Mirage stood unflinching next to an artillery crew as its members mechanically went through the motions like the trained professionals they were. The great gun belched a choking cloud of white smoke that she shielded herself from with a simple filtering spell.
Red shells streaked overhead as the day wore on. Many came from that new Dominion “flying frigate,” DNV Music And Lyrics, which sang its song in the form of deadly artillery. Its guns had more range than the Atlanteans’ own dirigible, Perplexus, which was currently grounded for necessary maintenance. Music And Lyrics had a longer range than even Emberforge’s stationary defenses.
She considered shooting the “flying frigate” down with a lightning spell, but decided against it. A stationary target was hard enough to hit with a barely-contained spell like Lightning, and that wasn’t even referring to the skill of the spellcaster. So much concentration was required that she could literally fry her brain getting ready to unleash.
Her bodyguard Pseudonym stood like a statue next to the chatting Crimson, Platinum, and Southern Lights. The three Atlanteans were still partnered with her, but she didn’t mind. They did save her life the day before, in the dimly lit corridors deep underground. All three seemed to enjoy the “fresher” air up top, but were antsy about getting shot at. But who wasn’t?
Crimson raised his repeater and twirled it around, making sure it was unloaded before he did so. A bit of rifle twirling later, he dropped it on the rocks and chipped the stock. He sheepishly picked it back up and tried again. This time, he was joined by Platinum and South, and they all failed hilariously.
After that round of giggles passed, Crimson looked up at Mirage. He then asked, “Why does your hive feel the need to keep you so safe?”
Mirage sighed. She knew the question was bound to come. “Only a Queen can control the Hive. Her telepathic link with the drones allows for that. In the event that the Queen dies, it is the duty of the eldest Princess to take her place as Queen. The link is transferred right at the moment of death.
“A Changeling Queen can only give birth to a live Princess once every century, give or take a couple years. During that time, her anatomy is magically changed to allow for that; the rest of her life, she can only lay eggs that hatch into newborn drones. My mother’s latest chance resulted in me, just shy of seventeen years ago. You follow?”
Crimson nodded, so she continued: “The Emberforge Valley Hive almost lost its lineage to the Dominion’s elites five hundred years ago. Queen Duplicate, my mother, was the sole survivor of that encounter. Ever since then, she has kept a tight lid on what her Princesses can do in the interests of keeping the Hive safe and with a leader. Got it?”
“Just one question,” Platinum asked. “How do you know when that… time is?”
Mirage looked blank for a second. Then it clicked. “Oh, that time. I know what you mean. I guess it’s kind of a thing that the Queen would just know.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, my mother strived to protect me and prevent such a disaster from recurring. And she has good reason, so I don’t argue.
“My hive was never always in Emberforge Valley. My mother recalls growing up in a country east of here, where the vast Dominion stretches more. When her family was all but destroyed and she became Queen, she gathered up the Hive and left. They almost didn’t make it. After a year of retreat, constant attacks, and hard labor, she and her subjects launched crude rafts to cross the deceptively wide Narrow Ocean. Followed by the Dominion navy, they weathered storms, sea monsters, and low provisions as they islandhopped westward. Most of the rafts were lost, but they were cast ashore during the night near what you call Cape Lune.”
“Is that how this land was first colonized by the Dominion? They followed you here?” South piped up.
“Yes. They continued the chase for another several months until we disappeared under the bluffs here, where we remained for five hundred years, expanding and upgrading the dried lava tubes for our own purposes.”
“Woah.” The three ponies’ jaws dropped. “That’s amazing.”
Even the gun crews had slowed their fire to hear the story. One asked, “Hey, are there any female drones?”
“Actually, yes,” Mirage replied. “Female drones are quite common, and they can lay eggs to hatch into more drones. It’s just that the Queen is the only one capable of bringing Princesses into the world.
“And the original subject calls to mind an interesting topic. If the entire lineage of a Hive is destroyed, another Queen may come and establish her own link with that remaining Hive. She then becomes their Queen. Sadly, I know of a couple Queens that abuse this rule, namely Chrysalis, Flutterby, and Nautica. Now that they most likely know the situation here, they will no doubt come and attempt to take control.”
“That won’t happen,” Silvercrest said. She’d listened in as she approached the group, noticing the slightly lower rate of fire. “The invasion’s about to start.” Raising her voice, she called, “All artillery crews, switch to fuse shot!” The order was relayed down the mountain, the ponies responding to it as soon as their guns had fired the round already in them. Then the mid-air explosion of fuse shot sent shrapnel down on the encamped Domination Army still on the surface. Round shot had done well, but the process of systematically wrecking the enemy sped up considerably now that the fuses blew more pieces into the target.
“I want to lead,” Mirage said simply. It wasn’t a request. It was said like an order.
“You know why you can’t.”
“Yes, I know. I don’t care. I’m leading my Changelings into my hive and I’m taking my hive back.”
Silvercrest noticed that the Changeling army was gathering at the front gates, judging by the commotion her ears picked up. “They expect you to, don’t they?”
“Of course they do. It’s tradition in this Hive for the Queen, or in this case, her eldest Princess, to fight alongside her subjects. If I do not, I may lose any moral authority I have.”
“Since you put it that way, I guess you must be there. Just don’t die.”
“Thank you. Pseudonym, come on!” Mirage spread her wings and flew through the underground corridors to her waiting army.
“Crimson, Platinum, South, I want you to go with her. If she does go out there, at least somepony’ll be with her.” Silvercrest gestured to the expansive wilderness being torn by artillery.
“Yes, ma’am!” they chorused. The three hustled down to Mirage and explained their orders, catching up when she was in front of her army, wearing a full suit of flexible morphleather armor.
She stared at them for a second. “Fine. Let’s go kick the Dominion out.”