72 ALB

I awoke to a giant crash that shook me out of my bunk and onto the floor. I hit the ground with a thump, but my chitinous exterior protecting me from any harm. Dazed, I peered around the dimly lit barracks to see what happened. Seeing a recognizable silhouette in the doorway, I called out to it, “What happened?”

“Lacaxi? Get your chitinous butt moving, we’re under attack.”

I scrambled to my hooves, my mind failing to compute what he said. “Attack? By who?”

“The Royal Sun Guard. Noling else is in there, right?”

I cast out my senses to the room, double-checking what I already though was true. “Nope, I was just taking a nap when something hit.” Not a second after I spoke, another tremor shook the Hive. I spread my wings to steady myself, still untransformed into my normal pony form. “What are they launching at us?”

“They’ve got a half dozen catapults. The walls are holding up pretty well for now, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back and watch. You won’t be joining in the fray just yet; Silvari wants to see you.”

The Hive Queen wanted me? I just hope she doesn’t have a special mission for me; I always hate those. Surely she wouldn’t send me out with the Guard assaulting the Hive.

I took a moment to transform into my favorite unicorn form, an unassuming grey stallion with a slightly darker mane, and dashed out of the room. Everyling was abuzz, flitting here and there to defend against the assault. About half of them were transformed into pegasi or unicorns, while the other half were the mindless drones. I ran past a small window that had a clear view of the canyon outside and I couldn’t help but stop to take a peek.

Assembled on the plains before us were the Sun Guard in full force. There must have been a legion of them, sent to finally exterminate us. Although I didn’t notice Celestia anywhere, the Captain of the Guard was present, as was his older predecessor. Not good. They were definitely taking this seriously, the order most likely coming from Celestia herself. I stepped away and teleported up to the hall outside Silvari’s room, the highest of them all. Taking a moment to smooth my mane before the stoic guards of her room, I pushed open the door.

Inside, I saw the changeling Queen staring out of her window at the assembled army below. She was just as beautiful as ever. While She had the same features that all of Her children had such as the chipped horn and holes in our wings and hooves, Her mane and tail were an icy blue, accenting eyes of the same color. I wasn’t a short changeling by any means, yet She could still easily rest Her head on mine if She so desired. At hearing me enter, She stepped away from the window and turned to me.

“Lacaxi, I see that you got the message. Quite excellent. Have you already seen the army?”

“I have Queen Silvari. Looks like they assembled here in full force. I’ve got to wonder how they got past our scouts with that siege machinery though.” At my words, a noticeable scowl appeared on my Queen’s face.

“We had a traitor in our midst. He slew the scouts from behind like a coward. But don’t worry, I’ll be making sure he gets due recompense.” Her scowl was replaced by a smile that sent shivers down my spine.

I grimaced. I would not want to be the subject of Her revenge; the screams usually lasted for weeks. “That’s unfortunate. What do you need me for?”

Her face grew solemn again before She turned away from me and started pacing, talking to me while doing so. “I have not seen the Royal Guard amass anywhere in this great of numbers since the Lunar Rebellion. If they’re mustering this much force against us, they must see us as a large threat or obstacles to a goal. As such, I have a mission for you. I loathe to send you away, but Celestia has forced my hoof for the time being.”

Fantastic. Another mission. Sigh. Really Celestia? What is up with you ponies and attacking creatures that have done nothing wrong? “What pony am I impersonating?”

She chuckled, a sign that could have been anyone from Luna herself to some homeless filly. “None, this time. You are to go as a changeling, as your charge will accept nothing less. It will be a mission unlike any other you have undergone.” Another tremor shook the building, this time closer to us, and I glanced out the window. The Guard was cheering, something that definitely did not bode well for us.

“My charge?”

“Yes. Your mission is to take three items and hide them until the Guard ceases their foolish attempts to slay us.” Wait, what?

“Then what do you mean that my charge will accept nothing else?”

“It is best I showed you. Revert first though.” I did as she asked and switched back to my changeling form, teal eyes bright with interest. The Queen knew me quite well, just as she knew all of her subjects; I could never resist finding the answer to something. Once I had changed, she lit her horn and the floor disappeared from under us, sending us falling.

I would have yelled something in shock, but instincts prevailed. I aimed my head downward and opened my wings, gradually tilting up to execute a tight spiral around the tall circular chamber. We would touch down in a matter of seconds on the glowing green floor below where three objects sat atop pillars.

“Don’t hit the objects!” my Queen called. I had already anticipated that, and so landed on the surprisingly springy ground, bouncing back up for a few seconds after touching down. She landed a few seconds after me, settling down to my immediate right. “Excellent. You now stand in the heart of the Hive.”

The heart of the Hive? I had heard rumors about this place for ages, but had never seen it. To my knowledge, the ones that did eventually went crazy. I gulped, then asked the first question that came to mind. “What about the fight above? If they reach here?”

“The Guard cannot enter this chamber without the direct power of the sun until every last changeling is dead.”

I jumped at the voice, surprised to hear another in my head other than Queen Silvari’s. My Queen chuckled, obviously privy to some joke I didn’t get. “Lacaxi, meet the elder spirits Volucris and Vicis.” She pointed to the first object on a pillar, a wing, then the second, a horn. I paid them little attention, my eyes drawn to the third object.

“I see that you have noticed the Changing Orb littleling. It is one of the most powerful ancient artifacts and not one to be trifled with. We believe it is what Celestia seeks.”

“Why?” I asked, my curiosity outweighing the respect I would have treated the spirits with. Besides, if they were changeling spirits, they wouldn’t see the need for excess formality.

“Because,” the first voice, a feminine one, said, “She believes that she can use it to Change her sister back to Princess Luna and not Nightmare Moon. She is wrong in her assumption, but she is so consumed by grief that she does not see logic, just as she fails to see the wisdom in simply asking for it.”

“Volucris and Vicis told me that that is why the Guard is attacking. I need you to take them and the orb and escape Equestria. Hide somewhere they can’t find you. So long as the orb and them are safe, our kind may endure. We may survive this attack, but it is certain that Celestia will attack again if she thinks she has any hope of returning her sister.”

I suddenly felt the great burden of my mission hit me. This wasn’t a regular mission to subvert the government or collect food, this was a mission that was vital to the survival of my entire race. The shock of it all caused me to fall back on my haunches, staring blankly at the three objects in front of me. My entire race, in my hooves. And all because some pony couldn’t cope with the loss of her sister, an event that was entirely her fault. I slammed a hoof against the ground in anger.

“Damn these ponies,” I scowled. “If I ever meet Celestia, I’ll be sure to give her a mark she won’t soon forget.”

I felt my Queen kneel down next to me and lightly drape a wing across my shoulders. “I know that they are cruel creatures. I was once a slave to them before I found the Hive.”

I looked up at Her, eyes wide with curiosity and a little bit of awe. I had assumed that she had always been, just like I assumed the Hive had. “You were enslaved by the ponies?”

“As a zebra, yes. And then I was freed by one and escaped here, to be the ruler of the Hive. Some of them are bad, but there are a few good ones too. Remember that.”

I nodded, taking the knowledge to heart. I knew it would be one of the last things I heard from her. “I will.” I took in a deep breath, then let it out again, regaining my composure. “Now, I believe you have a mission for me?”

“I like this one.”

“Oh hush it Vicis. Lacaxi, you should be able to find a pouch in each of our pillars to place us in. It will protect you from any harm that might come to you from us as well as hide us from all magical detection. Just be sure to not try and levitate the objects at any time; the magical connection will likely fry your brain and everyone around you. Your hoof should do just fine for a short connection though.”

“Understood.” Crouching down, I found a panel in each of the pillars that revealed a folded sack upon opening. There were other objects in there as well, but I let them be. Volucris had a white one, Vicis had one that was black, while the orb had one split down the middle with the two colors on either side. Once I had placed the three of them together, I carefully lifted the drawstrings of the bags in my magic, tying them together and slinging that around my neck. When I was done, my Queen grasped me on the shoulders and turned me to face Her.

“Lacaxi, I never imagined that you would turn out like this the day I first hatched you. You have been one of my most loyal servants and I am truly sad to see you go.” She gave me a kiss on my forehead that left a tingling sensation, not to mention the overall awe that I had been kissed by my Queen. “My only regret is that I must sever you from the Hive.”

I bowed my head, saddened. I had known that this was probably coming, but her saying it made it certain. Severed from the Hive. No connection to my friends, no connection to my Queen. Only relations with those blasted ponies. I may have been on a mission, but it seemed more like exile with a purpose. I closed my eyes as she touched her horn to mine, about to draw out the connection. I felt an unnerving sensation, like a part of me was getting sucked out of my horn and it wasn’t going easily. It passed after a few seconds and I cracked open my eyes. I couldn’t feel the Hive like I always had, didn’t know where my hatchmates were. I couldn’t even sense my Queen who stood right in front of me. A small tear slipped from my eye and hit the ground, sealing my fate. Changelings couldn’t cry as part of the Hive; our emotions were shared equally and there was never enough sadness to make someling shed a tear.

I heard something sliding behind me and broke contact to see one of the walls disappearing into the floor. Beyond it lay two satchels, one for water and another for carrying items. Leaving my Queen where she stood, I walked over and picked the latter up, placing my charge within. When I did so, She looked up and chuckled at the sight.

“I completely forgot I left my bags there. Glad to know they’re still useful.” A drumming sound from outside caught her attention and the frown returned. “Unless I’m mistaken, the Guard is about to stop with the siege and move in their forces. Now is our only time to get you out safely. I’ll protect you, but you must fly as fast as you can.”

I nodded once and the two of us started running up the tunnel. Behind us, the green wall slid up once again, but I paid it no mind. Daylight approached as we neared the exit, the bright afternoon sun blinding me for a moment. We paused at the exit, stopping just short of it. I assumed there was some magic spell over it, as nopony seemed to so much as glance at it. The Guard had started to march towards the Hive, spears at the ready. I still saw changelings flitting about the defenses, one occasionally taken down by the elite archers. But I could no longer feel the pain that each death brought.

“It is worse than I feared. Fly Lacaxi, I will cover your escape.”

I gave one last look at my Queen before launching into the air. I heard a shout go out below, but I was quickly forgotten as they noticed their archenemy charging them, horn alit with pale blue magic. I quickly ascended to a nearby cliff, watching as the soldiers nearest my Queen started to encircle Her and bring out their heavier weapons. As fierce as She was, I knew that She couldn’t slay an entire legion on Her own. She would be brought down at one point. Though I was no longer connected to the Hive, I couldn’t stand the thought of Her dying. I set down on the edge of the closest cliff and turned back to where she was fighting.

“Volucris! Vicis! Please, is there anything you can do to help?”

“There is indeed, littleling. We will not allow her to die so easily. Take us from our bags and point us at your enemies, horn point and wingpoint first.”

I did as they asked, hastily retrieving the objects. Raising them at the guards below, I had no idea what would happen. To my surprise, the objects left my hooves and floated into the air, the wing starting to flap and the horn rotating.

A constant beam of dark green energy shot out from the horn to the ground below, creating a shield around my Queen. I saw her distantly turn towards us, tracing the beam to its source. I felt the air grow chilly around me as the wing increased its flapping, bringing in a swift breeze. Ice started to appear on the ground below as snow flew from clouds that had been brought in by the wind. They settled in a small group over the attacking soldiers, clustering tightly together. The snow quickly turned to hail, raining down on the soldiers. But the wing beat even faster until it was just a blur and I watched as ice seemed to creep along the ground and over the enemies around Silvari, freezing them in a solid block of ice.

I was totally stunned. When I had asked them for help, I had no idea what they could do. Just as the wing slowed, then stopped flapping and fell to where I caught it, the horn started to spin faster and let out a hum that continued to increase in pitch. Looking back down over the cliff to where I knew the action wasn’t over, I saw the shield explode. I could feel the concussive force of the blast from up here, but its biggest effect was to turn the frozen soldiers into tiny shards of ice, scattering them all over the plain. While it wasn’t enough to defeat the entire army, it certainly dealt them a blow and gave my Queen enough time to fly to safety after that. I saw her fly into the Hive through one of the smoking holes that hadn’t been there before and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now I strongly recommend we flee this area quickly before they send pegasi after us. We are not strong enough to fight off any more of those rotten ponies.”

“Right.” I returned them to their pouches and those to the bag around my shoulder. “Where to?”

“I hear the deerlands are very nice this time of year.”

“Let’s go meet some deer then.”