The Council Hive
“All the Changeling Queens have been summoned, your highness,” Scorpion reported to his ruler, who was laid atop her bed examining some written papers.
“Thank you, Captain. I will be there momentarily.”
The Captain bowed his head, before vacating the room and leaving Queen Twilight alone. The monarch sighed, lowering the papers and placing them into a neat pile on a nearby table. The room was the same one she had been placed in with Queen Chrysalis the last time she was at the Council, albeit with the two single beds swapped out for one double bed. The room was decently large and also contained various bookshelves, a fireplace with a few fluffed cushions, a work desk and a window looking down over the grounds. As before, the Queen’s accompanying drone’s rooms were all clustered together adjacent to one another. In other cordoned off parts of the east wing, four other Changeling Queens had been based, with the other five taking the west.
The north and south wings were both abandoned, with no Changelings available to occupy them. Another grim reminder of their situation.
Twilight let out a sigh, steadily rising from her bed and to her hooves. With no hesitation, but with concern as to what she may find, she began to walk across to the door. The summons Scorpion had spoken off were that of the Council itself, all the queens were gathering in the central chamber for the meeting to finally begin.
When Twilight emerged from her chambers she found an escort already awaiting her with Spike and Captain Scorpion at its head. All the guards were at attention as Spike and Scorpion saw her approach.
“Twilight, you all set?” Spike asked. “I think at least some of the other queens have already gone on ahead.”
“I’m ready,” Twilight confirmed. “I remember the way, so fall into step behind me.”
Scorpion saluted, turning to address those under his command. “You heard the Queen! Into position, standard formation.”
The guards didn’t need any more prompting as the Queen began to walk off down the corridor. All the guards dutifully fell into step a little ways behind as Scorpion and Spike walked directly at the Queen’s sides. With that done, the entourage continued on in silence for several minutes, passing through the hive and moving on past several other drones in various armour colours. Eventually, the silence was ended by a certain purple dragon.
“Don’t you miss the old days?” Spike asked with a small smile of remembrance plastered into his face. “Back when we just did whatever around and about in Ponyville with our friends. I would obsess over Rarity, you would worry about being tardy over some friendship report… Good times.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Scorpion commented.
“Ya think?” Spike snarked.
Twilight snorted at that, though a small smile was on her muzzle. “Sometimes, Spike. Though we still had the odd crisis if you recall.”
“Nothing like this though,” Spike muttered. “Sometimes, I forget they are the same lifetimes.”
Twilight smiled brighter, wrapping a gossamer wing over the dragon as they continued to walk. “Tell you what; after this is done we’ll take a week in Ponyville, and then one in Canterlot right afterwards. I’ll get Cadance and Shining down to visit too, so we can see all our friends and family.”
“A welcomed bit of normality, and a healthy dose of nostalgia too,” Spike stated. “I’m in. Think you could even procure the library for that week?”
Twilight laughed. “I’m sure its current tenant would allow it just for one week. I might even take my old form for a while.”
To punctuate her point, green flames swallowed the Changeling Queen. She shrunk downwards, her chitin becoming lavender fur as her wings banished from sight and her mane colour changed to a dark blue with a pink highlight striking right through it.
Spike’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, that’s something I haven’t seen in a long time. When is the last time you appeared like that?”
“On the way to this very place for the first time I believe, though that was as a pegasus. As a unicorn, it was when I spoke to Princess Celestia after returning to Canterlot for the first time since my identity was revealed.”
The dragon whistled in awe. “That… was a very long time ago. It still suits you though.”
“You think so?”
“Hey, it’s the face that I grew up knowing,” Spike pointed out. “Can’t be comfortable to hide your wings like that though.”
“It never is. When I was younger, after I found out myself, of course, I would always try to hide away just so I could stretch them for a bit.”
“Why not just add Pegasus wings onto your current form now?” Scorpion enquired.
Twilight chuckled. “Me? As an alicorn? Could you even imagine such a thing?”
“Didn’t Celestia plan on your ascension originally anyway?”
“That’s beside the point,” Twilight stated. “It’s still a weird prospect.”
Despite this, green flames appeared at her sides and two feathery wings came into existence, which Twilight gave an experimental flap.
“They look good on you, Princess Twilight,” Spike jabbed.
“Oh, very funny,” Twilight deadpanned with a roll of her eyes. “I must say, having feathers feels strange.”
“Your Highness, we’re almost there,” Scorpion informed, gesturing to an intersection in the corridor.
Twilight nodded, bringing up a lavender and completely solid hoof and examining it. A moment later, green flames heralded the return of the Changeling Queen as that hoof turned black and holes expanded and tunnelled through it.
“Nostalgia can wait,” the Queen stated as they turned the corner. “For now, there is urgent business to attend to.”
They quickly came to their final destination. A large doorway with a great many guards of various hives outside, the guards of the other Changeling Queens already inside.
“Halt,” Scorpion ordered his changelings. “Move and take up positions with the others.”
The guards departed from their original positions and took their places outside the chamber, some sticking to spots on the floor, others along the walls and some even on the ceiling. With the sheer amount of changeling guards in one place any potential troublemakers would have to have a death wish to face against the swarm.
“I shall also take my leave, call if you need us,” Scorpion stated.
“Understood, Scorpion. Hopefully, that will not happen,” Twilight responded, throwing opened the doors with her magic as she and Spike entered before slamming them shut again behind her.
The room was one that had struck Twilight with awe when she first saw the centre of their civilisation. It was circular in shape with around thirty seats spanning the edges of the hall. Sunlight spilled in through the semi-transparent roof and in the centre of that roof a crystal akin to the one in the Equestrian Hive kept, that up the perception filter keeping the hive hidden and safe. The floors were tiled with various intricate patterns and shapes, the original ancient designer obviously having put a great amount of work, effort and skill into crafting them. Similar decorations adorned the walls and pillars of the structure which had all equally been masterfully crafted with gold and other precious materials, and then well-kept over the hive’s long history by the Changeling Queens and their drones.
Seven of the other Changeling Queens were already in their seats, including Queen Cocoon who had her daughter standing to the left of her seat. In the chair at the head of the room, where Queen Crudelis had sat the previous time, now sat Queen Xerox.
“Queen Twilight Sparkle,” Xerox addressed. “Nice of you to join us.”
All eyes turned to the new arrivals. Aside from Xerox and Cocoon, Tempora, Antannae, Carapace, Acadica and Arisana were all in their seats awaiting the remaining Changeling Queens.
Twilight respectfully bowed her head ever so slightly. “The pleasure is mine. We have much to discuss.”
“That we do,” Queen Xerox responded. “Take a seat.”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Twilight saw Cocoon gesture to an empty chair to her right, which in turn was directly to Xerox’s left.
“Is there anything you need of me?” Spike asked.
“No, everything seems to be in order,” she stated in return. “Head back out and join the Captain.”
“You got it, boss,” he said.
As he left, Twilight approached and took her seat. As Spike exited he almost bumped into Queen Plastron as she arrived.
“No issues I take it?” Twilight asked Cocoon.
“None,” Cocoon responded. “And yet that feeling, that sense, remains.”
“As long as there is no immediate threat, focus on the here and now,” Twilight advised. “Once Pupa arrives this will begin.”
“I don’t think we have to wait long,” Princess Insecta commented towards her mother and Queen Twilight, pointing towards the doorway as Queen Pupa emerged through it and greeted Xerox and the others much as Twilight had done.
As Pupa took her place, the remaining drones in the chamber began to vacate it.
“Finally,” Cocoon stated, her eagerness to get underway showing through. “Now hopefully we can get some answers.”
When the last drone exited, Xerox arose from her seat and the chamber fell silent. All nine other Changeling Queens and the single princess looked towards Queen Xerox expectantly.
“This Council is now in session,” Xerox announced. “And we all know why it has been convened already.”
“Eight hives have vanished off the face of Equus,” Queen Acadica commented. “It’s not something you can really miss.”
“I was hosting some guests from the hive of Queen Vulgaris,” Tempora picked up. “And then they became disconnected from their hive mind out of the blue. They are with us now, but I have had no contact from Vulgaris or her daughter since that incident.”
“I have had a similar experience,” Queen Plastron added.
“I imagine many of us have,” Tempora stated. “The question is, why?”
“That is what we are trying to ascertain,” Xerox stated. “It's obvious there is a threat to our species as a whole. But what that is eludes me. If any of you have information to tell the rest of us, the floor is yours.”
Silenced reigned absolute throughout the chamber, no Changeling Queens speaking for several moments. They glanced at one another expectantly, though they could only groan in annoyance.
“Nothing?” Queen Antannae questioned in disbelief. “There must be something we know!”
“Not from me,” Queen Pupa stated. “All my efforts to find information have been in vain.”
“You never found anything, Pupa?” Arisana asked.
“Those that returned didn’t, no.”
Queen Antannae leaned forwards, intrigued by that statement. “Those that returned?”
Pupa nodded. “Not all my drones came back. And they just… vanished. No shout for help, no information, just sudden silence. Completely absent from my hive mind.”
“That means they DID find something,” Queen Plastron pointed out. “And yet they have never been seen again.”
“May I interrupt you there?” Queen Cocoon interrupted.
Xerox glanced at the Changeling Queen. “Cocoon, what is it?”
“It’s something Twilight said to me,” she stated. “Do any of you have drones, scouts in Equestria, with a red magical hue in their eyes perchance? Perhaps a new enchantment of sorts you are employing?”
The other queens all held blank looks on their faces, their confusion evident. But, as their brains processed what Cocoon had just asked, they all began to turn their heads in Queen Twilight’s direction.
“What was that?” Xerox enquired. “Might you want to share this with the rest of us, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight sat up as straight and regally as she could, feeling all the eyes in the room coming to a rest on her, waiting for her answer. She had been waiting for the right time to talk about that exact point, and it appeared as if that time had finally arrived.
“It’s not something I or my changelings have personally witnessed,” Twilight began. “But rather it was the Equestrians.”
“Ah, your Equestrian friends,” Xerox said. “What did those ponies find?”
“Changelings,” Twilight stated simply. “The EUP, and some of the general population of Equestria, have seen changelings scouting out their land at various locations throughout the country. These drones have all been described as undisguised and with a red magical trail coming from their eyes, not unlike dark magic, though not quite as pronounced as that. These drones have just fled on being seen.”
“And we have no idea who these changelings are?” Queen Pupa enquired.
“No,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “Though, it is my belief that these are in fact the missing changelings.”
“What?!” Xerox blurted in disbelief as the others all leaned forward in their seats. “You are suggesting that some magical affliction is causing the disappearance of all these hives?”
“I wouldn’t know if that is an accurate description or not,” Twilight replied. “One thing I do know however is that the answers to our questions may be found at the hive of Queen Draco.”
“Queen Draco?” Xerox questioned. “Why her?”
“She was the first to vanish,” Princess Insecta reminded them. “It would be a logical place to start.”
“That’s not quite the reason. Besides, some dragon sources of ours have claimed the place is all but empty now,” Queen Twilight stated. “But there is something else you should know.”
“Something else? And what might that be?” Queen Xerox asked as all the queens glanced between one another.
“Draco found something near her hive. A changeling construction built into a mountain. Something that goes back to before recorded history around four thousand years ago.”
Chatter exploded among the queens, questions and accusations alike being thrown towards Twilight. The Changeling Queen in question just sat back and waited for the chaos to inevitably dissipate. To that effect, a green bolt of magic burst forth from one queen’s horn and into the centre of the room, creating a small harmless explosion that had the intended effect of subduing the queens into silence.
“Silence! We will have order in this chamber!” Queen Xerox bellowed. “We are Changeling Queens, not squabbling pony nobility. Now, Queen Twilight, do you mind explaining this revelation to us?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course.”
And so she explained. She explained to them all about Draco’s discovery, telling them everything Draco had told her. She told them how the disappearances coincided with Draco entering the ruin, and her belief that the two were most definitely connected. Throughout, the queens just sat in silence and took in what their peer had to say, mulling over each and every single word she said to them. With no interruption, Twilight was able to swiftly wrap up her explanation with no issues to be had.
“-and that’s what I know,” Twilight concluded. “And that is why I volunteer to venture up to the hive and find out for sure.”
Silence once again dominated the room, the information they had just been told giving them all a lot to think about. As the head of the session, Queen Xerox ultimately brought it on herself to break the silence.
“You volunteer?” she questioned, bringing all eyes back onto her. “If you go up there, Queen Twilight, you might very well join the others. You might also disappear.”
“It’s a risk, I know,” Twilight noted. “But I have something at my disposal the rest of you do not.”
Xerox raised an eyebrow. “And what might that be?”
“Equestria.”
Queen Antannae snorted. “Equestria? Oh please.”
“They deserve more credit than you provide them, Antannae,” Queen Cocoon defended.
The Changeling Queen snarled at Cocoon. “Since when were you such great friends with the ponies?”
“We should hear Queen Twilight out,” Cocoon stated. “That’s all.”
“I agree,” Xerox added in, through with a cautious frown. “Twilight, continue.”
With a momentary glare at Queen Antannae, Twilight complied. “It is changelings that are being affected, changeling going missing. I know the princesses, and I can get EUP resources to aid us. If ponies accompany us we have an outside eye to keep a look out for us. With their help, I am confident I can find out what is going on and return home safely.”
The changelings all considered what Twilight had said. Slowly and begrudgingly, they all began to voice their agreement with Twilight’s plan of action. However, that didn’t mean to say that all their worries had dissipated.
“I hope you understand the position you are placing yourself in, Twilight Sparkle,” Queen Plastron stated. “Even with Equestria, it’s dangerous. We’ve all been feeling this ‘sense’ since coming here, foul things await in the dark.”
“Is it better to cower within our walls and hope for the best?” Twilight said, her tone half-mocking. “It worked out so well for those not currently attending this meeting, did it not?”
Plastron groaned, leaning back in her seat. “I know. We all know. But these are uncertain times, we cannot know what tomorrow shall bring.”
“Then it is agreed,” Xerox stated, ending any potential for further debate on the matter. “Queen Twilight shall lead an investigation of Queen Draco’s hive with Equestria. But until then all the Changeling Queens shall remain at the Council until you return.”
Twilight nodded. “I understand.”
“Good. In the meantime, I suggest all of our hives are locked down. No changelings or otherwise enter or leave until this is over. We cannot take any chances, the very survival of our civilisation may depend on it.”
“We all understand the risks involved.” Twilight sat up straight, determination glowing in her eyes. “And I have no intention of failing.”
“I would hope not. When shall your hive be departing us?”
“Immediately,” she responded. “There cannot be any more delay. The longer we sit around and debate with one another, the more chance there is that whatever is happening will find this hive. Together we may be strong, but I would rather we not face an enemy we know nothing about.”
That was something the other queens simply could not deny.
“An understanding of your enemy has always been one of the basic things you need if you ever plan on fighting them. Otherwise, you may as well fight with a blindfold in the darkest location imaginable,” Queen Cocoon stated in agreement. “It’s unacceptable."
“Then we shall waste no more time,” Xerox announced. “This session is hereby adjourned. Once Queen Twilight has departed we will gather again to discuss our defences here, and alternative options should Twilight Sparkle fail. That is all.”
With that, the queens began to depart. Twilight herself didn’t say a word as she vacated the chamber, gathered her guards outside and went to get the rest of her changelings ready for the journey back to Equestria as hastily as possible. However, as the queens left none noticed an ever so slight red magical hue sweeping across the floor, whirling both gracefully and dangerously like a maelstrom. It was there only for a moment, before a multi-coloured rainbow light overtook it and suppressed the magic once more. However, if any of them had noticed the red hue, they would have seen the maelstrom orbiting around one central spot just in front of where the hive’s throne once sat four thousand years before.