They take their time, the response, likely delayed by the breaching team. I had the greatest of confidence in Tempest’s abilities. I just worried about what might be left. Despite it all I hoped for a chance of peace between our kinds and for Chrysalis herself, though now certain problems had arisen with that aspiration. One of which, that a certain Chrysalis was leading the army here.

I stand with the remaining four of my friends, the absence of kindness a cruel metaphor for the world she had left behind. We needed her now more than ever, and not just for her element. Her guidance had opened our eyes over and over to greater understanding and comprehension.

I stand with the other ponies of my village, Pharynx himself leading a group of changelings that had managed to sneak through the blockade. The marching of hundreds of changeling hooves clattering loudly as they track in unison. They have no need to disguise their presence any longer. The mere sight of them causing several ponies to cower in fear as they show their might.

“Twilight Twilight...we have got to stop meeting each other like this…” Chrysalis purrs from amidst the swarm. Her body infused with love enough that I could sense it from where I stood. She had clearly feasted well and then some.

“I cannot change the terms on which you act, but I can change the way in which we respond. Your tyranny has gone too far and your plans are at an end. This time, it is I asking for your surrender, for both our sakes. I know how you got free, how you have an army that shouldn’t be possible.” It had taken me too long to realize the full reality of what a separate dimension could have in store for us.

“Mother, it is time this is put to an end.” Pharynx states, moving forward ahead of the others. “We don’t have to do this, and despite it all Thorax still loves you as I do. You don’t have to keep fighting like this, our strength is greater together than apart.”

“Ph-pharynx? Y-you joined them too? After all I’ve done for you, for us. You would join ponies over your own kind?” Her impassive demeanor cracking, just a hair at the sight of her captain. “You were always my most loyal, and most dedicated. You knew what we had to go through to survive and you decided to go soft?! Look how weak they have made you! A toy in their games!”

“Oh mother, it is not I who has become the toy in this game. You think I would not recognize the differences between your armies?” He paces in front of the other changelings, eyeing them carefully. “It is you who has gone soft after the beatings you have done to yourself. Failure to stand for that which we know is right is no more soft than the lack of spine to do what needs to be done.” He stands forward, horn glowing with energy. “These lings are no more your children than they are mine.”

“How dare you! These are my lings and my hive! More loyal and true than you traitors have ever been!” Chrysalis retorts, spreading her wings and lighting her horn aggressively.

“You were always violent Chrysalis, but you were never cruel.” I state, searching for a hint of remorse in her eyes.

“I should have been!” She hovers behind her forces before yelling. “Attack!” The army leaping into action at her call, charging down the standing pony force as they start their attack.

My horn flares to life as I activate the runes we had scrawled along the perimeter. I was not my brother, but my barriers were nothing to be laughed at. A few of the other unicorns lend their strength to mine as the changelings collide with my lavender barrier before Pharynx raises up a corked flask and hurls it through the shield at the invading lings.

It shatters in a pink mist, the changelings caught in its blast losing their combativeness within moments, their eyes hazing over with its effect. I smirk at its success, one of many tricks I had learned from my own protege, Starlight. That and the insight from Applejack about visiting the Kirins proved essential in this weapon. Emotion is neither good or bad, it is a tool. Here, with a little magic it is the literal downfall of our enemies.

After the first launch dozens of the orbs are hurled into the invading forces, each one exploding in a plume of smoke as it dissipates into the closest sentient creatures it can find. Our numbers becoming more intimidating by the moment as her forces fall into disarray.

“Not this time!” Chrysalis roars as she fires a blast at the shield. I try to reinforce it, but not only is her magic stronger from her feeding, the chunks of her throne within her armor make our magic start to sputter and die out, tearing through our shield like cotton candy as she steps closer.

“She’s another you, just like the other me. Yet she is not you!” I check my armor, Tempest had been adamant about me having it. Something I had consented to but hoped never to wear. Now it was more than just armor...and yet so many hours of my work was useless within her nullification field. I step forward, bracing myself as she pounces forward.

“She’s what I should have been!” Chrysalis, our Chrysalis howls. A beam from her horn missing me by inches, my own horn flickering out as she steps closer. I parry from side to side, much more adept with my wings than I used to be. My new wingblades clicking as they extend, the plates on my forelegs as uncomfortable as ever but incredibly welcome in this instance as I deflect another blast to the side, scorching a line through the grass.

“You won Chrysalis! Don’t you get it? You have everything you want, but at what cost? When will you have won enough? All the love in the world won’t satisfy that hole in your heart! Love that is stolen is no love at all, it is naught but pity when it is not shared freely!” I catch Chrysalis’s own jabbing hooves, deflecting her bludgeons to the side. “546...545...544…” I count under my breath.

“How dare you lecture me on love! You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed for my children before they ripped my heart out! Now I have a second chance to save them...from you!” I dive to the side, forced to the ground as I tumble across the grass. I parry another beam then another I angle at her leg causing her to scream from the pain before throwing herself forward making us roll down the hill. “Without your magic you’re helpless! How could you possibly win?”

I cough and spit out some dirt. The fall wasn’t that painful, but I certainly wasn’t going to let her think it wasn’t. “Fluttershy protested your sentence you know. Surely you heard her. She tended to the garden of your prison, cleaned your statue, and did everything right. Then look at what your so-called twin did to her!” I edge slowly to the left, moving towards a very subtly marked area.

“I did...I did hear her. What happened to her...I was just so...so angry! I didn’t mean for that to happen! I mean...ARGH! Your cursed pony weakness!” She crawls forward, each hoof slamming into the earth as she stomps forward, closer and closer...right into the trap. The rest of her army dissolving into chaos with our unconventional alchemy.

“Now!” I order. The ground around us erupts as the reformed lings spring from their hiding places and pounce on the queen. Parts of her armor being ripped off piece by piece as I duck out of the way, the other lings having stripped the cursed inhibitors from her.

“You...filthy...TRAITORS!” She roars, scowling at the ring of them around her. Her horn alighting with energy intent to kill. The heat from her horn radiates making the other lings retreat. I grit my teeth as I see her energy charge. The trap is still 20 seconds away… “Even with your magic you don’t have a chance!”

“You’re right...but I measured the odds.” My horn alights with green magic, the purple tinge of dark magic flickers as black crystals encase her horn, inhibiting any more of her magic. Her magic flickers out within an instant as her eyes widen in horror.

“5...4…”

SLAM!

A metal cage drops from above with enough force to embed into the dirt, trapping the queen within. Well, at least our counting was close. “Surrender Chrysalis! It’s over!” She scrambles around the cage frantically looking for an escape, hissing as her hoof burns at the touch of iron. “It is long overdue that we have discussed peace between our kinds.”

“Have I mentioned that I hate being a pony? How do they even do anything with hooves of all things?” The two ponies sit atop the hill, a spotter and a sniper each with their equipment laid out between them.

“Get over it, Semper Fi remember? We have a job to do. Target is in sight, four twenty seven meters, two mph crosswind east, thirty seven percent humidity. Line up and take the shot. The tall purple one.” They adjust the strap on their hoof with their muzzle making sure the hook is properly attached. They peer through their scope eyeing their target, a moment later they take the shot.

A flicker of purple magic flashes, forcing them to close their eyes. Yet when they reopen the purple flicker is still there, and they can just make out the bullet within the glow. More than that they can see the pony’s eye glaring directly at them. Then they disappear in a flash of light, the scope is wrenched away from their grasp, then crumbled like a tin can. A very unhappy purple pony behind it.

“Oh fuck…” Me and my companion say nearly in sync.

“Such dirty words for such a foul act.” The purple pony seethes. Her horn alights with magic again and their world goes dark. “That wasn’t very friendly of you.”

I wince as I crawl away from the portal. The damn fiend was a fighter I had not expected from the peaceful pony race. I’d managed to disrupt it after exiting, but if they entered fast enough I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. I take a step forward, then immediately collapse back onto all fours, my body meshing back into my changeling form. My vision is hazy and my ribs are aching, undoubtedly several are broken. My loyal troops stand at attention, I hurry over to them as they salute. “If anything comes through that portal, kill it.” I command, however unlikely it was my understanding of their magic was unacceptably vague.

I move quickly to my office, that cursed princess would pay dearly for her strike. My magic was certainly primitive, but a simple activation spell on the scrying orb worked well enough. “Report on the captives.” I order.

“Subjects one through six are confined.”

“Subjects seven through twelve are confined.”

“Subjects--”

“I don’t care which are confined! Has there been any breaches?!”

“We have lost contact with a relay point. They went dark after saying they were having human trouble.”

“The captives?”

“Unknown, but there had been a report of captives moving out of their tracking zones. Last report a captain was investigating the error. We have not yet had a report.”

“Then get a report and ready the kill command. They have attacked us. I want subjects 42, 19, and 37 eliminated. I want it to be painful and I want their bodies on my desk!” I growl slamming the desk with enough force that it cracks. “They want to test my resolve, and I shall show them what defiance earns them. You have twenty-four hours, failure will result in your termination. That is all.”

Those ponies had been subdued for years until this incident. Clearly something has broken their resolve. I pull out one of the gems from a drawer, admiring the gold underneath it. Though this earth wasn’t my home it had demands they were willing to kill for. A mindless government that hadn’t even evolved a proper democracy. Their people would surely learn to see reason eventually, worshipping those abusive wannabe gods. They simply needed to be enlightened to true power.

Waking was a slow and painful endeavor. My body seemed to be full of needles that stabbed with every movement. I groan as I roll onto my front and start to stand, then immediately whimper as what seems like a branding iron burns into my back.

“I really am sorry about this.”

I open my eyes and look towards the familiar voice. I’m in what seems like a fairly large cage, completely made of interwoven iron except for the bedding on the bottom. Outside of that is a garage with an older looking car inside. “I-I’m alive?” I ask, almost fearing the answer from my captor. It’s the voice from the graveyard, but instead of being a small bat pony they are human. Mike I think his name was.

“I know there is no way to really say this that you’d trust me, but that… back there...that wasn’t me. What happened in the graveyard...I...I’m not a murderer! I just...something came over me back there.”

“What are you talking about? After...after that other changeling pounced on me I wasn’t really all there. I probably have one hell of a concussion.”

“What do you--Oh...Well...nevermind then. It doesn’t matter.”

“I...I might know what you’re talking about though.”

“What do you mean?”

I take a deep breath, my mind painfully recalling the fragments of what had happened the night before last. “I wasn’t trying to lead you into an ambush, I was just desperate.” I take another breath, wincing at the pain in my chest. “The night before…” My throat tightens at the thought and my eyes start to tear up. “I...I h-hurt m-my best f-friend.” I choke back a sob, his face of terror imprinted on my memory. The look he gave me as I stole the love from his body. “I...I didn’t know what to do, who to turn to. I just...changed into this, I was starving and alone.”

The thought of his terrified face as I lost my human form is etched onto my memory. I thought after getting a bit of whatever he thought was love that I would be fine for a bit longer. Yet...after only moments I could feel it just radiating from him something feral and alien had taken over, something very much not me. The thought of it taking me over again terrified me to a degree bordering on insanity. I had to know if he was okay.

“I just want...I want to know if he’s okay. He was my only friend, I don’t care what you do to me, but if you’re really going to kill me, at least let me die knowing if he survived.” After all my friend had done for me, the guilt weighed like a bowling ball on my chest. He’d been there when my parents had told me to push it away, when I had no one else to talk to, on the days I was sick of how my body made me feel.

“Did you not hear me? No one is going to kill you! What happened back there wasn’t me, and if you were changed like one of us you’re in the same damn spot too!” He replies back, snapping me out of my depressive stance. “You were a human before, so...when are you going to turn back?”

“I don’t ‘turn back’ as you put it. When I first turned into this thing another one of those change-things pulled me off the street after I was attacked by my own bucking mother! He showed me how to change back into a human but I could only manage it for a few minutes.”

He sighs and sits back on a chair, looking out towards the sunrise that we can see peeking through the garage. “We need to get ready for school though. If we just drop out or stop attending the teachers will notice and we’ll have the cops knocking on our door for truancy.” Just looking at him I can tell he isn’t really in the best state to be going anywhere. He looks like he could fall asleep any second.

“Does...that mean you’ll let me out of this cage?” I ask tentatively, being careful not to touch any of the iron mesh. “The cage I get, but did you really have to electrocute it?” I complain, glaring at the nefarious material.

“It’s just a cage...we uh...didn’t really have all that much time to look around but we did try to clean it first. My fath--shit--mentor I mean told me that changelings like you can’t touch low carbon iron. Something about your magic infused into your body makes it react and burn. It...seemed reasonable at the time.”

“Not comforting.” I remark, though it does explain several things around our house. Our door knobs were all brass, our silverware aluminum, all of our keyrings were plastic. The car I reckoned didn’t matter as much because it was covered in paint. “Though it explains a bit. Good to know at least, but that’s going to be a huge pain.”

“So you can’t touch iron and can only be human for a few minutes.” He states, reiterating everything in a way that makes me roll my eyes.

“What about you? I remember your voice from last night, but you definitely aren’t a bat anymore.”

He looks at me, then towards the door to the house. Following his vision I also note that there is some iron fencing cut into the shape of what I could only determine to be a net along with an odd shaped blade by his hand that I had seen him wearing last night. “I change into a bat when the moon comes up, and a whole bunch of spirit stuff. Back in the graveyard there were too many and I got possessed.” He spits it out as if every word was a bite of a lemon. “Something my mentor never told me.” He growls. “He said you were just trying to trick us, that this whole thing is a ploy to find and kill all of us.” Mike says as he sits in front of my cage.

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re possessed in your own way. I want to trust you, and the best way is for us to understand each other. No matter what form you take, I will know where you are. You feel that sensation coming, you tell and feed from me directly. Abuse it, and I will snap you out of it. We can get through this, together. Yet, you hurt my friends or touch my family… I will end you.” He jabs a finger forward with each word. Then steps forward and undoes the latch. “Come on, we’re going to school.”

My sleep is fitful, my leg throbbing with my every pulse. I’d emerged from the ground several hours ago, every inch of me covered in dirt and muck. The drone behind me either didn’t know English, or didn’t care about my pain. Knowing the lings, it was likely the latter. They weren’t big on a lot of things.

From my environment it seemed I was in the basement of what might have been an office building, if it had been abandoned and infested with oversized bees and left to rot. The architecture at first glance was strictly functional. Yet, looking closer it had several clever touches, each of the changelings had changed just a little to give it that personal feel. This room had several smaller cocoons carrying various fluids, what was most telling was the model behind her. There were several anatomical models, two large curled up next to five smaller ones. Perhaps an indication of their family unit? Certainly odd as only the queens are able to birth young…

“Martin, report.”

I quite nearly jump out of my skin, not having heard her enter. She certainly had a way of sneaking up on people. Yet...her voice was something you could never forget. I quickly stand at attention, holding the bag of stolen artifacts to my side.

“Infiltration was successful, we managed to retrieve several of the artifacts. I was exfiltrated by one of your changelings and arrived here.”

She snatches it from my grip, and I know better than to stop her. “Yet, both of my soldiers I sent with you are MIA and the Pentagon is on high alert. Two of the very things we didn’t want! You promised your loyalty, now it's time to deliver.”

“What else do you need my queen? I’ve done all you’ve asked.”

“And yet, you neglected to tell me that you were exiled from the Keepers!”

“But I can still get in! It doesn’t matter!”

“It does matter. Do you know who is in charge now? DO YOU?!” The rage on her face makes me nearly piss myself, knowing what she is capable of. I yelp as I stagger backward putting pressure on my bad leg.

“It doesn’t matter, lucky for you I have a backup plan. The question is, what use do I still have for you?”

“You still need a way in, not to mention your casting is...in great need of improvement. You have no formal magical training besides the trinkets of your double.” I say it slowly and carefully, not wanting to anger the temperamental shapeshifter.

“Lucky for you. Now tell me more about their new leader, you know, the one that banished you.”

“She came out of nowhere, just some nobody off the street that we pulled because she showed some magic potential. Yet, she challenged our current leader. Wanting a chance to show his strength. He lost. The moment he cast a spell she pulled the magic right out of him, right along with all his loyalists.”

“Including you…how pathetic.”

“Her strength was unnatural, something our organization hadn’t seen in centuries. We had always relied on sacrifices to replenish our magic, but she could pull it right out of people. She had an artifact with her, it allowed her to cast complex spells faster than we could react.”

“Then it's a good thing you got these for me.” She brushes over the briefcase. Opening it open with a click as she looks at its contents. “Garbage...weak…”

“You don’t even know magic! These are priceless artifacts!” I protest thinking of all the work we had gone through to get it. She probably doesn’t have a clue what they really do. “At least let your duplicate lo--”

“NO! Never! She is never to see these things ever, you breathe a word and I’ll show you an eternity of suffering!” She roars, ramming her hoof into the desk so hard it splits down the middle before she knocks it aside. “Get out! Before I kill you where you stand!”

Not questioning her resolve I leave in quite a hurry very much valuing my head. If I could just get some of her magic I’d be welcomed back into the group with open arms. With the knowledge I’d bring we could finally fix this problem before it became a global catastrophe.

I’d spent the past evening with the buds, we’d had a good game earlier in the day. We had lost, but it had been a good fight regardless. Enough plays to be proud of. Walking home like this was quite relaxing, the evening air and the slight wind doing wonders to help dissipate the sweaty smell from my gym bag. The moon was fairly full out, giving me a good view of the road ahead. I’d called my parents ahead and told them I was heading home, so they wouldn’t worry. What worried me though was how Mike had grown so distant lately. He’d blown off several of our meetings, hadn’t come to the game, nor was he really answering his texts. Not to mention how he always looked so tired whenever I saw him. I sent him another text asking how he was doing, even though it was a little late. I worried about the kid after all.

“Could you help me cross the road?” I hear an older lady groan. I stop quickly, I hadn’t even noticed that she was there. “It’s quite dark, and my walker is a bit shaky.” I smile, my parents having taught me well.

“Of course! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” I offer my arm out to her as she clings to it. “Let me help you across.” She leans heavily against me as I help her to the other side of the road. Occasionally she trips a little, but I was hardly a marshmallow and held her fast. After we arrived I helped straighten her walker and made sure she was walking well. It was a little odd that she was out so late, I thought the center would be closed by now.

“Such a nice boy, you have no idea how many times I’ve had her cross the road today.”

I spin around quickly, but see nothing there. The whole street is clear except for the old lady making her way down the street. “I’m sorry, miss? Did you say something?” The old lady doesn’t even acknowledge my presence and keeps walking. I’m getting a little paranoid myself. “Hello? Is someone there?”

“Do you have a lot of friends at school?” The hissing voice comes again, once again, from nowhere.

“Yeah, so what does it matter?” I reply, taking steps further down the road. I may be a football player and a bit bigger than your average thug, but I still knew trouble when I heard it.

I feel a stabbing in my neck and yell, throwing a punch at whatever had just touched my neck, feeling it connect with something solid with a satisfying ‘WHAP!’ Something smacks into the pavement as I stagger away holding a hand to the wound, thankfully finding a lack of blood. I take off running down the road, but just a few steps in the world rotates and swirls off its axis and I hit the ground fairly painfully.

“A fight in you, I knew you were better than the others. Just my lucky catch for today.” I hear the hissing voice purr and get closer, a clopping sound making its way closer as I fumble for my phone. I need to call the authorities!

“What dijou doov teh mmph!” I try to yell, stalling for time as I fumble with my phone. My tongue seeming to grow numb in my mouth. What the hell did they hit me with?! I feel my head turned to the side and up as I get a look at my assailant. The appearance is so unfamiliar it takes me a second to process. It’s about the size of a large dog and covered in chitin like a beetle with two big glowing blue eyes.

“Nothing permanent.” The voice says in a perfect imitation of my own. “Just relax and make this easy for the both of us.”

Her eyes staring into my own make my head feel fuzzy, as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen to breathe. Then the most disturbing sensation I’ve ever felt starts to probe itself into my mind as if someone had just shoved an icicle into my brain. My scream is muffled only by the chitinous appendage shoved into my mouth which I immediately try to bite down on to be rewarded with something incoherent which I’m pretty sure was a curse of some sort.

“Buck! You humans are stubborn.” They growl. My limbs start to feel all tingly, as I feel the jab ramming into my head over and over as I start to see black spots in my vision. I see...some kid I had seen before at school. I think he had been hanging out with Mike, but I couldn’t be sure. I see myself staggering after them, feeling my pockets for something I was quite certain wouldn’t be allowed at school. I know where this vision is going and I don’t like it!

“Fight it all you want, it's in there now! Nothing you can do to stop it!”

The world starts to blur in front of me. I was walking home after a party, I helped an old lady cross the street...No...I was walking home after the party, I didn’t need a ride so I started...what exactly? I’m stirred out of my trance by another flash of green light, those glowing blue orbs. I feel a strong need to have my ears pop, the throbbing headache just makes everything miserable as I feel those glowing eyes bore deeper and deeper into my very soul.

Then it's gone.

Looking around I’m back home, no trace of a headache. The vision fading from my head like the last vestiges of a dream. I’m in my room with the computer running some video or other that I don’t remember watching. Feeling a bit disoriented I head downstairs, the last thing I remember was heading to a party...then nothing.

“Dad?” I call. He’s a bit heavier set than myself and an inch or two taller but has the form one might expect from an athlete.

“What’s up son? You changed your mind about having us take you to the hospital after that concussion?” He asks, staring into my eyes with a bit of worry. “I told you these things can be pretty serious, don’t let your pride get in the way.”

“A...concussion?” I ask, my memories scouring for any hint of the memory and coming up blank. “Uh yeah...just a bit dizzy.” I mean, that made sense. Memory loss around the event of a concussion is nothing unnatural right?

“Yeah, you told me when you stumbled home, something about a cracked sidewalk and helping an old lady cross the street. It’s a little bruised but I didn’t feel any fracture. Tell you what, let’s have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon then. Just to make sure everything’s alright. That sound okay?” He asks concernedly while starting with the dishes.

“Sure dad, I think that’d be best.” I head upstairs, struggling to even recall pieces of the event. Instead I just take a quick shower and brush my teeth. As I rinse a flash of green dances across my vision, reflected from the mirror. After a moment of inspection I shrug and head off to bed. I just need some sleep, my bruise hardly even hurts from what I’d expect from a head injury. Still nervous about the doctor’s appointment tomorrow though.

She watched the target recover without a hitch, no break or lapses as they went back to their residence. She takes a small orb from her pocket, a bit cracked from earlier skirmishes.

“It is done, the target will be eliminated within twenty four hours.”

The response is jagged and distorted. The New Queen lacked much of the others skill in magic and scrying, of course, one could never mention such matters to her face.

“Good, I want confirmation of elimination immediately and the body mobilized to the portal.”

“It shall be done.” I confirm, cutting the communication after she does so. Down below my target begins their daily slumber, a little present etched in their memory. A deadly payload, utterly untraceable and straighter than an arrow.

Author's Notes:

Mike: With the pony side of your life and this whole culture you've inherited taking so much place now, do you feel that some sort of divide could eventually form between you and the members of your family who aren't your father?

My older brother is a bit distant, and with how off my sleep schedule has been I've hardly been able to see him anymore. My dad said he'd speak with my mom about it, but it seems like he just keeps putting it off. My little brother certainly seems excited about things, yet I worry he might not be very good at keeping things secret. I hope we can tell the rest of the family soon, this isn't good for any of us.

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Inspired by the wonderful Damaged I've started doing a few "Ask X a questions." To help answer some reader questions from the perspective of the main characters. Feel free to ask any character a question for a chance at having it answered in the next.

Thank you as always for reading and supporting this little story of mine. Another thanks to Alsey for a pre-read. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (Aremna #7250) for a chat.

Comments, as always, are appreciated!