“And you're certain Pupa hasn't caught wind of this?” Chrysalis asked the drone in front of her. Tarsal shifted on her hooves, obviously uncomfortable with having her every word scrutinized.
“Absolutely, lady Chrysalis,” she managed after several seconds’ hesitation.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at her minion. “That’s ‘Queen Chrysalis.’ Or ‘my queen.’ And don't lie to me, this is too important.” The drone began breathing heavily. “Now, does she know, or are you just not certain?”
“I’m, uh, not certain, my queen. Qu-" Tarsal stopped herself before she could say the full title. “Pupa has given no indication she knows, no drone appears to have defected and told her, and if she's mustering forces we haven't seen any signs of it. We have eyes and ears within her armies; if Pupa was giving the order to mobilize, she knew exactly who not to notify. And I highly doubt she would have skipped giving that order to her second in command, and she's loyal to you."
After a pause to think about the report, Chrysalis gave a deep laugh. Tarsal let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Everything is going according to plan, then. Tell Pupa’s commander to distribute orders to move on the throne room. They are to strike quickly and take no prisoners. After you've planted those orders, contact my son and tell him it's time to move. Make sure to remind him he's going to be the new infiltration captain if this works. Don't want him getting any big ideas about taking over, now do we?”
The drone gave a crisp salute and left Chrysalis's quarters at a calm pace. Normally, Chrysalis would be livid over a drone executing orders for her at anything less than a sprint, but tonight was different. She needed everything to seem normal until the last possible second, and every changeling privy to her plans knew that. Or at least, they knew that they'd rather act normal to not arouse suspicions than have Chrysalis consider them a threat to her operation.
Chrysalis grinned as the drone walked through the corridor and into the larger pathways of the main hive. She was going to be the Queen after tonight. Queen! Her father's gross error in selecting Pupa as heir was being corrected! Her sibling would be dead, all challengers to the throne gone. Sure, the attack on Pupa was going to be a little more overt than a normal changeling takeover. That was really just a sign of why they needed Chrysalis to lead, though.
Changelings needed to see that they could be strong. That they could win in open battle. That they could conquer. Intelligence and subterfuge had merit, sure, but more often the right answer was a swift and merciless assault. The hive was living on scraps, all because her weak sister refused to abduct ponies. Pupa was afraid Equestria would notice a few go missing, and had infiltrators simply send back what love they could glean on the fringes instead of getting sustainable food sources. Equestria had bigger problems than a few missing ponies cases! A hundred ponies’ love could feed an entire wing of the hive, and instead they were rationing.
No more. Chrysalis was going to turn the hive into what it was meant to be. Changelings would infiltrate, capture, feed, expand, conquer, and repeat.
She just had to endure one more night of petty machinations to see it all happen.
“And you're certain Chrysalis hasn't caught wind of this?”
Tarsal stood confidently when she answered her master. He towered over her, forcing her to crane her neck to meet his gaze.
“Absolutely certain. If anything, she thinks I'm in league with Pupa. She's so concerned about her sister catching on, Chrysalis hasn't stopped to think whether anyone else might find this to be their moment.”
The changeling in front of her grinned wickedly. “And you came here after you delivered Chrysalis's orders, yes?”
“Yes, my king.”
The grin got even wider. He reached out with a hoof to gently touch the drone's cheek as she glowed with pride. “Excellent. I truly appreciate everything you've done for me.” Her master turned to one of the guards by the chamber entrance, and the air in the room turned to ice as he spoke again. “Kill her.”
Tarsal immediately began looking for exits that she knew she wouldn't find. “But why!?” She screamed. “I did everything you asked! You wouldn't have this chance if not for me!”
Her master chuckled. “Perhaps.” The butt of a spear cracked against the back of the desperate drone's head. “But you really overestimate your own importance. If I hadn't gotten you to help, some other drone would've leapt at the chance.” She tried to regain her hooves, only to be roughly shoved from behind, back to the chamber floor. “And they would meet the same fate, of course. Can't keep a drone around in your inner circle who has already demonstrated she can be bought.
“For what it's worth, you really had some potential. You probably would have made a decent infiltration captain if not for those loyalty problems,” he said as he turned to leave the chamber.
As the guard in front of her lined up the spear, Tarsal didn't even bother to resist.