Days has passed since Queen Castis started the mobilization of her drones on Hive Castleen to go to war. The details weren't very clear since the royal family rarely explained what they were doing, or why they were doing it on the first place. All the drones knew is that if the queen needed them, then it was something dangerous for the hive and it should be fixed soon, so they responded to her with complete loyalty or, at least, that what was the explanation that was given to Fortis, every time she asked why nobody complained of their current problems or why they followed orders without question.
Ever since she was a nymph, Fortis followed the orders of the royal family without question and this was no exception. She was aware that, whatever was the reason why Queen Castis was mobilizing them, it very likely was against something that could put in danger her simple life style back home, and she was willing to die defending that life as well as her family. That is why she was now among the soldiers, in the middle of the night, on a territory that she never saw before, surrounded by multiple changelings that she has never met before and to fight a mysterious enemy. All she could do was to wait for her queen to appear and give them all a speech before starting the battle. Meanwhile, Fortis would use her time to listen to what the other soldiers were saying.
"Do you know against who is the battle?"
"I've heard that the battle will be against Hidroxia..."
"What? But we are friends with Hidroxia, what happened?"
"Not sure, but whatever it was, now we must fight them now."
"Is it true that Princess Manticoris will also join the battle?"
"Yes, I saw her on the way to the battlefield."
"Are we ready to defeat Hidroxia? They aren't a weak hive."
"Don't worry, we got to the battlefield first and we got the numbers. We'll win as we always do."
Listen was the best Fortis could do as she waited, it helped her to stop the voices of doubt in her head that has been forming very recently, as her body has been starting to change. What used to be a normal changeling's body now looked so different, that, Fortis was now wondering if she was sick of some unknown disease: Her eyes were starting to have pupils, her head was starting to have a protuberance, she was starting to get taller and her body was starting to demand more and more love to sustain itself. Her biggest fear was that she would die due to a lack of love more than anything, but she was also afraid that she would be unable to live with her family anymore, or that she could be cast out of her hive due to her appearance. Thankfully, no other changeling has made any comment about it so far.
"Is the queen!"
Fortis quickly looked up and saw the figure she has always heard so much about but never saw first hand: her queen. She was surprisingly beautiful with her golden carapace, her slim figure, her eyes that looked so soft but with a hidden flame capable of smolder those she desired to eliminate, and her crown, which shone in the moonlight with a brightness that, only made her look majestic. It was as beautiful as Fortis imagined she would be.
"Silence all! The queen is going to talk!"
As the order came, so it was followed. All the changelings shut their mouths as they wondered what was their queen going to say, was she going to explain her intentions? Was she going to say what was going on? Where was Princess Manticoris? Those were the questions going around the soldiers and, thankfully, the queen quickly started to answer with her voice, a voice that started to talk softly but which it was still holding back its power over others.
"My drones!" - She begun. - "I know that you are wondering why are we mobilizing against Hidroxia!"
This quickly tuned up all the drones on the same thought, did something happened between Catleen and Hidroxia?
"Hidroxia, as we all know, has been a very important and historical ally to us, in Castleen, but tragedy has struck there and our relationship with that hive may now be in danger."
All the drones started to shiver at that, whenever Hidroxia went to a war, Castleen helped them and whenever Castleen went to war, Hidroxia would help it. Hidroxia was a very important trade partner with Castleen, Hidroxia's changelings usually went to Castleen to know them better the same way that Castleen changelings would go to Hidroxia to see their marvels, like their famed water fountains. The idea of having all of that broken down was scary to every single one of them, including Fortis.
Of course, Fortis, as well as many other farmers and common drones, didn't have the money to make such a journey, for only the elite that lived inside the hive (and not on the farms surrounding the hive) had the money to leave their territory, but that was a very different matter.
"I've been informed that my great friend, Queen Apothesis, has been removed from her position as ruler of Hidroxia!" - As she made her silence, all the changelings gasped as they became shocked by this. Who could dare to remove a queen? Thankfully for them, the queen continued. - "I understand your indignation! Which is why I could only fall in sorrow when I was informed by very trustworthy sources of who did it! It was her very own daughter, Princess Valeris!"
There wasn't a single changeling who didn't feel disturbed and disgusted by this. It was a long held tradition for the princess to wait until her mother would decide to pass her the title, this was more than a simple coup, it was anti-natural.
"Indeed! Apothesis's daughter was unable to wait and decided to take the throne by force! And, not only that but, when I sent some of my most important figures to talk to her and see her enter into sense, she not only decided to not listen, but she even dared to threaten us to break our relationships if we didn't recognize her as Hidroxia's new queen!"
The drones were now starting to feel anger towards this make believe monarch who was trying to play with what she could not understand.
"But fear not, my drones! For my sources also tell me that Apothesis isn't dead, she's still alive somewhere in there, and all we have to do, is to remove the fake queen from her throne and force her to bring back her mother to the throne!"
Years later, Fortis would learn that the source that provided all of this information to Castis was Queen Cerebelis.
"And this is why I'm mobilizing you, my fellow drones! I am now asking you to come with me and my daughter, Princess Manticoris, to bring back stability to Hidroxia, for it is not only for us, but also for them, for Hidroxia, so we can help them as well as everything can go back to the way it should be among the changeling society. And now, who is with me?!"
Her response was given with the sound of roars as the drones were starting to move their spears, the soldiers were starting to sheath their swords, even those who were unarmed were preparing to use any spell they could. Naturally Fortis couldn't but shout as well as she wanted to bring back order and stability to Hidroxia, she wanted to show her loyalty to the crown, she wanted to prove herself that her new appearance wasn't going to turn her into a liability to the hive. Which is why she never understood why the queen took a moment to look at her (while she was looking at her army) directly and, instead of disgust, she looked baffled at first and angered later on.
Fortis, of course, wasn't sure of how to process that stare but she wasn't going to let that stop her from helping to the hive and, so, they all mobilized against Hidroxia. Hoping to bring a peace they never knew it was in danger on the first place.
The drones quickly started to follow their queen who, instead of rising them on the air, decided to stay at ground level and avoided using their flight as they got closer to Hidroxia in the middle of the night. The drones were moving on a single line behind their queen, knowing that Manticoris must probably be not too far away from them, as nerves were starting to fall on the drones, now soldiers, especially the ones who had been in more than one battle.
Even though they were all whispering, Fortis could not stop herself from listening them as their voices sounded more and more nervous.
"This doesn't make sense, we should have met them already."
"Maybe this is a surprise attack? You know, that would explain why we are being so quiet."
"That's the thing, we may be silent, but what we would do at best is to force them into a fight they were not prepared but they should be aware of us by now."
"And, maybe we are doing a good job at staying hidden?"
"Impossible, no changeling army is that good."
Years later, after meeting Queen Cerebelis and fight along her, Queen Luxis, Queen Lixis and Queen Valeris on the Unification War, Fortis would learn that this statement was false, there was one army with enough stealth to pass by all changelings as well as their security and infiltrate even in the highest levels of security. The same one that was commanded by the queen who informed her mother of what Valeris did.
"But, in that case where are they? The last time I went to a battle, it was a common idea of two changeling armies to meet in the middle of the battlefield but we're about the cross their lines."
"Exactly, this doesn't make sense, why would that supposed monarch not mobilize her drones to fight us?
"Maybe..."
Said a voice among the crowd, a voice that wouldn't survive the night but that Fortis would, later, be told of how he was one of the few generals in Castleen with enough military experience to properly formulate a battle plan.
"...It isn't as much that the queen didn't mobilize her drones..."
In that moment, as a strange sound started to vibrate around the changeling line, a single emotion started to surround Fortis's body, an emotion that she only felt once, and it was the time she thought she could face a manticore on her own when she was but a simple nymph.
"... Maybe it is more that the queen is waiting for us to fall wherever she wants us in."
Fear.
When all the drones looked around, trying to search for the source of the noise that was growing louder and louder, they started to see how, suddenly, the stars above night sky were now moving and growing bigger, as Hidroxia's changeling army started to remove their cloak and sky bombed Castleen's line.
The enemy drones fell on an almost perfect formation, as every single one of them attacked the enemy line from both sides, but never hitting one another. They all fell on a single swoop as, holding a rapier on their hoofs, they took down at least one changeling per each barrage, creating chaos among the drones and all that was left of that famous bravado that made Castleen so fearful, was now reduced to a bunch of fleeing drones that couldn't tell apart friend from foe, making their lances useless, while the enemy was quickly killing whatever changeling was out of line or wearing a spear.
Queen Castis quickly tried to take control of the situation, rising into the air while her horn was now creating a new spell, but that was quickly dashed as her horn was quickly attacked in the middle of the air, stopping whatever spell she was trying to form, by an incoming spell, and her body was then quickly beaten to the ground by most, if not all, the enemy drones who were now tackling her with all their might, forcing her to stop moving long enough to put a ring on her horn that quickly stopped her from making any type of spell. Before Fortis could even realize what was going on, she was pinned to the ground thanks to a, now dead, changeling, whose body was pierced by one of those rapiers. All the while the drones were now trying to flee and her queen was now being taken away into, what she could guess was, Hidroxia.
The very next day, she would be informed that the soon to be recognized as De Facto Queen Valeris used a never seen before strategy, for she went against the changeling rules of war and managed to create an ambush that was never outside of the theory, for no changeling army (no exception) has never managed to mimic the night sky so well that they couldn't be detected on time for the strike.
Valeris also broke an unwritten rule that all queens followed by instinct: All queens would always be on the front line, directing their drones as they charged. Valeris, instead, decided to stay behind the line, waiting for the rival queen to appear first and then strike her before she could react.
But that would be the next day, in that moment, all that Fortis's mind could think about was how her queen was being taken hostage and she was the only drone who still hasn't ran away.
She quickly leap into the sky and tried to get close and save her queen. She flew as fast as she could, she could see how close she was getting to her, she could see how the enemy drones were trying to stop her but their spells couldn't formulate a strong enough attack that could even delay her. Fortis was now going to save her queen but those dreams were quickly destroyed as an immense force kicked her down, sending her into the ground with a power mighty enough that it made the poor drone think that her shell was about to break.
Fortis, knowing what was at stake, quickly tried to reincorporate herself into the air, but that same force quickly kicked her once again, sending her into the ground once more and, this time, it started to charge a spell with enough force that, even though Fortis was only looking at the ground as she tried to get up, she could see how bright it was glowing as its intensity was now illuminating her features. It was then that Fortis heard a voice, feminine in nature, that froze her in fear.
"If you try once more to raise yourself, I'll make sure that this spell will keep you on the ground forever."
There was something in that cold and commanding voice that was letting Fortis know very well that, whoever it was talking to her, the threat was more real than she was willing to accept, which, in turn, froze her in complete fear as her body no longer listened to what little valor Fortis was now trying to muster.
"Turn your face up and look at me now."
Fortis started to slowly move her head. Now, whether she did it slowly as a sign of rebelliousness against the voice or absolute fear to not make it angry, she wasn't exactly sure, but she preferred to do it slowly. As she turned her head up and decided to look at her attacker, she saw something that she never thought she would ever look at, something that, in other cases, it would have brought her absolute wonder but, on this occasion, all she felt was absolute terror.
She saw a changeling queen that, with her blue carapace and lightning blue eyes, was looking at her with the most threatening look that she never thought was possible of making. It was a look devoid of the love Fortis always saw on her papa, it was devoid on the warmth she always saw on the female drones that taught her how to feed on love, it was devoid on the righteousness that she ever saw on her own queen and it was only filled with the authority and coldness that could only be harbored by a queen devoid of love for anything more than power or, at least, that was what Fortis thought in that moment, for she would later harbor that same look on The Battle of the Green Fangs, years later, on the Unification War.
This was the first time Fortis ever met or saw Queen Valeris.
Despite all of that air of might, power and superiority, something within Fortis managed to come up and decided to respond to Queen Valeris, with a tone that would be unthinkable of a drone to use against a queen, not that Fortis cared at that moment.
"So, what are you going to do?" - Said Fortis to a Queen Valeris that was now raising her eyebrows at this response so unexpected from someone who was supposedly filled with absolute terror. - "Because, I warn you, as long as this humble drone has a single shed of love and magic running through my veins, I will fight for my queen, even if that means fighting an uneven battle against a changeling queen."
For a brief moment, it looked like Queen Valeris was going to struck down Fortis but, almost immediately, she then started to look at Fortis with a better level of scrutiny and then she simply laughed at her with a simple, almost silent and dismissing smile.
"Is that so? Please tell me then, what does a blind princess think it can do against an actual queen?"
Those words quickly froze Fortis as she tried to make sense of what they meant.
"Blind... princess? Does she means me? But... I'm not a princess... I'm just a simple drone... so what-"
"Now listen" -. Continued Queen Valeris, making Fortis pay attention to her once again. - "If you want to prove yourself to your queen, instead of fighting a battle that you cannot win, I recommend you to stay with your hive and lead them, because very soon you'll all that will be left from this mess of a hive."
Queen Valeris then shot her spell at Fortis, immobilizing her long enough for Queen Valeris to leave and secure Queen Castis as her prisoner, another thing that was unheard of at the time and that caused complete revulsion among the other hives in general.
By the time Fortis managed to reincorporate herself, she saw how what was left of her hive was now trying to move around the battlefield, now with the enemy away, and see who were down and who were still alive.
As she started to fly around, for in the distance, Fortis could see some spells flying back and forth. It didn't take too long for Fortis to realize what was going on: Queen Valeris was planning to capture both the queen and the princess and probably, that way, to submit Castleen to her wishes. As that knowledge ran through Fortis's mind, the same energy that helped her to rebel against Queen Valeris took her over and made her shout at what little drones were left on her vicinity.
"Fellow Drones!" - She shouted as the drones started to look at her. - "Our queen has beet taken by the usurper queen and now look!" - She then pointed at the direction where the next battle was taking over. - "The usurper queen is now trying to do the same against our princess! Are we really going to let her get away with that!? Where is the bravado that made Castleen so feared!? Brothers! Let's stop this night from turning into a tragedy and lets fight, so we can at least show that Castleen isn't a hive that can be messed up with nor taken lightly!"
And with that said, and with enough drones moved by her words, Fortis charged at the enemy drones with a bravery that would only be surpassed by herself, on the Battle of the Green Fangs, and managed to strike Hidroxia's drones with enough force to drive them back at their hive, saving Princess Manticoris from being taken hostage as well.
A few hours later, as both beaten armies merged and moved back to Castleen with the taste of a sour defeat, Fortis was taken from the lines, as Princess Manticoris was asking for the brave drone that saved her and tried to save her mother as well. In the end, surprise took over both Fortis and Princess Maticoris, as they each saw a reflection of themselves (with one being more bronze like and the other being more silver like) wondering why there was a drone that was so similar to each other.
"Who are you!?" - Commanded Princess Manticoris at the poor and confused Fortis. - "And why do you look so much like me?"
When they returned to the hive, what originally was going to be the planning of a series of attempts to bring back Queen Castis quickly turned into something else, as the lack of a queen created a vacuum of power that was quickly used as an excuse by certain hives to invade Castleen, attempting to take over its territory, inadvertently, creating the second to last war in all of changeling history. A war that would be the shortest ever recorded, lasting two years, but that it would also be the most destructive to ever be recorded, with a level of destruction that would leave all the hives involved in it almost in bankruptcy and that almost make Celestia, as well as the ponies in general, to discover the changelings but that is a story for another time.
For this story, was the one about how a blind princess discovered the future that she never knew she had, a future that would turn her into the changeling queen we all know today.