"Be brutally honest with me, does this look stupid? I feel like it looks stupid, but at the same time, I'm feeling rather badass," you asked, tilting the crown that sat upon your head. Not just any crown, but Chrysalis' crown. The thin collection of little black stick looking things that ended in green-blue bulbs. To be honest, you thought it was part of her head for the longest time, like a collection of antennae... or a growth.
"I can't believe Queen Chrysalis gave her crown to you. Such a waste of a valuable artifact," Vespa hissed, sounding like a serpent ready to strike as she strode beside you. Her hooves made less noise than most Changelings you noticed, but that didn't really matter to you.
"Hey, she gave this to me out of love... and also got herself an even more bitching crown," you pointed out. Indeed, Chrysalis had given you her crown as a sign that you were to be her king, but also showed off a brand new crown to replace it. You had to admit, the new crown was pretty badass. It looked like a series of vines weaved together, with five large, curved blue-green thorns pointing up and inward. It looked like something out of a heavy metal album cover.
"Then her old crown should be properly disposed of, so as not to allow any inferior creature to try and use it as a symbol of authority they do not rightfully deserve," Vespa countered, not even turning to face you to drive home the comment clearly meant as a jab at you. Of course, with her current position at your side, her blind eye was the only one that really was directed at you.
Giving a mock gasp, you said "Are you doubting the wisdom of your queen? You would cast shame upon the decisions that Chrysalis has made in giving me this crown?"
Snorting, Vespa replied "I have not cast any doubt upon my queen's decisions, I only show concern that without her power, you will lose that crown and another inferior creature will lay their hooves upon it. Furthermore, you should be addressing her as Queen Chrysalis."
You frowned, finding Vespa's response to be so... emotionless? That wasn't quite it. She just didn't react with the same level of anger that Ap did, while still making clear she despised you more. This was going to be a bit of a pain, but maybe it was for the best. After all, that bitter attitude that belied a soft, sweet nature inside was part of why you loved Ap. She was like a dark chocolate Easter egg filled with marshmallow. The fact that Vespa wasn't like that meant you weren't likely to fuck her and create another queen. You were still trying to work out how to handle the two you'd be dealing with soon enough. The only thing you did know was... you really missed Easter candy now.
"Hey One-Eyed Willy, is there any candy stored in the hive at all? I'm suddenly hankering for something sweet to eat," you asked, feeling your stomach rumble at the memory of sweets.
Stopping in her tracks, Vespa turned to you, her good eye not betraying the irritation you were sure she was feeling. "Queen Chrysalis has already given me instructions not to allow you to spoil your diet. An excess of sugar would disrupt the careful balance of proteins she's already planned out for you... and also stated that processed sugars would ruin the flavor of your seed," Vespa declared, hesitant to mention certain parts, but not embarrassed in the slightest to do so. She likely didn't want to imagine Chrysalis gulping your jizz down like a milkshake on a hot summer day.
"Wasn't aware she was that picky about how my cum tasted, but I am a sex god, and so it is my duty to be the most pleasurable I can for those lucky enough to taste my divine seed upon their tongues," you stated proudly, wishing that you still had your post-breakfast boner, but alas, too much time had past.
"I have no desire to talk about your sexual acts. Let's just keep going to the nursery," Vespa requested, not waiting for you to respond as she turned back and started forward.
"Hey, you're the one that started talking about my baby batter. I think you're just trying to mask your desire to see my meat mushroom. If you ask, I'll gladly show you, give you a sneak peek as to what the statue will look like one day," you teased, although you were serious at the same time.
Damn, now you were thinking about your penis statue. What did you want it made out of? Marble? Granite? No wait, gold! And it'd have to be more of a fountain, firing out champagne! Or maybe cream for a better visual? Probably, cause otherwise it'd look more like piss. It was a good thing to get these thoughts out of the way before you had the temple dedicated to your holy shaft... of course, that was the back up plan, if you couldn't get Apocrita to win over Chrysalis and keep your standing. Unless Apocrita planned on deifying you as well. You really should ask her about her plans for the hive.
You realized Vespa was merely staring at you at this point. "What? Too much? Not enough? Probably not enough," you asked, trying to figure out why she was staring at you.
"Just waiting for you to finish speaking so we can continue to the nursery, unless you have changed your mind," Vespa answered, twisting her hoof into the floor as she spoke.
"No, I'm good, lets keep going. I want to see my babies and start figuring out what to name them before they hatch," you stated, something about the sentence making you shudder, but another part made you warm. This whole thing was real fucked up. You also needed to keep your new guard away from your room. Chitin knew about everything inside, so returning to your room was fine with him around, but Vespa was going to be a problem. Even returning to your room for the night would be a danger now, but you also needed to check in on Ap every so often. You blamed Chitin for worming his way out of acting duty.
Hissing softly as you took the lead, Vespa said "For your sake, don't bother naming them all. Most broods have a tendency to be cut in at least half as the larvae consume each other for nutrients."
You went wide-eyed, stopping once more, only for Vespa to now nudge you back into motion, apparently not willing to wait this time. "Bullshit, I've been in there twice now, I didn't see any larvae eating each other. You're just fucking with me," you retorted, although a very real fear was rising in your chest.
"That's only because you weren't around for a hatching. Newborns often give into their immediate hunger, and the embryonic fluids of the egg still coat one another. This marks each as being weaker than the older larvae, and so they prey upon those of their own brood. Usually one larva will eat one other, but those with a greater aptitude will often eat a little more. I would know, three of my siblings became my first meal," Vespa stated. The most disturbing fact was that she said it without malice or regret. She didn't feel one way or another about the fact she had coldly devoured others to sate her own infantile hunger, just that it was a fact that it happened.
"That's some fucked up shit," you whined, your legs suddenly feeling a lot heavier as you turned the corner toward the nursery. Why was all the super dark stuff about these guys the stuff they seemed to downplay the most? Heavens forbid Pharynx fucking with you about laying eggs in your anus made you think that they'd eat their way out... maybe not give them that idea.
"It's nature. Rumor has it that Queen Chrysalis herself had devoured her entire brood, signalling the vast and overwhelming potential one single larva could possibly have. I do not believe in rumors, but fact would remain that as the offspring of our glorious queen, her brood will likely present some very hungry young," Vespa acknowledged, a slight, twisted smile tugging at her lips, mostly as she seemed to consider how great Chrysalis was.
Pushing the door open, you ignored the vast number of hissing maggot monsters that started crawling in your direction as you waltzed in. You still wanted to stomp on some of the little buggers, but knowing that your own kids were going to look like that, you had to push down the desire and stomach their abominable faces.
"Yeah, well, I'll be there when they hatch, and I'll hug them all and give them love they can feed on and they'll all be alive! So fuck you and your fucked up notion of fratricidal cannibalism!" you shouted, apparently scaring a few of the larvae as you stomped forth. Yes, big words had a tendency of scaring the small minded.
"I'm doubtful a creature such as yourself possesses enough love to feed an entire brood like that," Vespa snorted as she stood near the door for a moment, letting some of the worm babies wiggle into her legs.
Rolling your eyes, you walked as far out as you needed to get beneath the spot where Chrysalis had pointed out your brood. As you looked up to inspect the eggs, you replied "Says you. I made Chrysalis healthy with my dick alone, imagine how much I can give with my heart... fuck, that sounded corny... give me a boost."
Vespa stared at you, simply watching as you spread your arms out like a child waiting to be lifted by their parent. Eventually though, she recognized that you weren't kidding and growled, buzzing her wings as she flew over to you, catching you under the arms with her forelegs, the serrations not cutting into you, but catching on your shirt as she lifted you up.
As you came closer to the eggs, now able to reach out and touch them, confirming the warmth you felt the first time, Vespa asked "If this is true... then why have you not given our queen the love in your heart? Truly she would benefit more from a proper, heartfelt feeding than simply the scraps of your lust, especially if you truly loved her so much that you would return to her?"
Shit. You hadn't even thought about that. Chrysalis probably hadn't thought much about it if only because she was happy with the belief that you had willingly come back to her. You'd apparently been unintentionally feeding Ap some of your true love, or whatever sappy shit you wanted to call it, so you weren't sure if you could willingly present it. If not, the fact you hadn't been feeding Chrysalis anymore was probably looking very bad right now.
You decided to bullshit it and said "I'm saving it for marriage, of course! I can't let her have a taste of the good stuff until we're official, otherwise she might just be using me. The sex was an obvious test of whether she was using for me for my lovely body, and she was sorta walking the line there."
Vespa's chest rumbled against your back as she growled. "You would dare to question the sincerity of our queen's feelings? She may be the queen of deceivers, but if she gives you her word, then she speaks the truth," Vespa declared, her forked tongue flicking against the back of your neck as she hissed.
Without skipping a beat, you answered "Why not? You certainly seem to be doubting her decisions lately." That seemed to shut Vespa up, not even offering a retort to defend herself. Smirking in victory, you began to look over the various eggs, giving them the proper attention they deserved.
"Let's see... I think you'll be Hopper, you'll be Molt, you'll be Flea, you'll be Bugsy, you'll be El Presidente, you'll be-"
"El Presidente?" Vespa asked, her silence quickly broken when you decided to grant a more peculiar name.
"Oh, right, you're a monarchy, presidents don't exist in your world," you stated, ignoring the more obvious change in language. "Actually... fuck, all of your civilizations in this world are focused around monarchies and shit, aren't they? You fucking commies don't understand democracy at all" you chastised the mini-horse world's lack of voting and proud tradition of elected leaders.
"I'm aware of these words, the smaller settlements in Equestria do vote for their leaders you know," Vespa corrected.
"Not nearly enough! Mayors and such can only do so much! It's all about princes and princesses, kings and queens, lords and ladies! How is that a way to determine your leader? By having them born into the role? What merits have they proven that they deserve to be in charge!?" you shouted, nearly punching your hand out in rage, but stopping yourself in case you'd hit one of the eggs.
"I can't speak for the ponies, but you've surely heard of how one queen will be deposed by another. The superior one will take charge," the elite Changeling defended her species' way of deciding their leaders.
"Physically! There's no proof that they truly have what it takes to lead! Just a bunch of biological factors that make one better in body, but not in mind!" you roared, feeling the patriotic side of you rising up, even if you thought all politicians were a bunch of lying, thieving crooks that did nothing more than swindle money out of the ill-informed and... wait, why were you defending your political system again?
"Do not infer that our queen is not deserving of the position she is in," Vespa hissed, her breath feeling hotter on your neck now.
"Yet you're questioning me being her mate, and thus your king! So clearly you are questioning her!" you argued still... hold up, you were benefiting from the monarchy system. You were about to marry into money, power, and prestige. If not with Chrysalis, then with Apocrita... you think. You hadn't thought about where your relationship was going to go, but even so... this wasn't the best idea.
"... you know, Queen Chrysalis only wants me to protect you," Vespa stated, her voice calmer, less agitated, yet still menacing. "She never said anything about putting up with your behavior."
Before you could question what she meant about that, you felt two long fangs dig into the side of your neck, like surgical needles that seemed to pierce without tearing at your flesh. It wasn't particularly painful, but it made you want to scream regardless... yet you found you couldn't, as your jaw and throat seemed to go slack, all tension in the muscle just falling apart. In fact, were you not being lifted by Vespa, you'd have likely fallen to the ground, your limbs like noodles.
Lowering you to the ground, Vespa gently laid you out, leaving you prone on the floor with your head tilted to the side. "It would appear you're surprised... I'm not certain, your expression is hard to read," the elite observed, lowering her head so that her good eye was in your line of sight. You wanted to crack back at her that it must be hard for her to read anything with one eye, but again, your body was limp, letting you only let out a weak gurgling noise. "A little paralytic venom to calm the nerves. It varies from Changeling to Changeling, but I in particular have quite the potent dose. I imagine Apocrita hasn't bothered with her less effective venom," Vespa explained, her words not so much a boast as a declaration of hard facts... you still wanted to tell her off.
As you tried to glare at her for this indignity, you noticed something crawling into sight... oh... oh no. Oh FUCK NO! Larvae! You were still in the nursery and those little buggers were crawling toward you! You tried to lift yourself up, but again, there was no strength in your limbs. A panicked gurgle left your throat, but nothing more as one of the more adventurous little vermin approached your face, hissing at you.
"You came here to get in touch with your children to be. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to best learn how to bond with young Changelings. I'm sure you've noticed how they tend to collect in our holes. Seeing as you do not have them in your limbs, I bet they'll get a bit... creative," Vespa stated, only now allowing herself to sneer at you as the larva began to crawl for your open mouth.
Fuck. This. Bitch.