The world seemed to be foggy, almost blurry. I looked down at myself to see I was back in my old body as a tunneler. Looking around, I saw the caverns and winding tunnels of the hive, accompanied by the buzzing of unseen changelings all around.
This had to be a dream... but why was I so aware of everything? I couldn't move of my own will, and anything I wasn't looking at directly seemed to be blurred.
"Tunneler," A warrior's voice barked, "You are needed in the Queen's chamber. There is a gathering."
My head turned to acknowledge the warrior, finding that they had already gone off to inform more tunnelers of the event. Time skipped forward and I found myself in the large throne room with Queen Chrysalis' throne dominating the center. I had taken my place at the bottom of the room, as the Warriors were closer to the Queen and the Infiltrators took up the walls. The Caretakers were busy with the Nymphs, of course.
"My children!" Queen Chrysalis shouted above the buzzing mass, "We face dire circumstances." The hive quieted to listen intently at her words. "The Gougers burrow further and further into our hive with every breach of the walls. We have lost entire sections of the hive to cave-ins as well as injury. My nymphs are starving for love. We cannot stay here!"
There was nervous chittering from the Tunnelers around me with worried glances being exchanged. We were usually the first to be drained if the hive was to be moved, in order to ensure the Queen would survive the trip.
"Fear not, however!" Chrysalis interrupted, silencing the hive once more. "I have a plan." She said with a devious smirk. "Nearby is the pony nation of Equestria, lead by Princesses Celestia and Luna. They are weak! They live a life completely free of hardship and death as we do, and they are bursting with love! Their guard is limited in number, their citizens fearful and cowardly! We will storm their capital, we will abduct their leaders and we will harvest more love than we can ever dream of!"
The Warrior and Infiltrator caste were cheering and chittering with excitement, as their roles would be integral in the invasion. We tunnelers however grew even more nervous, some of us even bunching up into groups.
"Do not grovel!" Chrysalis snapped upon seeing the Tunnelers, "You will not need to sacrifice yourselves for the good of the hive!" The relief was audible at that, a few tunnelers falling over. "You will be our backup plan..."
Time skipped forward again in my dream, all of this seeming like a forgotten memory. I was in the private chambers of Queen Chrysalis, along with a few dozen other Tunnelers with Warriors blocking the doors.
"Now..." Chrysalis began, pacing in front of us, "In the event that these ponies perform the unexpected, there must be a plan. If I am captured, or slain by Celestia in a confrontation, the hive must endure." She stopped, turning her head to look at us with a malicious grin. "That is where you all come in." Chrysalis motioned to a collection of strange orbs behind her with a hoof. "Here in this chamber I've laid several royal eggs."
The tunnelers as well as myself all shared shocked and worried glances before looking back at the Queen.
"Each of you will carry one of these eggs in your body. In the event that I am no longer alive, or you are unable to find me due to capture or being separated from the hive, you will need to feed this egg. Unfortunately, a royal egg consumes far more love than is typically available, so you may have to siphon the love from your fellow changelings in order to trigger the transformation process." Chrysalis walked closer to the group, some Tunnelers backing out of her way. "But, I can't afford any of you getting ideas of becoming the next Queen of this hive, even if we do succeed." She grinned widely with a hungry look at all of us. "That is why I am going to tamper with your minds. None of you will remember this meeting or what happened here. At any rate, this is just a precaution. If the plan succeeds, which there is no reason that it shouldn't, then you will be harvested, and the royal eggs taken from your bodies."
A few tunnelers fainted and others accepted their fate, bowing their head. I however, looked directly at the eggs themselves. A bright green flash of blinding magic later, and time skipped forward once more. I found myself laying on the ground in the central chamber, being picked up by a warrior.
"Wake up, Tunneler." They scowled. "Fainting from a speech. You sicken me."
I woke with a start, my eyes shooting open and illuminating the dark room of Soft. I was laying down on my hooves next to their bed as Soft slept naked underneath the covers. I still had no idea what I was looking at, but humans seemed far more frail without their clothing. Then I remembered the last time I had awoken and looked around for dogs in a slight panic.
Scanning around the room, I noticed that they weren't there. I sighed in relief and carefully stood, trying not to impale anything with my horn or knock something over to wake Soft. The sun hadn't risen yet, sparing me from the screaming bird that would no doubt inform everything that it was awake the moment the sun did rise.
Standing there in the room, I thought back to my dream. Perhaps that is why I cocooned myself? I had devoured enough love from Rough that it awoke the egg? That would be the only explanation for why I had become a Proto-Queen... Well, more of a large house guest at the moment, actually. What was I going to do? Sit around the rest of my life, entertaining Rough, Soft and Timid? I was supposed to be a Queen! I couldn't stay here; I had to leave.
My eye twitched, the compulsion to dig coming back again. The urge to expand, to lay eggs, to create a hive. I looked down at the peacefully sleeping figure of Soft a moment before opening the door with my magic, carefully trying to not make the hinges squeak. Slow, purposeful steps and surprisingly agile maneuvers later, I was on the other side of the door and slowly closing it.
"So, leaving already?" I heard Stern whisper from behind me, causing me to nearly leap out of my carapace. I turned my head around to see them still in their yellow duck gown, their hands on their hips.
"I need to begin my hive..." I whispered back, feeling guilty for some reason from Stern's gaze. They were smaller than I was, technically, though I felt like a Nymph.
"Where are you gonna go?" They asked, walking closer to me.
"There is a place nearby called a 'Titan One' that Rough was talking about. I spotted it a few hours ago and it is dangerous enough that no human will come inside." I explained quietly.
"You leaving for good?" Stern asked with a bit of hope, masked by a concerned look.
"Only until my hive is established, or at least prepared." I replied, glancing back at Soft's bedroom door.
Stern hummed, looking at me with a sideways tilt to their head. "I may not know much of anything about you, Blue, but you seem like a nice alien. You were wandering around with my kids for who knows how long before you hatched from that big cocoon, cause it sure as heck wasn't there when I left, and you didn't hurt them or eat them or anything else the movies said you would do. That makes you alright in my book."
I didn't really know how to reply to that, so I stared back in silence at Stern.
"You stay creepy, okay Blue?" They grinned, raising a hand behind my ear. "Do you mind?" They asked.
"Uh... no?" I replied, not sure of what they were doing, but also not wanting to upset them either.
Then I felt the curious sensation of my ears being scratched. It was far different from the time I had been a dog, as my carapace could feel Stern's nails sliding uselessly across it.
"Well, you come visit soon. I don't want to deal with upset college kids cause you left. I'll let them know where you went so they don't go on some adventure in search of you." Stern smiled, taking their hand away and backing towards their room.
"Thank you for letting me stay as long as I have, Stern." I replied with a polite bow of my head.
Stern raised an eyebrow. "You named me 'Stern'?"
"Ah... yes?" I cautiously answered.
They chuckled quietly at that. "That's what the boys used to call me in the precinct. 'Sheriff Stern'."
I didn't have anything to say to that, and after a while Stern simply motioned for me to leave and turned back towards their room. I didn't need to be told twice, and quickly yet quietly stomped my way down the stairs. I wasn't really the most quiet of Proto-Queens, what with all my armoring and massive size. Thankfully the other three in the house were heavy sleepers. I succeeded in not falling down the stairs and saw Timid bundled up in a blanket, resting their head on a pillow. They must not have had a spare bed for them, but they seemed cozy enough. I opened the front door with my magic, bathing the entire room in a shimmering blue-teal glow. Thankfully it wasn't bright enough to wake Timid, and I exited the house as quietly as I could.
"Well I'll be damned."
This time I literally jumped in fright from the voice behind me. I turned around to see a parked beast with its sides open, Kind on the left side and a new human on the right. They were of a darker tone than Soul with no mane. They were muscular as well, their clothing having some difficulty staying on without stretching.
"A full blown alien, and my town, too!"
Neither of them seemed hostile. Kind was actually fearful, and the newcomer was... happy?
"What's your name, Alien?" They asked. I was still trying to place how their voice sounded when they interrupted my thoughts with, "I'm Sheriff Jacobs."
I remembered hearing about this human in my first beast ride. Soft and Rough were worried that this Sheriff Jacobs would catch them for pushing their beast too hard. I narrowed my glowing eyes at them. "I am Queen Blue Sun." I replied cautiously. Technically I was still a Proto-Queen, but they didn't need to know that.
Their brow shot up in surprise. "A Queen!" Now they were even happier. "That's outstanding. A full blown alien Queen in my town!"
I looked questioningly at Kind, whom shied away from me. "Kind, why are you here with this Sheriff Jacobs?"
Jacobs looked at kind and laughed. "She called you Kind!? Okay, I'll admit, I didn't believe you when you said you'd found an alien, but this is just rich."
I was becoming suspicious of Sheriff Jacobs' intentions at this point with their treatment of Kind. They reminded me of a Warrior.
"Why have you come here?" I asked abruptly, moving slowly closer to them. I towered over Kind, and Sheriff Jacobs' head came below my chin. Their beast was tiny in comparison to what I remembered.
The both of them had a spike of fear and worry as I drew closer, Kind reaching for the metal thing on their hip again. Sheriff Jacobs waved them off however, hissing 'No!' under their breath.
"Well, Queen Blue Sun, I'd like you to meet our mayor." Sheriff Jacobs said smoothly in a calming tone. "Our little town has been having some troubles, and I think she'd love to know about you."
Everything about this 'Sheriff Jacobs' screamed 'trap' to me. Their mood didn't reflect their words, their posture was aggressive and authoritative. I didn't like them.
"If your mayor wishes to meet me, then it will be on my terms, not yours." I mandated, my voice becoming harsh and commanding. This caused Sheriff Jacobs to recoil a bit in fear from the suddenness of my shift in tone. "There is a place called Titan One nearby. You and your mayor will meet me there in the daytime, when the sun is at its peak. Do not bring any other humans with you. I can sense your fear, and I will know if you have lied to me."
Doubt came from Sheriff Jacobs, a nervous glance aimed at Kind whom was already getting in the beast to leave. They looked back at me and made eye contact.
My horn lit with magic and I noticed Sheriff Jacobs' eyes become a shade of blue throughout. "You will do as I ask, Sheriff Jacobs. I will not place myself or others in harms way for whatever game you are trying to play."
"Yes, Queen Blue Sun." Sheriff Jacobs droned. My magic went out like a flame that remembered it wasn't supposed to exist, Sheriff Jacobs unsteadily falling onto the side of their beast. They shook their head, trying to clear out cobwebs from the spell I had cast on them. With a shutting of their beast's sides, it roared to life and carried them quickly away from the house, gravel flying in their wake.
I looked at my hoof. "What did I just do?" It was like something had taken control of me when I was threatened... Perhaps it was part of becoming a Queen? I was no longer the meek and shy Tunneler drone I had once been. No, I had been dissolved and reformed as something greater than a simple tunneler. If I was to be a Queen, then I suppose it only made sense that I was built to act like one.
I would have to figure this all out later. For now, I had a hive to begin building and a trap to set.
Just in case.