then what’s your opinion on that guy?” he asked, pointing a paw at Star Glow, who was examining some really good looking sand right now.

“Him?” queried the Changeling, pointing at Star, “He’s a nut, we can all sense it. He’s lost a few marbles after he left Equestria, don’t really blame him though, The Wastelands a dangerous place not meant for the faint of heart. That and Sand Stalker meat has venom running through it that can damage your brain.”

Coronamon nodded before Chrysalis called that they had figured a way out. They began to follow which way the wind flowed strongest, hoping that that meant an area it was draining into. Soon, the temperature began to drop from the usual fifty plus, to a much more preferred Summer temperature of around thirty degrees. Kalahari shivered, to him, this felt like winter.

Soon, blades of grass began to poke out from the sand, seeking what little moisture the air carried with it. Coronamon spotted a flower, it was small and looked a little sickly, but it was plant life nonetheless. A brisk tailwind caught them all off guard and then they saw it. Just beyond the crevasses mouth lay a field of gleaming grass swaying in the afternoon sun, little birds fluttered around the canyon mouth that so conveniently served as their home.

Chrysalis stared and smiled. She had seen this once before, but at the top of a mountain city. She heard all her children begin to muster near the front, each wanting a glimpse of the great new spectacle. She herself buzzed to the top of Kalahari, puling some up with her. Each watched with twinkling compound eyes as the very land was soaked with magic and love.

Each whooped and hollered at the sight, know that this meant an easier life for all.

Chrysalis buzzed in front of her subjects, clearing her throat, “All of you, this is Equestria. Land of the loved and kind. We have made it, yes, but the work does not end here. We must begin the construction of a new Hive and begin to send scout into nearby pony settlements in order to begin harvesting the so much needed love that we require. Kalahari, I do hope I can rely on you to dig us a hole large enough for yourself and us. We will install the rooms and corridors, but what we truly need is a place to call home.”

The dragon smiled, seemably cracking the edges of his jaw, “With pleasure, I do wish to get out of this cold though, I will need a few months to adapt to the climate here, lest I freeze in the Winter.”

She nodded, “Thank you old friend, you may do as you wish with yourself after, this is all our new home now.”

Kalahari waved a massive clawed foot, “As I said, I have returned to the Hive. I will help rebuild your empire to the end of my days. Let us go forth, eh? I already see a spot that may be weak enough for me to dig into easily.”

Chrysalis nodded, feeling a tear slide down her carapace. This was it, their new life.

They all failed to detect the scrambling Pegasus guard pony that had merely seen the Drake, Queen and horde of Changelings before retreating back to the outpost. Another invasion was coming, and he had to let everypony know!

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Ponyville Hospital .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

A small beep echoed through her mind. The beep was monotonous, keeping at a constant pace and matching her heartbeat. Lunamon tried to open her eyes,. Only to close them quickly as artificial light pounded her eye holes. She let the light seep through her eyelids before trying again, this time with much greater success.

She found herself staring at the roof, having been placed in a rather uncomfortable bed. She shuffled against the back and sat up, looking around the room. It was a small, square white walled room with various medical tools and equipment scattered about.

She moaned, grasping her head with a single claw; find the other one to be immobilized. She looked to her right, finding a heartbeat monitor to be monitoring her heartbeat. Right. She had one of those now.

She looked down to see her arm in a cast, probably a result of the fight yesterday. Kuwagamon could be so mean…

The sound of a door opening caught her attention, she observed it as a doctor holding a clipboard entered.

“Miss Lunamon?” he queried, not even looking up.

“Yep, so I’m in the hospital, right?” she asked, taking another glance at the room.

“Yes you are, now, you have a broken arm, and some fractured ribs. We healed all the smaller wounds but those two we could only speed up and sedate, or else you would be gasping for breath now.”

Lunamon nodded, she knew it was bad; Kuwagamon had a tendency to rip their prey to shreds, she was lucky to have gotten away with a few broken bones.

The doctor flipped to another page on the clipboard, scanning its contents, “Alright then, let’s have a look.”

He trotted up to her bed, carefully scanning her arm with a little magic beam. Lunamon giggled as the magic tingled under her cast, and then he moved onto her chest, scanning her midsection. Once done, he wrote down some notes on the clipboard before placing it to a hook on his coat.

“You are healing at a marvelous rate, I estimate that by this time in two days you’ll be well enough to leave and do… whatever it is you creatures do.”

She nodded, giving her thanks to the doctor as he left, before she sighed and leaned against the backboard, this was going to be a long two days.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Badlands Canyon outpost .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

The guard crashed into the side of the small building, making a sizeable dent in the wall. He scurried inside, grabbing a sheet of paper and quickly began writing a notice down for Canterlot. Once done, he lit the dragon hearth fire and threw the scroll in, watching it fly up and out of the chimney. He watched it eagerly as it left; as if a Changeling could catch the magically transmuted paper within the mile he had seen them.

Once it left his vision, he sighed, slouching and trotting back into the small marble construct. He sank into one of the wooden chairs on the top floor, looking lazily out to where he had spotted the small army. As he stared, his view was again poisoned by their presence as they marched boldly out into the field.

They had the Sand Drake at their head; the poor thing was probably being controlled. They began their invasion by marching into the plains and the big one began to tear up the ground. He watched bewildered as it began to sink into the earth at an alarming rate, the Changelings hovering overhead. Well, some were, others were sitting around the creature, looking up as if jealous that they couldn’t fly. Which was ludicrous, because they obviously had wings.

He watched and leaned over to see that the massive drake had made a sizeable hole in the ground, the Changelings now opting to follow in as the tip of its tail began to disappear.

“Do they know?”

The guard fell over in his seat, finding himself to be looking up into the Queens eyes.

“I’ll ask again, does Canterlot know?” she asked, more stern this time.

“Y-Yes, and we will win! You’ll never take Equestria!” he cried out, preparing to be knocked out or even killed.

“What are you doing?” she asked, puzzled by his behavior.

He opened an eye to see her looking quizzically at him, “Y-You aren’t going to kill me?”

“Why would we want to do that?”

The guard blinked, “Oh right, you try to stuff us in pods!” he realised, again preparing for the end.

She sighed, “What is it with you ponies and your pods and, ‘Changelings are massive killing machines?’ We’re pretty much like ponies, only we feed off love. Also, We don’t put you in pods unless your hurt, dying, or want to be in a pod.”

The guard looked at her with cautious eyes, wondering if what she said was true, “I always thought that you were all ruthless killers…”

Chrysalis sighed, rubbing her temples, “I find it ironic that the most peaceful country on this world is so paranoid of

everything else, even though most aren’t much different from your average citizen.”

He guard rolled over, shuffling away from the Queen, “So, you aren’t going to hurt me…?”

Chrysalis shook her head, “Or put you in a pod, or attack you, or threaten you, or even harass you. Actually, I want to ask something of you.”

The guard raised his ears, “Really, and why would I want to do anything for you?”

“Because there is an entire Changeling Swarm in Equestria, digging a new hive and wishes to ask for an audience with the Royal Sisters.” she replied, looking him in the eyes.

He scratched the bottom of his helmet, then trotted down the ladder inside and began to write a new note.

Dear Canterlot:

This is Private Quill Feathers of the Badlands outpost. I would like to reprimand my last letter and replace it with this one. I have been contacted by the Changeling Queen, the same from the last invasion. She has asked for an audience with both Princess Celestia and Luna, I would exercise caution as she has informed me that the Sand Drake they have in their party is helping them make a new hive here in the Southern Plains. I do believe that either you come here, or I am afraid that they may again come to you.

Sincerely,

Private Quill Feathers of the Equestrian Border Guard.

He rolled up the scroll and stamped a hot wax seal to it. He then threw it in the dragon hearth fire and watched it dematerialize. As he did so, he felt his resolve break and he ran screaming out of the guard house.

Chrysalis watched him leave, groaning as he remembered his wings and took off towards a barely visible town. She placed his seat back in its rightful place and sat in it, surveying the operation of her children and smiled, she could see so much from here, and soon, hopefully she could look at it without fear.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Canterlot Castle .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Another note burst into material form in front of Shining Armor. He plucked it out of the air as well, this time though, he had to remove a seal. He opened it, scanning its contents with a raised brow. Once he finished, he put it in a small pouch attached to his armor.

He walked out of the building that served as the Royal Guard and approached the palace. The guards straightened beyond what seemed possible as he approached, looking forward and opening the doors for him. He wasn’t quite used to the slightly improved behavior of the guards since he had become a prince, and he often found himself visited by the snobbish Blue Blood.

One day he was going to make sure that wasn’t all that turned blue.

He strode up to what was now his Aunt’s throne room, he figured since this was a high priority message, both the princesses should see it.

Upon opening the door, he saw a rather bored Celestia without Luna present; of course, she was in Ponyville investigating an odd creature that turned up recently.

Celestia smiled upon seeing her new family member, “And what have I done to get the honor this welcome visit?”

Shining couldn’t help but smile with her as she spoke, “Just a message I thought was very important. It’s about the outpost on the Badlands border, the guard stationed there spotted heavy Changeling activity and sent two notices, I thought this one best suggests the situation.”

Celestia suddenly looked very serious, plucking the note from his magic and unfurling the scroll. Her eyes rolled along the pages, picking out every word and detail that she could read. Upon finishing, she read it again, then another time.

“She just want to talk?” asked Celestia, puzzled by the Queens sudden change in tactics.

Shining nodded, “As far as I can tell, of course, she did take over my mind so there is a chance that the guard was being afflicted as well.”

Celestia nodded, making sure there was not some hidden message among the script.

“Very well, I suppose it is due time we had a much more Equestrian way of diplomacy. Though I am no fool, and would be very appreciative if you muster some of your best guards to join Luna and I while we go to see her Majesty. Also, I am doubtful they were able to make a Sand Drake serve them, there were rumors that the Changeling armies before they’re great disappearance had such creature in their ranks, but I never saw one, and neither did any other trustworthy source since then.”

Shining nodded, bowing before leaving the room to Celestia and her devices. As he walked down the old hallways he felt a slight fire rekindle in his chest as his rage for the Queen of Changelings returned. Cadence warned him that letting grudges fill him was bad for his health, but he couldn’t help it, she had abducted his fiancé and then impersonated her and even went as far as to try and take over the kingdom as she was revealed.

Just thinking of her made him stomp his hooves a little harder in a march and even make his spear throws more accurate. The last one scared him a little, sure he hated her, but not to the point that he would drive a spear through her chest just for being her.

Another important point brought up by Cadence was that it was her nature to be deceitful. She really had no choice but to find love for her subjects, even if it meant a little intervention of those who were the most in love. She had made it sound as if it was like Celestia foraging food for everypony in a dragon’s lair.

He sighed, marching into the barracks and looking at those few who were present, “Atteeeensheun!!!” he yelled, causing the guards to stand up by instinct.

“Alright, you lot go out and gather my elite squad, you know the ones, tell them to meet back here, we got a new card in the game for Equestria.”

They nodded, flying and running out of the building. Shinning trotted deeper into the barrack, grabbing his helm and sword. He strapped on the extra leg braces with magic, and then attached the swords sheath to his side. As he was double checking his equipment, a member of his elite squad trotted in, giving a salute before moving on to don his armor.

As the elites trotted in, each gave a salute before grabbing their armor, some helping those who couldn’t get to the rear leg straps. Once they were done, they lined up in the front and Shining inspected them.

“Flawless as always Elites, now, we got ourselves a protection mission, high priority. The Princesses themselves are going to be meeting with our old friends the Changelings. Oh and it gets better, the scout there said that he spotted a Sand Drake. For those of you who don’t know all of your dragon history, the Sand Drake can breathe sand that quickly solidifies into sandstone and even heat it to glass, effectively making it a little more dangerous than your average Fire Drake because of its tremendous size and ability to make literal cover for itself at will.

“The Princesses are going to be meeting the Queen herself for diplomatic relations, I estimate it’s gonna go south real soon so be ready for anything, Changelings are crafty buggers as I am sure you all know. Now, are you ready to protect some precious cargo?!”

“SIR YES SIR!”

“Alright then, two chariots are already prepared, our first stop will be at Ponyville in order to pick up Princess Luna, who is investigating the existence of an odd creature there.”

They stood static, never moving and simply listening to their captain’s orders.

“Let’s move ‘em out!”

“Hoorah!”

The elites began to march out, gathering in front of, then entering the square military chariots. Two hitched themselves to the front, prepping themselves for the journey ahead.

Soon, Celestia stepped out of the palace flanked by two guards. She stepped into the chariot in between the two military chariots before they took off for Ponyville.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Ponyville Hospital .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Lunamon was made aware of a presence as something entered from the shadows. She looked over her shoulder to see a pony, tall and regal with a dark blue coat and moon bearing regalia. She strode up to Lunamon’s bedside silently, face unreadable.

“I assume you are the creature everypony has come to call Lunamon?” the questioned startled Lunamon, but not enough to not answer.

“Um, yes, and you must be some royal figure.” she replied, seeming a little afraid of the stone faced monarch.

“Yes, I am Princess Luna of Equestria. I saw you as two creatures yesterday, what was that all about?” again her question was odd to Lunamon, but she answered regardless.

“That was my Champion form, Lekismon, I Digivolved when Twilight gave me enough energy to do so. Though, as I am sure you saw, even that wasn’t quite enough to fight that monster perfectly, though if I made it to my Ultimate form, nothing could have stopped me.”

The Princess turned her head quizzically, “Digivolved, Champion and Ultimate, you must slow down for Twilight was able to reveal little to me.”

Lunamon blushed, “Erm, sorry your majesty, think of it like this: I am a sponge. I only take energy if I need to and if I get enough, I change. The more energy I get, the more powerful the transformation. I am currently in my Rookie form, the third form for my kind. The next is Lekismon, then Crescemon, after that is my Mega form, and nobody really know what you’ll become at Mega.”

Luna nodded, “So If I fed you a large amount of energy now, would you change form?”

Lunamon shrugged, “I’m not quite sure anymore, generally, we change when we are in danger. I’m not quite whole Digimon anymore, so I can’t tell you, but the best answer is ‘probably’.”

Luna nodded again, “Would you like to try?”

Lunamon scratched her head with her free arm, “Weeelll, It does feel a little funny, and yesterday was my first time, so sure, let’s try it out.”

Luna’s horn began to glow, feeding Lunamon her energy. Lunamon instantly felt something different about the energy; it felt more of a match fit to her own. She felt something on the edge of Luna’s abilities; the very moon itself seemed to reside in her.

Before Lunamon knew it, she was covered in a light film, causing her to stand and form an egg shape. The egg swirled and Luna watched in wonder, trying to figure out how the transformation worked. Soon, it shattered and before her stood Lekismon, all signs of her wounds gone.

Lekismon looked over herself, “Huh, neat, all my broken bones are gone, didn’t know that happened.” though her voice was a little deeper, Luna could easily tell it was her.

Luna looked her over, noting the moon crests that adorned her body, “What is your connection to the moon?”

Lekismon looked down at one, “I’m not quite sure, though I feel a little more powerful while under it, and this places moon is just beautiful. I’ve never saw one so flawless, it literally stunned me when I looked up at it.”

Luna blushed, “T-Thank you, no one has ever made such a comment about my moon, not even sister.”

Lekismon smiled, “I am very serious about it, it’s marvelous.”

Luna blushed a little more before a doctor came running in, instantly noticing the newcomer standing on the bed.

“And who are you?”

“It’s me, Lunamon, well, was, now I am Lekismon.” She flexed her arms, “Look, nothings broken anymore.”

The doctor looked at her with disbelief until he noticed the Princess of the Night standing at her bedside.

He bowed quickly before she spoke, “Worry not doctor, I have simply fed her energy that caused a transformation, this is the same patient as before, only in a new body.”

The doctor looked up, then to Lekismon, “Oh, uh, sorry your majesty, but could you get her off the bed?”

Lekismon looked down and realized that yes; she was standing on the bed. She hopped down, nearly hitting her head on the lights and landed beside the princess.

Before any could speak, a Royal Guard walked up to the room, “Your majesty, I am here to guide you to the chariots, your sister is already here and wishes for you to come.”

“Cely? Why is she here, oh, perhaps this is about you Lekismon?”

Lekismon shrugged, “I’ve been out of it for a day so I guess that means words spread.”

Lunamon nodded, “Take us to her, guard.”

The guard turned and started down the hall. Luna and Lekismon followed once the doctor made sure that Lekismon really was healed.

Once outside, the guard directed them to a chariot guarded by two military chariots flanking and leading the white-gold chariot in the middle. Upon arriving, Celestia exited her chariot, spreading and stretching her wings from the flight.

“Sister, it is good to see you!” yelled Luna, embracing her sibling.

Celestia smiled warmly, “You act as if we have not seen one another for years.”

“Just a day feels like years sister.”

Lekismon couldn’t suppress a ‘daaaaaaw’ as the two sisters hugged one another.

Celestia looked up to see her, eyes seemably scanning every bit of her being.

“I assume this is the creature that you talked about?”

Luna looked back to Lekismon, “Yes, though she was different earlier. She is something called a Digimon, and can absorb free energy to transform herself. I gave her some power to study the effect, which also came with the added bonus of mending her broken bones. Did I mention she saved the town earlier?”

Celestia shook her head, “You managed to leave out that detail. Now, may I know her name as to thank her more formally?”

Lekismon gave a curt bow, “My name is Lekismon, an honor, your majesty, the both of you.”

Celestia’s smile returned, “A well-mannered transforming rabbit warrior, quite the find Luna.”

Luna giggled, “Yes it is, now, what is it that was required of our presence?”

Celestia’s features hardened suddenly, “We have received a request to meet the Queen of Changelings for diplomatic relations.”

“That disgusting creature?” hissed Luna.

Celestia sighed, “Yes, though that is why we have the military here to defend us should we find ourselves being caught in a trap. Actually, Lekismon, would you mind joining us? If you saved a town then you must have some considerable combat abilities.”

Lekismon was surprised, but began to consider, “I guess, though this is a little sudden, what’s a Changeling?”

“A Changeling is a crafty bug-like creature that can change its very appearance and feeds on love. The Queen is basically the same, instead larger and can retain more power. They attempted to invade Canterlot a few months ago, failing as we Shining Armor and his fiancé Princess Cadence repelled them using a massive love shield that rooted out and flung the monsters away.” Answered Luna, her voice deeper than before.

Lekismon nodded, “And how strong are they?”

“They should have lost considerable amounts of strength since they feed off of love, so I doubt they will be as much trouble as before, though the queen may have horded power to preserve her strength.” said Celestia, a little less intense than Luna.

“Hmm, fine, sounds like you might want the help. I’ll join, just as long as I get something to eat soon.”

Celestia found her smile returning, “Great, in fact, why don’t we get something to eat right now? I know a certain Café that has the most delightful Daffodil Sandwiches.”

Lekismon licked her chops, “Sounds great, let’s go.”

Celestia chuckled at her eagerness before they set out, leaving the guards to their devices.

One of the Pegasus that was pulling Celestia’s chariot looked to his partner, “So, what was your Friday like?”

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Southern Field bound .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Lekismon held her head out the window, fascinated by the chariots ability to fly. She had heard tale of a dark master once having a chariot drawn by Devidramon, but always assumed it was just an old in-trainings tale.

Now here she stood, giggling Luna behind her and wind blowing into her hair a few hundred feet above the surface.

She pulled her head back in, “So, where are we headed?”

“The Southern Plain, just out of the Badlands Canyon entrance. They note stated that a Sand Drake had helped them build a new nest there, but that sounds rather farfetched and the guard was under a little pressure since the Queen of Changelings herself was asking him to take a note.”

Lekismon acknowledged, sticking her head back out the window to see the forest below give way to a stunningly large field. The grass bristled at the slightest provocation and flowed with the wind making it look more like a green ocean than a field of long grass and Lekismon spotted something she could only describe as awesome.

“You guys may want to see this…”

Celestia made no move to look but Luna was dying to know what the wind in her mane was like again and so stuck her head out of the opposite window.

“That’s… That’s incredible… Cely, you really need to see this.”

Celestia sighed as Luna crawled back inside and stuck her own royal head out the window, making sure to grab hold of her crown with magic.

Then she saw what everypony else had spotted and felt her jaw slacken. Before them stood a growing cathedral, already the tell-tale signs of a city were coming into view only made completely from something black and shiny. She looked at the center to see it was hollow; a massive hole had somehow been bore into the very earth to house them under the growing city mimic as it was constructed. So far, they only had a few homes on the edges of the crater, but if one looked closely enough, they could see the dozens of tiny black shapes moving to construct their homes.

She also spotted a massive bunch of sandstone underneath the growing foundation move on its own accord and realised it was a Sand Drake.

“Well…” she said once she was back inside, “that is our destination…”

Luna scowled, “They are not just invading, but already moving in! We should tear the very structure down with magic, just as they would have done to Canterlot!”

“Hush Luna,” hissed Celestia, “They have obviously no intent of attack or they would not be making a permanent structure knowing that we could destroy it so easily. No, I am guessing that the Queen has finally come to terms with her inability to attack us and so has turned to a more peaceful solution. We, as Equestrians and its leaders, must answer this call with respect and dignity or desert our title as a peaceful nation.”

Luna huffed not being able to prove herself in combat like Celestia had tried, not only once at the Changeling invasion, but also when Lekismon defeated the massive red bug that threatened to slice the entire town into pieces not long ago.

They touched down in the plain two to three miles away from the growing city and began to disembark. Once out they could see the new Hive as just a speck in the distance. Celestia got out and began to wonder, why did she feel like smiling at the construction of a possible enemies home?

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. The Hive .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Chrysalis couldn’t help but smile at the construction of a new home in a possibly enemies territory. Her children had begun construction immediately after Kalahari widened the hole to be larger and added a layer of sandstone to the wall so they would not crumble. After that, the incredibility of Changeling constructs came into effect as pillars were erected from the ground to hold the new hoes in place. Chrysalis had ordered houses to be built to show that they wished to change their lifestyle to be better accepted into pony society.

Hopefully, Celestia was wise enough to see this and realize this was no trap. Kalahari had begun to make sure the pillars were secure before emerging from the hole so the new home would not render him trapped beneath the tough Changeling spittle. She herself was hovering just above the maw of the hole, spotting the chariots touching down a few miles away.

“This is it, don’t screw it up again!” she chided herself.

She buzzed down to the first layer of homes, gathering some of her Changelings as to appear formal and opting to leave her warriors behind. She met the ethereal sister in the middle, though she had to admit she was a little afraid of the large force of Royal Guards she had brought with her.

Once facing one another, she bowed before the rulers of the land, noting the odd bipedal rabbit creature that was among them.

They did not share the same courtesy, but she had expected as much. Celestia was the first to speak, “Greetings, Queen Chrysalis. You had requested an audience with us?”

Chrysalis continued to stay bowed, “Yes, your majesties, I know that we have had… less than successful meeting in the past, but I am here to change that. I have with me the last of our kind, the last Hive. I am the last Queen, and these are some of my last subjects. We have come here to escape the continuous bandit raids and blistering desert conditions to ask for the ability to construct a Hive here and integrate with Equestrian society as we had once before.”

Celestia nodded, so she did remember before their great disappearance, perhaps she could shed some light on that subject. But more on that later, there are things they had to discuss.

“I understand that construction of a Hive has begun regardless, not a very kind message you are sending Chrysalis.”

The Queen of Changelings cringed, “I understand, but we had to begin construction immediately, lest we be caught by Luna’s night and freeze.”

Luna snorted, “I wish…”

Celestia glared at her sister, but returned to Chrysalis after Luna shrugged, “Very well, I would like to know the purpose of the Sand Drake you have among your ranks.”

Chrysalis nodded, “He was once part of my Legion, his name is Kalahari and he serves me. We discovered him as we fled the Badlands after the Bandit King lead a large scale assault on us… That was when we numbered still in the hundreds, now, we are no more than 90 of us left. We are dying, only you can save us.”

Celestia stared wide eyed at her statement, “Only 90…?”

“Yes, we were hunted down by the very bandits you exiled into the Badlands, the very one who hunted us previous, before my birth. They continued their habits and slowly killed what few of us left off. I had no knowledge of Equestria until two years ago.”

Luna stepped forward, “If there is only 90 of you, then you should have been more thoughtful of your strategy! Be gone!”

“LUNA!!!” cried Celestia, mane flaring into the air while the Royal Canterlot voice made the very ground shake, “IT IS OUR FAULT THEY ARE DYING, THEY HAD NO CHANCES!!! IF WE HAD NOT FOUGHT, THEN THIS WOULDN’T EVEN BE HAPPENING!!!”

Lekismon cringed, but decided to join in as well, “Luna… how could you…?”

Luna looked to her raging sister and then to Lekismon. Her very mane seemed to deflate as memories of the once elusive Changelings resurfaced. She remembered having one as a friend, before she became Nightmare Moon.

“I-I am sorry… My sitter is right, you deserve a second chance…” with that Luna flew into the air, away from any of them.

“Luna!” cried Celestia, “Luna, please, come back!”

Chrysalis watched her fly above the clouds, likely to stay there for some time.

Celestia turned back to Chrysalis, “You have my permission to continue with construction of your Hive, but until Luna decides she is ready to return to us, then I cannot make the decision of you becoming citizens of Equestria.”

Chrysalis nodded, “I understand, this must be very hard for her… I heard of her transformation, and I understand completely.”

Celestia smiled weakly, “Perhaps you are truly a good pony, good day Chrysalis, we will be returning to make a camp outside your Hives limits and we will continue discussions tomorrow.”

Chrysalis bowed, thanking her and returned to the Hive bearing good news.

As for Celestia, she marched back to the chariots with a heavy heart and the news that they would be staying here for some time.

Once there, Shining approached them, “How did it go? We saw Princess Luna fly above the clouds, why?”

Celestia sighed, “Not well Shining Armor, while the Queens intents seem pure enough, her species is dying and some old memories were resurfaced in Luna’s mind. We will be setting up camp here tonight.”

Shining suddenly seemed nervous, “Where are the tents Shining?”

He let out a breath, “We-we didn’t bring any because this was classified as a short meeting between two royal figures and we expected this to go quickly.”

She groaned, “You are very lucky to be related to me Shining Armor. What are we to do now, Canterlot is half a day away and I do not feel like arriving here at noon just to leave at sunset and arrive back home near midnight. The sun is setting, does anypony know where we can sleep?”

One of her chariot stallion spoke up, “We could always bunk with the… Changelings… or not…” his speech slowed as the guards gave him VERY stern looks, enough for him to suddenly be happy he was hitched to the cart and so couldn’t be pinned as a Changelings right now.”

Celestia sighed, “I suppose we might have to, it would help with relations and even let us see what they are up to. Of course, they would have to be hospitable enough to do so.”

One of the Elite spoke up, “With all due respect your Majesty, do you really see it as wise to sleep in a Changeling Hive?”

“Does sleeping in a chariot or on the ground singing campfire songs sound any better?” she snapped, looking him in the eyes.

“N-no, your Majesty.”

“Then we sleep with the Changelings.” she said, marching off before anypony could stop her.

Each pony looked among each other before following their princess’s lead, marching towards the Hive. Once unhitched, one of the Pegasus leading the cart handed the other a brown bag of bits, the receiver smiling and shaking the burlap bag before stashing it in his armor.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. The Hive - First Ring .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Chrysalis smiled as her children completed the first ring, The homes were habitable now, but they would all be sleeping in the newly dug cave beneath for tonight as- what was that?

She and some of the other Changelings gathered at the Hives edge, looking for the source of the noise. Soon, one in the air yelled out that the Equestrians were coming.

“Steady my subjects, they would not attack after we have been given permission to build here.” she looked to make sure none were very close to her, “I hope…”

Soon, the Princess of the Sun herself was mere feet away from them, “I do apologize Queen Chrysalis, but it appears we have no tents. I do hope we are not intruding, but we request sleeping here until relations are finished.”

Chrysalis blinked, “What… Erm, sure, we just finished the outer ring, and we ourselves planned on sleeping in the cave below. So long as you don’t vandalize or disrupt us, you’re welcome here your highness.”

Celestia gave a curt bow, “Many thanks, now, where will we be staying?”

Chrysalis was shocked by the movement, but shook it off and turned to the group she was with and began to point out certain Changelings, “Mirror, Echo, Copy, Ditto, and Reflection, guide our guests to their rooms, will you?”

Each nodded and took small groups of the Equestrians away, tucking them in the black, square homes and showing them to their rooms.

“I am sorry but there really is no regal place for you, your Highness, until we have finished construction.”

Celestia nodded, “It matters not, so long as I have a roof over my head I will be content.”

Chrysalis smiled, “Well then, good night.”

Celestia nodded as the Queen buzzed into the hole, followed by dozens more, but only dozens. She watched with sorrowful eyes as the few Changelings here flew with her into the hole, there were more at the invasion… and this is all that was left.

Celestia felt a tug at her side as a Changeling wanted her to follow. The action was met with the ringing of swords and clatter of spears as her guards pointed their weapons at the poor soul. He squeaked at the action, instantly cowering behind his own forelegs as if they were indestructible shields.

Celestia sighed, ordering them to lower their weapons and followed the shaking Changeling to a house not far away.

As Chrysalis descended, she spotted the large hole that Kalahari hade bore for himself. The Sand Drake was nearly as large as the city, having a massive space in the wall that he planned to turn into a tunnel to the surface when they woke.

She herself planted her royal tush down in one of the many sandy holes that adorned the cavern wall and began to sleep. She completely forgot about the now leaping Coronamon who was trying to desperately reach one of the high beds. He eventually gave up and marched towards Kalahari’s hole, climbing atop the slumbering dragon and falling asleep on his rocky back.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Canyon wall .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

A Sand Eel broke free of the sandstone binding him to the surface. He croaked and other stuck their heads out of their holes listening to him. He began a complex series of whistles and growls, each of them suddenly joining him. Soon, the entire pack was on the ground, slithering towards their brethren and gathering more and more enraged eels into the riot. Soon, the entire canyon seemed to move as the raging eels slithered, following the scent of the Changelings.

.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı. Luna .ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.

Luna’s horn faded as the moon rose above the horizon. She lay back down on the cloud she now called her bed and wiped away the tears that had formed under her red puffy eyes.

Really, she shouldn’t be crying, it should have been the Queen, for her entire race was nearly dead and she had

openly insulted them for being so few in numbers. She stood, crying and duty complete. She was going to apologize the crap out that Queen! She would have no choice but to accept her forgiveness, lest her ears fall off in protest.

She stood at the edge of the cloud, looking down at the small village. But before she took off, her eyes wandered slightly and caught sight of something absolutely terrifying. The canyon was alive, hundreds of eels slithered out of it and towards the new town. She doubted that they were going for a goodnight hug from Chrysalis either.

While her sister slept and so did everypony else in the Hive, she sprang up from the cloud and darted in front of the horde of eels, summoning a great storm cloud to aid her.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed as she combated them from the air. The eels slithered in agony as a single lightning bolt spread through the ground and effected a large area, causing many to begin convulsing violently as the electricity wormed through them. She was not quite able to stop the horde as at least half of it stormed past her defences and attacked the city. She was about to fire one of the clouds final bolts when a storm of icy arrows sprang forth and began impaling the eels.

She watched Lekismon along with what few guards that slept with her and began to repel the eels. She landed by them, firing her last bolts into the crowd as the cloud began to turn white from its energy expended. They fought back the eels with steel, ice and magic, forcing them to diverge and split among the thin black roads.

“Spread out!” ordered Luna, taking to the air.

Few remained of the Sand Eels, though they tried to tunnel their way to safety, the Changeling membrane held strong as they were repelled by the black substance, forcing them into corners the guards could operate in.

Soon, their numbers were but in the dozens and they began to chase them out instead of killing them. As soon as Luna was sure the last one was run out of the small Hive, she turned to see nearly the entire Hive itself smiling at her. They whooped and cheered as Luna floated back to the ground, guards and Digimon following suit.

Luna felt her cheeks get hot with all the attention, then she saw Chrysalis. The tall bug walked up to her, her face unreadable.

Then she smiled as well, “Thank you Princess Luna, had it not been for you, we would have all perished in the Sand Eels surprise attack. You have saved us, thank you all so much.”

The ending of her statement was directed to all the guards in front of her, but Luna knew that the beginning was solely for her, and now the Changelings trusted, if not praised her.

“It was the right thing to do, and I could not simply let you all be shredded in your sleep by the beasts. Now, I will be staying up tonight, being the Princess of the night comes with nocturnal responsibilities. Good night, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis bowed, before buzzing back into the pit that served as their home. Luna flew into the air to watch the city before she would attend to her duties. She really didn’t know why, but suddenly the black coated streets of the growing settlement seemed a little brighter and her chest got a little warmer whenever she saw it now. Tonight was going to be a good night.