‘This is starting to become the norm, isn’t it?’
Daniel sighed while he continued to walk through the field, unable to even stop for a break thanks to the lines of bug-horses both in-front of him and behind him.
‘At least it’s grass this time, and not snow.’
The entire swarm, for lack of a better term, was obviously in a hurry to put as much distance as they could in-between themselves and the town they had attempted to pillage. Going off of that, the rapid exit, and the way that the bug-horses at the rear anxiously kept glancing back behind them and up into the sky, he could only assume that they had suffered a solid defeat.
Boris was limping along beside him with a sullen expression, his uninjured foreleg slung over the back of another bug-horse for support. The second bug horse, one of the ones wearing a blue Ethernet cable around her neck, was obviously trying to cheer him up with occasional chattering. It didn’t appear to be working, but Daniel was sure that Boris at least appreciated her efforts.
His own bug-horse burden was even less chatty, and Daniel glanced down at the injured female in his arms with a smidge of concern. Green gunk, much like the stuff that the bug-horses had used to seal over Boris’ wounds, covered her smashed muzzle and held it in place. Still out cold, even after the three hours that had passed since they had retreated, the only sign that she gave of being alive was the occasional wheeze from her uncovered nose.
‘It’s probably a good thing that she’s still asleep,’ he thought to himself while gently shifting her weight in his tired arms. ‘I bet her face is going to bloody cane.’ Reminded of something, he looked up and over at the distant front of the long bug-horse line. ‘Speaking of a blooding caning…’
The mass of bright colour in the majority black and grey line was explained by the multiple stolen beds carried aloft by four bug-horses each. While he had seen a few heavily injured bug-horses resting upon them in varying states of consciousness, it was the largest bed that stood out the most.
Daniel had seen the bug-horses carry their leader to the front of the line earlier at the town, the largest member of the bug-horses surrounded by attendants and any armoured guards still able to walk by themselves. She’d been covered in all sorts of cuts and gashes, causing Daniel to wonder at just what she’d been fighting.
All in all, it once again seemed that there was a lot of walking ahead of them, and this time it was after they had gone and pissed off the locals.
“Wonderful,” he muttered out.
“Chrzzt?”
Daniel glanced down to his left to meet the solid blue eyes of another bug-horse with an Ethernet cable around her neck. She had been trotting along next to him so quietly that he hadn’t even noticed her there, and he also noted that she was one of the rare bug-horses without a fresh injury.
“It’s nothing,” he told her with another sigh. “Just being a bit of a grouch, that’s all.”
“Crztrt, chzzzrt crzzt.”
She briefly nuzzled his patchwork cloth pants after her response, Daniel getting the strange feeling that he’d just been told something along the lines of ‘everything will be all right’. The bug horse pulled back and gave him a smile, before she returned her attention to the line ahead.
Deciding to just let it go and follow her example, he resigned himself to trudging forwards in his spot of the line.
‘Hopefully we’ll have a break soon,’ he silently wished. ‘If we keep going for much longer, I’ll actually start becoming skinny.’
“Hold still, my Princess. Almost there…”
“Nrgh…”
Luna winced as the guard pulled the final shard of brown glass from her muzzle, the sliver coming away with a slick coating of her own blood. The guard’s batwing pulled away from her face, and a second later there was a light clink when the shard was dropped into a bucket containing many more.
“That looks like all of them,” the nocturne stallion announced. “Thankfully they weren’t very large, do you want some dressings for them?”
“No,” she brushed off. “They are small, save any dressings for those that really need them.”
“As you wish, Princess.”
Luna sat up straight as the guard left with the bucket in wing, the warm afternoon sun bathing the field they were resting in with light. A frown crossed her face as she surveyed the clumps of guards arrayed around on the grass, many already bearing the same white dressings that she herself had declined.
To complicate matters further, three of her least injured guards were busy over by the wagon they had stolen back from the changelings. Green translucent cocoons were being slit open carefully with silver swords, the captured civilians that tumbled out quickly transferred to a shady spot underneath a tree.
The civilians, numbering at fifty and made up of a mix of ages, were all thankfully still slumbering thanks to whatever magic the changeling cocoons held. It may have been morbid to count it as a good thing, but Luna was not looking forward to when they all awoke and the resulting panic.
‘So much for our pursuit,’ she mentally huffed. ‘I had their Queen beaten as well, and their forces would have surrendered quickly after.’ Luna paused, before scanning back over her force of injured guards. ‘Then again, it’s not as if we are in an ideal position ourselves.’
Touching a hoof to a cut on the side of her face, she grimaced at it when it came away with a smear of blood.
‘To think that I, Princess Luna, was beaten in a manner more suited to a common barroom brawl. I best not boast about the Queen’s defeat by my hooves to Celestia, lest she find out about my own... embarrassment.’
All further worries about Celestia finding out about her failure were forgotten at the sound of flapping bat-wings, Luna turning around on the spot as four of her guards touched down before her.
“Princess,” one of the mares addressed, touching her bandaged foreleg to her helmet. “We scouted out the town as you commanded, and found no remaining changelings… nor prisoners. There were however signs of rampant looting, and judging from the tracks it seems as if they are mostly on-hoof and heading further west.”
Luna nodded at the information, her eyes furrowed. The guard glanced hesitantly back towards her fellows before continuing.
“Shall we pursue them, Princess?”
“No,” Luna answered without hesitation. “While we performed admirably against them, we lack the forces needed to fully contain them.” They all looked to a left as a shout of alarm rang out, two guards rushing over towards the group of civilians as they started to wake. Luna refaced the guards before her. “At the moment, we have other matters that we must deal with. Aid the civilians and rest up, I’ve already sent a messenger to fetch reinforcements.”
“The Solar Guard?”
Luna winced. “By the Moon, no. The last thing I want is for Celestia to find out we’ve been hunting changelings without her knowledge.”
The guards shared an uneasy look.
“You… you didn’t tell her, Princess?” a stallion spoke up.
‘Curses.’
“I may have neglected to inform her, yes.” Luna glanced to all of the guards, a cunning plan forming in her mind. “I assumed that my elite Lunar Guard did not require the aid of the regular Solar Guard. Is that not the case?”
All four guards stood up straighter, wings flicking with pride.
“No Princess,” they all answered at once.
Luna nodded, their response brightening her mood somewhat despite the circumstances. “Good, that is what I like the hear. Now, assist your comrades with reassuring the civilians, with any luck our reinforcements will arrive before the changelings’ trail goes cold.”
“Yes, Princess.”
With that, and a final salute, the four guards raced off towards the civilians, Luna watching them go.
‘Those changelings haven’t escaped yet. They’ll pay for what they did to these ponies…’
“Grungara?”
Meddle took care to avoid stabbing Growly in the back of the leg with her horn, the butting of her head prompting the biped to move forwards again.
“Come on Growly,” Cypher pleaded from behind the other leg. “We need to take you to the Queen, so she can get all better. All the ponies are already drained of their energy and need to recover.”
Mr Growls stopped and looked back to his former spot against the cave wall, or more specifically, to Burrow. The soldier was curled up in slumber next to the snoozing Muddle, and both were right next to where Aphid was sleeping on a pilfered pillow.
“Burrow will be fine,” reassured Meddle with another butt of her head. “You already fed him, Muddle will look after him, and all he needs is some rest so he can heal.”
“Meddle’s right,” Cypher added, her own head-butt prompting Growly to move again. “You already helped Aphid and Burrow, now you have to help the Queen.”
Meddle smiled up at him. “Maybe she’ll even start to be a little nicer if she sees you helping.” She left his leg alone, the three of them already moving down the narrow tunnel that led to the main cave. “And you’ll be an actual member of the Hive, and you can stay with us without her threatening to cocoon you all of the time!”
“…Grang.”
Growly didn’t say much more after that, and he continued to move forwards down the tunnel with his head bowed to avoid hitting it on the ceiling. Meddle smiled at his cooperativeness, and pulled out in front of him to trot next to Cypher.
“It’s a good thing that the last town wasn’t far from the caves,” she said to Cypher. “Do you think that we’ll be going through the tunnel to the Hive soon?”
Cypher tilted her head to one side. “I don’t know; it’ll still be a long walk. We’ll probably have to wait at least until the Queen is able to move by herself again.”
“What about the Equestrians?” Meddle shuddered. “What if they find us?”
“They won’t. Infiltrators have been using the tunnel for centuries to go from the Hive and back. The Queen wouldn’t have ordered us to come here it was going to be a huge risk.” Cypher shrugged. “Besides, it’s either the nice, cool tunnel or trotting across the desert.”
“Point,” Meddle nodded.
The tunnel they were in was a short one, and right after they had stopped talking they entered the main cave.
Even Growly didn’t have to duck his head to fit in this one, the ceiling more than twice his height. Many pairs of bright blue eyes blinked open at their arrival, buzzing whispers filling the gloomy cave once they noticed the presence of the resident ‘food beast’.
“Grung…”
Growly stopped soon after he entered behind them, Meddle looking back to find him glancing around at the changelings staring at him.
‘Oh,’ she realised, already powering her horn. ‘He probably can’t see as well in the dark as we can.’
A warm green glow fizzled into life from the tip, acting pretty much as well as a standard fire torch. Normally she’d be quite cautious about using it because of the energy drain, but it was hardly an issue now that Growly was around.
Looking back at him, she found him staring at her horn.
“Come on you two,” Cypher called from out front. “This way.”
“Follow me, Growly,” Meddle instructed as she started to trot forwards again. Growly gave once last glance around before following as asked, eyes to the ground as he used the magical light to avoid tripping over any rocks.
The three of the left the main cavern and entered another tunnel, this one still large enough that no-one needed to bend their heads. Meddle looked down with a frown as her hoofsteps echoed off the rocky walls.
‘I hope that the Queen will get better soon, she looked like she was pretty badly hurt.’
She had to stop before she nearly rammed into Cypher, and upon looking up she could see the reason for the interruption.
Four soldiers, all armoured, stood blocking the way through to the next cave. Each one alternated their gazes from Cypher and her to Mister Growls, before the lead guard addressed them with a suspicious look.
“Drones?” she questioned, head tilting sideways. “You are the ones in charge of the food beast?”
“For now,” Cypher nodded. “The two soldiers in charge were both injured during the fight, so they’re resting up.”
The gazes focused on Mr Growls.
“Is he obedient?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say obedient, but he’s very nice to changelings.” Both Cypher and Meddle looked back to the biped in question, Mr Growls eyeing the four soldiers with a slight frown. “He’s normally much happier, but the last few days have caused him to be a bit of a grump.”
“He fell through a roof,” Meddle added, trying to help.
It didn’t really seem to convince the soldiers, but after another few moments of wary examination the female in charge stepped aside. The other three followed suit, the entrance into the next cave unblocked.
“Okay, you can take it in,” the head soldier said. “But I suggest that you two drones keep a tight lease on it, the Queen is understandably not exactly in her best mood.” The soldier looked at the both of them. “You might want to be very careful yourselves, as well. If there’s any trouble caused in there…”
The soldiers all narrowed their eyes with the warning, Meddle gulping while Cypher managed to maintain her composure.
“The three of us will be our best, don’t worry.”
“Y-yeah,” Meddle quickly nodded, before sneaking another worried glance at the frowny Mr Growls.
‘Hopefully he doesn’t punch the Queen this time.’
“Go on then,” the lead guard ordered with a sweep of her hoof. “Don’t keep the Queen waiting.”
The three of them quickly complied and entered the Queen’s cave, Mr Growls thankfully picking up on the urgency and following without complaint. Muddle stuck close to him regardless, the guards continuing to eye them all the way.
The cave that the soldiers had put the Queen in wasn’t overly large, in fact it was roughly the size of an average Equestrian house. The Royal was resting upon the bed in the centre of the room, two nurses and a male soldier stepping back from it when they noticed them enter.
“Who… who is it?”
Muddle winced as the Queen raised her head, tired eyes staring right at them.
Chrysalis’ once royal mane was now a mattered mess, the teal strands still sporting an occasional splash of green. Green healing goop covered multiple spots on her neck and chest, while many other small scratches and nicks dotted her chitin without any healing aids. The stern eyes that used to hold enough power to silence the Hive with a single look alone were now lifeless and bloodshot, but somehow they still managed to furrow into a frown.
“Oh…” Chrysalis muttered. “It’s you.”
Muddle noticed Cypher dropping into a low bow beside her, and so she did the same. Bending her front knees down and lowering her head to the ground, she hoped once more that Growly wouldn’t cause any problems.
“My Queen,” Cypher addressed carefully. “We were ordered to bring him to you, so we are here as requested.”
Muddle shivered when she sensed the monarch’s gaze sweep over her.
“Where are your superiors?”
“I-injured, Your Highness,” Muddle answered so as to not appear quite as nervous as she felt.
Chrysalis was silent for a moment, before she snorted.
“Fine, I suppose that it will have to do.” Her voice dropped to a mumble. “And there are absolutely no more unicorns left? My magic is weak and I desire more.”
One of the nurses at the side of the bed coughed into her hoof.
“The sole unicorn we captured is completely drained,” she advised. “If you take anymore, then it will die.”
Chrysalis frowned, before turning her eyes to Mr Growls once more. Muddle looked up at the both of them, the two beings staring off at each other with matching frowns.
Then, Chrysalis broke the stare with a hacking cough, the two nurses immediately rushing to her side. They were quickly waved off with a hoof, the Queen laying her head back down against the pillows with a grunt as she got her breathing back under control.
“I guess it will have to do.”
There was a moment of inaction, before Muddle decided to take that as a prompt to action. Rising from the bow, she looked up at Mr Growls.
“Come on then, Growly.” She reached out with a hoof, pointing at the Queen’s bed.
Mr Growls stayed where he was.
“Growly,” Cypher spoke up in a whisper as she stood up.
The biped remained still, gaze not leaving the Queen.
‘Oh why now…?’
Muddle frowned to herself, before a devious tactic entered her mind. Stretching out her head, she took hold of his patchwork pant-leg with her mouth and gave it a tug. Then she looked up, and upon seeing that she had successfully drawn his attention, she looked deep into his furrowed eyes and ensured to widen her own.
“Growly…” she began, as pleadingly as she could. “Please?”
Cypher trotted up next to her, obviously getting the hint. “Yeah Growly, please?”
“Pretty please?”
“Please? Do it for us, Growly.”
“We’ll make it all up to you.”
Their tactic of hitting him with a double-dose of wide eyes started to take an obvious toll on his stubbornness. His frown disappeared as he glanced between them, but it was when Cypher moved forwards to hug his leg that he finally gave in.
“Grang, grang-gra.”
With a sigh, a hand reached down to brush her off from his leg. Still grumbling to himself, he started to walk over towards the Queen with the two nurses and the guard watching him the entire time. Muddle and Cypher both got up to follow him, the two of them sharing another concerned glance between them.
“Don’t get any funny ideas,” Chrysalis warned with a cough, Mr Growls reaching the side of her bed. “I may be wounded, but I’ll still utterly destroy you if you so much as think about fighting me again.”
Mr Growls didn’t even move, his expression sour as he stared down at the Queen.
Chrysalis glared back, her mouth slightly open in order to show off her fangs.
“We have to do something,” Cypher whispered to Muddle as the stare-off continued. “Before it gets any worse.”
Muddle nodded her head in agreement, as another plan started to take shape in her mind.
“I think I’ve got something,” she replied, before raising her voice to a normal level. “My Queen? Could you please, um… not bite him?”
Chrysalis’ head swung around to turn the glare onto her. “What did you just say to me, Drone?”
Muddle winced and, ignoring the possible chance of imminent death, powered up her horn in response.
“Gra… grungara!”
Mr Growls jolted on the spot, his right arm lifting up with a jerk. The biped stared at the light green glow that surrounded his limb, seemingly frozen in surprise.
“Muddle…”
“It’s okay Cypher,” she quietly reassured even as Mr Growls tried to poke the green glow with a finger. “I’ve got this.”
Queen Chrysalis had, upon hearing Mr Growl’s earlier grunts of surprise, turned her head to see what was bothering the biped. She’d been focused on watching him examine his magic-covered arm, and as such she was unprepared for said arm to suddenly jerk towards her.
“Just what…!”
A hand gently slapped the Queen around the face as Mr Growls found his arm shooting out towards the monarch. Muddle winced at the light contact, and quickly repositioned the hand so that it was on top of the Queen’s head. Mr Growls froze, before he slowly turned his head to shoot an unamused glare over towards Muddle.
“For once…” Chrysalis began through clenched teeth as she also focused her seething frown at the two of them. “I’m in agreement with the Food-beast.”
“Muddle!” Cypher hissed out of the corner of her mouth as she tried to smile reassuringly at the Queen. “Stop it before you get us killed!”
‘Almost… there…’
With that thought, Muddle concentrated hard and made Mr Growl’s arm go through one last movement. As gentle as she could, she guided it back and forth atop of the Queen’s head, Mr Growl’s fingers mussing up Chrysalis’ mane as his hand gave her a very awkward head rub.
The change was slow at first, Chrysalis going quiet before she seemed to relax as the rub continued. Mr Growls likewise seemed to lose his glare, and instead he stared down at Chrysalis with an odd look.
As for Muddle, she slowly powered her horn down, her magical hold over Mr Growl’s arm weakening until it was non-existent. With the magical control gone the head rub ceased, but Mr Growls still kept his hand on the Queen’s head as he quizzically looked at them for an explanation.
“Keep going,” Muddle urged with a nod. She eyed the Queen, Chrysalis still unusually quiet while she flicked an ear with a confused expression. “Go on, Growly.”
Thankfully, it seemed as if Mr Growls had understood what she was trying to say. His gaze went back towards Chrysalis and the head rub resumed, this time of his own accord. The movements were far more controlled and graceful this time, and Muddle watched as even Chrysalis couldn’t help but crack a small smile at a quick scratch behind an ear.
“We’re so lucky that this worked,” Muddle muttered while she moved up to stand beside Mr Growls.
Cypher moved with her, the other drone still eyeing Chrysalis warily despite the Queen’s current calmness. “You’re insane.”
“What?” Muddle tilted her head, Cypher moving to the other side of Mr Growls. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Cypher didn’t reply, and instead she laid down next to Mr Growl’s leg with a sigh.
Seeing her fellow worker rest her head on her forelegs with the obvious intent of ignoring her, Muddle frowned and looked away.
‘I suppose that I could have gotten her in a lot of trouble…’
“Mhmm…”
The content hum drew Muddle’s attention back to Chrysalis, the ruler sitting up straight with her ears rapidly flicking. Chrysalis’ right eye slowly turned to meet her gaze, and when it did the Queen went stock still with even her ears ceasing their involuntary movement.
There was a flash of green as the Queen’s horn lit up with a glow, Muddle falling backwards onto her rump as Mr Growl’s hand was yanked from Chrysalis’ head.
“Grung!”
“Quiet you!” Chrysalis growled, before she turned to the two nurses and the soldier. The trio had been standing quietly on the other side of the cave, watching the entire incident play out without interruption. However, they all jolted as one when their Queen barked her commands at them. “You three, leave and only return when I call for you. Tell no-one else of what has occurred here! If you do, then I’ll make myself a new throne out of your chitin!”
With repeated and hastily replies of ‘Yes, Your Highness!’ and ‘At once!’, the two nurses and the soldier raced out of the exit as fast as their hooves could carry them.
With them gone, the Queen’s gaze turned first to Cypher and then to Muddle.
“You…” the Queen muttered dangerously, Muddle shrinking down as most of the threat was directed at her. “Turn around and keep quiet. If I see so much as a peek towards me, I’ll take back my forgiveness of your previous actions. Do you understand?”
Muddle quickly rotated on the spot so that she was facing the wall, before replying.
“Y-yes, My Queen.”
“Good,” she heard Chrysalis say from behind her. “Now, as for you, Foodbeast…”
“Grung?”
The soft sound of hand hitting mane could be heard as the tingle of magic died out.
“Keep on rubbing.” There was a pause. “Ah, yes… like that there. Mmm…”
The Queen stopped talking as the light patting sound of the head rub continued, Muddle content to just lay down and take the opportunity for a rest.
‘Well,’ she silently pondered as she got comfortable. ‘That could have gone a whole lot worse…’
“Hmmm.”
A golden glow daintily lifted the white teacup to Celesta’s lips, the princess taking a refined sip of soothing tea as she adjusted her seating on the red cushion. Looking away from the tea-set on the large dining table, she glanced through the open doors to her left at the circular staircase that led to the upper floors.
She held her gaze for a moment, eyes raised in thought, before she returned to her tea with a shake of her head.
Taking another sip of tea, Celestia found her eyes wandering back to the staircase despite her efforts to ignore it, and with a sigh she carefully placed her tea-cup back onto the table before her.
‘Have I done something to upset her?’
The light tinkling of a small bell pulled her away from her thoughts, and she looked back to the doors just in time to see a yellow-coated unicorn mare in a maid’s apron push a silver trolley into the room.
“Good Morning Princess,” the mare greeted with a small nod and a smile. “Is the tea to your liking?”
“It is as perfect as always, Lemonfresh,” Celestia returned with a smile. “A fine job done, thank you.”
Lemonfresh beamed back at her while pushing the trolley up to the side of the table, before there was the light tinkle of magic. A warm orange glow carefully lifted the lid off of the trolley, before a number of plates and dishes were levitated out onto the tabletop.
Slices of fresh toast found themselves next to an assortment of jams, a bowl of carefully sliced fruit was placed to the left, and most importantly of all was the generous slice of warm tea-cake that found its spot just to the left. Celestia’s smile grew at the smell of cinnamon that wafted up from the treat, her mood lifting somewhat.
Finally, after a glass jug of vibrant orange juice had been placed down, a bundle of newspapers was levitated over to a spot on the centre of the table.
“I recommend the Manehattan Minute this morning,” Lemonfresh said as she reseated the lid on the trolley. “There’s quite a few juicy stories about the Mayoral election on pages three to seven.”
Celestia made a show of wincing. “Ah, Manehattan politics. No doubt a great start to the morning.” She followed it up with a smile as Lemonfresh allowed herself a warm laugh, but her next question was a tad more serious. “Lemonfresh, I must ask, how well has my sister been eating as of late? I’ve failed to have seen her in the last few mornings.”
The maid paused her task of picking up a dirty glass, her brow furrowed. “Princess Luna? I thought she was away on a trip. As far as I know, there’s been no sign of her around the kitchens and there’s been none of her usual midnight requests. I don’t even think she’s taken tea during Nightcourt.” Lemonfresh tilted her head. “Princess, is something the matter?”
Celestia merely smiled back and shook her head. “Oh no, Lemonfresh. There’s nothing to be concerned about, I was just a little curious.” She took another sip of tea. “I seem to recall Luna mentioning a trip to the Nocturnes some days ago, so I’ve probably just forgotten the exact dates.”
“Oh…” Lemonfresh looked up from the trolley with a slight grin. “You must be getting old, Princess.”
Celestia raised an eye, but her smile remained genuine. “You’re lucky that I’m a benevolent ruler, or that comment would have earned you a thousand years in the dungeon.” She took another sip of tea. “And then I would have to miss out on my favourite morning beverage.”
Lemonfresh continued to smile while she pushed the silver trolley back out of the door. “A most terrible fate indeed, Princess.”
The oak doors closed behind her, Celestia letting out a light laugh before refocusing on her breakfast.
She could afford an hour of relaxation, before her investigation into Luna’s whereabouts would have to begin.
“Ouch…”
Burrow winced as he woke up, a pang of pain shooting up his left foreleg and through his shoulder.
‘Probably should have accepted that pillow from the nurses,’ he thought to himself as he glanced down at the crack in his chitin. It was sealed over with a light green film, and fresh chitin was already starting to seal it all together. ‘Still, at least energy isn’t much of a worry.’
With that thought in mind, he turned his head to look behind him. The spot against the wall was empty, and there was no sign of his large friend.
‘Wonder where he went to?’
He looked back down when his stomach growled, Burrow grimacing at the thought of what it meant.
‘Well, I suppose I should get up to look for him.’
Slowly and carefully, he struggled to his hooves while putting as little weight onto this injured foreleg as possible. The rest of his injured body ached, but it was small potatoes compared to the painful throb that plagued his shoulder.
“Ow.”
Still, he managed to get to all four (well, three) hooves without much hassle, and after cricking his neck he looked around the cave.
Aphid was still sleeping on her cushion in the back corner, Burrow able to hear the occasional wheeze of her breathing from time to time. Two of the drones were also present, the pair huddled together near Aphid with their own slumber undisturbed.
‘I suppose that the other two will be with Mr Growls,’ he decided with a sigh. ‘I better go and make sure that they’re not causing him too much trouble.’
He quickly and quietly limped over towards Aphid just for a double check, before making his way towards the exit corridor.
It was probably for the best that she was still asleep.
Moving through the cave system, he didn’t pay much mind to the occasional changeling that shot him a sympathetic glance as they passed. Instead, he was much more focused on his own hooves, his mind going over the situation they were all in.
‘I guess we got too greedy,’ he decided while his hoofsteps echoed around the grey rock walls. ‘Now we’ve gone and drawn the attention of the Equestrian Princesses themselves. That means that it’ll probably be…’ He gulped. ‘Full out war once they find us. And after what just one of them did to the Queen…’
Burrow quickly decided to stop thinking about it, and instead he tried to focus on meeting back up with his friend.
‘Maybe a nice head rub,’ he wondered, before an ear flicked involuntarily. ‘Or even an ear scratch. Maybe… maybe even a neck rub too, to help get this crick out.’
He managed to make it into the main cavern just as his latest thought finished, his changeling eyes easily piercing the gloom.
Hundreds of his fellows were dotted around the massive carven, some resting on the floor while others lounged around in the numerous spaces in the walls. More than one head poked out from a wall crack, inquisitive blue eyes watching him slowly make his way across.
Burrow looked around, trying to spot any sign of Mr Growls and the two drones. He doubted that the biped would have gone too far, especially considering that the cave entrance they had come through was a good half-an-hour trot away. Pausing in his steps, he furrowed his brow and tried to think of where they would have gone.
“Hey.”
He looked up at the female voice, his eyes meeting another’s.
The changeling who had spoken was sitting in a gouged-out space about halfway up the wall, a solid twenty body-lengths up. Burrow could make out a spot of green on her chest, evidently the drone had fought in the recent battle.
“Yes?”
“You’re one of the soldiers watching that thing, right?”
Numerous other changelings looked over towards them at her sentence, Burrow paying the listeners no mind.
“I am.”
The drone pointed a hoof downwards towards one of the many tunnels, the particular one slightly to Burrow’s left.
“Two drones took him to see the Queen a few hours ago. You’re looking for him, right?”
“Yep.” He tried his hardest to smile, the news of Mr Growls meeting the Queen again sending a shiver down his spine. “Thank you.”
With that, and with newfound urgency, he hurriedly entered the indicated tunnel as directed. Hobbling along with his aching shoulder completely ignored, he didn’t stop until he rounded a corner and came face-to-face with four other soldiers.
“I’m one of the ‘Creature Controllers’,” he explained in-between puffs. “I’ve been informed that two drones took-“
“They’re in there,” one of the soldiers interrupted, before her voice dropped to a whisper. “There was some yelling, and they’ve been in there for hours now.” Burrow’s heart froze, and the soldier glanced back into the cave behind her before continuing. “You better go in and check things out.”
Hesitating, Burrow tried to peer into the room behind them.
“You… you haven’t checked?”
All four soldiers stared at him as if he was insane.
“Are you joking?” a male soldier hissed softly. “The Queen was in a mood already when we brought her in, and that was before she threw out all of the nurses and the guard!” The other three soldiers nodded with his explanation. “There were threats made about building a throne out of chitin! I don’t want to risk my chitin, none of us do.”
More nods, Burrow glancing nervously at all of them.
“So… that’s it then?” There was no answer save for stares, prompting Burrow to sigh. “I suppose that you won’t mind me risking mine, then?”
Two guards each stepped to either side of the door, allowing him entrance.
“Your funeral,” the first female spoke again.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Burrow cautiously moved into the Queen’s cavern, well aware of the gazes that watched him the whole while.
After exiting out of the small entrance tunnel, he looked around the cave before a light growl caught his attention.
“Grung ra.”
Despite not being able to understand the words, he certainly got the meaning.
‘Help me.’
Burrow glanced around the cavern, before his eyes settled upon the rather strange sight in the middle of the area.
Mr Growls was sitting cross-legged up with his back against the Queen’s pilfered bed, his face looked in an uncomfortable frown. For some reason his right arm was held out behind him, Burrow unable to see exactly where it was resting.
The two drones, however, were far easier to pinpoint. One was facing the wall and snoozing on her side with her back against a panted leg, while the second drone had managed to find her way into the biped’s lap where she had curled up to doze with a wide smile. Judging from the free hand gently stroking her back chitin, Burrow took a guess that the drones weren’t the source of his friend’s discomfort.
“What’s wrong?” Burrow whispered, drawing closer while taking great care with his steps. Judging from the lack of activity from the bed, he could only assume that the Queen was also asleep.
Burrow wasn’t game enough to want to find out how she’d react to being woken up by him sneaking into her temporary quarters.
“Grung-ra-grung,” Mr Growls hissed back, tilting his head back in the general direction of the Queen. “Rung-ra.”
Trotting closer, Burrow managed to reach his friend’s side before he looked over at the sleeping Queen.
He had to fight hard to hold back his laughter, knowing that it would mean a de-chitining for all if even a single waking chuckle escaped him.
Queen Chrysalis had a wide grin on her face while she slept, her royal wings giving an occasional twitch underneath her. The sight of the Queen sleeping peacefully was not the source of his humour, however.
No, that honour was reserved for what she was doing with Mr Growl’s hand.
Like a newborn pony foal with a pacifier, Chrysalis had clamped her jaws around two fingers while her forelegs were wrapped around the arm to pin it to her chest. A visible line of royal saliva dribbled down Mr Growl’s palm, and every so often the Queen’s teeth would lightly gnaw the hapless digits. It at least looked like Chrysalis was somewhat restrained, her fangs not seeming to cause any damage while she continued to peacefully nibble.
Burrow noticed his friend shudder with a wince, and he couldn’t help himself when he noticed the Queen’s light red tongue gently lick the underside of both fingers.
“Well, at least it looks like she likes you now,” he whispered with a grin.
Mr Growls didn’t need to understand the words to get the gist, the biped fixing Burrow with a cold, hard, stare.
Burrow’s grin morphed into an apologetic smile, and he tore his eyes away from Chrysalis to sit down beside his friend.
“Look, what do you want me to do?” he said while he placed a forehoof on Mr Growl’s shoulder. “It’s not like I can force her to let you go, do you have any idea what would happen if she caught me trying?” Gesturing with his head towards the royal, he then raised his other hoof to his own throat and drew it across in a slicing motion. “Sliiick.”
“Graug.”
The muttering was accompanied by a defeated sigh and a nod, Mr Growls slumping down in his seat as his captor continued to skilfully ravage his hand with her mouth.
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Burrow said in an attempt to cheer him up. “At least it’s the Queen herself, and not someone like Aphid.” He looked back up behind him. “Besides, she’ll probably stop sometime soon. Probably.”
Mr Growls didn’t answer, and Burrow decided to settle down and make himself comfortable.
It was possibly going to be a long wait, after all.
Golden shoes clinked on the polished marble staircase, and Celestia hummed to herself while she ascended the steps towards the second floor. A list of possible explanations filled her head, but none really made sense.
Stepping onto the red carpet that led down further into a marble corridor, she mulled over one possible example as she made her way towards her goal.
‘Could it be this apparent new coltfriend of hers? She was rather excited about him the last time we spoke.’
The thought of her sister preferring to spend time with an acquaintance of the male persuasion instead of her did not provoke the reaction that one might have expected. Instead of hurt or jelousy, Celestia could only lightly laugh to herself as she continued through the corridor.
‘My, wouldn’t that be an interesting conversation? I have yet to even inform her of the proper, modern way of courtship. I do hope that she doesn’t use a royal decree on the poor stallion…’
Celestia rounded the corner with another chuckle, and the red carpet beneath her shoed hooves gave way to one of a deep midnight-blue colour. The banners on the walls shared the same hue, their pictures of the moon and stars more than hinting at who’s area of the castle she had entered.
Regaining her composure and straightening up, she focused on the large double doors at the end of the corridor, a pair of Lunar Guard barring the way. The two guards were slouched to begin with, but quickly returned to a professional stance with a rapid salute.
“Princess Celestia,” the mare and stallion both greeted in unison when she stopped before them. Celestia took a second to examine them both, her smile warm on her face.
The two grey-furred nocturnes were wearing the usual lacquered purple armour plates of the Lunar Guard, their folded bat-wings poking out from two slits on the back. The short-spears they both held with the crocks of their hooves glinted at the top, Celestia well aware that the silver-tipped weapons were primarily designed for monsters of the night that were of the more… unreasonable natures.
“Can we assist you in any way?”
Both pairs of slitted yellow eyes looked up at her for further instructions, Celestia realising that she must have been eyeing their weapons for a second too long.
“Yes, I think that you can,” she answered with a nod. “I was actually seeking my sister, is she in her quarters at the moment?”
She raised one eyebrow when the guards shared a confused glance.
“Princess Luna?” the mare replied hesitantly. “Ma’am, the Princess left Canterlot a number of days ago with a good portion of the Canterlot Lunar Guard.”
Celestia stiffened.
“She assigned us to guard her quarters during the night,” the stallion continued. “If anyone was to ask for her, then we were to say that she was visiting our country for a few days.” The guard shifted on the spot. “However, you’re not exactly ‘anyone’, Your Highness.”
“So you don’t know exactly where she is?”
The mare spoke up again. “No, I’m afraid not. All we know is that she was taking the guards out towards the west of Equestria. She didn’t exactly say that there was trouble, but… she did take forty fully-armed guards with her.” The guard looked back up at her. “She really didn’t even tell you that she was gone?”
“No, she did not,” Celestia admitted with a shake of her head. Her concern from before had returned, and she quickly nodded once more to the guards. “Thank you both, I must take my leave now.”
“Ma’am.”
After the guards both replied and gave her a final salute, she turned and made her way back down the corridor from which she had come. Celestia stopped just as she turned the corner, however, her horn powering up with a warm golden glow.
‘Luna, just what are you up to now?’
“We shall attack them as one cohesive group, splitting off to chase down quarry one-by-one was an error we committed last time. When our reinforcements arrive we will have enough fresh guards to tip the scales of battle in our favour.”
Luna watched her two Lieutenants nod their helmeted heads at her words, the remaining thirty guards listing in from their spots around the clearing. She was unfortunately down eight healthy guards thanks to their task of escorting the freed civilians back to a safe town, and a glance over her present troops really hammered in just how little she had to work with. Everyone bore an injury of some kind, and four of her soldiers weren’t even in flying condition.
Still, a time to rest and recover was also a time to discuss future attack plans, so they would be ready for when the time to attack arrived.
“One positive in our favour is the status of their ruler, Queen Chrysalis.”
More than one guard winced at the name, a mare at the back even glancing at a hairless spot on her foreleg where a sickly green beam had singed the skin.
“My wounds are but mere scratches compared to the injuries inflicted upon her,” Luna tried to encourage. “She may have escaped to fight another day, but she did so in no fighting state. She is weak and vulnerable, and I doubt that she will recover in time to defend against a second strike.”
Another glance over her troops, the warm morning wind whistling through the tree tops and rustling restless wings.
“Unfortunately, our strength is also not at a peak. As such, we will attempt to recover as much as we can while we wait for our support to arrive.” She took a breath. “Barring any unexpected complications, I fully expect them to arrive within a-“
A sudden gust of wind and a tingle down her spine was the only warning Luna received of what was to come, before a golden flash lit up the patch of grassy meadow before her.
Her eyes widened when she beheld the cause of the rather well-timed interruption, and she allowed herself a wince as Celestia teleported in to stand before her.
‘Oh, this shall be difficult…’
“Luna,” Celestia initially greeted with a frown, before her eyes noticed the cuts on her muzzle. Her frown immediately dropped, to be replaced by a gasp.
Luna barely had time to flinch before white feathers reached out to touch her face, Celestia wincing when her wingtips came away with dried blood.
“Sister, you’re wounded.”
“Tis nothing,” Luna dismissed while straitening. “My guards have been dealt far worse, and yet they still stand.”
They both glanced around, the Lunar Guards all watching the sisterly exchange with surprise. Every guard was wise enough to not interrupt however, and Luna quickly lowered her head and voice towards Celestia.
“Please Sister, do not worry for me in front of my guards. I am fine.”
Celestia nodded softly. “Okay then.” The small frown from earlier returned. “Then perhaps you could enlighten me as to why you’re standing in this meadow, wounded, with…” Celestia glanced around again. “With all of these injured guardsponies.”
Luna ruffled her wings and flicked her mane.
“I received word that isolated towns in this area were being raided and ransacked.” She looked into Celestia’s eyes. “The work of changelings.”
Celestia took a breath, drawing air in through her teeth.
“I see.”
“Myself and my guards have already done battle with the parasites,” informed Luna, with another encouraging look towards the watching bat-ponies. “As you can no doubt see.”
“How bad is it?” Celestia asked, her eyes filled with concern. “You said multiple towns.”
Luna took a second to gather the information. “They number at least three-hundred, and have attacked two towns that we know of so far. Many townsponies have been abducted by the villains, and although we managed to free a good number, it was unfortunately not nearly enough.”
She gave Celestia a moment to process the news, before continuing.
“Their Queen, Chrysalis, was badly wounded in our skirmish however.”
That caught Celestia’s attention.
“Chrysalis? She’s with them as well?” The question was followed with a grimace, before Celestia returned her gaze to Luna. “Did you fight her?”
Puffing out her chest, Luna allowed herself to show a small amount of pride with her answer. “I did, I did duel with the tyrant and managed to overcome her despite her time spent gorging on the love of our citizens. She was helpless at my hooves, and was but a breadth away from surrendering her forces.”
Unfortunately, she didn’t stop herself from giving it away, Luna worriedly glancing back at Celestia as soon as she had said it. Celestia was paying the upmost attention despite the circumstances though, and asked the dreaded question before Luna could cover up her mistake.
“You had her beaten? Yet I can only assume that Chrysalis escaped and the battle was lost?”
“The battle was drawn!” Luna hurriedly countered, before forcing herself to calm down. She still couldn’t stop her ears from instinctively folding back with her next words, however. “Yes, drawn. As to how the Queen escaped, I was… overwhelmed by her remaining minions and distracted from preventing her escape.”
She could feel her sister’s eyes focusing on the muzzle cuts.
“My guards were fighting foes more than thrice their number, and we had managed to snatch away a wagon loaded with our captured subjects. Given the choice of pursuit or regrouping our forces…”
A wing reached out to lay itself on her armoured shoulder, Luna looking down at the white feathers as Celestia took a step closer.
“I’m sure that you, and your guards, did the very best that you could. Luna, I am in no way trying to diminish your efforts.” Celestia sighed, a weary smile showing. “I just would appreciate it if you would talk to me before rushing out to battle.”
Shifting on her hooves, Luna sighed and nodded. “I… suppose that you make a fair point, Sister. I apologise for acting… rashly.”
Celestia merely smiled back.
“I understand what you were doing Luna, and I know that you only have the best of intentions.” Another glance went around to the injured guards, Luna noticing that Celestia tensed as she examined the evidence of the fight. “I share your concern for the well-being of our subjects, and I think that it will be best if we return to Canterlot at once.”
Luna, slightly surprised at the lack of a lecture, tilted her head. “You… agree with my course of action?”
“Of course. I regret that it has come down to this, but we cannot sit idle while our ponies are in peril. Return to Canterlot with me, and we will muster our forces in preparation for the rescue attempt.”
Standing up straight, Luna nodded in reply.
“Of course, Sister. That course of action is one that I find most agreeable.”
Salt.
The pleasant taste was the first thing Chrysalis noticed as she slowly returned to wakefulness, her tongue having sub-consciously wrapped itself around whatever was in her mouth in an attempt to get more of the mineral. She frowned slightly and nibbled at the foreign object, her curiosity rising as she felt it flex as if it was alive.
‘Hmm?’
Slowly opening her eyes, she looked down at what she was sucking on and froze when she traced the patchwork-covered arm towards a pair of small and unamused blue eyes.
“Grung.”
“Ah!”
With her yell of alarm and resulting jump out of the bed, Chrysalis noticed several things.
Flying in the air with her wings buzzing madly, she didn’t feel one shred of pain. No aches from her wings, no searing pain from gashes in her chitin and flesh, nothing. In fact, if she had looked down at herself then she would have seen no trace of the wounds that Luna had inflicted upon her, save for a few faint lines where the chitin had sealed together.
Secondly was the mad scrambling of the two drones that she had allowed to stay in the room, the workers jolting up from their own slumber to cower behind one of the Creature Controllers who had obviously snuck in while she had been sleeping. The three changelings stared up at her with wide eyes, but Chrysalis was instead focused on the Food beast.
He was staring down at his salvia-coated hand with a grimace, and he quickly shook as much off of it as he could before he wiped his hand on his pant leg. With that done, he crossed his arms and glared up at her.
Chrysalis couldn’t help but feel just a little insulted.
“M…My Queen,” the Creature Controller greeted after a moment of hesitation, awkwardly bowing his head. The two drones behind him followed suite, or at least tried, their shaking not exactly helping them. “I see that your… ah, ‘feeding’, has done wonders for your royal health.”
He flinched back when her wings buzzed furiously, but Chrysalis neglected to admonish him for daring to bring attention to her prior slumbering activities. Instead, she dropped to the ground and gave herself a proper examination, one eye raising as she found that the cracks had indeed healed.
‘Huh,’ she wondered to herself while prodding a seal mark on her chest with a hoof. ‘Just how much did I drain from him?’
Looking back up, she caught the biped rubbing the side of his head, before his beady eyes turned to glare at her once more. Deciding that it wasn’t worth demanding an explanation from him and, honestly, never considering to actually apologise herself (she could do no wrong after all), Chrysalis instead fixed all four of them with a hard stare and pointed a hoof towards the door.
“No one saw anything,” she commanded with the narrowing of her eyes. “If I hear of any talk about this matter, I’ll deal with the problem changelings myself.”
There were three audible gulps, Chrysalis returning to the bed and crossing her forelegs.
“Now get out.”
She watched the three changelings bump and corral the biped, the Creature Controller butting the biped’s leg with his head to get him to move.
“Grumngra.”
“Come on, Mister Growls,” the soldier whispered, before the biped tore his unhappy gaze away from the Queen with a huff. Chrysalis watched him turn and leave with his escort, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the back of them.
‘What a bunch of fools.’
Despite her harsh thought, her frown waivered as she struggled to maintain her anger towards the departing beings. Giving a final glance down to her healed chest, she gave up with a snort and instead laid back upon the bed to stare up at the rocky ceiling.
“You’re going to have to let it heal for at least another six days, with a double ration of energy to help it along.”
“I don’t really think that you need to assign her a double ration Nurse, she gets more than enough as it is.”
Lying down on the equestrian pillow that had been looted for her, Aphid was too miserable to even shoot a disapproving glare at Mirror. The drone was standing behind the female nurse as the latter frowned, the medical changeling circling around Aphid with a shake of her head.
“About that. I can’t say that I know a lot about the assignment you’ve been given, but you all need to be getting a varied diet.” The nurse
trotted back round to the front, looking Aphid in the eyes. “You in particular have been feeding excessively from one source, and that’s the cause of the Overgorging.”
“Overgorging?”
The drone who had spoken, Meddle, sat up in her spot towards the back of the cave.
“It’s a common issue amongst infiltrators,” the nurse explained with a glance back towards Meddle. “Feeding off a lone source of affection and love can have side-effects upon a changeling.” Her focus returned to Aphid, and the nurse tilted her head. “Have you been experiencing an unusual attraction towards the source of your energy?”
Aphid frowned.
“Define ‘unusual’.”
The nurse did a double-take, before shaking it off.
“Okay then… erratic behaviour?”
“Define ‘erratic’,” Muddle jumped in with a teasing grin, Aphid summoning up the effort to glare at the offending drone.
“Ha. Ha.”
Meanwhile, the nurse was glancing between them with a sigh,
“Well, regardless of anyling’s personal quirks or desires, I need you all to keep this in mind. You need to occasionally take some energy from the stores so you’re not just feeding off of the sole source. I know that this situation is… unique, but it’s a standard safety practice.”
The nurse focused back on Aphid, her tone softening slightly. “But you can worry about that later. I want you to get plenty of rest, refrain from talking except through the Hive link, and refrain from any muzzle-intensive activities. You do that, and you should come out of this without any major signs of damage. Okay?”
Nodding, Aphid snorted out air through her uncovered nostrils. Folding her forelegs over each other and resting her head upon them, she stared at the rocky cave floor with her ears folded down.
“Thank you for stopping by to see her,” Mirror said to the nurse.
“It was no bother. Still, I’ve got many more changelings that need my attention, so I must be going.” Trotting towards the cave exit, the nurse looked back. “Remember what I said about varied diet.”
“We will,” Muddle called out from her spot, before she turned to look at Aphid. “At least you’re okay, right Aphid?”
Another snort. “Do I look like I feel okay?”
Muddle quietened down and laid down in her spot, Mirror soon joining her.
Aphid could hear both of them whispering to each other, likely about her, so she shifted onto her side and tried to blot it out.
‘This sucks.’
While not the most profound thought, it was certainly appropriate. Sighing again, she wiggled her nose in an attempt to get rid of the itch that had popped up on the end of it, but that only succeeded in sending a jolt of pain through her snout.
Wincing, she resisted pulling up a hoof to touch the sore spot, and instead she could only grit her teeth and look up as voices grew louder from the entrance tunnel.
“I don’t think she was that mad to be honest, she wasn’t as yelly as usual.”
“Shh, Meddle. Don’t speak about it anymore. Do you want to get us all in trouble?”
“Grabra bra graw.”
“You tell her, Growly.”
Aphid sighed when four more beings entered the small cave, the other two drones and Burrow trotting next to a biped she was quite familiar with.
“Aphid?”
They all instantly noticed that she was awake, and predicably it was Burrow who immediately made a beeline straight towards her. What she wasn’t expecting was for him to lean down and give her a light nuzzle, her fellow comrade leaning back after a few moments to smile at her.
“You’re awake! Thank the Queen, we were all so worried about you.”
For once, she was thankful for the hard green goo that held her muzzle in place, as it worked wonders for hiding her blush from them all.
“Worried about me?” she quickly tried to cover. “It should be the other way round. Who knows what trouble you’re all getting into without me around to keep you in line.”
Her mental response elected a laugh from Burrow and the drones, her fellow Creature Controller sharing a conspiring look with Muddle and Cypher.
“Well,” Burrow said with a low voice. “Mr Growls was ordered to help the Queen recover by letting her drain him.”
Aphid raised an eye. “Oh?”
“It went well,” Cypher answered with a smile while she brushed up against a panted leg. “Growly was a little wary of the Queen to begin with, but soon she was… well, the ponies would say ‘eating out of his hoof’. So I guess she was eating out of his hand.”
“More like eating his hand,” Muddle sniggered softly, Burrow shooting her a warning look.
‘What did I miss?’
“The Queen is pretty much fully healed though, thanks to him,” continued Burrow. “She was still pretty cranky, but that’s nothing out of the usual.”
“So she’s going to lay off us a bit then?”
Burrow moved to sit down against the wall, the drones following to rest beside him. “Hopefully. There’s a bit more for her to worry about now, after all.” Then, Burrow tilted his head. “Mr Growls? Aren’t you going to sit down?”
Aphid looked back towards Mr Growls, the biped having remained where he was standing. He was looking right at her, and Aphid quickly adverted her eyes with the nurse’s words from before echoing in her mind.
“Grung.”
She was aware of him approaching, but Aphid only looked back up when he sat down and placed a hand on top of her head.
“Gra… grawbra grungraw rawbra. Rawng grabraw.” Mr Growls sheepishly rubbed the back of his own head with his other hand, Aphid blinking as he continued. “Rawbranga graw. Grabran. Graw?”
He seemed to be waiting for something, Aphid looking over towards Burrow and the drones. All five were watching the exchange with smiles, Burrow nodding his head.
“I’m pretty sure that he’s apologising for crashing into you. He was pretty cut up about it while you were out.”
“Oh…”
She looked up to meet Mr Growl’s eyes, her forehoof pointing towards her sealed mouth.
“Can someone tell him that it’s okay?”
Burrow pointed back to Mr Growls. “I think he’s already working something out.”
Focusing back, Aphid watched Mr Growls pull out his writing things from his pocket. With the black drawing-stick on white parchment, he seemed to carefully scribble something while she waited. Finished after about a minute, he turned the parchment around proudly and showed her the results.
Aphid stared at the crudely drawn picture of a changeling shaking hooves with… a mass of lines that she assumed was supposed to be himself. Lightly smiling at her, he took the parchment back and drew one big line underneath his picture.
“Grung.”
The parchment and drawing-stick were placed down in front of her, Aphid quickly getting the idea.
Ensuring to shield the paper from his view with a foreleg her horn lit up as she quickly got to work. Mr Growls sat back all the while, arms crossed as he waited for her to finish.
Aphid took a few minutes to finish, but when she did so she held the writing-parchment out to him, face down. Gently taking it from her, he nodded before flipping it over and looking at her response.
His smile dropped.
“Aphid,” Burrow questioned from his spot, having watched the entire exchange. “What’s wrong?”
The parchment was passed over to Burrow, Mr Growls shooting her an unamused look as he did so. Burrow grasped it in his hooves, and was silent for a few moments.
“I see,” he stated flatly. “A penis. A big, incredibly detailed, changeling penis.”
Burrow lowed the parchment as the four drones sat up to look at the drawing.
“Aphid, I think you misunderstood the purpose of his gesture.”
“Ha-!”
She stopped laughing immediately as pain smashed through her snout, her hooves cradling her face as she realised her mistake.
Then, a soft hand grabbed her left foreleg, and she felt something she wasn’t expecting.
A large, healthy dose of concern.
The soothing energy flowed into her like a flood, the positive emotion swelling up and soothing the pain plaguing her. In fact, within a few moments it was gone completely, and Aphid withdrew her hooves to look back up.
Mr Growls had furrowed his eyes, and behind him she could see Burrow about to get out of his seat with worry plain to see.
“I’m fine, really,” she reassured those able to mentally communicate. “Sit back down, Burrow.”
He did as asked, and Aphid pulled her foreleg out of Mr Growl’s grasp to lie back down.
‘Can’t even laugh at Growly anymore.’
Flopping back down upon her side, not even a nice ear scratch could cheer her up. She looked up at the biped sitting next to her, granted he was at least trying something, but in the end she just shook her head at him.
“It’s just no use, Growly.”
The ear scratch slowed, almost as if he had heard her. Frowning, Mr Growls slowly removed his hand from her head.
And then, Aphid saw his eyes light up.
‘Hmm?’
A five-fingered hand dived into a patchwork pocket, before it emerged with an item that instantly took hold of Aphid’s full attention.
A cream-coloured necklace, two clear ends tied together neatly in a bow.
‘About time.’
Even if she wasn’t prevented from speaking, Aphid still wouldn’t have voiced the half-complaint out loud. Instead, she remained still save for bowing her head and her slight excited trembling. Her reward came soon after, one edge of the alien gift catching on the tip of her horn for a second before it slipped over neatly to rest around her neck.
Aphid looked down and touched the clear ends with her hooves, her eyes marvelling at the sheer detail that they seemed to hold. Looking closer, she could even make out small bits of bronze-coloured metal within the centre. It seemed like an impossible craft to complete by hoof, or in this case hand, and she figured that the sheer value of the necklaces Growly had been handing out must have been huge.
Looking back up to meet his eyes, Aphid had to find another way to say thanks without being able to talk or even smile.
‘Nurses be damned.’
Lunging forwards, she wrapped her forelegs (or tried to, anyway) around a large stomach, and nuzzled against the drone-made shirt while taking care not to make contact with the injured parts of her face.
“…Rangraw.”
Despite the sigh, and the muffled laughter from her fellows observing, Aphid could still feel the small trickle of affection that signalled the acknowledgement of her appreciation.
‘Maybe these six days won’t be so bad after all,’ she thought while a hand rested upon her back and she happily arched up to meet the rub. ‘Not with me being able to guilt-trip Growly like this, anyway.’
Hoofsteps upon rocky stone echoed through the main cavern, changelings all around bowing in reference to the figure that marched out of a tunnel with five soldiers flanking her on each side.
Chrysalis ignored the wisps of surprise and awe that floated towards her from her gathered subjects as she surveyed the gloomy cave with a glint in her eyes. Her heart pumped strongly in her chest, a surprising amount of new-found strength surging through her veins with every beat. Even the guards around her were having difficultly repressing their shock at the situation, and it was with a smug smile with which Queen Chrysalis said her next words.
“Attention, my children!” she addressed, her voice booming and strong. “There is no time for us to delay in returning to the Hive, now that I have recovered fully!”
‘And then some,’ she silently admitted.
Straightening with pride at the whispered chattering that broke out at her announcement, Chrysalis continued on while still smiling.
“I know that many of you are still injured, lacking my royal constitution, but it matters not.” Her smile lessened. “The foolish Equestrians continue to hunt for us above ground, likely thinking that we took shelter in the mountains above these very caves. Ha! Once again they underestimate my cunning! We will return to our Hive with our prisoners and loot, we will feed, we will grow in number. And then…”
She allowed herself a quick and evil laugh.
“And then we shall return to their lands with renewed strength, to take what should be mine!”
This time, her subjects all joined in with the laughter, the entire cave echoing with the sound of buzzing wings and stamping hooves.
Chrysalis basked in the feelings of eager agreement, her already swell mood increasing even more.
Then, with a wave of her hoof and a quick mental command, she silenced them all.
“I’m pleased that you all agree with my course of action. As such, I expect you all to be ready to depart down the tunnel as soon as I command it.” Her tone gained an edge of warning. “I expect it to be in a few minutes, stragglers will be left behind to find their own way back.”
With that, she turned and led her guards towards one small tunnel in particular, Chrysalis once again inwardly gloating over her refreshed physical state.
‘Still one more thing to take care of,’ she thought with an absence of her usual malice. It was quite a surprise for her when she realised it.
Leaving the main cave behind, it was only a small trot through the tunnel before she reached one of the smaller caves that she knew of.
Pausing and looking back at her soldiers, she waved a hoof.
“Wait for me here, I will be out again in a moment.”
“My Queen,” the lead soldier acknowledged with a bow of his head, the others following suite.
Focusing back on the cave, Chrysalis trotted right into it and took a moment to examine the occupants.
The Foodbag was sitting down in the centre, the female Creature Controller sprawled out on her back in his lap. Chrysalis could almost taste the enjoyment as a hand gently rubbed a stomach, the Creature Controller’s hind hooves twitching with every stroke.
She almost wanted to take the Creature Controller’s place.
‘Wait, what?’
Chrysalis blinked her eyes at the brief thought, a snort escaping her nostrils at the mere suggestion of allowing such a beast to… pet her royal form so. She was Queen of the Changelings, not some mere soldier who she couldn’t even remember the name of.
Still, she felt no need to order them to stop. Passing it off as a shred of sympathy once she noticed the obvious injuries of the Creature Controller, who was no doubt feeding off of the energy for recovery purposes, Chrysalis turned her attention to the rest of the Foodbag’s handlers.
The male Creature Controller had already shot up to his hooves as soon as he had noticed her enter, and the four drones were not far behind. All five bowed, Chrysalis noticing the male shoot a glance towards the Foodbag.
“Aphid!” he hissed. “The Queen is here!”
To her credit, the Creature Controller at least managed to look up at her. The Foodbeast had also paused and was now focused on her, Chrysalis taking note of how he protectively tucked his free hand into his pocket.
A brief flash of a finger-filled memory, and Chrysalis found her tongue giving her lips an unconscious lick. She didn’t notice the Foodbeast flinch, being too focused on shaking her head to chase another bad thought away.
‘Just what in Tartarus is wrong with me?’
“My Queen, I’m so sorry!”
Putting her attention back to the mental words, Chrysalis eyed Aphid. The Creature Controller was trying to struggled to her hooves, but it seemed as if the biped’s lap was a deep and difficult trap to escape indeed. Chrysalis held up a hoof to holt her once the Foodbag went to help her off, though.
“Don’t worry about,” she dismissed, the surprise from the other changelings easy to pick up. “I’m not here for shows of reverence, I am here to speak to the Foodbag.”
“Oh…” the male Creature Controller said, one eye raised. “You want to speak with Mr Growls?”
“Amazing,” Chrysalis huffed with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve got a Creature Controller that’s unable to speak, and now one that apparently can’t hear, either. Now all I need is a blind changeling to add to this group and it’ll all be complete!”
The male shut his mouth, and lowered his head ashamed.
Dismissing him as not worthy of the worry, Chrysalis focused back on the Foodbeast and raised a hoof to point at him.
“You, Foodbeast.”
The dumb creature blinked his beady little eyes, one hand still resting upon Aphid’s belly. “I found the sustenance you provided me with to be most… sufficient.”
A brief image of incredibly nommable fingers flashed through her mind, Chrysalis gritting her teeth into a smile and trying hard to ignore it.
“As such, I am going to make you my official evening meal.” She smirked. “You should be honoured.”
There was a harsh cough, and both Chrysalis and the ‘Foodbeast’ broke eye contact to look towards the male Creature Controller. The four drones stared with worry as the male straightened up, his face scrunched up with hesitation.
“My Queen, as much as as… honour that it is…” he gulped. “Do you really think that it’s such a good idea to feed off of him so often? We had a nurse around earlier checking up on Aphid and she said…”
The soldier trailed off as Chrysalis leaned in towards him, lime-green eyes digging a stern glare into the hapless fool’s own.
“Soldier,” Chrysalis began slowly. “Do I look like a changeling that a nurse has authority over?” She got closer still, her muzzle nearly touching his own. “Do you think that a nurse would even command a full understanding of my own royal magnificence?”
The four drones had notably stepped away from the two of them, and wisely everyone had kept their mouths shut during her questions. The male soldier was left on his own, and he loudly swallowed another lump in his throat before he tried to answer.
“Um… I…”
“Grungra.”
Chrysalis snapped her head around at the interruption, the biped having set the other Creature Controller down on her hooves before his challenge. Said Creature Controller had wisely decided to take shelter behind his legs.
He was frowning at her with his eyes crossed, Chrysalis meeting it with a glare of her own.
‘Gah! I hate having to look up to this beast whenever he is standing!’
“Rawng grunder grabra grungraw,” the Foodbeast grunted out with a finger poking out to point at the only male changeling in the room. “Grungra graw.”
Now, normally Chrysalis would have bared her fangs at anyone who dared to defy her will, especially if they were some lowly non-changeling. A quick jolt from her magic or a short burst of mind-control would be the follow up if they were really unlucky or persistently rude, followed of course by the unpleasant experience of being love-drained to near-emptiness.
Unfortunately for her, this time she found herself still focusing on the delicious finger the was just hovering there in the air. A sweet, innocent finger that was just helplessly attached to an equally scrumptious hand, the digit almost taunting her with its urge to be savagely ravaged by her royal tongue…
A drop of drool nearly escaped her mouth, and Chrysalis quickly snapped her jaws shut before it had the chance to reveal itself to everyone watching. A shudder ran down her spine, and she further disguised her uncomfortable urges with a huff and irritated flick of her mane.
“Fine, you can prepare to depart without me here,” she grunted. Turning, she shot steely glances towards the two Creature Controllers. “My previous decree hasn’t changed either. I expect the Foodbeast to be brought before me at every sundown.” Her eyes lingered on the male soldier. “Understood?”
“Yes, my Queen,” the male hurried out with his head still bowed.
“As you command.”
“Good.” She looked back over her shoulder at the Foodbeast, his arms still crossed as he watched her warily.
‘A defiant one, aren’t you?’ she thought, before making sure to meet his eyes with a final stare. ‘Unusual, especially for one that looks so disgusting, you fat Oaf.’
“Oi, watch your mouth, Cunt.”
The room’s temperature seemed to drop to a chill.
“Who dares!?” Chrysalis hissed, eyes blazing with a dangerous fury as she swept her eyes across the occupants of the room. Every changeling hunched down with flinches at her words and venomous tone, Chrysalis’ tongue flicking in and out as she tried to taste any hint of the culprit.
There was none, her eyes finally making it back to the now confused biped’s.
“Talk about bloody fucking ballistic.”
“Again!” Chrysalis gave her terrified subjects another furious examination. “I will find you, and I will take your chitin from you! Mark my words!”
A stammering stutter escaped from a huddled drone.
“Q-Queen Chrysalis, what did we d-do wrong?”
Her tongue flicked out at the drone, before Chrysalis pulled her head back with a puff of air through her sharp fangs. With slitted eyes she glared at all six of the possible offenders, still unable to find one trace of the idiotic rebel.
Snarling, she gave the room a quick flurry of glares before her eyes rested back upon the Foodbag.
“You better not be hiding a changeling behind that bulk of yours!” she uttered menacingly, another burst of mental communication choosing that exact time to enter her head.
“The fuck does she even want?”
Chrysalis went stock still, before her eyes blinked in shock.
‘No…’ she thought while still looking into the beady blue eyes. ‘It can’t be the Foodbag..’
“The fucking what?”
It was at that time that both Chrysalis and the ‘Foodbag’ stiffened, both of them continuing to look into each other’s eyes as they tried to process their identical conclusions. It was Chrysalis who broke the ‘silence’, her hooves taking her a step back as she fully comprehended the situation.
“What fresh torment is this!?”
Foodbag was notably less eloquent in his own addition.
“Fuck me sideways and call me Sheila...”