"I thought I told you no hogging over the trees!!" A changeling queen scowled.
"B-but Queenie!" A changeling protested fearfully, "it's not that much!"
"Well, each of you are allowed equal portions of each tree! I don't want any of my children starving to death! Got it?!"
A loud, harrowing sound of buzzing can be heard in the forest, as swarms of charcoal-black changelings stripped all the trees to bare skeletons.
But these changelings were not the ones led by Queen Chrysalis, but were instead a type that was not fully dependent on love for nourishment, and instead ate raw food to survive. This tiny hive of changelings lived a nomadic lifestyle where they traveled to different environments to feed on. When hungry, they would find an area rich of food and then devour any plant or animal life they found suitable until they were satisfied. They even earned the reputation for reducing entire forests to nothing, and raid small villages for their food. Rather fittingly, they called themselves the Locust Hive.
Also unlike the Chrysalis Hive, which was concerned with gaining power and control, the Locusts were driven by the need to survive and thrive. Locust changelings were distinctive by their citrus orange color scheme as opposed to the blue and green, and also sported a pair of thin antennae that end in orange teardrop-shaped tips. Their wings were also rounded at the tips as opposed to being tattered.
Their queen was Erranda, whose holed, unkempt mane started as a widow's peak before reaching down past her withers. Short, thin strands of hair hung down in front of her large assertive eyes. Her straight horn was not as large as that of Queen Chrysalis, but it ended in a sort of hooked blade shape that can inflict nasty wounds.
Because her hive was so small to allow ease of mobility, Queen Erranda was extremely conscious about the integrity of the hive, as such a small hive was more vulnerable to extinction. Years of hardship and tragedy in a harsh world taught her to care for her drones deeply, but the resulting cold demeanor made this hard to see.
Since the last feeding two weeks ago, Queen Erranda discovered that some of her drones fought over the food, and as a result some changelings came out hungry while others were overfed. To stop this, she took measures to make sure this did not happen again, which resulted in her being more and more domineering as time went on, resulting in her present self.
Queen Erranda turned her head around and quickly flew over to two drones fighting a tug-o-war over a dead squirrel.
"Hey!" She barked. "No fighting over that squirrel!"
Next, she flew to some drones that were just minding their own business, devouring the leaves and acorns of an oak tree.
"Don't any of you eat that much food! Let the others have their fill!"
Then she spoted one more changeling about to eat a harmless herb.
"Don't eat that!!" This scare-jumped him so high that he crashed into the tree branches.
"Drop that right now!"
"Do not eat those frogs!"
"Stop your fighting this instant!!"
Later on, the forest trees within half a mile became leafless as though it were winter, and some of the bushes now resemble tumbleweeds. The rest of the forest was still rather healthy, lush, and green.
The changelings groaned and complained in a chorus about their queen's controlling behavior. Among them were two changelings named Scratt and Chitin.
Scratt is an ordinary changeling drone who acts as one of the scouts, whom Queen Erranda sends to gather information about a particular environment. Scratt's light-hearted and sometimes careless nature earned him a reputation for being a sort of clown among his peers. He would sometimes place himself or others in danger when things go wrong, or get distracted during a mission. For example, when the Locusts were in Las Pegasus, and some disguised scouting parties were sent to investigate, Scratt got distracted by slot machines before his party leader brought him back in line.
Chitin, on the other hand, is about twice his size, has a very adolescent appearance and very closely resembles Queen Erranda. In fact, he is the Prince of the Locust Hive, which is quite rare among changelings. A prince is a type of changeling that is essentially the same class as a princess, being that they are heirs to the throne. He would be addressed as "Prince Chitin", but he prefers to just be called Chitin. For now, he acts as the second-in-command of the hive, and was leader of nearly every scouting team he was assigned to - and also the best one in the Locust Hive. Chitin has straight, orange hair that grew in spikes. His eyes are also like his mother's with distinct irises and pupils, but they are smaller and more narrow, giving off a melancholy vibe. His personality could be described as the opposite of Scratt's: serious, detail-oriented, and quick to anger, very much like his mother.
Having just eaten, the changelings stopped swarming on the woods for now. Seeing an opportunity to kill some time, Scratt and Chitin trotted into a healthier section of forest to talk in private.
"I don't know about you, Chi," Scratt inquired, "but don't you think the queen's acting a bit uptight lately?"
"Yeah. I know that, Scratt," Chitin sighed. "But why should we blame her, though? She's probably trying to make sure there things go smoothly. We all know how she is."
"I see what you mean there, Chi. But still, isn't she pushing it just a little too much? ...this time?"
Chitin pondered about how Queen Erranda acted most of his life. It is true that she was rather commanding most of his life, she needed to be in order to stabilize the hive, he himself had to do the same whenever he leads a scouting team. But then he remembered that during the feedings, some drones would sometimes act like bullies and hog all the food for themselves while the others were left with less, especially poor Scratt. He and the Queen had to behave like bar bouncers to deal with the situation. But since then, she became more and more dominant during the last few feedings, even going so far as to lash out at him one time. So, while he understood why his mother would do that, Chitin figured that this time, maybe...
"Come to think of it," he finally answered. "You might have a point, Scratt. Maybe Mother needs to calm down a bit. And besides" he added, "it's those other guys that need to be taught concern for their brethren. We are a hive, after all, and if we don't look out for each other, we start dying off."
"Does that excuse her being such a Little Miss Bossy, though? I'm telling ya, Chi. She's not always like thi-" Scratt's ears perked, "hmm?" He crouched over.
Chitin tried to speak, "wha-?"
"Shh!" Scratt abruptly put a front hoof in front of Chitin, much to his annoyance.
Chitin tried again, "Scratt, what-?"
"Shh-shh-shh! Do ya hear that?" Scratt whispered.
At first, Chitin thought the drone was just hearing things again, but just to make sure, he listened in for whatever he was hearing. But all he could hear are the usual forest noises; singing birds, rustling leaves, and the occasional frog croaking. Nothing peculiar.
"It's just the forest, Scratt."
"No no no, not that," Scratt whispered again "it was some sort of ringing noise, like this metal-y clang-y sound."
Chitin sighed again and listened in for a second time. It wasn't long after he heard something against the background; it sounded like a high-pitched dinging that went on and off in five-second intervals.
"I hear it," Chitin affirmed quietly. After a few more times, he was surprised to find out what the sound was.
Bells!
But, in the middle of the forest? Chitin thought, how is that possible? We might need to investigate this and report back to the queen.
They both raised their heads and exchanged glances.
"What do you suppose it is?" Scratt said.
Chitin answered, "there must be someone nearby, we might need to warn the queen so they don't find out about us."
"Got it."
But then suddenly, they catch a scent. It was a sweet, sugary, and edible aroma that could only be found in the urban areas.
"Hey, you smell that, too?" Scratt started smacking his lips.
"Yeah, I do." Chitin noticed something peculiar. That kind of smell with the bells ringing sounded like somepony running a booth of sorts, which could only mean that civilization is nearby. He checked his surroundings for any sign of homes, ponies or vehicles, but all he could find were more trees as far as the eye can see.
Chitin spoke up. "Let's investigate and see what we're up against."
Scratt nodded, "right behind ya."
And so, in a bright flash of orange energy, they turned into ink-colored crows and flew off to investigate the sound and smell.
After a few minutes, they came across something even more enigmatic. There were other woodland creatures also heading in the same direction. Rabbits, squirrels, beavers, robins, blue jays, and even a grizzly bear all followed the smell as though a strange spell was cast on them.
Finally, they discovered the source. It was a wooden shed elaborately decorated with a sort of Hearts and Hooves Day theme, with cheerful, sugar-coated colors of reds, pinks, and whites. The shed also had a built-in kitchen with a sort of table attached below the frame, and on it was the source of the smell. Pies!
On the other side was not a pony, or any intelligent creature they've ever seen before. It was a sort of peach-colored, rosy-cheeked, grey-haired biped dressed in a cook's uniform, which has the same theme as the shed. She wore a huge, mushroom-shaped toque with large pink circles, and a white bow and ribbon wrapped at the base.
Around her round torso was a solid red undercoat that went down past her knees, and her wide, sloped shoulders were covered with white cloth, which was bound at the front by a round button that resembled an eye with only a black pupil. The undercoat was covered by a pink apron that was bordered in a white, wavy pattern resembling clouds. But the most unsettling feature was that the apron had a picture of a single large, perfectly round eye similar to her button.
And finally on her short, thin legs she wore thick, black boots with tall white socks. And if one were to look closely, she wore white, pink polka-dotted, old-fashioned underwear.
The lady was ringing a brass handbell on one hand, and a simple wooden spoon on the other.
The critters crowded over towards the old woman, who cried in a sing-song voice, "come here, my little babies! Come get your mother's pies! They're made with love! Who loves you? Who loves you? Mother does!"
The two disguised changelings perched on a long tree branch to watch the event.
Scratt, Chitin said telepathically to his comrade. Who is this?
How should I know? Scratt prepared to swoop down. How about we just eat those pies and get back to the hive! I'm starving!
No, Scratt! Chitin blocked Scratt with an open wing. We've just had a feeding in this forest! He closes his wing back in. We need to report this to the queen, she will know how to deal with this.
Aww, c'mon! The queen kept bossing us around. She was all like "don't do this, don't do that." She just couldn't let us eat any more than we wanted!
I don't know how much you ate, Scratt. But we still need to tell her that someone has taken residence here. If it helps you, Scratt, perhaps we can tell her about the food the female is providing and if we can eat them! Is that clear?
*sigh* Fine. Let's go tell her. ...Geez.
The two changelings turned to the other side, spread their wings, and then flew off back to where they came.
But little did they know was that they will find a whole lot more than just an opportunity to eat pastries. The little woodland creatures back at the shed were just about to eat the pies placed by the old lady.
"Come here, little children. Eat up!" The animals started eating the pies. "My pies are made with love. Love makes you strong, and love makes me strong too. And because mother loves you, you love me back!"
As soon as the creatures finish eating, their eyes became fatigued, and then changed from their natural color to magenta. When they faced the old lady, a mist of pink energy seeps out from the creatures and into her small, blue, delighted eyes.
"That's right. Enjoy, my little children, for there will be lots more pie coming up." When she turned to the kitchen behind her, she raised her brown wooden spoon in the air. Pink wisps of magic formed around the wand, and when she flicked her spoon, pies appeared out of thin air in succession. She turned back to the animals.
"And I have some good news for you. We're gonna make lots of new friends - brothers and sisters all - and they will all be joining us as a part of our big, wonderful family!
"And remember, mother loves you..."