Maul, Grift, and I arrive at the throne room to wait for Skitter and Fractal. Unfortunately, Echo was already asleep for the night, and I didn't want to bother her considering that she was "on the job", as it were.
Taking their seats at one of the conference tables, Maul began talking to Grift about the schedule he's come up with for them for patrolling the hive's remaining exit tunnels.
Ignoring them for the moment, I walk up to the base of the throne feeling slightly conflicted. I know I'm queen now, so it's where I'm supposed to sit, but even so, it feels wrong. I've already decided to commit myself to being everything that Chrysalis wasn't for the hive, and a simple chair won't change that; in the end, though, it's still a painful reminder of the past, and, as shown by Grift's first reaction to me, some wounds haven't healed.
Glaring at the throne as if it contained the ghost of Chrysalis itself, I back away and turn around, grabbing a free chair and sitting down across from the other two changelings.
Grift looks over in surprise, saying, "My Queen, you're sitting here?," then quickly stuttering out, "N-not that I'm saying—"
I cut him off by raising a hoof and saying, "There are some things that I've decided to do differently as queen compared to previous regents; in this case, it's not treating everyon–everyling below me like dirt. I don't want to be feared like that, and the throne radiates those intentions."
I give it a side glance of indignation, "In fact, I wish I could get rid of it."
They both went silent at this, Maul giving me an unreadable look and Grift staring at me in awe.
Finally, Maul says, "I'm fairly certain you can, I know Chrysalis had added and removed rooms before."
"Really? I guess it would make sense if I could, this is in my head, after all," I say, looking back at it. I briefly try some mental experiments, willing it to vanish, but nothing happens.
Begone, chair!, I think at it with a command.
...No dice.
Maybe I'm thinking about it in the wrong way, similar to when I was having trouble with learning to transform.
Closing my eyes, I instead mentally "felt" the area around me. Slowly, enough at first that I thought I might have been just imagining it, a layout began to form in my mind. Focusing on the throne room, I feel for the throne itself, and, once it seems like I have it, remove it from the mind-map.
Hearing Grift softly gasp from behind me, I open my eyes back up and see that it had actually worked; the throne has disappeared and the space it covered is now just a flat floor.
"Oh yeah," I say to myself, grinning, "I'm going to enjoy messing with this." Base-builder game mechanics always were my favorite parts of the games that allowed such customization.
Already thinking furiously of the possibilities, I manage to hold myself back from doing anything drastic and instead just create a round wooden table surrounded by soft cushions where the throne used to be. When there's more time and less important things to worry about, I am so making some thorough changes to this place.
"Come on, let's meet over here instead," I say, motioning for them to follow, "It sure beats sitting on those hard rocks, anyway."
Maul made to move right away, but Grift just sits there in stunned silence until Maul nudges him out of his stupor.
Having just taken a seat at the new table myself, I couldn't help but giggle at Grift's antics as he cautiously eyes the new cushions like they were going to fly away if startled. When he finally sits down, though, a sigh of relief escapes his lips and a look of absolute contentment washes across his features.
Good timing too, for as soon as we all settle down at the new table, Skitter and Fractal materialize nearby, the former appearing deep in thought.
"Where's the throne?" Fractal asks, looking around the room in confusion, "Is it gone?"
The question brings Skitter out of her musing, "Hmm? Oh, you're right, it's not here," then upon noticing us at the new table, "Good evening, My Queen, doing a little redecorating?"
"You could say that," I say, "and there's more to come in the future."
While Skitter walks over to an empty cushion, Fractal quickly bounds over to me and bows, "Hello, My Queen! My name is Fractal." Looking back up, she smiles.
Matching her smile with my own, I say, "Hey, Fractal, it's nice to finally meet you. Maul tells me that you're studying the wards in the outer tunnels; is that going well?"
Her face scrunches up in a pout, "I'm making some progress, but it's slow work," then with a look of determination, "I know that I'll be able to crack it eventually though. It's supposed to be one of the easier enchantments I was meant to learn, anyway."
"That's good, I'd like to talk to you about that at some point in the next couple of days, but for now, we have other things to discuss as a hive. Feel free to take whatever seat."
"Um..." she hesitates, "I was wondering..."
"What's that?" I ask, giving her a curious look.
"Can I hug you?", she finishes, gazing up at me adorably.
Letting out a small laugh, I reply, "Well, I can't say no to a face like that; sure, why not?" I hold out a forehoof and motion for her, and, with a happy squeak, she jumps into my hug.
Glancing slightly at the others, I see Maul sitting there as his usual stoic self with no reaction; though, I'm pretty sure I can see the beginning of a small smile tugging at his lips. Grift, well... I think he's checked out for the night if that dumbfounded stare is anything to go by.
Skitter, however, is trying to be incredibly interested in the wall over there, but the embarrassed blush covering most of her face betrays her true thoughts. Yeah, I think I know where this all started.
"Skitter was totally right," Fractal said quietly, "this feels amazing."
Called it.
She stayed there for a few more moments until finally disengaging with a grin and a "Thank you!", followed by flying over the table and sitting next to Skitter.
Clearing my throat, I start, "Now, Echo has currently turned in for the night, and I didn't want to bother her while she's out of the hive. I would have waited until tomorrow, but I'm going to be busy all day then; and really, this should be cleared up as soon as possible. One of you can get her up to speed later.
"So, Skitter, you were researching in the archives about the hive-mind and why it currently has a much larger range than normal?"
Nodding in confirmation, she says, "Yes, I've never had any reason to research it before now, so I was hoping there might be an easy answer for it, but..." she frowns, continuing, "it's been exceedingly difficult to find any relevant information about it in the archives."
"Well, sorry about this, but I'm about to make it even harder for you," I say, then clarifying before she can respond, "I'm not on your world."
"What?" she asks with wide-eyed confusion, "You're not on Equis?"
"That must be the name of your planet? Then, yes, I'm on a planet called Earth, and the only sapient species here is humanity." I say, then smirk, "Although, I guess that's not entirely true now because of me.
"And before you ask, yes, I'm completely sure. We have mapped out every landmass and have even been to space to confirm that; there's no continent of ponies here."
"But how is that possible?," she asks with a slightly distressed look, "I couldn't have gone that far in the dream realm before I found you."
"We have an alien queen," Fractal says to herself quietly with a grin, "that's awesome."
Maul looks over to Skitter and says, "Maybe the dream realm doesn't treat distance the same way we thought it does."
"Maybe, and for all we know, the distance might not even be a valid factor," she starts massaging her head with her hooves, "we know next to nothing about the dream realm, really; the scroll only told us how to get there to use the transference spell-stones."
Grift raises a hoof and asks, "So what does this all mean?"
"I already had a theory," I reply, "that rather than just being on different planets, we are in two different universes that happen to be parallel and share the same dream space. Building on that, though, if in the case that distance is a factor in the dream realm, maybe the distance between our universes is just very short."
Skitter looks up at me with a thoughtful expression, "I suppose, the theory seems sound," then sighs with a frown, "but every theory that we could come up with is just conjecture right now, at least until we can learn more, and I have the feeling that our small archive isn't going to hold the answer.
"In the end, what this means," she says, looking over to Grift, "is that our hive isn't going to have the physical presence of a queen for the foreseeable future."
The group mulls over that information for a bit before Fractal adds, "Well, at least we have a queen and a hive-mind now, right? It's more than what we could've said a week ago."
"That's true, and we should be thankful and not take that for granted," Skitter concedes, "But, regardless..."
Turning to me, she asks, "My Queen, with your permission, I'd like to go on a research trip to the pony city of Manehattan."
"What's in Manehatten?" I ask. Odd, that sounds suspiciously similar to Manhattan...
"It holds Equestria's second-largest library; if I want to find any answers, right now it's the best possible place to do so," she explains, "Of course, the absolute largest is in Canterlot, but I won't be going there for obvious reasons."
"Right," I say in agreement, "I have no problem with that, and it definitely sounds like a good idea. When you actually get there and start the research, I'd also like you to report your findings every night."
"Thank you, My Queen. I'll head out tomorrow after I go through the archives one last time in case I missed anything."
"Don't forget," Maul interjects, "You might have to travel above-ground on your way back, depending on how the wards are coming along."
She thinks for a moment, then says, "I won't be bringing back anything more than my notes, so that shouldn't be a big issue."
A contemplative silence follows, as no one else had anything more to say on the matter, giving me some time to start sorting my thoughts out—
"So, are we going to have a second hive on your world, then?" Fractal suddenly asks me, tilting her head.
"Uh...what?" I manage to stumble out, caught off-guard by her question.
"If you aren't going to be here any time soon, that means all the new changelings will be born over there, and they've got to have a hive to grow up in." Fractal finishes, oblivious to my growing discomfort.
"New changelings... probably wouldn't be a good idea at the moment," I nervously chuckle, guessing at what she's getting at, "I mean, I'm in the middle of a big city, there's not really any safe places to plop down a hive, heh.
"And," I hastily continue, a thought occurring to me, "I'm the only changeling here, so it's not like it's really possible to have any new changelings." That seems like a good enough excuse—
"Oh, changelings don't reproduce through insemination," Skitter brings up, "instead, similar to many insect species, the queen lays all the eggs to populate the hive."
"I see, how... convenient," I say with a barely contained grimace.
"Though technically," she adds, "drones can lay eggs too, but we're not really built for that; doing so more than once is very damaging to the body."
"Ouch," I wince, "I can see why you'd need a queen, then."
"Among other reasons..." she nods, then continues, "We will need to sort out the secondary-hive issue sooner rather than later because, for you, laying eggs isn't completely voluntary. As a queen, the natural processes of your body will notice the absence of drones and will work to fix that."
"Seriously?" I whine, putting my head in my hooves, "Can I at least delay it somehow?"
"I'm pretty sure that abstaining from consuming emotions will make the body prioritize energy preservation, but," she holds up her hole-riddled leg, "having your fire literally eat your limbs to sustain it is not a pleasurable experience; I wouldn't recommend it."
"Damn..." I mutter as I look down at my own smooth legs and imagine them also covered in holes, "So what's the limit; how many eggs do I have to lay before it's no longer automatic?"
"I don't know," she slowly says, thinking, "Chrysalis was always on a schedule of four to five eggs every other week, but I think that was intentional for increasing the size of the invasion force."
Maul growls under his breath, "And that's where most of the energy reserves always went."
"So what am I supposed to do? I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment that's in a highly-populated area while currently holding a nine-to-five job—I assume they'll need constant attention just like any other children, and it's literally just me here alone, can't hire a nanny—I'd have to beg my boss to let me work from home permanently, something that he's never really liked to allow outside of emergencies, or I'd have to quit. Sure, I have a decent amount in savings, but that's not going to last long with how much the average rent is in this area, so inevitably I'd have to move anyway—Holy Shit, the process of moving out is already a nightmare within itself, now I have to throw in the impossible task of smuggling out a bunch of young changelings without anyone noticing. Then my family is going to wonder why I uprooted my life, ended my career, and disappeared while giving no warning—"
My frantic rant was suddenly cut off as I felt Fractal gently hug me from the side; I must have not noticed her move when I was distracted by the impending doom of being a parent. I sigh, slowly coming back from the madness I had been waging upon myself and leaning into her hug, returning it.
"You're not alone," she quietly says, "not anymore."
Holding back tears, I reply, "Thank you."
We sit there like that for a while, until I remember that everyling is still here. Turning to them with an embarrassed look, I'm met with a mixture of concern and sadness.
Clearing my throat, I say, "Sorry—I think I'll just hold off on that for as long as I can, at least until I start getting... holes; It's probably for the best, anyway."
Skitter replies with a small smile, "Very well; and don't worry, we will figure this out together, no matter what. Perhaps I'll even get lucky and find everything we need in a couple of days of research."
I let out a sharp laugh, "Yeah, maybe, that would be nice," then, looking around to each of them, continue, "Anyway, let's call it a night here. I know I just slept the day away in a pod, but I need to make sure I don't mess up my sleep schedule for work."
"Very well, My Queen, and goodnight," Maul says with a small bow, "As always, we'll be here if you have need of us."
"Uh, same..." Grift says, mirroring him. They both get up and then disappear from the hive-mind.
"Me too," Skitter says with a chuckle, "I've got a long day of travel tomorrow, so I'll only be able to talk outside of the hive-mind then."
"Alright," I nod to her, "Sleep well, Skitter."
Thank you, My Queen; you as well," she says, then disappears.
It was then I realize that I was still holding on to Fractal like a teddy bear, and I mutter out, "S-so, um, I suppose I ought to get to bed, and I'm sure you need to also."
Fractal lets out a hum of agreement, but even so, neither of us moves. She then looks up and asks, "Would you like to have me for company tonight?"
My first reaction is to just say no thanks, but after I consider it more, I feel like sharing the night with someone would do me some good. It's something I never get to do, really.
"Actually, I think I'd like that; and, here..." I finally let her go and face toward a wall. Activating my editing-sense, I add a small den in the throne room that dips down a little with a half of it forming a bubble into the wall itself.
As we walk over to it, I say, "This is now the hive's cuddle lounge; its purpose, I think, is self-explanatory."
Giggling, she says, "I'm sure it'll be a popular place to hang out if those beds are as soft as they look." Jumping onto one of the giant cushions, she sighs in contentment.
I make my way down and lay next to her, slightly proud of how nice I managed to make the area feel. She rolls over into my embrace and, for the den's namesake, cuddles in the pleasant silence. A pang of longing hits me as I recognize how much I've always wanted this; to just merely bask in the presence of someone you care for and who cares for you in turn. It's a little jarring to acknowledge that I've only known them all for such a short period of time, but, despite that fact, the comfort I feel when I'm with them makes it all worth it, I think.
What an odd thing it is that my reality has become.
Hug the bug
so mothra needs
magic lessons
flying lessons
learn how to get emotions
potentialy prepair an area for a portal
and cuddle all her hive
Ooh, this is so nice. Man how do you do it, to make the love bugs so lovable. Well played.
Private Cuddles, of the Hugglebug division, reporting for duty!
10818016
quick change your name!
Love this chapter
yep that's gonna be very interesting when they figure out how to build a mirror portal if they can.
Damn. That rant really drove home the situation he's in. Here's hoping he doesn't have to draw the mental breakdown card too often.
You'd want to change sentian in this chapter to sapient. We are sapient, the rest of the animals are sentient.
10818156
Thanks, I always get those mixed up.
A cuddle lounge sounds adorable
I'd say reproduction without any kind of insemination's horrible for the long-term survival of the species, but then magic. Also there's likely the possibility of using extraneous genetic material for that for improved drones or other specialized breeds, not gonna be relevant soon though - or ever.
That... wouldn't exactly lead to a large invasion force. I assume changelings die sometimes, so with a birth rate of 104 to 126 a year... not going to lead to much. Maybe increase the rate and just have the eggs start very small?
Question: If they are in the Dream Realm, isn't there GOOD odds Luna is watching them Quietly? and could possibly send them some information anonymously?
10818120
and this reminded me that mirror portals are a thing in MLP, which kind of makes Viric an even more fitting name for the hive, since Viric is most easily found in Parabola, the realm of dreams, which the only way to access and maintain your awareness is by passing through a mirror.
10818172
sentient is for senses, think of it like this, 'Sentience is for Scent and sight',
Alright, you've hooked me. Hoping the transition to equestria happens relatively quickly, though. Not the biggest fan of fanfics with a strong emphasis of life on earth.
Either way, looking forward to the next update.
Yep definitely good, going to be following this story. I can't wait to see how all these problems play out.
10818345
Well, according to the show, how many changelings were required to invade the weddings? If Chrysalis prepared for a few years, 300 or more individuals sounds right according to the magnitude of the invasion in the show.
10818467
10818345
It's definitely on the lower end of possible clutch sizes, but the numbers Skitter is referring to here are of only the past few years; at this point, Chrysalis had been basically scraping the bottom of the barrel for emotional energy.
Lucky for her, then, that Equestria had known hundreds of years of peace resulting in a highly diminished guard presence for Canterlot (Even with Shining Armour) and a weak military relegated to the borders.
10818350
The hive-mind is not in the dream realm.
I think that Mothra will find that a little deception can go a LONG way. Once she gets past the hurdle of societal convention (live in a 'normal' home, eat food, have job) a LOT of possibilities will open up.
It's mostly a logistics problem. First, begin the move-out process on her apartment. Second, as soon as she's got enough money to cover the last of her rent and have a bit left over, quit the job. She'll need the free time. Search for some public access, but secluded, land to start her initial hive and then set up camp. Food isn't an issue, so there's the single biggest worry taken care of. Drive into town as needed to hang out at clubs/bars and feed. Once the first of her brood are old enough, use one to pose as her old self and restart 'his' life (job/apartment/etc.) to have a convenient, already established link to human society that won't arouse suspicion (this is why she needs to properly close the lease) as well as a small source of disposable income.
The big question mark in all this is how long it will be between moving out and 'him' showing back up again. Until that point, her only spending money for things like gas (go feed) and phone service ("no, Mom, I'm not dead") will be what was saved up before moving out or gained from selling unneeded possessions (can't take your desk camping).
After these initial steps, if a move to Equestria is still unlikely, begin the process of establishing a proper hive. Also start establishing identities for drones to use as a single job holder will quickly not produce enough to support the miscellaneous needs of blending into society (clothes wear out, vehicles need gas, phones need service, etc.).
Final establishment of a hive on Earth would be the inclusion of 'modern amenities' such as electricity and internet service but those have their own logistical issues (why does this farmhouse use a factory's worth of electricity and water?).
well, Equis already has one mirror portal to an alternate world, what's one more right? this one should even be easier to find since there is an active link to it
10818679
The knowhow of how to make those mirror portals is limited to only a very few though. Of the last two who have personal experience with them, one is currently in limbo and the other is at the top the list of ponies changelings want to avoid right now, given how her last encounter with a changeling queen ended.
10818350
i kinda want luna to find them and have the mc pull a praise the moon (while doing the praise the sun \[T]/ emote) or find some way to tie her down with a candy rope of some kind long enough for her to lisen to them talk about how there new queen is not even on there world
I think they are looking at the problem incorrectly. Considering that they are a hive of 5 and Mothra is going to have more than 5 pretty quickly, and especially considering the dangers of Equestria and their relationship with Equestria, it would probably be a lot better for the changelings to relocate to Earth.
The advantages would be huge -- nobody on Earth knows of changelings at all, nor is magic well-known. They could probably get emotions very easily here. I mean just go into a bar as a hottie and you'll have a lot of attention, and probably get a lot of gifts as well. The one changeling even knows basic teleportation. Just having the hive mind would be a huge advantage. They could be running the city within a year.
Also as silly as it sounds, it would probably be easier magically for a Queen to summon 5 drones to Earth than it would be for the drones to summon a Queen to Equestria.
Pretty cruel of Chrysalis to not let the changelings have comfortable seats, especially since all she'd have to do is think up some.
It's all sunshine and daises with Fractal, isn't it?
You know...the whole alternate universe thing is typically the default assumption for instances like this in stories to the point that it definitely wouldn't surprise me...but I feel I should point out that he doesn't have any actual evidence (yet) of that actually being the case--they could be part of the same universe, or it could be some other explanation altogether that is neither.
In any case, definitely something that's going to need a lot more investigation if they're going to ever resolve the problem.
Though I'd love to see how he'd phrase the job listing for that.
10818345
I think you're not thinking long term enough here--it may not be a speedy rate, but Chrysalis was undoubtedly doing this practice for many years, and it'd eventually add up over that time. Might be one of the factors for why the Canterlot invasion took place when it did: the invasion force had gotten big enough to justify it, or at least in Chrysalis's mind it was.
As for why she'd pace it out at that rate--I mean, I'm sure it's not easy laying eggs, so even she would probably not want to overdo it. Besides, less risk of producing more 'lings than the hive in its current state can help support at a time that way.
One other benefit of summoning the 5 to Earth -- it need not be all at once. They could be summoned one at a time, along with any magical loot they could beg borrow or steal, once they have the process down pat.
Gona need to make that portal. I think Changeling Hive wouldn’t do very well on Earth, especially in a large city. Humans monitor too much for it to be feasible. And if it gets found out… oh boy that would not end well. Best chance would be somewhere remote with undeveloped third world villages nearby, and forest to hide in. Places that can’t really muscle up defences or a counter and is off the grid as much as possible.
Changelings on earth going to have like some kind of easy mode.
10818315
Ow. Nope-nope-nope. Thanks for warning.
i want to hug Fractal
10819318
Heh if you, as an emotion sensing shapeshifter, actually get caught, identified somehow, and can't get out of it to the point where you actually get convicted or deported, you aren't doing your job well at all.
Beyond that, even if they were somehow beyond all reason able to figure things out and confront the hive itself, you can always play the alien card. We were just studying you. Show telekinesis, and/or some other simple magic. While that wouldn't be guaranteed to go well, I don't think we would be attacking literal aliens who were here to study humanity. Oh, we don't travel with rockets -- we just open a gateway to where we are going. A potential war with shapeshifters, who could pop in an army or say a nuke ANYWHERE, would be the kind of thing we wouldn't risk getting into.
10819354
i wanna hug all the cuddle bugs!
As a shape-shifter and powerful empath, Bug Human can gain TONS of valuable blackmail and espionage material! And then just show up disguised as someone you hate to make the sale! Then all the revenge will be aimed at your enemies! AND NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW IT'S YOU!!
And you can impersonate the hyper-wealthy with ease! All those WEF A-holes won't even know what's happening as their plans implode one after the other! Being able to sit in corporate boardrooms as they cackle about their evil schemes to manipulate stonks and the economy means being WAYYYY ahead on everything market-wise! You'd be the richest person on the planet in DAYS!! And, to keep suspicion away from yourself, you'd disguise yourself as some sneaky-looking spy stereotype and drop off written notes with the stock secrets to a bunch of people, to make it look like there's some sort of 'Robin Hood' insider going around.
Yes, shape-shifting powers will make me unstoppable! Such power, combined with my geniusness, will have the elite across the globe falling before me in confusion and paranoia! I SHALL EASILY DESTROY THEM ALL!!
And then... in 2032 I shall, dare I say it? .... RULE THE WORLD!!!!
(Look what ya dun! Ya got Alondro's delusions of grandeur all worked up a'gin!)
Wholesome cuddles with changelings is just what i need after reading misery inducing fanfics
I hope they find some way to bring him/her? Over at least eventually but even if they don’t him staying on earth and being queen could be interesting too
I know this sounds odd but maybe a park and dig a hive? I mean they have caves for homes so why not try it?
10821773
i hope they make a portal and it becomes that mothra has her main hive on earth allowing for her to acess and use human knolage and tec to help her hives growth and also have the portal to a equestian based hive to acess magic resorces as to allow the hive to grow and learn things that neither side has acess to. this way equestia and earth cant attack sucessfully
Love it
10824666
I'm almost imagining a Gravity Falls scenario where underneath a shack there's a cave with a giant unstable portal that they can use to periodically go back and forth between Equis and Earth. XD
I've been gone a couple weeks and when I come back there're 2 new chapters! Whoohoo!
It's interesting that Mothra is able self-replicating the changelings, never knew that was a thing bugs could do too, learned a new thing today. This brings up the question though to what extent will she have to lay eggs? The changelings said that when Chrysalis did it that it took a couple week to make a batch of less than half a dozen, but the hive was starving during that point and in contrast Mothra is in an environment with an enormous surplus of love/food. Would this cause a change in time, egg number, or possibly unit strength that comes forth? (i.e. stronger/larger changelings, possibly an 'earthling' variant/subspecies)
This also makes me wonder what type of changelings she would create, or if she could even determine which ones are created? Due to the body not recognizing any nearby changelings, would it just create workers by default? Or would it immediately start pumping out warriors as a form of self defense since even with the workers the queen would be unguarded... I'm also curious if there're other Changeling variants that might come into the picture, I've read a story that had changelings that had a massive changeling the size of a bulldozer which specialized in excavation and tunnel digging for hive expansion (as well as being a living battering ram I think...).
Also, a side note, it's pretty interesting how despite being a universe over (or possibly even several universes appart ) how Mothra is able to still efficiently share energy with her hive. I feel like this would be another fact that Skitter might 'blue-sceen' upon realizing. This might also lead to the answer on how the separate changelings will meet up with one-another. (I almost think that when she wakes up that Fractal is somehow going to still be in her arms and they're going to start freaking out. XD)
Anyway, good story and thank you for the update! I can't wait to see what the next one has in store for us.
10818506
I feel like there's also the fact that if Chrysalis did birth changelings non-stop for a few years (resulting in an extra 126 - 300 so changelings or something) and ignoring how long it takes a Changeling grub to reach maturity (I feel that it would take several years but since this is fiction and they're bugs for all I know it could take as little as a month...) I feel like that Changeling have been around for decades already so the hive could be well close to 1,000 strong by the time the invasion of Canterlot took place, though I doubt the extremely young & elderly took part.
This is all theory crafting in the end though so I'm curious what the actual result ends up being. I'm also hoping that at some point we run into Chrysalis/another Changeling Queen and their hive to see how they go about their lives and/or current situation.
10825105
pretty sure any human that has enough interest in portals in fiction would definetly make sure the portal is properly reserched and tested before alot of use. but if she is able to make a basic one first then she could begin selling equestrien gold and other resorces in order to buy land and resorces to sell in equestria and vice versa. basicly make basic portal to gain acess and profit to eventualy make earth hive and better portal
10825716
Yes, having a permanent portal would be the best option, BUT I have done a lot of thought into what happens if you start to sell equestrian gold on Earth. You get into dutch with the IRS very quickly. This starts the first time you sell $10k or higher of it anywhere.
10825864
if you add in shapeshifting to that and the option of being sneaky and buying the land for the hive proper on earth elsewhere it could be possible. or she could possibly contact the goverment and sell magic info and how to channel with other means for assistence but that seems more risky
10825871
I'd definitely go with the sneaky option first. A small acreage, with solar/wind power to help get off the grid.
Prioritize the portal, to move gold and gems through. Pawn them off as quietly as you can, with burner disguises.
And if at any point you can't pull of the charade anymore, go with the least dangerous option of government or public reveal, while pointing out the blatant fear of vivisection you've been living under.
I love this story. Kinda want to see Mothra in Equestria sooner rather than later but that's just cause I want to see the reactions.....
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well they do have the hive mind which links them so tecnicly all they need is 2 places or objects to like portals to and the theory and info about portals (both of which exist in equestria). i think it would be nice to have progress on portal over about 3 chapters while other things happen like one chapter is getting the info, the next is learning up and preparing and the 3rd would be the portal opening. either way im exited to see how this goes