“Your Majesty, new causality reports from Manehattan have arrived. Shall we go over them now?”
“No.”
“We’ve hit the critical threshold in most of the prisons in the outer districts: they weren’t designed for the number of suspected Changelings they’re holding. What shall we do?”
“I’ll look at it tomorrow.”
“Your Majesty, delegates from both the Griffon Confederacy and the Diamond Dog Empire are curious as to how we are handling this civil crisis. How shall we respond?”
“Tell them we are doing everything in our power to end the threat within our country, and that trade should open back up within another month or so. If they don’t believe you, drown them in gifts.”
“Your Highness-“
“Enough!” Prince Shining Armor said wearily. Everypony sitting at the table in front of him grew silent.
The Royal Proclamation Chamber where Princess Celestia had once sat had been converted into a war room, and both the day and night courts had ceased three months previous when the Prince had enacted marshal law. He and the rest of the Royal Family had been working around the clock, foregoing sleep on a multitude of occasions, to try and find a solution to the many problems plaguing the country.
Ponies had emptied or raided many of their local banks to try and secure what was theirs. The economy would survive for a few more weeks with only minor hiccups, but was projected to crash soon.
Changeling hunts were becoming more prevalent, and there were rumors that some suspected ponies had been killed rather than detained as state policy had mandated.
Militias were forming in many of the border towns, and they were reinforced by state troops. In this period of internal unrest, Equestria was prime real estate for conquest by neighboring countries, especially since the two biggest deterrents against such a proposition were missing. With resources and soldiers spread so thin, Shining Armor was considering having to instill a draft for military service.
The past few weeks especially had begun to weigh heavily on him. Perpetual bags were under his eyes nowadays, and his mane and coat had become less and less cared for. The Prince looked to each of the members of the Family at the table, and then he stood, “We’ve been working hard for too long with far too little sleep. Be back here at 0700 tomorrow morning. We’ll settle today’s mess then.”
Some of the Family looked like they were about to object, but the rest had already begun to leave the room for their own chambers, stifling many yawns between them all.
Prince Shining Armor also slowly made his way towards his and his wife’s chambers. He refused to call them only his chambers. Wherever his Cadence was, he hoped she was alright, and that Fancy Pants was doing his best to keep her safe. He felt so powerless, having no idea where she was or how she was. It was twice now that those bugs had stolen her from him, and for that he couldn’t forgive them or himself.
He felt equally inept in how he was handling the national situation as well. He was trained for battles and tactics, for the love of Celestia, not politics or civil service! How had Celestia done it for all those years he wondered? Three months on the throne and he was already turning into a basket case, and she had done it for over ten thousand months back to back.
Arriving at the Royal Suite, he opened the door and trudged through. A fire had been lit before his arrival, and by its light he found his way to his bed. With agonizingly meticulousness he took off every piece of his armor, and gently set them aside with his magic. Without even pulling the sheets back, he collapsed spread eagle into his bed, ready for his taxed body to crash and give him a sleep like the dead.
As he settled, he heard a faint crinkling sound beneath him, and he felt something poking into the small of his back. Slowly rolling over to allow the object an escape from being crushed, Prince Shining Armor grasped it with his magic. It was a now crumpled scroll that smelled distinctively of a dragon’s sulphuric breath.
“Twily!” he murmured with a small smile. He was surprised that she had taken the effort to rebind the magic on her dragon to just send him a regular old scroll.
As he opened it up, he found his tired mind thinking a little more deeply on the matter. Princess Celestia’s system of receiving letters from her students was near instantaneous both ways, was virtually undetectable by magic, and most importantly bypassed using any courier.
Twilight wouldn’t use that privilege to just send him a ‘How are you’ letter. Something was up.
As he began to read the long piece of parchment, his eyes grew wider and wider, and his smile turned into a full-fledged grin. He did his best not to yell at the top of his lungs in joy, so instead he whispered softly and excitedly to himself, “Cadence is alright! I’m gonna be a dad! I’m gonna be a dad!” He felt like he could run a marathon with the sudden burst of energy coursing through his body. Instead, he settled for punching the air with his hooves in an alternating pattern, wearing a happy but goofy grin through all the time that he did.
As he continued reading, his earlier joy was compounded with hope to go with it: Cadence, Twily, and several others had found an inside pony to the Hive, and they had a plan to draw out the Queen!
It’s going to be a long night, the Prince thought to himself as he continued studying the plans in depth while making his way closer to the fire. He didn’t care about losing a few more hours of sleep now; his body could take it. With news like this, who needs sleep anyway?
It was the mid-evening; mere hours after the Council of Harmony had ended. Cheerilee, disguised as her usual earth pony self, stood on the edge of the Everfree with a small party of ponies to see her off. Princess Cadence offered her a silent nod of farewell, which the schoolteacher responded to in kind.
She then turned to her large red beau. “You’ll take care of her, won’t you?” Cheerilee asked Big Mac as she gave him a hug.
“Scootaloo’ll be fine with us,” he replied, as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
Trixie gave her friend a small wave and equally sized accompanying smile, “Be careful.”
“And don’t do anything stupid,” Scootaloo declared as she gave her adoptive aunt a hug, “Come back safe, alright?”
Cheerilee nuzzled her niece’s fur, “I will.”
With her farewells said, Cheerilee galloped into the dark underbrush. When she knew she was definitely out of sight from the edge of town, she shed her disguise and took to the air on her membranous wings, surpassing the canopy of the forest as she gained speed.
She flew in a northeastward direction, as that had been the way the two Changeling scouts had been headed after their arson spree. She traveled through the night, not having to worry about low visibility because her eyes had already adapted to it. She began to ping the psychic network shared by all her kind, as well as leaving a faint pheromone trail behind her in the hopes that one of them may find her.
At three in the morning, she felt a reply. There was a faint signal coming from further north.
She shifted her bearing north of northeast, and redoubled her efforts in trying to hail the Hive. As she continued onward, she picked up several other pheromone trails in the air, all of them converging onto a mountain range several miles ahead. She recognized the geography as the southernmost mountains of the dragon’s summer nesting grounds.
A few of the scaly titans flew far above her, already making their way to their winter homes in the southwest. The mountains themselves were produced by centuries of draconic and volcanic activity. As the lava flows had cooled over the years, younger dragons had burrowed through the mountains in search of gems for their own hoards. This made the mountains a labyrinth of twisting, easily defensible tunnels, which consequently made them perfect for the Hive’s needs in both comfort and security.
Two guards greeted her at one of the higher gates in the mountainside as Cheerilee made her landing, broadcasting their welcome to her at her return through a combination of their mental greetings and their hissing. She growled a greeting back, expressing her gratitude to be back. The Changeling Candidate was happy to once again be able to speak in her mother tongue, as she had not uttered it in many years, not even to Scootaloo.
The guards guided her down into the heart of the mountain, giving her the understanding she would need to navigate the tunnels freely for later on. As she crossed the paths of other Changelings, they were already at attention and saluting her through their language.
Thoughts still traveled quickly through the Hive Mind, she mused.
As she entered the Queen’s Chambers, those drones present bowed and greeted her upon her entry. At the center of the cavernous room was a web composed of green spider-like threads, and beneath that was a map of all the territories of Equestria.
Three Changelings sat outside the hexagonal web on small thrones, staring intently at it and verbally conversing with each other in lowered tones. As they noticed their drones bow and salute, they all looked upward.
“Good morning sisters,” Cheerilee nodded to Papillon and Pupa curtly. She then bowed to the largest of the three, “My Queen, it has been far too long since last we were together.”
Queen Chrysalis’ dark, slitted irises silently bored into Cheerilee’s skull as she remained bowed before her. Pupa and Papillon likewise stared at their sister without making any perceptible judgment.
“It has been many months since our attack on the capitol,” the Queen declared without any of her usual angry volatility, “Why have you only now come back to us?”
She waved her hoof, giving Cheerilee the right to speak.
“Forgive me, my Queen,” Cheerilee continued as she remained prostrate, “I was too far away to hear your summons in the time before the attack. I have not, however, been idle in my absence.”
There was a pause as the Queen continued to analyze her formerly lost lieutenant, her eyebrow arched all the time, “Continue.”
Cheerilee chose her next words carefully, “Since your retreat from Canterlot, I have infiltrated the town of Ponyville, and have replaced their local school teacher.” She paused to cloak herself in her usual disguise for emphasis, before returning to her natural state, “For the past few weeks, I have been studying the so called ‘Elements of Harmony’, as well as acquiring information on their plans for resisting you.”
There was another tense pause as the Queen continued to scrutinize her. Finally she declared, “Rise.”
Cheerilee stood tall, but kept her head bowed before her Queen.
The Queen’s eyes were suddenly filled with great satisfaction, “My prodigal Candidate has returned, humility gracing her head, but a burning fire to serve me. More than that, you have advanced my goals in spirit, even though I was not with you to oversee you!”
The Queen stood from her seat, strode around the edge of the web of war, and escorted Cheerilee to a spot near her own seat at the web. The Queen’s horn lit up with an aura of dark emerald, and the basaltic floor caved upward into the form of a bowl-shaped seat. She then looked to her candidate and smiled, “Welcome home Falena, my most faithful sister.”
The drones screeched their cheers and shouts of joy at the full reinstatement of their returned commander. Papillon grinned and clapped her chitinous hooves together enthusiastically. Pupa had a warm smile on her face as she clapped her hooves lightly for her sister’s return.
So honored and greeted, Falena sat down on her jet black throne and began to do what she did best: teach.