“You’re not authorized to enter the royal wing at this hour,” the Royal Guard next to the door said to Officer Katydid.
“What are you talking about? I am scheduled to enter at this hour every two out of three days,” Katydid replied.
The royal guard paused for just a moment, “The Prince’s lessons were canceled due to-”
“The ceremony?” Katydid asked incredulously. “Who told you that nonsense? Step aside, I am mandated by the Queen herself to continue the tutelage of the Prince.”
He wasn’t, in fact. Chamberlain Eucharis had told him that lessons today were canceled due to the ceremony but Katydid wanted to see the Prince immediately. Said Chamberlain was currently speaking with the top commanders of the Swarm to organize the transition of power.
“Now step aside.”
The Royal Guard, wanting to avoid the Queen’s potential wrath, stepped aside. Katydid wasted no time in opening the door and heading down the hall to Phasma’s room. Katydid raised his hoof to knock, but decided he didn’t want to risk Queen Chrysalis overhearing from the end of the hallway. Instead, he opened the door.
He saw Prince Phasma, now High Marshal, curled up on his bed. Katydid shut the door softly behind him as he walked up to Phasma. Katydid stood there for a moment, watching the nymph’s chest rapidly rise and fall with his breathing.
“Phasma?” He called out softly.
He froze, then slowly sat upright, looking at the ground.
“Hello Officer Katydid. I was… under the impression that I had today off.”
Katydid frowned. “You do, but…. Phasma, what’s wrong?”
Phasma sniffed. “You know, I’m your boss now. Isn’t that weird? Chrysalis just put me straight right at the top of the military-in...in… oh damn it, I don’t know the word for that. What I mean to say is that she didn’t put me in charge of a squad to have me practice leadership skills, she just put me at the top. She hasn’t even taught me any military strategy.”
‘Military what now?’
“Who taught you how to swear?”
Phasma looked up at Katydid. “Chrysalis says she wants a commander, but she trained me to be a Prince. I didn’t even think I’d get this far, yet here I am, with far more power than changelings who have been in the Swarm their entire lives. They’ve got far more experience than I, why am I High Marshal?”
“No ‘ling has seen combat outside of the infiltrators, Prince Phasma. That’s why you have this position, getting assigned to the Swarm just meant a cushy duty filled with standing around. I don’t remember the last time we had a breakthrough from the Underhive. Now, you’ll make an army outta the layabouts I call equals.”
Phasma tilted his head at that.
“It’s true!” Katydid says, “I bet if Chrysalis sent the Swarm out right now, they’d just be that: a swarm. No tactics, no organization. Just chaos running rampant.” He shakes his head, “Against an actual military, we’re hopeless.
“Only the infiltrators have any experience with combat, and that’s mostly the critters they occasionally face out in the wilderness. Wolves, timberwolves, cragadiles, lions, maulwurfs, sand worms, and so on. Sure, the Swarm is trained to fight these too, but they only leave the hive on patrols. The last expedition into the Underhive was at least a hundred years ago!”
Phasma rubbed his muzzle. “Why doesn’t Chrysalis get her hooves on Equestrian strategies? Why does she want me, who has no experience or training in fighting or strategy, to lead the army?”
It didn’t take long for Katydid to come up with an answer. “I think it’s because she believes in you. You have met every obstacle with a determination and zeal few changelings could match.”
“All I’ve done is take a few tests-”
“AND,” Katydid continued, “she’s not alone. We all believe in you, and hope is a powerful thing. As pony as it sounds, hope can mean the difference in war. The hive doesn’t have much at the moment, Phasma. The only way to bring in more materials and goods is the infiltrator network, and that’s already pushed to the max on bringing back love and what information they can gather. You’ve been training all this time, receiving an education that already is above what every other changeling receives.”
“I don’t know how to fight,” Phasma retorted.
“That will be solved starting very soon. Our lessons are to transition into more martial focused ones as soon as possible.”
Phasma sighed. “I’m the High Marshal with orders to radically reform the entire military, because… we need to conquer Equestria. We need to conquer Equestria because we need more food…
“So we need more food. And I take it we can’t compromise other sectors of the hive to get more? If that’s the case, why is our hive so far away from Equestria? Wouldn’t a lot of logistical problems be solved by being closer?”
“You should ask Queen Chrysalis that yourself,” was all Katydid could offer.
“I will. In fact, I have a number of questions I’m going to ask.”
That got Katydid’s attention. “Oh, like what?”
The next day Eucharis woke me up as usual and I made my way into Chrysalis’s study. This has been my daily routine for every day I’ve been a nymph. However, when Chrysalis entered the study, I decided to break tradition.
“Prince Phasma.”
“Queen Chrysalis. Before we start today’s lessons, I have some questions I’ve been meaning to ask.”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Very well, Prince Phasma. As long as this does not take too long, ask your questions.”
‘Best not beat around the bush, then.’
“Where are my brothers and sisters?”
Chrysalis leaned back.
“I had thought that you knew the answer by now.”
“Then let me rephrase: what killed my siblings.”
She smiled. “Ah, now there’s a question. Let me answer it with one of my own; why do I hide their existence?”
I had to bite back a joke. This was serious, after all. In fact, I wasn’t going to hold anything back.
“Because you killed them.”
Chrysalis frowned, “Infanticide? Do you think so low of me, Prince Phasma?”
“I did. I had feared the worst, and that I would share their unknown fate. Hence me trying to… clear this up.”
“Then I shall clear this up, as you put it. I did not kill my nymphs.”
When she didn’t continue, I pressed further.
“Then what did? And why conceal their existence?”
“I did not conceal their existence. I simply… neglected to inform my subjects about topics they needn’t know.”
“A lie by omission…” I trailed off.
“... Is a valuable tool that you should use often,” Chrysalis picked up, making me snort.
“How consistent of you. And you didn’t answer my question. How did they die?”
Chrysalis rolled her hoof as she spoke, “Wyrm attack, training accident, crushed by a falling rock. The list goes on.”
“Those sound like awfully mundane deaths, considering the responsibilities and power you’ve given me.”
“Changeling royalty make the best leaders. Before you, my predecessors and I maintained a policy of status quo. That meant princes and princesses were put in charge of security teams. The Underhive is very dangerous, you know.”
“You expect me to believe that you go through princes and princesses like a pony goes through toilet paper?”
“Come now, Prince Phasma. You undervalue your kins’ worth. It’s more like a pony goes through candles.”
My expression fell flat.
‘At least she’s being forthcoming with answers. Far more than I expected. I guess I can understand that. Wait, wouldn’t…’
“Wouldn’t an expedition to the Underhive be the perfect opportunity to have me learn and practice leadership skills? To test my mettle?”
“You’re a High Marshal, Prince Phasma, not a squad leader. You are not as expendable as your predecessors. With the exception of dealing with… noteworthy threats… a commander leads from the rear. You have a mind sharper than the fangs of any warrior I have encountered, Prince Phasma. I need a commander, not a drone.”
“How eloquent. I expected more… Oh, I don’t know, intrigue? Betrayal? Rebellion?”
“The Hive would never survive a catastrophe as tumultuous as a rebellion, Prince Phasma. Rebellion. What an alien idea. A pony dissents. A changeling obeys. Though soon enough, ponies will obey, too.”
I sighed. “Right. As well as griffons, dragons… If they died like that, why not, I dunno, make them martyrs? They died protecting the hive, and all that.”
“Because that would support the idea that we are mortal, Prince Phasma. A royal changeling is above concepts such as death. Best to let the memory fade, as well as the shame. I don’t think I have to tell you that none of this leaves this room.”
I thought over what she said.
‘Chrysalis is far more laissez-faire with this than I expected. If she was telling the truth, at least.’
“No vague threats, no ultimatums, no ominous one-liners? You are very… happy today.”
‘Shit, there’s the creepy fanged-smile again. That shit’s nightmare fuel.’
“We grow ever closer to the promised day, Prince Phasma.”
“Ah, there’s the one-liner.”
“Now that your curiosity has been sated, we will begin lessons. An important topic today, your final lesson in changeling biology: love extraction.”