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// 6: The Hive 
// Story: To Hunt a Beast 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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	While Wisdom and his friends were busy with tracking down his other friends and hunting down the supposed whereabouts of Eclipse the Changeling Hive was full of activity. Deep beneath the sandy floor of the desert rested a network of tunnels that were constructed from a light green material. The tunnels, elaborate as they were, covered one of the most important structures of the Changeling culture, the Castle of the Queens.

There were very few places the changelings held in high regards, those that were considered to be important enough to restore every ten or twenty years. The other two important structures were the Chamber of the Elders, where the respected Elder Council held court with themselves, and the Nursery, where the infants were taken care of until they were ready to fend for themselves. There was a fourth, more hidden structure, that was located somewhere in the castle that served as a personal portal for the Queen to use as an escape point.

"Oh come on mom, it's been a long time since I've seen dad," complained a changeling that was the same size as Princess Cadence, though her eyes were light blue like her father's, "You tell me that he's such a kind hearted stallion, one who bested Death himself, just to be with you and his friends, but you won't let me see him. You always tell me that he's out there somewhere, making Equestria a better place by allowing everypony to believe that he's dead. But what about me? What about my feelings?"

"Calm down my daughter," the Queen, Viscarias, said, staring at her child, "Your father has made us allies with the ponies of Canterlot, Ponyville, and those of the Crystal Empire. The Princesses has assured me that they are trying to locate him as we speak, but he has spent the last three years hiding on purpose. I do not know why he hasn't returned to us yet, but whatever the reason is I know that he won't return until the time is right."

The smaller changeling, Princess Northern Sky, huffed before she turned tail on her mother, choosing to leave the throne room instead of getting into a heated argument again. She was sure that her mother was hiding something about her father from her and that she wasn't willing to share the information with her. That was typical of the Changeling Queens; when they learned something that could potentially change the face of Equestria they kept it to themselves.

So be it. If her mother wanted to keep the location of her father hidden from her then she would take matters into her own hooves and turn to the ponies who knew what she was after. She'd pack some of her winter clothes, her warm cloaks, boots, and other items, and be off before the royal guards realized that she was gone. If she timed her route right she would be able to reach the fourth structure and escape before her mother could do anything to stop her.

"Good night mother," Northern shouted over her shoulder, nodding to the guards that opened the doors for her to exit the room, "Don't let the bugs bite tonight."

As the young changeling walked away Viscarias turned to one of her guards, sighing as if she knew something was going to happen that night.

"Keep an eye on her chambers," she commanded, the guard bowing his head low in response, "Check on her every ten minutes and be sure that she's there. If you find anything you are to immediately tell me so."

~Later that night~

"Oh come on mom," Northern silently remarked, after the third time the guards checked on her room, "The guards check every ten minutes, giving me just enough time to get out of her before they realize I'm even gone."

True to her earlier thought she had packed a small bag full of winter gear, a small bundle rolled up tight until she needed it. She wouldn't dare wear the clothes while in the Hive, seeing how it would alert the other changelings to what she was planning. She needed to get to the Queen's throne room and enter the hidden tunnel behind the throne, which would lead her even deeper into the Hive. There she would find a metal and stone gateway, constructed by Chrysalis' own mother, that served as an escape route if the Hive was in danger of falling to invaders.

She smiled as she opened a small hatch, revealing a tunnel that she suspected that her mother had used to, in turn, escape from her own mother at one point. She didn't know if the tunnel's end was being watched, but after so many years she was hoping that her mother had grown lazy and wouldn't keep an eye on it anymore. As she snuggled into the hole she made sure to close the opening behind her, mostly to keep the guards confused longer if they searched her room.

Standing guard outside her room, like every night for the last three years, were two changeling guards. No pony would have noticed it unless they were looking for it, but the two were actually members of the Queen's Royal Guard, the special sect of the guard that was dedicated to serving the Queen, the King, and, if there was one, the heir to the throne. The King, her father, had been missing for three years, leaving her mother to stay in her room for hours on end, doing who knew what.

To be honest, Northern didn't like to worry her mother anymore then she already was, but she wasn't getting anywhere with her. If she wanted to see her father then she needed to leave the Hive without her guard and hunt him down with those who were already looking for him. Her best bet was to head to the Crystal Empire, meet with the Crystal Princess herself, and, hopefully, be useful in the search for her father.

She turned a corner and immediately retreated; she was already so close to the throne room that she had forgotten about the guards standing in front of it. She they had seen her then her game was as good as over and she would have nothing to show for leaving her room like that. All she had to do was wait for the guards outside her room to discover that she was missing and literally every changeling in the Hive would come running to her chambers. It gave her the perfect opening she needed to get to the tunnel behind the throne.

The only thing she had to do now was wait in the shadows until the opportunity presented itself.

~Outside her room~

"You know, I actually miss being in those war games," one of the guards said to his partner, making the other changeling roll her eyes, "I mean it. I loved having the rain in my mane as I did battle with the armies of the collective alicorn princesses. Sure, we continued to lose the games as they went after our King, but the fighting was glorious and it allowed me to use some of those moves you taught me before hoof. I even managed to beat several of my opponents in single combat before the signal was given that we had lost."

"For the love of the Queen," the other changeling said, facehoofing herself in annoyance, "Will you PLEASE be quiet? All I have heard from you for the last week is how you miss the war games and how you could beat up ponies that were weaker than you without consequence."

"But its true," the first argued, "I had fun fighting against are allies, measuring my abilities against them in the off chance they came to eradicate the Hive while the King was gone. We, members of the Royal Guard, need to be ready to defend the Queen and the Princess from attackers while the King is absent."

"Are you an idiot?" the second asked, staring at her partner in disbelief, "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would never turn on us, not after everything that our beloved King did to make us allies with them. Princess Cadence is a lover, not a fighter, and she would not come at her allies like a wolf hunts a sheep. And Princess Twilight and her friends would not allow such harm to come to us, not while our King's friends stand by the Princesses sides. I can't believe you would suggest that any of them would turn a blade against us."

"I miss the fun of the games," the first replied, "I miss the rain on my face as the lightning flashed and the thunder clashed above me. I miss the running through the trees as I sought to out maneuver my foes while trying to not make any tracks they would use to find me. I miss fighting tooth, metal, and magic against the ponies we fought, never allowing my eyes to wonder from my targets."

"Whatever you say, Ironside," the second said, turning to the doors of their Princess' chambers, "The ten minutes are up, so I'm going to check on the Princess and make sure she hasn't been bored to death by your nonsense."

The room itself was designed to reflect light so it would always be lit and the reflected light told the guards if the Princess was in her room by her shadow. if there wasn't a shadow then the guard would peer into the room and see if she was still there, which was what the changeling was going to have to do. She turned her head to the Princess' bed and noticed something that chilled her entire body.

The Princess was missing from her chambers.

"Hey Ironside," the changeling called to her partner, trying to shake the fear out of her veins, "Ironside!"

"Geez Shimmer, what...is it?"

That was what the first changeling wanted to know, but the instant he turned to look into the room he noticed what had happened. There was no way the Princess could have slipped by them without being noticed, but that was exactly what had happened. Ironside refused to believe that she could have bypassed them, yet the prove was all around them.

"I'll contact the Queen," Shimmer said, sighing in annoyance, "She'll want to hear about this."

~Moments later~

Northern Sky watched the throne room for the last eight minutes, waiting for the guards outside her room to discover that she was missing. Her disappearance would be the only thing at the moment that could drag her mother off the throne and out of the room. Eight minutes she waited until the doors burst open and out stormed her very furious mother, followed by two concerned guards.

Once the group had passed her Northern emerged from her hiding spot and bolted towards the throne room, nearly tripping herself in the process. Inside the throne room she quickly made her to the area behind the throne, the ancient tunnel of the past princesses. Pushing a stone lever and hearing the ancient tunnel hiss open, revealing a stone walkway that was barely lit by some strange magical lights. She didn't care, but when she got to the bottom she pulled a second lever and the passageway was sealed behind her.

Soon she would be in the Frozen Wastes and on her way to the Crystal Empire. And, more importantly, she would be one step closer to finding her father.