"Wake up, my little prince." The doubled feminine voice cooed softly.
Queen Chrysalis stared expectantly at the smooth surface of the changeling egg laid before her. The surface alone was unlike the other eggs within her caves. Unlike the others, whos surfaces bore the greens and blues of their kin, this egg, in particular, was brown, yellow, and red. It resembled an ancient amber with a petrified insect laid within.
The other, older changelings watched with bated breath, all waiting for the event to transpire. Only a few moments ago, the egg had moved, pushing itself off the edge of its nest and onto the floors. The oddly harder shell thankfully hadn't burst, but it had sat motionless since the nursery changeling flew off to retrieve the queen. Now, it was still unmoving, yet all who bore witness knew it was coming.
Queen Chrysalis had been overjoyed the second she laid the egg. She only saw an egg like that once before. It was a sibling of hers, which had been killed by their mother long ago. Unlike a normal changeling in the slightest, just like her. A future ruler of a new hive, who would need to be forged like armour by her own two hooves.
Chrysalis grew slightly impatient and tapped on the surface of the shell with her horn. "Wake up little one." She cooed once more, in a sickly sweet tone.
Silence.
Chrysalis furrowed her brow, but before she could open her mouth, she heard it. A soft tapping from inside the shell, a response to her knock. Chrysalis smiled wide and tapped yet again. Another response.
It didn't take long before the changeling within began to try and escape its prison. Taps became bangs, the sound of an aggressive and frustrated hiss came from inside as it fought to break out. Then, a loud, ear-piercing pop rang through the cavern halls.
Chrysalis grinned wide as she saw it, a sharp, jagged horn pierced through the shell of the egg. Unlike the horns of normal changelings, which were smooth and curved. She watched as the creature eagerly clawed its way out with the newly-found escape route. Its claw-like cloven hooves scraped and destroyed more and more shell, as it began biting and ripping away at it piece by piece.
Long fangs, slitted eyes, a colourful, wet mane, all of which made the queen's smile widen more and more; until it finally, fully revealed itself to the room.
Not green and blue in the slightest, but brown, red, and yellow. On top of the blackened body of the changeling species. The grub's usually white skin was red and yellow, also appeared to have orange vein-like markings running through it, instead of the natural spots.
The little creature, covered in the egg's clear liquid, opened its mouth, and let out a sickening croak of a hiss.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, though her smile never faltered. A long, scorpion-like tail grew out from it. The end had two jagged pincers, resembling a crab's claw with a small, brown wasp-like stinger between them, which was covered when its claw closed.
"Well," Queen Chrysalis chuckled. "It looks like my grandfather's tail passed down after all." she mused. She bent down to its level and cooed. The small grub quickly shimmied its way toward her and pressed its nose against her snout. "A little prince," She thought for a moment. What was an adequate name for the tiny thing? "Prince...Aculeus."
When the name escaped her lips, she couldn't help but smirk. She raised her head as the Prince crawled onto her snout.
"My Queen." Chrysalis turned her attention to another changeling. His shell was a saturated sea-blue colour, he wore a deep blue helmet and armour but forewent the leg guards, but the most recognisable trait was a large scar on his forehead which he wore with pride. "I assume he won't be established with the others, correct?"
"Right you are, General." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He is much too great to be raised with the common grubs." Her horn flared to life with green aura, which engulfed the small changeling. She removed the Prince from her nose and placed him on her back, near her neck. The grub curled up between the soft flesh of her neck and the smooth surface of her shell, tired from exerting so much energy in hatching. "As soon as he's ready though, you'll be training him personally. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, my queen. Of course."
"I know you won't disappoint me." He stood his ground as she passed him, but he kept his gaze firmly locked on the strange-coloured changeling grub. "Send a few nurses to my quarters; I'll be keeping him close."
The nursery workers looked at eachother for a moment. Usually, it only took one worker per grub, so Chrysalis's request for multiple was an odd choice. Who were they to deny her though? Thus, they raced off to begin preparing a new schedule and assignments.
The general turned his head to watch, and watch he did until she vanished from sight. For a moment, his eye twitched, but, he shook his head and jumped into the air, unfurling his wings and buzzing off to begin his own preparations.
"What was that?" A changeling with a sea-green shell murmured.
"That was a royal changeling." Another replied, to which the sea-green shelled one raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know what that is?" The sea-green shook his head. The other let out an exasperated sigh, "Royal changelings are those who can make new hives. Queen Chrysalis, for example, is a royal changeling." The sea-green one nodded. "How do you not know this? It's one of the first things changelings like us get taught."
"I haven't been here long. I just metamorphosed yesterday." The other changeling scoffed.
"Is that why I've seen you flying around like a lost puppy?"
"I haven't been given a job in our hive yet." After a moment of silence, the other changeling hissed.
"What is your name, worm?"
"I-I don't have one." He stammered. The changeling sneered at him as he heard those words.
"...Then that's your name. Worm." With that, the changeling took off.
"Wait, you didn't tell me-" Before Worm could finish, the other changeling was gone. "...how to find a job."
"Hey, you there!" Worm turned to see one of the nursery changelings floating behind him. "You're not a soldier, right? Worm was it?"
"N-no?"
"Then come here, we need more nursery staff." The changeling grabbed his ear in her mouth and yanked him in a direction.
And just like that, he was flying with her down the halls and deeper into the nursery.