//------------------------------//
// The Long Walk 
// Story: Masters of the Enemy 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot, city of dreams. Or so most ponies believed.

It certainly wasn't that dreamlike now. So soon after the invasion of the Changelings, their capturing of a princess and subversion of a captain, and the near-conquest of the capital of their country, there was a tension in the air. Minor damage, from panicked ponies and enemy assailants, was still being repaired by workponies everywhere. Wary guards checked and doublechecked everyone at specific checkpoints. Entire streets had been cordoned off, both with official police tape and the less official shoving of fancy desks into impromptu barriers.

"Looks like we did a number on this place," Scolopendra quipped.

"Eeeeyup," Applejack drawled. "Which is why, if'n ya'll want ta maybe make a good impression, you'll keep yer trap shut."

"We've already made an impression," Necrosis pointed out. "Nothing we do now will endear us to Canterlot. Even a judgment from your princesses in our favor will only give us a period of time in which to make new impressions." They rolled their eyes as a mare moved her filly indoors.

Gryilldae tilted their head in acknowledgement. "Nevertheless, we are meeting with the ones who hold the deck. It would be wise to at least appear amicable."

Spinnerette glared at them for a moment. Gryilldae simply gave him a level look.

"...so, um." Fluttershy paused. "I... don't mean to be a bother, but, well... if we have to choose a queen for you, we have to understand what, um. What that means. What a queen does for you all."

Morpho smiled slyly. "That is so. The hive serves the swarm, the--"

"Swarm serves the queen, the queen serves the hive." Rainbow Dash growled. "You still haven't told us what that means!"

"It is our order," Tardigrade replied. "The hive is the great heart of our people, ever influenced by ourselves and ever seeking to better us. The queen, our leader without peer, directs our way. We the swarm our obedient to her, but in turn our suffering and glory is focused upon her--if she directs us in error, the hive strikes her in reply, and if she brings us to grandeur, she is exalted from within."

"...I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand," Rarity mused. "When you say 'hive,' do you mean a metaphorical form of societal construct or, perhaps, a literal home, or...?"

Spinnerette scoffed. "Fractured and blind as ever. You ponies know not what you miss. The hive is our glorious union, the living self that underlies our race! And it has EVER selected the best of queens."

"From a small scale," Necrosis observed. "Chrysalis was one of three, was she not?"

"Aye," Tardigrade acknowledged. "I was one that was passed over in her favor. But what is best can change."

Spinnerette glowered at the large changeling, who in turn grew a stern expression. Morpho, Vespidae, and Lycaenidae rolled their eyes.

"Sooooooooooo..." Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "I'm guessing Tardy there is the oldest one of you then?"

"He is... yes." Lycaenidae fluttered her wings nervously. "So, he knows what the hive was like before Chrysalis, so, um, if you want to find out about that you should ask him, and not me, because I don't know. At all."

"Oh, well, no. I was just thinking, you're all like... why are you eight the ones we're talking to?"

"We eight are the select for the new queens," Vespidae hissed. "That you reign is temporary, a whim of the hive. When you select one of us, then they shall ascend and take control of the swarm."

"Which means," Scolopendra deadpanned, "don't rush it."

"I would prefer an answer sooner," Spinnerette growled. "The less time I spend around you monstrous fragments, the better."

"See," Applejack mused, "things like that? That's why Ah said ya'll should keep yer yappers zipped."

"If you are so wishing our silence, then command it!" Spinnerette snapped.

"Fahn!" Applejack snorted. "Ah hereby order ya not ta say anything provocative!"

For a moment, the only sound was that of hooves and chitin clopping down the road of Canterlot.

"So..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "You're all in line to be the new queen."

"Yes," Necrosis stated blandly.

"And... you called Tardy there a dude."

"We are all technically hermephrodites," Gryilldae stated. "Our gender is granted by our relation to the hive and ourselves."

Rainbow frowned. "Hey, Twi, I know you're being super paranoid up there, but--"

"They have both boy parts and girl parts, so they decide whether they want to be boy or girl."

"Or neuter," Gryilldae added. "Necrosis and myself view the distinction as irrelevant to our personalities."

"That's actually fascinating," Fluttershy said, perking her ears up. "So, is this a choice that happens and remains entirely hardcoded, or can you change over time?"

Scolopendra chuckled wryly. "We really only adapt the distinction in relation to others we interact with. You're a pony, so to you, I'm male-identifying. If I were talking to a griffon, I would go for a female identification." He flicked a wing toward the cowering changeling next to him. "Then again, Lycaenidae there is female for most races. Make of that what you will."

"Were she hatched but two centuries ago, she would be as ambiguous as Gryilldae," Morpho mused. "What the role for each is shifts with time--save of course for the obviously fundamental, and even that..."

"Um." Lycaendae glanced around nervously. "I, um... don't feel comfortable talking about this."

"Our regents are simply trying to understand us," Tardigrade assured her gently. "Both as a people and as individuals."

"That, and... you know, talk while we head to the palace," Pinkie admitted casually. "It's not like we can do anything else, since we are sort of escorting nationals of a recently defeated state through the scarred results of their invasion which just so happens to be our capital city and therefore have to not only keep an eye on them but on all the ponies around us in order to prevent there being a big brawl that could just make everything worse and more confusing."

There was another moment of silence.

"...I like her," Scolopendra declared.

Twilight took a breath. "Well, we won't have much longer to talk." She looked up at the gates to the palace. "We're here."