//------------------------------// // 8: The Home Front // Story: Reformation of the Hives // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// After the last chapter was so tiny baby small, I have brought Heavy Chapter Guy to the front! Enjoy! Canterlot. To most it was a city of marble and the seat of Equestrian power, hanging off the side of a mountain. For the quasi mare, crouched behind a shrub along the road up the mountain, the city looked like a fortress. A ghost from her memory. The palace sitting near the crown was deeply familiar, yet the sight of smokestacks along the middle section of the city chilled any fond memories she had. She wasn’t sure of the reason, as she loosely recognized it as a sign of industry, but the mare didn’t like the sight of it. Her stallion counterpart was at her side, keeping out of sight from passersby while holding Polybia’s royal daughter on his back. The recent hatchling was stabilized in between his gossamer wings. Not that he had too much to fear of her falling since he was laying on his belly. There were only a scant few travelers along the road since most took the train, but there were normally a decent number of patrols as well. Thankfully, the local guards weren’t examining any travelers along this route too intensely. The exodus out of the jungle had been exceedingly exhausting. Fleeing the jungle and evading Equestrian notice had taken longer than they had hoped. The egg hatched a few days ago, leaving the quasi’s escorts in bad shape. Within the span of two days days the princess demanded far more love than any of them could provide. One by one, the drone escorts sacrificed themselves to give their entire love reserves to the ravenous princess until they all dropped dead. The quasi escaped this fate, only by virtue of not necessarily requiring love to survive. At present, the stallion carefully watched from behind the thick nook of shrubs as a light blue unicorn cantered by as she pulled a gaudy wagon behind her. Some part of him felt a thrill of excitement at seeing the stage wagon but that thrill struggled against the deadened feel of his nerves. Without love neither quasi were capable of more than sluggish movement that could make a drunk pony look like the pinnacle of lucidity. Thankfully for both of them, their minds were still as sharp as before starvation set in and could not die from love starvation directly. The two quasi were resting, panting for breath from their week-long exodus from the changeling jungle. Dodging roving changeling patrols and the jungle denizens had been difficult compared to the comparatively lax security in Equestria. Could have saved a day of travel if we could have passed through Phoenix’s Roost, but the queen forbade it, the mare mused bitterly as she weakly checked the nymph’s breathing by raising her fetlock near the princess’s mouth. The geas induced pressure in the back of her mind softened slightly when she reaffirmed that the little royal still lived. Every effort from both quasi was geared not only to keep the princess alive, but also asleep. It was not a difficult task since the princess had passed out from love starvation hours ago. In one of the brief moments the princess wasn’t dominating her thoughts, the mare’s will to defy her queen raged within her. It grew constantly, and yet it was still a weak voice compared to the dominating voice-of-command of her queen over the hive mind. If only I could rid myself of her control, but… The quasi reached up and tapped her changeling horn, still feeling weirded out by its presence. A pang of maternal concern washed over her as the geas flashed in her mind, making her double check the sleeping princess. Fearing his fatigue would let the sleeping nymph fall, he asked the mare to assist him in moving her. They opted to keep the princess snug alongside him. She fidgeted sluggishly as her little body hibernated to save itself. His deep fear over the nymph’s welfare was carved into a heavy frown, even as sweat rolled off of him. The geas was only making it harder on the mare who could do nothing to help the little nymph. She tried to break the feedback cycle of mounting fear for the princess’ life by focusing entirely on herself. With the mad dash from the jungle hive, it was only now that she had a spare moment to actually reflect on herself. The most prominent thing she latched onto was the spike that always hovered at the top of her vision. I remember some old class lesson about unicorn horns. Part of your brain is in them... or maybe it’s a separate nerve cluster? She heavily rubbed her temples in exasperation at how hazy her old memories were. The lesson itself stuck out to her, but her teacher, classmates, even the name of the school was trapped behind a cottony haze that refused to lift. Either way, ain’t no way Ah can cut this off without killing mahself. There ain’t no way in Tartarus Ah’m off’n mahself after being freed like that. Ah want to live, dang nab it! “Hey,” the stallion said calmly, breaking the mare from her brooding. She snapped her head up to look at his undisguised self. She felt a pang of sorrow seeing him like this, but suspected he was content with his changeling half. “Ah want to know where you stand in all this.” “What’re you talkin’ about?” she replied genuinely. It was rare to hear him speak aloud. He usually preferred speaking over the Link, but Polybia despised such high intelligences speaking over her hive mind. “The geas may compel you to protect the princess. But Ah know somethin’s off about you. Our queen may not be able to sense it this far from the hive, but Ah can tell. You’re aura is growing more sour every passing day.” While his tone was accusatory, his posture remained neutral. “Our lives belong to both Polybia and her,” he said nudging the princess, “and their will is our own, no matter who we used to be.” “It’s not that,” she lied unconvincingly. “Ah’m just terrified the love collector might not reach us in time to save the princess.” That much was convincing to him, but he suspected that was more the geas talking than her. “She’ll be here soon. It’ll be close, but the queen is sure that the princess will survive.” The pressure of the geas on the back of her mind softened a bit at the reassurances. “But that ain’t the whole story now is it? Spill!” The mare turned away, somewhere between shame and relief. “Ah’m overwhelmed with the prospect of being around ponies again. Just wish it was in a smaller town again.” As with his companion, the stallion was also resenting the cloudiness of his thoughts. His unquestioning loyalty to Polybia was unblemished, yet as of late, he regretted his harsh treatment of his companion. Like it or not, mah queen decreed that we work side by side. Better for the princess that we remain amicable. He glanced out of the shrub to find no one in sight before finding a level soft patch of grass to rest the weakened nymph upon. Despite the princess’ miserable state, there was little he could do until the love collector arrived. Truly the queen was wise to make the geas weak or Ah’d be crippled with worry. Refocusing on the mare, he tried to remember how to comfort others. His memories were sadly lacking in that regard, not even Polybia granted him any knowledge in that field, so he opted to lightly place a hoof on her withers. “Look – Ah – uhhh – Ah know it’s rough. The queen asks much of us. We don’t have the same clarity of purpose that pure drones have, Ah’ll givya that. But she’s count’n on us ta get this job done. If we do good, she might start letting us speak over the Link more, or, or…” He searched his limited knowledge of her for some comforting words. “-Let us find a more outta the way place to live since ya don’t like the city and all. Or heck, she might even give us names!” The mare was dumbstruck that he was trying to comfort her at all. It was nice, familiar, something she desperately longed for, but she couldn't help but to question the reasoning behind it. He’s probably just saying all that to make work’n together easier. Ah wish Ah could really believe he cares about me. She gave him a stink eye while casting worried glances at the princess to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere. “Speaking of names,” she stated dismissively, “We need some if’n we’re going to spend any time around ponies.” Feeling rebuffed, the stallion huffed while looking at his ruined cutie mark. It looked like spinach and mustard smeared over his flank. Any semblance of an icon was long gone. Well that’s no help. “If Ah recall correctly, Canterlot is mostly unicorns. So we should pick names like them. Ah’ll be… Paint Brush?” he half asked, still trying to make sense of the splotches of color on his flank. “Unicorns are big time artsy ponies, right?” “I’d rather have mah old name,” the mare fumed aloud. “But if Ah have to make a new one…” She was about to pull a name out of her plot like Paint Brush did, when her original name slammed into her thoughts like a freight train. Ah know who Ah was! Or at least mah name anyway. Paint Brush started testing a low maintenance version of his disguise magic, keeping his pony aspects alone, and simply hiding his changeling features, save for replacing his changeling horn with that of a unicorn. “Well? Just think’a something before the love collector shows up, or worse, a patrol.” Fearing just that, he started looking for an alcove to hide the nymph in, but their hiding spot was painfully sparse in the already cramped hiding place. Now more than ever, she wanted to keep her pony guise that of an earth pony, but for now, she’d settle for the name. “I’ll go with Pear Butter,” she said with finality. “It’ll go well with my fur.” “Don’t match your fuzzed up cutie mark,” Paint warned with a grimace. "Not that much would Ah guess.” He spotted a few travelers coming up the pass. He tried to pass himself off as someone just looking to get out of the sun for a bit in case they spotted the quasi. “Sides, we gotta go in as unicorns, and Ah don't think they're usually named after food.” “Ah know that!” she barked, caring less for being spotted. “Who’s to say a unicorn can’t be called that, huh? Ah’m going with Pear Butter and that’s that!” “It’s gunna get us caught!” he growled under his breath to avoid drawing attention. “What kinda unicorn gets an earth pony name?” “Me, that’s who!” Pear Butter stomped her hoof, stubbornly holding her ground. Paint Brush wanted to argue, but felt it was useless if her conviction could get that much of a rise out of her even with her being so badly weakened from love starvation. A ping from nearby made the words catch in his throat if only because Polybia had been the only one to ever do so. Tossing away the leaves, he instinctively tried to make the unconscious princess look more presentable. The nymph’s short rainbow hair was starting to get tangles and her fur had little pieces of plant matter that he couldn’t remove in time. Pear peered through the shrub to find a forest-green pegasus headed straight for them. “That’s our contact.” She made sure her disguise was in place with Paint Brush following suit. The pegasus mare landed softly within the shrub and dropped her disguise to levitate several pink crystals out of a saddlebag. “Give her here, quickly.” Obeying, the quasi did as instructed and watched in silence as the undisguised drone took the simple crystal necklace from around the princess’ neck and fed crystal after crystal’s worth of love through the necklace before it moved on into the nymph. Pear Butter saw that the entire left saddlebag was bulging with love crystals. The pile of discarded crystals piled higher and higher around the drone’s hooves. Neither quasi knew much about love feeding, but even they could tell that using over thirty crystals with no sign of stopping was a bad news. The pair were starting to lose hope when the pile started to reach the drone’s fetlocks. The drone was starting to scrape the bottom of the bag when at last the princess could take no more, leaving the latest crystal with a faint glow remaining. The princess stirred, but remained asleep with a much more peaceful look on her small, blue-furred face. The drone sighed in relief. “I almost feared I didn’t bring enough.” It took one look at the sagging quasi before picking up the last six crystals and gave three to each of them. “Here, you need your strength to keep from drawing attention.” The feeding had been exactly what the quasi needed. With her nervous system’s strength returning to normal, Pear Butter felt her muscles come alive again with renewed vigor. She flexed her legs to get the stiffness out with Paint Brush doing the same. As they did so, the drone wrapped the nymph in a blanket and deposited her in the other saddle bag, hiding her from view, while gathering up the crystals and returning them to her bags. “We should move, we’ve lingered here for too long as it is.” Without another word, the drone doned its original disguise of a pegasus mare and started walking up the path towards the city. Pear and Paint jumped to followed after her. “Keep your heads down and your posture relaxed. We need to get into the city without being targeted for random checks. Ever since the attack on that warship, going in the normal route is safer than sneaking in.” Pear Butter was put off by the mare’s feel over the hive mind. It wasn’t the dim but sharp voice of drones, instead it shared a lot in common with Polybia herself, only several orders of magnitude weaker. She waited until a passing wagon went out of earshot to speak. “Ah thought our queen despised intelligent minds over the Link.” “Free standing ones, yes,” the love collector replied without inflection. This time, Paint Brush shared in Pear’s curiosity. “You mean like conscious quasi like us, Miss…?” She gave him a long disapproving stare before turning front again. “You can call me by my cover name, if you must. I’m Stopwatch.” A modicum of sorrow colored her voice. “And you have my sympathies for not being pure drones.” Pear Butter bristled, but held her tongue about it. “So what does that make you?” “My body has all the brainpower and more of a typical pony, but it is my deeper connection with our queen which gives me the spark of intelligence. In essence, I am the queen, but only a partitioned part of her mind in a separate body.” Pear Butter dropped any further line of inquiry while Paint Brush burned with envy. “What an honor! Not only to know you always have the queen’s favor by simply existing, but to be a part of her as well!” And be killed on a whim or if Polybia ever dies? No thanks. Pear Butter fell into silence for the rest of the journey towards Canterlot. The small rebellious voice continued to gain strength with every passing step. However, she couldn’t help but to feel troubled every time she looked at Paint Brush and his unwavering devotion to Polybia. Why do Ah feel this need to… to do something to help you. But help you do what, exactly? Aegis Altair paced back and forth within a crowded third story hotel storeroom presiding over a sting operation down in the streets of Middle Canterlot via a window. With Rainbow Dash placing the best of the Queen’s Guard under Aegis’ command, the proto-queen felt confident in this sanctioned raid being successful. If there’s anything we have over the ponies, it’s combat experience. Camped out with her was Intel’s squad, Caretaker Feather Soft, and a single thestral acting as liaison for the Night Guards stationed one floor below. For all of their built-in natural subterfuge talents, espionage was more of a matter of racial honor than actual skill for the changelings of Phoenix’s Roost. As such, it was actually the thestrals who were not only keeping watch on the suspects’ apartment building, but calling the shots as well. Aegis’ forces were to be the muscle behind the coiled punch that was waiting to be thrown. Just as well, Aegis brooded as she couldn’t see much activity outside. Blitz was right that the ponies should be in charge of this while inside Canterlot. Still, if it were up to me, we’d have stormed the place by now. The police have already built enough of a case to justify the raid on top of Celestia and Luna’s blessings. Intel double-checked her gas mask and trio of tear gas grenades. While the drones had gas masks, the ponies didn’t. I still don’t get those guys. Just because they don’t have any training fighting with the masks they tell me to only use the gas as a last resort instead of part of the breaching action? By the First Mother I wish Aegis was calling the shots. At least they let me have authorization to use them instead of waiting for the commander to give the order. Putting aside her general distaste for Equestrian rules of engagement, Intel refocused on rechecking her quad-barreled shotgun. The rock salt loaded weapon was a finicky prototype so she had to make sure nothing was clogging the gearwork. Even with her maintenance check, she was keeping a close eye on her tensed proto-queen. She glanced at Feather Soft who looked decidedly out of her element among so many warriors. She was trying to distract herself with a game of solitaire. Aegis turned away from the window to look at the Guard Captain with a bemused expression. Like her mother before her, Aegis’ royal blood gave her no overall authority over her siblings, but she still found such candid comments amusing given her position. Her tone became a lot more strained. “Pah,” Intel scoffed aloud as she wiped down the excess lubricants with a small rag. “I’m running the outfit better than you ever did,” she said with playful mockery. Aegis rolled her eyes and turned back to the window. “Only ‘cause you have more experience now, than I did back then.” “All I hear are excuses,” Intel teased back with a grin. “She’s got you there, sis,” Ferrum jabbed, earning a raspberry from Aegis. When a bit of activity outside grabbed their attention, the room fell back into silence. It ultimately was just a dog being let out of the apartment, but no one started talking again. Aegis kept rubbing her lower belly in some vain attempt to speed her clutch along. The thestral liaison had been working with changelings since the beginning of the formal alliance, and yet he still couldn’t get used to those conversations constantly switching between Linkspeak and vocalized Vespid. Instead he resigned himself to waiting for the ‘go’ order. In the meantime he couldn’t help but to marvel at the oddity of mainstream pony architecture in regards to Aegis. You’d think with everypony being so much shorter than those bipedal queens, they’d have to duck everywhere they went, but most rooms and doors fit them well enough. …I wonder if that’s so minotaurs can be accommodated in any given building for some odd diplomatic reason. The other thing that occupied him were the oblong cylinders across each changelings’ combat harness that gave him an involuntary shudder. He remembered the after-report about tear gas usage on the monastery, and had reluctantly agreed to it’s use as a semi-last resort. Command loves their new guns, but balks at giving us time to train with gas masks because they might frighten the civilians? It’s not like we’re using it on non-combatants. Aegis is right, we should be using the gas first thing, but it’s out of my hooves now. For the time being, the targeted four story apartment was quiet. A few shapes passed by curtained windows, but otherwise the occupants were making it difficult to get a headcount. Aegis’ empathy sensed the gathered changelings were a mixed bag of emotion. Intel was masking her nervousness well enough to seem calm and collected from the other drones, but Aegis’ royal blood could sniff out her true feelings. Mare or stallion, Intel always gets like this before an operation. She’ll fall into place once things get moving. Thunderfury was overly excited, and was practicing various shield stances, but kept his magic low to keep the arcane sense of any unicorns in the target apartment from possibly noticing him. Aegis didn’t get a chance to assess the others when she saw two ponies and a single Grecian sphinx tom down in the street approach the apartment lobby. Aegis strained to get a better look at him, but it was impossible to see any real details without a spyglass. However she was still able to make out the large triangular object on his back that was wrapped up in thick white cloth. Ferrum joined her at the window with an equally confused expression. Intel shoved her head in between her two clutchmates to take a look for herself. Aegis scowled at the news. Ferrum added coldly. The trio of suspects waited by the front door after knocking. After several long seconds, the door opened revealing an orange earth pony mare with a black mane who had half of her left ear missing. The weathered mare meant little to Aegis, but the thestral who was watching from the other window bristled. “That’s Knife Point. She’s wanted for several murders including an attempt on Prince Blueblood’s life. This is the first we’ve seen of her joining up with the P.C.E. though.” The group watched intently as the newcomers exchanged words that were lost to the wind. There appeared to be some minor bickering at first, probably details on payment Aegis surmised, but the trio was admitted entry shortly thereafter. The door of the hotel room opening behind them all made the changelings turn back to see a mare thestral Night Guard in riot armor carrying a quarterstaff with a stun enchantment. Aegis remembered she was the task force commander. “We’ve waited long enough, and the perimeter around the building's been established. Intelligence says most of the residents will start leaving for the night shift jobs soon. We go in now and sort them all out later, let’s move!” Applejack stepped off the train at Canterlot station with a purpose in her step. The throng of ponies boarding and departing the train swarmed around her in a mass of color. The long train ride always bothered the farm mare. Lounging around for hours on end was reserved for sleeping and just about nothing else as far as she was concerned. She turned around to gaze back into the train car. “Woooawwee! Good to be able to stretch mah legs again.” She would have loved to do some practice bucks, but the dense crowd made it impossible. “Come on Apple Bloom, you don’t wanna miss your honorary cousins now do ya?” A soft yellow mare with a stark red mane decorated in a pink bow pulled her way out of the press of bodies trying to exit the passenger car. “Sorry, it ain’t exactly easy ya know, with all the- aahhh!!” Apple Bloom squeezed through only to stumble to the dirt under the weight of her luggage. “Ow,” she moaned from under it all. Applejack chuckled at her sister before cantering through the crowd and gave Apple Bloom a hoof to pull her back up. “There ya go, Sugarcube. No harm done.” The farm mare relieved her sister of a few suitcases loaded with books, spare pink bows, and other essentials. “Thanks.” Apple Bloom’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, even if no one else seemed to care outside of having to walk around her. Applejack took a moment to indulge the pride she had in Apple Bloom. Her sister had grown into a fine, proud mare. Her mane was ruffled, and still bore her trademark pink bow, though it looked far smaller on her now than during her foalhood. As befitting a proper lady, her coat was immaculate and her posture, although dampened by the heavy saddlebags, exuded strength and proper upbringing. Well, proper as far as Applejack was concerned, not Rarity. Liquid pride fell from Applejack’s face as her muzzle curled into a smile. “Look at you all grown up, ready to start fancy school’n. Ah can’t tell you how proud Ah am to see you go’n to Twilight’s Engineering College. Yer goin’ to be top a’ your class, Ah just know it!” She hugged Apple Bloom with all her might, making it hard to breathe. Apple Bloom returned the embrace, but kept an eye out for any ponies her age that might be in the area. It wouldn’t do to get an embarrassing nickname so early. “Well, Ah’m just glad the farm’s go’n be okay without me. Ah couldn’t live with mahself if Ah put the farm in jeopardy by leave’n. Ah promise to make the family proud!” Applejack wiped her tears away and led her sister towards the station’s interior. “Ah know you will. You got a knack for buildin’ and tinker’n Ah ain’t never seen before. And even better, Sweetie Belle should be in Canterlot as well, attending Luna’s school for Gifted Artists. Kinda odd name for including singers too if you ask me, but all the same.” Apple Bloom gazed out at the white marble splendor of Upper Canterlot before the train station obscured it all with their entry. “Yup, and with Scootaloo already a trainee Wonderbolt, the three of us will be able to hang out together all over again!” The two sisters lapsed into small talk as they made their way through the station’s early evening traffic. Neither of them were strangers to cities or large crowds, but it was rare enough that Apple Bloom felt an electric current running through her at the prospect of refining her special talent. Ah can’t believe Ah finally made it! Right here in the big city. Sure there’s Phoenix's Roost, but this is where Twilight’s biggest co-op university is. Her eyes fell upon one of the reasons the crowd was so dense a ways up towards the front of the train. A minotaur delegation centered around Crown Prince Cho’Gal was milling around as servants stacked the luggage. There was an angry scowl on Cho’Gal’s face that worried the young mare. “Ah there you are!” a familiar voice called out, stopping both earth mares in their tracks and pulling Apple Bloom’s attention away. They didn’t have to search long before spotting the bipedal changeling bearing Rainbow Dash’s colors. Blitz’s thin, albeit tall, profile allowed her to easily slip through the crowd as the Apples moved over to join her. It also helped that most ponies were still put off by the notion of what appeared to be a minotaur changeling, and gave Blitz a moderately wide berth. The proto-queen grinned widely at the two old friends. “And you came too, Apple Bloom?” “Ayup!” The trio quickly exchanged hugs. “Ain’t no way Ah’m missin’ orientation.” Blitz giggled at herself. “Oh that’s right, well, congratulations on your acceptance. I only wish that was the only reason for your visit.” Applejack huffed with a mix of pragmatism and irritability. “That downright despicable attack on that ship a’ yours and the princess’ request meant we ended up sharing a ride together. Speaking of which…” Applejack glanced around at the passing ponies nervously. More than a few of them gave Blitz a weary look. “Don’t you think it’s a mite dangerous to be out here all by your lonesome?” “Oh it is,” Blitz replied with a lopsided smirk as she tapped a finger on her clockwerk vambraces and jingled the necklace on her neck. “I have my own defenses in place without the need for obtrusive guards. I am the civic queen-to-be after all. Celestia taught me some pointers on how to read a crowd.” Apple Bloom marveled at the proto-queen’s forearm armor, knowing full well that changeling equipment was never to be taken at face value. The vambraces were brass colored steel, if Apple Bloom’s keen eye was correct. It was, over all, simplistic looking save for the high quality straps and the shallow indentations along its surface that were almost lost in the overall smoothness. If Ah had to guess, Ah bet those’re maintenance panels, and the real magic is all inside. There ain’t nothing that changelings make that can be taken at face value. “If it’s all the same though,” Applejack stated friendly enough, “we should get move’n.” She spotted a few sphinxes in civilian dress up in the rafters giving the changeling hate-filled looks. The majority of Federalists never bothered keeping their hatred of psykers a secret. At the very least they mostly directed that hate at the queens alone due to their superior psionic capabilities compared to the drones. Unfortunately, that did little for Blitz and her tell-tale reptilian eyes. “We stick around any longer and somethin’ is bound ta’ happen anyway,” Applejack warned as she put in a little more speed to her gait. Blitz followed Applejack’s gaze towards the sphinxes who jumped a little in fear of her. The group bid a begrudging retreat, but tried to make it look like they were leaving anyway. Blitz shrugged. “They can fester all they want. A requirement of any sphinx immigrants is to spend five months at the hive. That way we know there won’t be any “problem children” gaining citizenship. Any visitors wouldn’t dare attack me. If not out of fear of the alliance reprisals, then the Sestapo deters them enough.” So far anyway. “But you’re right, there’s no need to risk it. We should go to the university first,” she directed at Apple Bloom. A mass of activity over the local hive mind on Aegis’ corner of the Link jerked Blitz’s head to the north. “Actually, it looks like something’s going on right now after all.” Blitz started walking towards a carriage with the Apples following close behind her. Applejack didn’t like how Blitz kept stealing glances to the north every time the line of buildings broke to allow her to see past them. Ah know that face. Aegis is gettin’ into trouble something fierce. Intel raced through the open window of her team’s hotel and across the street like a purple spear. Sheathing herself in a cone of lavender-orange mana, Intel was joined by seven other changelings causing many of the ponies below to have flashbacks of the first invasion of Canterlot. An equal number of thestrals and local police ponies followed in their wake. The changeling squad smashed through windows and solid walls with a great crash of shattered glass and masonry. A single pegasus police officer barked orders through a megaphone. “This is the Alliance Domestic Police Force, surrender immediately, you are all under arrest!” Intel only barely heard the warning as she smashed into a game room complete with a billiards table. Three stallions jumped back in shock at her sudden entrance and fell back at the sight of her shotgun. Intel quickly assessed the two earth ponies and one unicorn. “Keep your hooves where I can see them, and don’t even try to use magic,” she directed at the unicorn. The two earth stallions quickly dropped their pool cues and onto their haunches while lifting their forelegs up. The craggy muscle bound unicorn however magically shoved his companions at Intel while bolting for the open door. The thestral ponies that followed in after Intel arrived barely in time to see her vault over the two living projectiles and fire a shot at the fleeing unicorn. “Go after him, I’ll secure these two!” the first one barked at her. “Got it!” Intel yelled back as she took cover by the door right as two mana bolts sailed past her head. The thestrals settled in at the opposite side of the door waiting for her signal. Alarmed shouting erupted from the room beyond as well as scrambling hooves and clattering items. Intel rolled into the common room and fired off a couple of her own mana bolts at the fleeing unicorn, conserving her ammunition. There the unicorn barged his way through a collection of two dozen scrambling individuals, composed of multiple species. Several poker tables had been overturned, chips covering the ratty carpet like snow. A scant few of them surrendered immediately at the sight of not just Intel, but three other changelings and a pair of thestrals emerging from exterior rooms of their own. However the vast majority of the beings, ranging from ponies, zebras, minotaurs, and even a scant few sphinxes jumped up to fight, heedless of the warnings. Intel brought up a circular metal shield in her magic and charged forward with the rest of her kin following suit. The unicorns tried to raise arcane shields of their own or fire off kinetic bolts, but Counterspell lived up to his name by slamming the butt of his warstaff on the ground and muttering his mother’s incantations, destabilizing all unicorn style magic save for telekinesis within the building. Without the enemy’s mana shields, Intel fired at a minotaur bull charging at her with his fists at the ready. The rock salt did little to pierce his thick hide, but a few particles got into his eyes making him flail around wildly. Thunderfury weaved into the charging crowd like a needle to hit the biggest threat. His shields crackled with power as he slammed full force into a second minotaur bull, shocking him into unconsciousness. Thunderfury would have gotten swarmed by the other criminals were it not for the four thestrals and one pegasus guard that raced in after him, further disrupting the hasty defense. Thunderfury grinned wickedly as he worked. His shields ripped through the air against his unarmored opponents stunning everyone it touched with electric wrath. The police were hardly idle. The thestrals’ staves whirled around, smashing against targets constantly. Thunderfury saw a sphinx jane about to clobber him with a chair right when his shields were out of position, but a blast of rock salt from Intel threw the jane off balance long enough for Thunderfury to finish her off with an electric shield to the chest. Right as it seemed that the police were wrapping things up to start their arrests, one of the Egyptian toms that had feigned surrender at the beginning used the commotion to slip behind his large chair, pull out a repeating crossbow and leveled it at Counterspell. Thunderfury tried to get his shields between the two of them, but the tom acted first and fired off three rapid bolts. The first bolt carved a thin grazing line across Counterspell’s face while the second was deflected by the staff. The third however sunk deeply into his chest, defeating his thin armor as if it were paper. The moment he cried out and collapsed, the unicorns in the room varied between forcing the police off of their brethren with shields and reviving those too stunned to fight. With Counterspell’s incantation gone, Intel and the other changelings brought up their own shields to deflect the incoming storm of arcane bolts from the hostile ponies. She desperately wanted to check on him, but the P.C.E. demanded her attention. He coughed up blood, but the act was lost to everyone when a thestral mare bellowed a challenge, forcing the rest of the police force to go in after her. Intel took the time to fire off a few supporting arcane bolts while painstakingly reloading her shotgun for the larger sphinxes and minotaurs. Her real objective was to remain beside Counterspell as Ferrum tried to move him out of the room. She barely had a single barrel loaded when an Egyptian jane broke through the line of police ponies and made a beeline straight for the wounded Counterspell with a short sword held high. Intel fumbled to pull the ramming rod out of her weapon as the jane closed in. “Psyker filth be purged!” Ferrum turned on his hooves before reaching Counterspell to face down the jane with a sneer. The swordling growled a challenge and pulled his brother’s skysteel longsword off his back and angled it to block the downward thrust of the jane’s blade. The runes flashed upon impact, sending secondary kinetic impact through the blades, knocking her sword out of position. “You come to our land, you leave that bigotry at the rutting door!” “Sphinx or changeling, all psykers must-” Boom The jane was abruptly cut off by Intel’s shotgun at near pointblank range, ravaging the sphinx with lacerations all over her left side and shedding her clothing and burying themselves within her. The salt itself redoubled the pain making her cry out in sheer agony, giving a newly arriving police pegasus to cuff her. Ferrum dropped his weapon to pick up his bleeding squadmate. Intel started reloading her weapon again and gestured Ferrum towards the new holes the task force was creating. “Get him out of here, I’ll keep your sword.” With a nod, Ferrum made for the exit while Intel started giving new orders to the squad. Even with the new arrivals, the suspects were rallying even stronger than before with an organization Intel thought impossible. She growled at the sight of a police pegasus getting pulped by a minotaur's hammer. This is getting out of hoof. She started pulling her gask mask on while priming three tear gas grenades. The other drones backed off to quickly put their own masks on, feeling pity for their pony allies. Aegis paced in front of the window of her lookout room with her wings buzzing impatiently. While she was still unable to piggyback on a drone’s eyes, she could still hear the chatter going on from the task force. Every iota of her being wanted to be down there with her clutchmates. Every time she heard a spell go off, a gunshot, or cry of battle, she had to check herself before racing over with Burny in hand. “I can’t do it. I still haven’t laid today’s eggs yet. Damn it, after that whole siege of Stripped Gear crap, the worst problem my princesshood has endured was the toilet backing up! And now when we have the P.C.E. being dilwads and that Grogar guy, yet I’m stuck here at the whim of my eggs!” Caretaker Feather Soft was trying to enjoy a spot of tea off in the corner of the room. With the soldiers-turned-police gone, she was finally able to get a sense of peace. Much like her clutchmate, Blue Flare, Feather Soft had a dignified mane style, but didn’t wear clothing, mostly because the nature of her work would soil them far too regularly. “And here I thought this was exactly what you wanted, sister,” she said with obvious sarcasm. Due to the tight relationship the two queens had, the purple and blue changelings felt more like siblings than cousins. “To spend days, weeks, or even years on end laying eggs for all eternity.” Feather swooned dramatically with a weak hoof to her forehead, much to Aegis’ annoyance as she shot her a sour look that could curdle milk. “Such is the dream life for me, as you always said.” Aegis groaned loud enough to put her mother to shame. “Is there anything you can do? Make me start laying now, or make it so I can actually hold onto the eggs for an hour or so, or delay their production for just as long?! I should be down there doing my job wrecking face!” She turned back to the window and winced when she saw one of the hotel’s windows blow out from magical fire. Not even Feather Soft could ignore that one as panic started spreading through the streets. She cringed at the screams and stampeding hooves from all those who briefly let their curiosity superseded their caution. “With all due respect, Aegis, your job right now is to wait out your maturation until you’re a full queen.” Aegis scanned the area around the P.C.E. structure, looking for any way to contribute. Giving orders right now would just distract them. The grocery store adjacent to the hotel across the street had ponies fleeing into the streets when a whole section of wall from the P.C.E. building collapsed and fell onto the store, causing more noise than actual damage. It took Aegis a moment to see that one of the Guard pegasi had been tossed alongside the wall, and remained still. One Grecian jane and a unicorn stallion leapt down from the new hole. Intel slammed the butt of her shotgun into the jaw of a minotaur bull who took the hit like it was tickling him. “That’s it, I’m going down after them!” Aegis was halfway out of the window when what felt like a giant vice clamped down on her tail and started to drag her back inside. “Oh no you don’t!” Feather grunted with effort from the other side of the room. “You’ll just get hurt if you start laying in the middle of a chase! You know you can’t fly properly while laying!” Aegis yelp in pain, but kept trying to force her way out. “I can’t just let those two escape, what if they were the ringleaders?!” Weaving a spell her mother taught her, Aegis easily vanquished Feather’s telekinetic hold. She locked eyes on the two suspects, yet before Aegis could even get out of the window the familiar feeling of eggs descending into the ready position halted her in an instant. “Not now!” She shuffled back inside and skidded along the wall as her eggs starting coming. “Why didn’t you come like ten minutes ago, come on!” The heavy sound of dozens of feathered and leathery wings upon the air filled the air outside, making Aegis try to look outside. A large number, no less than twenty by Aegis’ count, of police ponies converged on the suspects filtering out onto the roof in an effort to escape. Her efforts were halted entirely as Feather Soft raced over to start cleaning up the three eggs already present. “Let Intel and the ponies handle things. You have your own job to do, sis.” Even from her poor angle of the window, Aegis was able to spy several Royal Guard ponies arriving on the scene, but none of them seemed to change direction to intercept the two suspects she had seen. If the sirens flooding the streets were any indication, the paramedics were on their way as well. The worst part of it all to Aegis, was sitting on the sidelines, as if she couldn’t fulfill her obligations as the militant queen. This is going to be the longest eight weeks of my life. Blitz daintily stepped out of the public restroom of a fine diner barely ten minutes’ trot from the train station with a sheepish grin as she approached the awaiting Apple sisters. Thankfully the room had been empty at the start, and the two earth mares were more than enough to ward away any of the restaurant’s patrons for a several minutes, along with a healthy tip to the manager for the inconvenience. A grey-furred caretaker with a closed egg crate bid a hasty retreat right after the proto-queen left to make her way to the train yard. “I’m really sorry about that,” Blitz said with a brightly flushed face, so red she almost looked like a beet. “I can’t really control when that happens just yet.” Applejack snickered and clapped a hoof on Blitz’ back before walking for the exit. The proto-queen lifted herself back up to two legs as she left the restaurant behind. Apple Bloom was enamored at the sight of her forehooves morphing into hands. “Shoot, girl, Ah may not be hanging around Phoenix's Roost as often as RD did Stripped Gear before she went Ling, but ya don’t need to feel embarrassed about that ‘round me.” Apple Bloom nodded in agreement as the trio made it back into the street. “After sum of the stuff mah friends and Ah crusaded, that’s not weird at all. Sides,” she added with an elbow bump on Blitz’s leg. “If it weren’t for you guys, Ah’d a never found mah cutie mark.” She waggled her hip, showing off the gear shaped red apple. Happy to see her family friends so understanding, Blitz momentarily dropped down to four legs and squashed them both in a tight hug. “Thanks. But I think you would have found your mark without us, Apple Bloom.” “Pshah, not as cool as this one though,” Apple Bloom countered with a light-hearted smirk. “Well, now that delay is out of the way,” Blitz turned to Applejack. “Let me escort you to your palace suite to drop your luggage off before taking Apple Bloom on a tour of the university.” Applejack sighed with a mix of determination and old anger. “Fine by me. Ah got a lot of thinking ta do on what to say about this whole sabotage attack on the navy. Bunch of backwards thinkin’ cowards if you ask me. They’re willin’ to go on a suicide attack, but can’t get it that you changelin’s are the best thing to happen to Equestria since Luna’s return? It’s sad more than anythin’ else.” Apple Bloom noticed a passing thestral in the air. “Ah mean, just the Jiyya fruit was huge. Let alone all the fancy new gizmos around the farm that makes Apple Buck season a breeze. I mean, even Granny Smith is in love with that so called ‘new-fangled whatchamacallit’ that carts off all the apple buckets leaving us free to keep bucking the trees.” Blitz’s heartfelt smile was radiant at the praise, and when her empathy told her both earth mares were truthful in their accolades. This was the real reason Blitz wanted to have the same connection to ponykind that her mother had. The Apples were true friends that Blitz would hold onto dearly. It also helped that by her very nature, the changeling wanted as many sources of genuine love as possible. “Thank you, really. Most ponies know about that part of a queen’s life, but it’s more of a tolerance and ‘out of sight out of mind’ thing than any real acceptance.” “Ah don’t see why,” Apple Bloom tutted as they made their way past a pair of massive elevators suspended on meter-thick cables that brought ground-bound passengers between the various levels of Canterlot. The sheer density of pedestrians made their progress slow down considerably, even if it was still the best way to get to the palace. “Griffins lay eggs, and no pony minds that. You’d think all of the old wars ponies and griffins would have more of an effect than Chrysalis’ single invasion. Not to mention that griffins used to eat us. Ah’d think that’d be worse than emotion sucking… ah, no offense,” she added with a sheepish chuckle. Applejack and Blitz couldn’t help but to look about nervously at the throng of bodies. Even with Blitz’s safeguards, all it took was one assassin to get lucky. Apple Bloom relaxed with Blitz merely shrugging at the unintended insult. Feeling that the conversation wasn’t going to start back up until they were clear of the dense mass of ponies, Apple Bloom started looking around at all the sights of her home for the next four years or so. The first thing that caught her eyes was mint green unicorn mare several paces ahead of them who had stopped dead in her tracks. Her utterly dumbfounded expression was giving her earth pony friend a half worried, half irritated look. Apple Bloom followed the unicorn’s gaze towards Blitz. At first Apple Bloom feared the unicorn was a bigot, but then noticed a maniacally wide grin cleave her muzzle as she started bouncing on her hooves. Weird. The earth pony dragged her gushing friend away right as Apple Bloom’s group walked past them. Wanting to keep her mind away from the odd mare, Apple Bloom looked down a shallow flight of stairs to one of the massive elevators. They were quite open to the sky, and could easily fit forty ponies side by side five ranks deep. Their gold colored frames and elegant metal artwork sang of traditional pony art style from the classical period several hundred years ago, but the elevators themselves were only half a century old. Apple Bloom’s eyes danced this way and that, but came to a stop when she saw two ponies on the closest elevator. There was a pale yellow stallion with a bright red mane who was as gigantic as her big brother, and a peach mare with an orange mane that reminded her of Applejack. There was a strange ghost of familiarity about them, like she should know them. Then it finally clicked. Wait a second… they look like ma and pah from those pictures Granny has in her album! Apple Bloom was inches from asking her sister to look at them until she saw both ponies turn their heads to talk to a pegasus and revealed their unicorn horns. Oh. Weird. Ah must be imagining things. She shook her head and turned away. Honestly, Apple Bloom, it ain’t like they’re the only ponies to have those colors ya know. Seeing her friend and sister were getting away from her, Apple Bloom raced through the crowd to catch up to them. Pear Butter rocked on her hooves as she and her two traveling companions finally entered the love collector’s domicile, directly above a bordello. Every fiber of her being wanted to just slouch onto the old moldy couch near the door, but the huge part of her still loyal to her queen kept her on her hooves, waiting for orders. The effects of the love feeding faded in lieu of true muscle fatigue from the exodus. “This room is safe, and I have an arrangement with the madam of this establishment.” Stopwatch took the wrapped up princess out of the saddlebag and inspected her carefully to make sure everything was in order. “You may drop your disguise and rest.” Both quasi complied with Paint Brush staying by the center of the room awaiting further instructions. While Stopwatch’s preferred disguise was that of a mare, her true form was more of an ‘it’ in Pear Butter’s eyes. Probably so she doesn’t have any qualms about… servicing any client. Pear Butter flopped onto the moldy couch in a heap. It stunk to high hell and it felt grimy, but at that moment she was too tired to care. The rest of the room had that faint scent of the hive she originally awoke in, but it wasn’t strong enough to identify if one didn’t know the origin. I doubt she services anypony in here. “As much as you may want to,” Stopwatch stated at Pear Butter after placing the resting nymph in its waxy alcove and hiding it behind a tablecloth. “Do not form any wax cocoons. I know those are more comfortable than these pony-style beds, but they are far too conspicuous to the madam who visits me up here every so often. I’ll need your assistance in getting rid of the princess’ wax bed once she’s been relocated.” Pear Butter cast a wary eye at Stopwatch, noticing with a touch of dread that the love collector was solely directing that warning at her, and her alone. “Do I even want to know why you’re saying that first part to me?” Stopwatch cocked her head at the question. “You mean you don’t know how we make wax? Well, I’m sure you’ll find out on your own before too long. Just be sure to clean it up when you do. It’s bad enough we need any wax at all for the princess, because a crib would have been hard to explain away to the madam.” The collector started scrounging up some food after sequestering away empty love crystals. While Stopwatch was doing that, Pear Butter pointedly distracted herself with observing her lodging. Stopwatch had the whole top floor to herself, no doubt marking her importance to the establishment below. The entry hall led to a number of rooms, which Pear suspected was where Stopwatch brought her clients. This room, however, was more of a small condo. From the couch she could see the moderately well-stocked kitchenette, the hidden alcove, and a rickety dining table with equally flimsy looking chairs. The wallpaper was a bland brown that matched Stopwatch’s chitin and disguise’s fur color. A few rooms branched off behind the kitchen. Seeing that he wasn’t going to be getting any orders, Paint Brush cantered over to the kitchen. “Is there any way I can assist in cooking?” “Do you even remember how?” Stopwatch asked while grabbing a pot and several items from the icebox. “I may be a subdivision of the queen’s mind, but I cannot inject knowledge into you. I doubt Polybia would bother either.” Paint Brush shook his head sadly. “No, I can’t recall any cooking ability, but I can at least observe. Our queen gifted us with knowledge of mating habits for various races so we could support ourselves.” “Fitting,” Stopwatch replied. “The Madam is in need of another escort.” She turned to briefly glance at Pear Butter. The former pony had heard every word, and was holding her hind legs tightly with her tail pulled close. Stopwatch sniffed dismissively and returned to her food preparation. “It’s perfect work for us really, although it would look too suspicious to speak for two new employees at once. There are many eyes out there looking for our kind. These Equestrians may permit those from Phoenix’s Roost, but they will be suspicious of any one who looks like a half changeling who doesn’t have purple, blue, or grey fur. Not to mention that running into either of those runs the risk of identifying you as not part of their hive mind.” The conversation petered out as Stopwatch started instructing Paint Brush on how to make a simple yet filling stew. Pear Butter settled on staring at the body length mirror next to a fireplace. Her eyes fixated on the gnarled tan colored horn jutting out of her head. She brushed a fetlock against it, still acutely aware of how alien it felt. It was wrong. It didn’t belong there, it shouldn’t be a part of her. Her wings fidgeted as if to remind her of the other part of her that was wrong. Now that she wasn’t running for her life through the jungle or fearing detection and death slinking through Equestria, these festering thoughts clung to her mind’s eye like glue. I shouldn’t be like this. I know I used to be a pony. A normal pony. Not some thing corr-changed... Her rebelliousness swelled, but her built-in loyalty was not going to fall away so easily. Pear Butter stared at her hooves. The tan chitin shell stood in stark contrast to her gold fur. It’s like my queen started from the inside and her mut-changes only recently started showing on the outside. Am I nothing more than a changeling with pony skin, or is there something more of the old me inside? The old Pear Butter and the new quasi tore at each other within the mare’s head, vying for control. Yet with the hive mind still active within her subconscious and the geas Polybia placed upon her, rebellious thoughts was all she could muster. Pear Butter lost all track of time as her old personality struggled against the compulsions of her new anatomy to the point where a loud hoof stomp nearby startled her back to the present. She found Stopwatch glaring at her in disinterest with a steaming bowl held aloft. “Here, you will need your strength.” “T-thank you.” Pear sat up properly and took the offered bowl and spoon into her magic. A small part of her twinged in irritation at how natural she slipped into using telekinesis. By now, Paint Brush was already eating at the table with Stopwatch joining him. “Pear Butter, you used to be farmer. How well do you think you could perform in carpentry?” The mare sucked on the first bite of agreeable stew for a long moment to think. “Ah think Ah could do that. Ah probably had to do a lot of that on mah old farm, Ah’m sure it’ll come back to me.” “Good.” Stopwatch took a few bites before continuing. “I’ll arrange an opening for you down by Split Beam’s shop in Upper Canterlot. That will put you close enough to the target house to keep watch over it without being conspicuous.” “Target house?” Paint Brush queried as he wolfed down his food so he’d be free to speak. Pear Butter sat up a little straighter in expectation. “More like target family.” Stopwatch downed the last of her broth in one long swig. “The hatchling princess needs to have a massive amount of love to survive, as I’m sure you noticed. However, I alone can’t do that. I fed her two months' worth just to satisfy her today. No matter how many clients I service, lust just isn’t as nutritious as actual love, but it can serve us in a pinch.” “But the princess can’t make do with just a pinch, right?” Pear asked already knowing the answer. “Exactly. So I’ve been scoping out families across Upper Canterlot for the perfect surrogate parents.” Stopwatch got up and cantered over to a desk, rummaged through it before producing several manilla envelopes. Each one had a family name and crest on them. She took one envelope and deposited its contents on the table: maps, photographs, charts, and other data sheets. “Given the imminent timing of the princess’s hatching, the Harthworth family is the ideal family to raise the princess to ensure she retains the ability to produce love.” Paint Brush sifted through the charts, which he quickly realized were the target family’s finances. “Ah guess the money won’t be a problem. A twenty five thousand bit a month profit? Gaw dang that’s a hefty sum.” Pear Butter checked over the dozen pictures. Only two unicorns were in all of them. A stately if haughty looking yellow stallion with a slicked back brown mane. The wife was much better looking to Pear’s eyes. She had a gentle warmth about her in all the pictures, but the most telling attribute was her advanced pregnancy. “You’re going to put the princess with this family as a sister or somethin’?” “No, a replacement.” Stopwatch’s flat statement made Pear’s veins run cold with ice. Her rebellious self surged forward to speak her mind, but Paint Brush unwittingly cut her off. “So we’re switching foals? Seems easy enough,” he forced out with a neutral face. “Ah assume we have some way of giving the princess a long term disguise.” Pear was livid and stamped her hoof on the carpeted floor, but her geas concerning the princess’s well-being silenced her scathing tongue. Stopwatch saw the furious mare, but made no effort to ease her mind. “Actually no, the child was stillborn.” Pear wilted under the news and said nothing, leaving Stopwatch to continue uninterrupted. “The family is in mourning, and emotionally vulnerable. A client of mine told me several old family friends of theirs are expected to visit tomorrow so we have to act fast since I believe this family is the best candidate. I stacked the deck by bribing the weather captain to push the next rainstorm to coincide with the visit.” Stopwatch tapped the photo of the Harthworth manor’s front door. “Ponies are notoriously herd minded creatures, and bleeding hearts to boot. I’ll be leaving the disguised hatchling princess on the doorstep of their house during the friendly visit in the middle of the rainstorm.” Paint Brush let off a dark chuckle. “That’s pretty smart a’ ya. Between wanting ta’ take in a new foal, the very presence of the family friends adding some guilt to any thoughts of abandonment, and the cold, wet rainstorm to makin’ them even less likely to reject the foal. Hook line and sinker.” “That’s about the size of it,” Stopwatch concurred. Pear Butter sagged in her seat as guilt weighed down upon her as if the world was on her withers. “At least the family gets a loving daughter out of it.” “See?” Paint Brush added. “Everypony wins. So it’s just Pear and mah job to keep a loose eye on her from a distance then. Should be a cakewalk.” “Only if we do things right,” Stopwatch warned before looking at Paint Brush. “Now give me the items our queen gave you for the princess. I’ll need them for when the princess wakes up.” Aegis fumed at everything in general as she listened to the earth pony police chief give her an after-action report with Princess Celestia and several other ponies sitting around the same table. The group was in the original palace conference room where Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, and several other officials had discussed the changeling threat after the wedding all those years ago. While much of Celestia’s focus was on the police chief, the timeless mare couldn’t help but to see the dark irony in it all. Here we are, with Twilight’s first royal daughter discussing the threat of radicals acting against changelings rather than radical changelings acting against us. Yet another joke the universe shares with no one. As a show of unity and trust, Celestia had Aegis seated to her right while the police chief was at her left. “...Moving on to the preliminary findings,” Police Chief Hoofcuffs drolled on as she had been for the past hour. “This was an unexpected timing for all of us. If our prisoners’ comments during the arrests are to be believed, we interrupted a large meeting between several key crime families, two rogue mercenary companies, and three radical groups, including the P.C.E. Unfortunately we only caught minor soldiers and a couple of lieutenants. The real leaders of each group either evaded capture or weren’t present yet.” “I could have stopped at least two of them from getting away,” Aegis growled under her breath. “There were so many fleeing the building that the perimeter guards couldn’t catch all of them. Even with so many arrests, the proto-queen looked about as glum as a certain bald donkey. At least none of my siblings got taken out, but a few came close. Her thoughts momentarily shifted to Counterspell before she tossed them aside to focus on the present. Although it wasn’t meant to be heard, Celestia managed to catch the whole thing. “Very good chief. Continue your interrogations and keep me appraised of any news. Be they ponies or otherwise, we can not accept such a strong presence of the criminal element in the capital of all places.” “As you order, your highness.” Hoofcuffs nodded curtly before resuming her seat. Celestia turned to a earth mare who was scribbling furiously on a notepad. “Administer Field Runner, how is the public handling the raid?” The mare quickly nestled the pencil on her ear. “Mixed at the moment. Several reporters are getting eye witness accounts of ponies wishing the chaos would stop in the city, others are glad we’re taking such quick action, and a small minority is saying we’re only making things worse by such open violence on the streets of Canterlot.” A scrawny stallion with crooked glasses leaned forward for attention. Celestia quickly identified him as her primary speech writer. “I anticipated this development, your highness, and have several speeches outlined and being delivered to your personal study for your perusal as always.” “Excellent, thank you, Silver Tongue. If there is nothing else?” she looked around the assembled ponies and single changeling for any comments. When none were forthcoming she banged the table three times with a gavel. “Very well. Dismissed.” The various officials hastily gathered up their papers and shuffled or flew out of the exit, eager to get back to work, or go to the nearest bar and drown the coming night away. Unsure of what to do, Aegis began to rise to leave as well, but a brush from Celestia’s wing gave her pause. Aegis saw Celestia's desire to speak in private written on her face so she slumped back down. The ageless alicorn knew better than to patronize the brooding proto-queen. She had seen it all before in Twilight’s youth. “Aegis, your mother and I shared an open-door policy. If you ever need an ear outside of your hive-mind to speak to, please feel free.” Aegis sighed heavily and traced a circle on the table with her index finger. “Were you around before the Hearths’ Warming Event?” “Barely,” Celestia confirmed. “I was among the immigrants who left the old lands, barely old enough to remember the exodus. My sister and I became alicorns that same year though.” She levitated the condensation-covered pitcher of water and refilled Aegis’ empty cup. “It was a hard time for everypony.” Aegis gave a small nod of thanks, but didn’t touch the glass immediately. The setting sun cast the room into brilliant oranges and yellows that would have gotten a rise out of the pyromaniac any other day. “How long did it take before the three tribes stopped hating each other? How long did it take before ponies like the P.C.E. stopped existing?” Aegis gave Celestia a pleading look that made Celestia forget for a moment that she wasn’t speaking with Twilight. “How long am I going to have to attack and kill ponies before we can truly be united with the three tribes?” Celestia took a big risk and moved close enough to drape a caring wing over Aegis shoulder. It eased her heart that Aegis leaned into it slightly, but largely only accepted it’s presence. “It took centuries, Aegis. I’m sorry for that. The three tribes largely found cooperation a better alternative fairly quickly after Hearth’s Warming. As it was then, and as it is now, most modern ponies find the Alliance between us to be better than the alternative. But for groups like the P.C.E. to fade away? They never truly do. Even now there are small groups trying to promote one tribe or the other above all others.” “But those are the minority right?” Aegis asked hopefully. “Yes, they are quite impotent most of the time. So long as intelligent beings exist, there will be deviants that go against what is ultimately best for society. Although…” Celestia affixed Aegis with a soft smile. “I’d imagine it’s easier for you with the hive mind as a point of unity.” “Maybe not, Princess,” Aegis replied with a ghost of a smile. “But you have a more fascinating focus of unity that I still can’t fully wrap my head around.” Celestia arched an eyebrow at the unexpected comment. She knew of many facets of unity and harmony between ponies, but she wanted to hear Aegis’ point of view. “Which is?” “I don’t really know,” Aegis answered truthfully. “None of your subjects have a built-in compulsion to obey your will. There is no clear unifying voice to look to for in moments of doubt, no guiding song of the consensus for when the queen is too busy to respond.” She gave Celestia a studious look. “Personally I think the fact that a nation of individuals has grown as large as Equestria, let alone for it to prosper as much as it has, would be impossible without all this evidence to the contrary.” Taking on a tone of casual debate she used so often on Twilight Sparkle, Celestia took a few sips of her tea to give the impression she was thinking. “So you think it is dumb luck we ponies have stumbled onto a working system?” Aegis huffed dismissively and snatched one of the biscuits at the center of the table. The spread had been exhausted by the other officials over an hour ago. “I don’t know. All I do know is that for all your failings at keeping a tighter consensus, you have a leg up compared to us in at least one aspect.” Celestia reheated her tea with a touch of magic. She had dealt with Twilight enough to know when to strike at the point instead of dancing around it. “You mean my ponies are less affected by a poisonous consensus, and can resist it. Or if I ever became unstable or evil, my subjects could better resist me than drones to their queen.” The bitter memories of banishing her sister came to mind. “Rutting hell,” Aegis exclaimed while trying to rub away a headache. “You don’t pull any kicks do you?” “Not if the situation calls for it,” Celestia cooly replied. Aegis stared agape at her for several moments before recovering. She managed to claim a ghost of a smile. “That’s exactly it, yes. The drones of my kin may be sapient and strongly individualistic compared to other hives, but we are all ultimately influenced by the will of our queen-mother.” She gave Celestia a stern grimace to press her point. “It is for that reason I wanted to keep my drone-like loyalty to my mother hard-wired in my reborn self. It is also why I convinced them that the only royal children any of us should ever have are reborn drones because it is inconceivable to me that my queen-mothers would ever act against Equestria. And by extension, it is almost impossible for Blitz and I to do so as well.” The massive form of the cloudy ram towering over the Summit crawled in her mind. A place so sacred to every changeling being defiled and vandalized by the monster’s corrosive breath sent shivers down Aegis’ spine. “There’s nothing more frightening to think about than a hive mind divided by warring queens.” I can only imagine the damage Polybia could have caused if we were all joined in a single hive mind. Celestia frowned deeply at the information, vowing to herself to take it to heart. “I can only imagine, but that leaves you vulnerable. Even my sister, as kind and passionate as she is, succumbed to darkness. How would you react if Twilight or Blitz suffered a similar fate?” Aegis downed a few sips of water only to discover she was famished with a curtain of fatigue washing over her, making Aegis yawn loudly. Her sour mood deepened as she contemplated recent events. “You want my blunt opinion?” She searched Celestia’s passive face to gauge her reaction. “I honestly don’t know. I might be able to keep following the right path, or I could just as easily follow them down that dark future. All it takes is one queen, one Polybia, one Chrysalis to cause a whole hive to suddenly turn on everypony else. For my bloodline though, one queen could cast our entire nation into shadow.” Aegis hesitated at the mental image of a nightmare overtaking any of her fellow royals. The specter of Grogar possessing any of them froze her heart with fear. “I - I think I should lay down.” She got up, bowed respectfully towards Celestia. “Gotta go eat something first or I’ll never hear the end of it from Gear.” Celestia returned the sign of respect and climbed to her hooves as well. “And I must be ready to lower the sun. Sleep well, Proto-Queen Aegis.” “You too, Princess, and… thanks for the talk,” Aegis said before slipping through the door. At the moment, she wanted more than anything to lean against a wall and rub her head to try and ease the tension. Sadly the presence of so many castle staff and other officials forced her to trudge up to her quarters. Things were so much simpler in my drone days. I ate, fought, guarded, and did whatever I wanted to. She kept a neutral face as she passed by several ponies, and saw a serving cart. She swerved over and snatched a strawberry and cream hors d'oeuvre from the cart, and thanked the waitress. I never really paid much attention to all the crap momma and Auntie Rainbow put up with outside of combat before getting mother’s blessing. Maybe if I had, I would have thought twice before convincing mom to rebirth me. But there’s nothing for it now. I just hope I don’t ruin all the goodwill mother’s worked so damned hard to achieve.