Admiral Arex. Yes I quite liked the sound of that.... Admiral Arex....
The sound of a thud as a small pile of papers were dropped down onto my desk snapped me back to reality.
"Senator here is the budget for the 3rd Battalion just as you ordered."
"Thank you Clayshus."
"Yes sir." He said as he exited the office. Well so much for my daydreaming, I thought. It's time to get back to work.
I had been put in charge of about one quarter of the budget for the Hive's invasive force in preparation to the Second Siege of Canterlot which would commence in just a few months time. The first invasion just a few years ago I had not been involved in in the least but I had just recently made a name for myself here after I led the charge to get the Hive's tax policy reformed. Because of how successful it was Queen Chrysalis saw fit to put me in charge of the finances while she focused on military strategy.
Believe me when I tell you that their is nothing glorious about being in charge of the Budget. I won't get my name put on a plaque, I won't get a statue, I won't even get any recognition for my hard work. It's a difficult and thankless job, but it's one that has to be done and done well because it can mean the difference between victory, and defeat. If there was one thing that Chrysalis knew about it was defeat. Sometimes I think she knows about it too well.
At the very least I took solace in the fact that she believed my abilities and attention to detail were impressive enough to be put in charge of so much, especially for a Senator as young as I was. Only 26 and already with more on my plate than any other Senators in the Hive. Sometimes I do amaze myself. Perhaps I won't need any thanking for this job. After all if the invasion is successful I've probably got enough influence and respect to guarantee myself job security for a very, very long time.
We will be successful too. We have to be. This place can't afford another failure, I should know, I've seen the numbers. I could really care less what happens to the ponies anyways, I mean, they would kill us (if the Hive was easy to get too) without a second thought. Having the entrance be way up in the Mountains to an almost entirely underground city is a pretty strategically sound idea. No idea what the cost would have been back in the day but I sure am glad Chrysalis saw fit to keep the Hive protected. Regardless all changelings can fly it is just pony armies that have a hard time getting here. Canterlot is another story. Canterlot is an easy place to get too but a hard place to take over. That is why this time we are going in heavy. Full armor, horns blazing kinda heavy.
A few hour later I had finished crunching the numbers and had jotted down some notes. I was now walking down the hallway on my way to see Senator Kytlus. The halls were beautiful in this area of the Hive. The soft green glow emanating from the ceiling as I worked my way down the north passage illuminated the beautiful paintings and gorgeous sculptures lining the path. I never did like those sculptures though. I mean sure they were lovely but they were also expensive, some of them even priceless and when we were in the middle of fighting a war luxury was not a necessity. With the budget so tight you would expect that the leadership was concerned with the common good and military upkeep, but no. Sometimes I felt like I was the only one that looked at the drones as equals. They had every right to live like we did because they are the ones out there risking their lives for us. Yet the upper class of the Hive saw it as necessary to keep itself in the lap of luxury at all times.
But they weren't the only ones, some changelings had abandoned the Hive altogether. These were the ones that really grinded my gears. The changeling that lived among ponies in Equestria. Some of them were spies sure but they were constantly defecting, and most changelings living there had simply given up on the Hive. It was almost sickening. I had always been raised to believe that selling out your own kind was one of the worst things that a Changeling could do. And if you took the time to go to some of the poorer areas of the city you would certainly agree that abandoning a dying race would be almost an unthinkable crime.
But no matter.I thought as I rounded the corner. I swiftly approached the Senator's door and walked inside.
"Arex! How lovely to see you! Please come in, tell me all about how things are looking with the Invasive Force! You know with all this work on your plate you musty be feeling pretty exhausted, have you been sleeping well?"
It was always a pleasure to talk with Kytlus. he was one of the most sincere and genuine politicians you would ever meet. Me and him had become good friends in the recent past.
"I've been feeling just fine thank you Kytlus. Now actually I am here because I need you signature and the signature of one other Senator to authorize this purchase of armor for the 3rd Battalion." He bent over and looked at the papers I had gently set on his desk.
"Oh why absolutely my friend! I expect I will see more of the same tomorrow when you go through the numbers for the 17th Battalion?" I nodded my head while he took a pen out of the cup on the corner of his desk and signed the papers.
"I believe that Mandarut is in his office right now but he may be leaving soon. If you hurry you can probably catch him and get his signature."
"Thank you, this is much appreciated" I said.
"No problem"
And with that Our brief exchange had come to a close and I was off on my next adventure down a few hallways once again in search of Senator Mandarut. Me and him were on good terms as well. We all had to be because we were all in this same party together. The Wing Party and the Horn Party were the two main political entities in the Hive. Although Queen Chrysalis abstained from affiliation with either, her daughter, and first in line to the throne were she to pass away (Heaven forbid that should happen) was Azandria. And she was the current head of the Wing Party. She had helped us secure many political victories and in no small way contributed to the reformation of the tax policy. Perhaps this was why most of us in the party could really care less if something happened to our glorious leader.
Finally I reached Mandarut's office.
"Hello Senator Arex." He was business as usual. Never had any time to play games. Come to think of it he never really had any time to smile or laugh either.
"Hello Senator. I am here seeking your signature on a very important document." I dropped the form onto his desk. He (much as I had expected) sat down and began to read through the entire thing. This changeling was going to take up my whole afternoon by the looks of it. Finally after reading silently for about five minutes and covering the first two pages of the document I decided I had to act or this would get out of hoof.
"Umm... excuse me Senator but I've actually been very busy lately and I will have to be going soon." He grunted in response.
There was a few seconds of an awkward pause and then finally he said, "Very well then, everything here looks in order," Do you think?"I suppose I have enough information to agree to applying my signature to this document."
Well at least that's over with.
A few minutes later I was back in my office. So warm and snug. I really did like my office. It had a comfortable padded chair, a window just behind the desk that looked out onto the streets just one floor below. The whole city was actually very well lit by magic but the lights all dimmed throughout when nighttime came. That was how you could tell what time it was living in an underground city. Also there were clocks but those were mostly used by the higher up changelings. Most drones were soldiers so they were simply told where to go and when to go there by whoever was in charge, and that's who usually got the clock. I never gave much thought as to how other Hive's around Equestria kept time but I knew that one of the more popular methods was building a giant pole in the center of the city holding the ceiling up and charging it with magic so that different parts of the Column glowed during different times of the day. The light would work it's way up and back down the pole.
While this was very interesting we here being ruled by Chrysalis had little interest in what other Hives did. Afterall they were nearly insignificant compared to us. There were about 8 Hives in Equestria and ours contained nearly 40% of all changelings on the continent. We may not be rich but at least we weren't small and weak like the other Hives.
I looked at the rest of the paperwork on my desk. Suddenly a revelation hit me that rocked my world to the very core..... I was a pencil pusher. I quietly giggled to myself, then sat down and started sorting through the workload I had left. I could tell it was gonna be a long day.
* * *
I arrived home very late that night. I looked around my house. Well... it wasn't really a house. All of the Senators had their own suites in the rear of the Palace. They were really more like condominiums. Some of the Chief Joint Staff stayed here too, such as my neighbor General Wysak. General... General Arex. I quite liked the sound of that.
I looked around my condo in disdain. It was so quiet. It was always quiet at this time of night but it was unsettling nonetheless. I didn't have any pets, I didn't have a girlfriend, and I certainly wasn't married. I'm not ashamed to admit that I got lonely sometimes. I turned on the lights and proceeded into the kitchen.
Ponies missed out on something that both changelings and Griffins got to enjoy regularly. Meat. I loved meat! especially Salmon and Pork! I opened up the fridge and looked inside to see what I had left. I'd better have a paige pick up some groceries for me. Luckily I still had some pork left, just a few strips of bacon. Dinner that night was quiet. I sat by myself at the dinner table that could seat four, and sat alone in a mostly still dark house that was so quiet you could hear the mice in the walls. That is if their were any mice. But there weren't. Their was nothing.
After a few sad minutes of thoroughly depressing thoughts I finished eating my bacon. I looked around at my surroundings. I can't complain.And I couldn't. I may be a bit lonely but I still live in total luxury whether it is comforting or not. I stared vacantly at the beautiful surrealist painting on my wall. It was of some distant beach it looked like. And on that beach was a small dying tree and a wooden desk. But that wasn't meant to be the centerpiece of the work. hanging off the branches of the tree and slowly sliding off of the desk were several clocks, and they all appeared to be melting. This had always been one of my favorite paintings. It spoke to me in a way that most art just couldn't. I found myself strangely attracted to it.
After dinner it was time for bed. Bedtime was one of the best parts of my day. It was the time when I could unwind from a long stressful day at work. I could choose to mull over the day or just drift of into a daydream. But right now a daydream simply would not do. I was in dire need of the real thing, as I had had a long and tiring day.
I slipped under the covers of my bed. It was a king sized mattress with a sinfully comfortable feather stuffed pad laying on top of it. I moaned slightly with relief and pleasure as I relaxed my muscles and went limp under the covers. This was the kind of bed that the drones could only dream about, the kind of bed that was reserved only for the elite in the Hive. Their were certainly some perks to being a Senator. The last thing I remember thinking about before I drifted off into unconsciousness the look Senator Mandarut's face when one of the paiges had spilled ketchup on the floor last Thursday. We never did see that drone again.
* * *
I awoke the following morning bursting with energy. Excellent! Today I can place the orders for the armor for the 17th Battalion. I was lucky enough to be granted an exceptionally large amount of money for the 17th Battalion so I had collected all the papers necessary a few days prior and all that was left to do now was simply casually stroll into work and collect two signatures. After that I had a few more small chores to take care of and I would be all done. Who knows... I might even get out of work early today!
As soon as I had entered my office I realized that was a false hope. Not because there was a large pile of paperwork on my desk (although there was) but instead because of the familiar envelope sitting on top of the large pile of paperwork. It had on it the Royal Family's Seal.
Oh lovely I'm being reprimanded.
I smirked and picked up the envelope. I guess I will have some extra work to do today.
Inside was a short hoofwritten letter simply stating that I was expected at Chrysalis Throne Room around 4:30. Not a big deal, I'll have all my work done by then and it's not as though this will be the first time that I have had a face to face conversation with the queen. In fact over the past two years I've seen her at least once a week. I shrugged and threw the letter aside. Then I opened my top drawer and pulled out the papers I would need signed.
A short while later I arrived in Kytlus' office.
"Why, hello again Arex!"
"Cut the crap Kytlus you know why I'm here." There was an uneasy silence in the office space for a few moments. All the while I just continued to stare intensely at him. I was focusing hard on keeping my concentration to a maximum and not showing a hint of emotion. Finally I cracked. My face broke into a huge grin and I couldn't help but burst out laughing! As I expected Kytlus did the same.
"Anyways, Kytlus, hows it going? I know I was quite brief yesterday but I've got a looser schedule today and a bit more free time on my hooves."
"I should have expected something like that from the infamous Arex! I've been doing great, but I must say for a changeling you really need to work on your acting skills, you couldn't even keep your composure for 30 seconds." He grinned.
"Yeah that's probably true. How's the wife and kid?"
"Arina is doing fine. She wants us to have a date night next Friday so I might just leave early that day."
"Yeah your lucky, you've got that kind of workload were you can just shovel everything off onto someone else."
"It's called delegating." He grinned again at me.
"So how about Satosha? she just turned six not too long ago didn't she?"
Now he looked genuinely excited. "Oh yeah! Me and Arina are looking into getting her enrolled here at the Royal Preschool."
That kind of bothered me. And maybe it shouldn't have, maybe that was my ultimate downfall, but it did. I couldn't help but feel like this kind of thing was irresponsible. I knew what these things costed and I also knew how much money we could save if we weren't building 'Royal Preschools' and considering the kind of abject poverty that the majority of the Hive lived in it just didn't seem ethical to me to be putting all of this into something that never really served the general public, but instead simply satisfied those of us who were better off. Still, like a good drone, I kept my mouth shut.
"That's fantastic news! I'm very glad to hear that you and your family are doing alright! Anyways, as I explained yesterday I have a few more papers here for you to sign."
He quickly offered his signature and then continued to talk about his little nymph and beautiful wife. My feeling of uneasiness quickly dissipated, Kytlus really was a pleasure to talk to. Yet part of me, still didn't feel right, hearing him talk about his family like that. Part of me deep, deep inside felt.... almost jealous.
After conversing for about twenty minutes or so I finally said my goodbyes and worked my way down to see Senator Aphmorous. We were members of opposing parties and our greetings were short but nonetheless warm. Our conversation was over soon after it began. After that the rest of the day consisted of simply going through and mostly just double checking that the weeks chores had been taken care of. I was sitting at my desk starting to drift off into a different world when I remembered the letter. I looked onto the desk and slid it over to me. I opened it up.
Dear Senator Arex,
Your presence is requested at 4:30pm in the Throne Room of Her Royal Majesty Queen Chrysalis. You are to receive then an assignment from Her Highness.
Okey dokey. Sounds like a plan. I looked at the clock on the wall... 3:45. I might as well start walking there right now and I'll just get there early.
I worked my way down the Halls of the Senate Building. The Palace was just right next door. I got outside and walked down the sidewalk and past the fountain towards the Royal Palace. When I got to the entrance two soldiers standing guard in front of the double doors parted to allow me passage.I respect their work ethic. If all of the Senators worked as hard as our drones do maybe the first Invasion would have been more successful.
I entered the Palace at 4:00 exactly. Half an hour to kill and not a weapon against boredom in sight. The entry room of the Palace was a magnificent room much like a Ballroom in appearance. There were large marble pillars holding up an ornately decorated ceiling. Lining the walls were tall oversized doors each leading to a different wing of the enormous Palace. At the far end of the room were two staircases wrapping around in a circular fashion against the walls of the room. Hanging in between the two staircases was a large chandelier. One of the Generals appeared from the door at the top of the right hoof side staircase and slowly paced down the steps. Upon reaching the bottom he walked briskly towards me, then past me and towards the exit. All the while I had stood still expecting a greeting of some time but he had never even made eye-contact with me. I didn't care though, I was too busy staring at his medals. He had a lot of medals, the covered his entire chest there were so many. I may not have known him but clearly he was a very highly ranking and highly respected military figure. I coveted what he had silently before willing myself to push it out of my mind.
"Why hello my friend Arex! It's so lovely of you to stop by, you should have told me you were coming!" I quickly snapped out of my daze and whipped around. I must have been standing stock still staring off into space for her to sneak up behind me like that. How embarrassing. There before me stood the Head of my party, first in line to the throne, and daughter of the Queen; Princess Azandria.
"Hello Princess! I'm so sorry that I didn't notice you there, I was deep in thought about important matters. I just received a letter from the Queen a few hours ago to appear before her throne at 4:30 this afternoon. Of course that's still not for another twenty-five minutes so.... How've you been?" I asked weakly.
"Absolutley fantastic! I've seen the budget you have been working on for the Battalions you were assigned, and I must say I am very impressed with how you've handled things. A Senator like you, especially one as young as you, doesn't come around very often. I think you have a big future ahead of you Senator Arex." That last part that she said made me feel good. But it was the part before that, that really caught my attention. It wasn't so much what she said but more the way she said it. When she talked about me being young it had a sort of different tone to it, I could have sworn it was almost flirtatious in a way. But that clearly must have been in my head.
"Why thank you very much Your Highness. I very much appreciate your enthusiasm and your compliments."
"Perhaps we could go to my office and talk some more." OK... NOW I was just straight up nervous. Is this happening... is this really happening?I thought to myself. But on the outside I was still cool as a cucumber.
"Very well, I don't see why not."
A minute later we were together in her office.
"So Arex how have you been since you took on the heavy workload?"
"Oh actually I've been... Well..... You could almost say I've actually been enjoying it. I know it might not sound plausible to you but I truly enjoy working with finances." She looked onward waiting for me to continue. "Actually Princess there is something that I have been a bit concerned about lately."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"Well you see Princess, I've been looking at the amount of money that we have been putting towards military expenses during this difficult time of war, and I've also seen the kind of spending that goes on here in the region of the Hive near the Palace. Well you see, um, Princess, um. Well I just can't help but feel like we aren't prioritizing our spending right. Take for instance the sculptures that line the hallways in the Senate building. I believe that their are around 72 or 73 of them in the entire building. Well do you realize that the average amount of money that each of those works of art cost us could have also been used to purchase 892 food rations? And that's just the art in the Senate building." What followed could only be described as one of the most tense and awkward silences that I have witnessed in my life. I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Finally...
"You're absolutely right." Now I was very confused. "But don't you dare say that to my mother! I have known for a very long time that we don't spend money like we should, and that is part of the reason why we haven't been doing so well as a Hive. The Senators and Royalty and Generals seem as though they are all more interested in what is good for them rather than what is good for the Hive. I have said this many times before to my mother but she wouldn't listen. That is why I got so Heavily involved with the Wing Party. They may not be perfect but their are more selfless changelings here than in most of the affluent regions of the Hive. But I must caution you Arex, please, Do NOT bring this up with my mother. As it is she likes you, I would try to keep it that way. You don't want to make yourself seem as expendable as a drone to her." When she had finished speaking I just sat in a stupor. I was extremely surprised that she had agreed with me so completely. I was certainly elated, but still surprised. "I'm very glad, at least, to see that I am not the only one who saw this problem. Having a Senator on my side will most likely be very helpful later on. But right now every changeling's mind will be occupied with the coming Second Invasion. There are more important things to focus on right now, and Military conquest is one of them. I'm very sorry that this doesn't feel right to you and it doesn't to me either, but now is not the time nor the place to address the issue." Once again she had stolen the words right out of my mouth.
"Well, I'm very glad that I have been able to find an ally on the dilemma. But I suppose, for now at least, I should get going."
"I agree. I look forward to talking to you again though. I think we should get together sometime soon. What do you think Senator Arex?"
"I think that is a splendid idea."
"Well then I look forward to seeing you again."
"And I as well." And with that I left the room. Somewhat taken with her intelligence, I found myself unable to fully re-establish my mental faculties. In other words, I had butterflies in my stomach.
* * *
"Senator Arex, it's so delightful to see you." By now I had regained my composure.
"And a pleasure to see you as always my Queen." I gave a slight bow, then returned to my standing position. I was in the front center of the throne room. On a small stage in front of me, raised maybe two feet off the ground sat the Throne. A large ebony wood seat decorated with many beautiful and intricate designs inlayed into the legs and arms of the artistic masterpiece. On the beautiful throne sat the beautiful Queen. I may have given her a hard time because of her policies in my head at least but in person she was actually a very powerful figure that dominated the room. Her presence could simply not be mistaken. And she was, even at her age, still very youthful.
"Guards could you please bring my guest a seat." One of the six changeling guards lining the walls of the throne room procured a small wooden foldout chair and placed it just before the throne. I reluctantly took the seat. Even after knowing her for two years now I still never quite got used to sitting so close to her. Especially facing each other.
"My Queen. I believe that the letter you sent me mentioned something about some kind of an assignment."
"Yes but I will get to that in a minute. For the time being I would like for you to tell me how everything has been going."
"Yes my Queen. The budget has been going well. I am on track and on schedule with all of the Battalions budgets and I have chosen the most efficient ways to get every cent worth out of all of the equipment purchased."
"That is excellent. I am very glad to hear it. I know that your keen attention to detail has helped you in no small way while preparing the Hive's finances, has it not?"
"That is correct Your Highness."
"Well Senator, I hate to overwork you, and as you know I do have an assignment for you. The good news is that it is not something you will have to do until after the Second Invasion."
"Thank you my Queen. Might I ask what it is that you need me doing?"
"After we have taken Canterlot I have decided that I want to have you directly flown in from the Hive to help the soldiers look for any survivors in Canterlot Castle." I couldn't believe this. I was being asked to do the work of a common drone? Not that I considered myself that much more important than the drones it wasn't that at all surely. But I couldn't help but be nervous at the prospect of coming into newly conquered territory and looking for unicorns that were probably hiding waiting to be found so that they could take out a few changelings with them. I wasn't stupid enough to not realize what a dangerous mission this would be.
"But my Queen... I am more specialized in noticing details in financial reports not looking for hiding unicorns. Besides doing something like this seems exceptionally dangerous, I do not mean to offend you my Queen but, would it not be a better idea to send in trained soldiers to look for survivors?"
"Perhaps you are right, and if you must refuse than I will allow you that. But I am confident that you would have better luck finding survivors than the trained soldiers would if you applied yourself to it. Besides it would be a great service to the Hive. Their is much honor in helping to contain a battle zone, and many of our Generals have medals for that very thing." At that my ears pricked up. I could suddenly barely hide my excitement.
"Well please my liege, lets not be so hasty. I was merely trying to add a helpful suggestion. I never said that I didn't want to do it. I only said that I would appreciate having some soldiers to accompany me, that's all. But of course I would never pass up the opportunity to be of service to my Hive!"
Queen Chrysalis visibly cheered up. "Well excellent, I thought that you would change your mind." She said happily. "Well that's that then. I will have you waiting just a few miles outside Canterlot when the invasion begins and you will be transported directly to the Castle after it is taken under our control."
That night I did not sleep well at all. I couldn't help but be nervous at the prospect of being flown into a battle zone. Even my comfortable feather-bed did not help.
* * *
The next few months went by relatively quickly. Almost everyone was eagerly (and nervously) anticipating the re-conquering of Canterlot. I was not allowed access to classified information such as the tactics that would be involved in the operation, but I already had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen based on the things that I had been told to purchase for the different battalions. I didn't feel bad about invading Canterlot, but unlike many changelings I wasn't dying for the opportunity either. Some Senators seemed like they had a personal vendetta against the city. None more so than Queen Chrysalis. But I continued to simply do my job as efficiently as possible. After all part of the reason why conditions were so bad in the Hive was because their simply was not enough love to go around.
There are three ways in which a Changeling can feed on love. The first one is to simply be around it. Spies do not need to catch and feed on ponies because the ambient love of their surroundings is usually more than enough to sustain them. The second way to do it is the 'old fashioned' way. Simply catch a pony, restrain them, and begin to suck the emotions directly out of them. The downside to this is that it seriously weakens them and they inevitably die. We can really feed on any emotions but by far the strongest is love. The third way, and the most rare is to have a pony direct their love towards a changeling.This is not very often done at all. Usually this happens to spies living amongst ponies, and this can also often be the reason that they defect in the first place, especially if the feeling is mutual. Drones are warned about this before they go to live with the ponies, it is very important to keep ones allegiance to the Hive. Most drones do, in fact almost 20% of drones live outside the Hive.
The reason why we let so many drones go is because it is their task to find love and bring it back to the Hive for other changelings to feed on. Otherwise we could never support the population. All changelings have the ability to soak up excessive amounts of emotion like sponges and then can give some of that to other changelings. I loved studying about how that worked in the University, One drone can hold nearly 70 times the amount of love he would need to survive a month and can transfer it all in just a few minutes. This is how the Hive can sustain itself, a drone is living amongst ponies, or even griffins, and just manages to slip away for a few hours once every month or two and can deliver far more love than it would take to feed 5 starving families of changelings. Even so when they can't make it to the Hive, or they decided to defect, or they simply haven't gotten enough love that month for some reason or another it makes the whole system quite shaky. It is not a stable system, it relies on the fact that drones that live and work with other races can change their schedules around and travel long distance to hidden locations without arousing suspicion. Lets just say that it's not a system I would design.
Chrysalis plan may not (to me at least) seem all that ethical, but at least I realized it was necessary. Her plan was to bring them here and construct a sort of 'pony farm'. A place where they would be stored and raised like cattle to be consumed at a later time. Even just the ambient energy that radiated off of them could be enough to help a lot of changelings get by.
Senators never needed to worry about starvation. Most of us were more concerned with what kind of blend tasted the best. Emotions could be infused with normal food. Different blends and emotions had different tastes, and usually the rare the emotion the more it cost. Of course money was also one thing that Senators usually didn't have to worry about not having enough of.
* * *
I was awoken at 3:30 am that morning and brought out of the Hive and to a chariot perched on a runway. I don't remember what anything looked like because I was still so tired that I was too dazed to observe my surroundings. All I remember looking back on it was the air being cold. And how it was cold. I could feel it in the holes in my chitin. I could feel the cold mountain air rushing past me and through me, through my body piercing me like an arrow to the heart. This was the first time that I had really felt the outside world, and know what it was like outside of the Hive. It wouldn't be the last.
Then I remember seeing the city. It took a few hours of the drones pulling my chariot going who knew how fast but I knew we had traveled a long way. And Canterlot was magnificent. A beautiful glimmering city constructed into the side of a mountain. and below a shimmering waterfall descending down and out of sight. The gold encrusted roofs and stunning architecture made the metropolis impossible to overlook. And covering the entire thing was a large pink transparent bubble. I didn't know a lot about what to expect to see just prior to an invasion but that shield I know all too well. It was going to be one of the main hurdles in the assault.
I wanted to go into the Generals quarters and get to see and hear everything about the siege as it was happening. But I was told that this wasn't allowed, even a Senator like me was not allowed in to the Generals meeting just prior to the attack, and I was supposed to stay in a tent once it began also. Once I was led to my small tent I was given a sleeping bag and a flower sandwich. Nothing infused with love, just a normal flower sandwich. None of the other Senators would ever put up with this. That's why I'm not like them. With nothing else left to do, I just did the obvious, I was still tired so I slept.
* * *
I awoke with a start. I knew it was time. The drone standing over me looked down.
"We have secured Canterlot Senator. Your mission will begin shortly."
I had waited two long years to hear those words. I had invested months of my waking hours and countless billions into hearing those words. I finally felt satisfied for the first time in a long time. I slowly got up out of my sleeping bag. I turned to him.
"Thank you drone."
"My name is Saersis sir. And I have a few things here for you." He pointed towards the corner of the tent where there sat two saddle bags and a helmet. The helmet was so that they would know who was in charge... I hoped. The saddlebags were given to me because I was allowed to take any valuables that I pleased while I was searching for survivors. I didn't plan on using them.
"I do have a question though... um... Saersis. Why can't we just try to feel the energy that the ponies will give off while they are hiding somewhere in the castle? Why do we actually need to go look for them?"
"Because sir, We have many prisoners held in Canterlot and all of the ponies ambient energy together in the city drowns out individual signals."
Well actually that makes sense. "Ah.... I see.... Well than I guess we'd better get going."
He led me out of the tent to another chariot, much like the first, where I boarded and the two changelings pulling the chariot took off. This time the ride was just a few minutes and we landed in the near center of Canterlot near the front entrance to the castle. If I thought the city looked magnificent from a distance, I was amazed at what it looked like now. Even through the smoke and disregarding the charred walls and blood spatter the architecture was simply breathtaking. Wait a minute.... blood spatter.... Snap out of it Arex you're in a battle zone! I jumped off of the chariot and it pulled away. I made my way up the steps to the front entrance of the castle and went inside. On the other side of the door were 7 changeling drones.
"Good morning Senator!" One of them called.
"Good morning drone. How long has it been since we declared victory? I was just brought in." I didn't want to admit that I had been sleeping while they were all fighting.
"About an hour and a half ago the rest of their fighting forces fled and we secured the city."
"Excellent, have we also captured their leaders?"
"Yes sir, we have Princess Celestia and Princess Luna restrained in the Dungeon. The Captain of the Royal Guard and Princess Cadenza are in the Ballroom now awaiting their execution."
"Execution?!? But i was under the impression that we were taking them as prisoners!"
"That was the plan at first sir but the order came from higher up. It was again The Captain that was projecting the shield over the city and since we know that the Princess is capable of doing the same the Queen has deemed them too dangerous to live."
"Alright, did she send that order all the way from the Hive?"
"No sir, she's here in Canterlot in the Ballroom right now. I believe that she will be overseeing their executions. Our task however is to go through out the rest of the castle and find the rest of the ponies that are most likely in hiding. So how would you like to go about this sir?"
Oh! that's right I have to make decisions. "Well I think that it will be best if we spread ourselves out a little bit. But to make sure nothing goes wrong we will search in pairs." They all looked and nodded in agreement. This military leadership thing is actually kind of fun. I thought.
We divided into pairs and I assigned each of the different pairs to a different floor of the castle. I went with a drone named Alakerk on floor three.
"So Alakerk," I asked, "how long have you been a soldier in the army?"
"7 years now sir." That was kinda impressive.
"So you were here for the first invasion of Canterlot as well?"
"Yes sir."
"So do you agree that it is necessary to kill the Princess and Captain?" Now he looked at me. He looked at me with a dead serious look in his eye.
"Yes sir. They are the most dangerous two ponies in all of Equestria to us. It was them that single-hoofedly eliminated the changeling army last time two years ago. Once we kill them we will really have security in Canterlot, but as long as they are alive then there is no chance that we are safe."
"Understood." Well I supposed that was fairly logical. Prisoners or not they were certainly a threat to our invasion and should probably be dealt with as quickly as possible.
After our little conversation we arrived at the third floor and looked down the first hall to see how many rooms their were. Their were a lot of doors. That probably meant a lot of rooms. We went through the first few rooms together expecting to find something but we turned up with nothing. Then the next few rooms we took with a little less caution. Finally we just plain got bored. After a little more small talk we decided that it would actually be quicker if we split up, and, seeing how little resistance we were running into, it didn't seem like a bad idea.
I started going through the rooms by myself. They were suites clearly. Nicely furnished living compartments. They might have been meant for visiting dignitaries or nobles to stay in while spending time in Canterlot. I imagined that if there were any unicorns hiding in here they would be such pansies that the sight of me in a helmet would just scare them into submission.
Finally I only had a few rooms left to go, I had already been up here searching for nearly two hours. I walked into the door of the suite. But this one was different than the others. It seemed a bit more.... upscale. It was difficult to say more because they were actually all very upscale. But this one was just somehow nicer. The bedposts had gold on them, the curtains had lovely flowers sewn into them, and the pillows. I walked over and touched one of the pillows on the bed. It was very plush and comfortable. This would be the kind of room that Princess Azandria would stay in. I looked over on the nightstand beside the bed. Their was a framed picture of two unicorns. No wait, one was pink and had wings. The other was blue with a purple shield cutie mark. This is Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza's suite. Now it all made sense. Too bad they would never get to return to it. They were probably already dead. I looked over in to the corner of the room. There was something else that stood out in this suite that made it different from the others. A crib. I walked over to the crib for some reason expecting it to be empty. But it wasn't. Laying inside the crib was a small foal. She must have been just over a year old. The filly had a light pink coat with purple hair and deep gold highlights. She had a small horn sticking out of her head and..... WINGS on her back. They were pink at the base but with purple tipped feathers towards the end of each wing. Luckily I hadn't woken her. She was sleeping and looked very serene. Although I hadn't ever seen a foal before I couldn't help but think that she was almost kind of cute.
One thing was for sure though. I hadn't been expecting to see this. Chrysalis hadn't told me that Shining Armor and Cadenza had an alicorn foal. In fact I bet that Chrysalis didn't even know that the baby existed! Why when she found out she would..... wait a minute....... she would...... If Chrysalis finds out that there is another alicorn in the castle she will want to kill her too! Especially if that alicorn is the offspring of Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza! I just sat and thought for a moment. Weighing the pros and cons of telling her in my head. Finally, I decided that it was a bad idea. I may be here invading Canterlot, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't protect an innocent life if I get the chance. Without a second thought I scooped her up with my magic and put her in my still-empty saddlebag. Not a moment too soon.
"Senator!..... Senator! I'm finished checking my rooms, I haven't found any survivors." I couldn't risk telling Alakerk either. He might tell Queen Chrysalis and then I'd be the one in trouble.
"Excellent. I just have a few more rooms to go. You can help me look through those and then we will be on our way."
I was very nervous finishing up the scan for survivors with Alakerk. I was very worried that the foal might start crying or move around in my bag, and then I would be caught. But luckily nothing happened.
Finally we finished on the third floor and returned to ground level to see the rest of the squad waiting for us. They had all come up empty-hoofed too. I said my goodbye's to the squad and went back outside to the chariot that was waiting for me. On the short ride back to the camp outside Canterlot I checked on the baby alicorn in my pack to see if it was still breathing. It was. It seemed to still be asleep as well. These things sure can sleep through a lot.
Once we arrived back at the camp I went straight to my tent. Tomorrow I would be going back to the Hive and I would have to figure out what to do with this thing before then. I pulled it out of the bag once again and laid it down at the feet end of my sleeping bag. It was finally awake and stared up at me with its big blue eyes. I looked back apprehensively. Now what am I going to do with you?
Oh well... I could think about that later tonight. For now wanted to go and converse with the Generals. Maybe now that the battle is over I can talk with them about the kinds of tactics they used. I don't want to be a bother but I had always wanted to be a part of the glory of battle. Perhaps this was my chance to live vicariously through them! I zipped the tent closed on the way out. Then I strolled away towards the Generals' Quarters.
* * *
By the time I got back it was late at night. I had almost completely forgotten about the foal in my tent. But not entirely. I did manage to remember to pick up some applesauce while I was out today. At least it would have something to eat today. The little alicorn had decided that it was a good idea to crawl into my sleeping bag and play mole for a little while. I gently reached in and pulled her out with my hoof. then I laid down next to the sleeping bag and set her on top of it. She laid down next to me without much fuss. I opened up the applesauce and got out the little spoon to go with it and scooped up some of the applesauce and brought it close to her mouth. She didn't open.
"Come on, aren't you hungry you haven't eaten all day?" I moved it a little closer but she pulled her head back and kept her mouth closed. I was starting to get frustrated now. Then I got a good idea. I reached over her with my hoof and tickled her in the side. She leaned against me and laughed out loud quickly pushing my holey foreleg away from her. I seized my opportunity while her mouth was open and stuck the spoon inside. She closed down on it and her face got this strange expression on it. Then she decided she liked the whatever-it-was and swallowed it. Good to know that foals like applesauce. After that the rest of me feeding her mostly just consisted of her warm soft body pressed up against mine and me spoon feeding her while she greedily gulped down applesauce like there was no tomorrow. Finally, it was time for bed. I guess I will have to figure out what to do with you tomorrow. That's OK. I guess I can just postpone my return for one more day. I gently lowered her back into the saddlebag, so that way if a drone came into my tent in the middle of the night they wouldn't see her. Then I climbed into my sleeping bag and shut my eyes.
* * *
I awoke to the sound of horns blasting in the distance. At the same time a changeling drone came bursting into my tent and yelled, "Senator! The city is under attack! We need to evacuate now!" I jumped out of bed and to my hooves. My heart was already pounding.
"What happened drone? How is the city under attack? Didn't we execute the Captain of the Royal Guard and Princess Cadenza!?!"
"Yes sir but it is the Equestrian military! They have begun retaliation and I have orders to evacuate the city."
"From Queen Chrysalis?"
"No sir."
"Well then from who?"
"General Izeykun sir."
"Well did Chrysalis approve of this?"
"No sir."
"Why not then?!?"
"She's dead sir."
The chariot ride back to the Hive was just as cold as it was the first time. This time I had a little spot of warmth on my side coming from the foal in my saddlebag, but it was of little comfort at the moment. My Queen had died. Wait a minute..... My Queen had died..... that means that..... AZANDRIA WAS THE NEW QUEEN! Suddenly my hopeless despair was replaced with an ecstatic happy glee coming from my very soul. The leader of MY party was now going to be MY Queen! How fantastic!
Once we arrived I headed straight to my suite in the Palace and dropped off my saddlebag. I opened it up so the little foal could roam around but I made sure all the doors were closed and locked so she couldn't get too far. Then I was off to the Senate building.
As I had expected all of the Senators were gathered there and they were all in a panic. They were yelling across rooms and throwing papers in the air. I continued onward into the main Senate chamber. This place was even more of a mess. Senators were running around in circles and swearing and cussing their mouths out. I looked around and tried to find Senator Kytlus to ask him what everyone was planning to do, but I didn't have time. All of a sudden from the back of the Chamber came a powerful voice.
"SILENCE!"
Every Senator turned and looked at the source of the power. There in the doorway stood Queen Azandria. She looked down towards the center of the chamber and began to descend the stairs towards the podium very slowly, talking all the while as Senators slowly returned to their seats and regained their wits.
"WHAT HAS HAPPENED TODAY HAS BEEN THE WORST MILITARY DEFEAT IN TWO YEARS. IT HAS COST US MANY TROOPS LIVES AND.....The life of my mother." She looked down as she said the last part. Finally she reached the podium.
"We must not let our defeat destroy our Hive. We must not let our ranks fall apart and our people lose hope. We must not make the same mistake again. Let me assure you all Senators, there will be no Third Invasion of Canterlot." At that another uproar burst out in the Senate chamber, but with a wave of her hoof the new Queen quickly silenced them.
"Let it be known here today that all aggressive military action against other nations, will no longer be tolerated as a part of the Hive's foreign policies. No longer will we invade or take nations by military means. Instead we will do what we were meant to do. We will exist with the ponies and spy on them, and if need be we will kidnap, assassinate, and steal from them. But direct military conflict is simply no longer an option."
A short while later I returned home, thoroughly exhausted but overall not dissatisfied with the new rule changes that our new Queen was about to impose. Before I had left Azandria had told me that she wanted to talk to me early in the morning tomorrow, but that was not what was on my mind. I'm glad to say that I was actually looking forward to the future. Their was really only one thing that I didn't have an answer for just yet.
I stepped in the door and looked around the room. Then I heard the clip-clop of her little hooves in the kitchen. I went in and picked her up off of the floor with my magic. I got some more applesauce out of the fridge and brought her into my bedroom. I crawled up into my big comfy bed and laid down under the covers. Then Iaid her down in the empty spot next to to me. As I fed her I began to talk.
"So... I guess your gonna be staying here for a little while now huh?" I asked. She didn't respond but she just laid down on her side and pressed her soft, warm back up against my chest. She continued chewing as she looked up at me with one of her big blue eyes in silence.
"Well then... I guess I'm gonna have to think of a name to call you huh? Considering you might be here for a while. How about a nice name, like Alexandria? Do you like that name little filly? Huh? Do you you like Alexandria? I'll tell you what, you can be Alexandria...... You can be my little Lexi."