The storm held fast for nearly three more days, letting up on the second and finally passing entirely the morning of the fourth. Ted spent most of this time either in his room or Pandinus' nest, the latter being for another round of the mind numbing pleasure of the massages. The alicorn was chalking the cramps and pains up to overuse of the armor, which he eventually did get to cleaning up once he'd recovered enough. The days were quiet, the only occurrences being a few hunting groups, sometimes being joined by some of the griffon refugees, and a single gathering run for fruits by the oasis to the south. For the fruit recovery, Ted had decided to assign Grift with the group, asking the changeling to try using his empathic detection in the same way the Equestrians had used the swarm. It would benefit both the group and the changeling. The group was given added security, and the pudgy changeling was given some decent exercise.
Gem and Pandinus were with each other every time he saw them, the nymph seeming to do her level best to always be under hoof. Din took it in stride, however, seeing as she had something she'd been wanting for so long. Certainly the hatchling wasn't her blood, but Ted had made the queen promise to guard Gem as her own. Wanting to prove herself to the dark alicorn, she'd taken to the task with gusto; the young changeling didn't sneeze without the queen knowing about it. Her constant hovering over the nymph was aided by Mirage, despite the mares continued dislike of the queen, giving pointers and tips for the proper care of a nymph. Two days after the link between Gem and Din was formed, Adamant followed suite, having wandered into the queen's nest at night searching for his smaller friend.
The matron fell into a bout of depression after the loss of her link. She still watched the other children, wiped their noses, cared for any injuries. However she was merely going through the motions. Rose was the one who brought the issue to his attention a few days later, nudging his leg with a hoof as he was passing by. Having experienced such a thing himself recently, Ted was quick to jump on board with the filly in finding a solution. It was not going to be easy, unfortunately. Every single one of the survivors of the swarm were going to be joining the queen's hive, leaving no extra drones for Mirage to link with in the meantime, and leaving Ted to wonder what would become of his first changeling follower. Even as he was contemplating going to find her and to try speaking to her on the matter, it was taken out of his hands, so to speak.
In the children's room where the shape shifter kept her bed sat the queen, laying down on a spare mat to keep herself at Mirage's level.
"The nymphs have been asking for you, Mirage." Pandinus started, keeping a flat expression. "They keep asking me why Miss Meer won't come to see them. I know you don't like me, I'm fine with that, but I don't want them to feel snubbed because you're scared of linking with me."
"I have nothing to say to you." The smaller changeling said, looking past Din at the playing children.
The queen sighed. "I want them to be happy. Right now that means spending time with you. Help me make them happy, Mirage. You don't have to like me, I don't even care if you listen to what I say. You know a link doesn't overwrite your opinions."
The matron glared at the larger mare. "But you can over-ride my will, using my body as a puppet whenever you want."
"And what do you think Cimmerian would say if I did that?" Pandinus asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think he wouldn't notice that? Do you think I would want to do that when I'm working so hard to prove that I'm worthy of him? Prove to him that I can be what he needs, what he wants? I've put up with that griffon's ridiculous lessons, though only a few make any sense to me. I've been reading that book he offered me, even though it feels like sand running over my eyes at times. I'm trying to learn to care for others. I was not raised this way, Clutch Nurse. My mother taught me to be the highest authority, she taught me to give orders, not make requests. She didn't teach me how to speak to others, since my drones would follow me no matter what. The only interaction with other races I'd been taught was seduction, so I could have access to an easy meal and a source of seed for my eggs. Advanced infiltration, military strategy, maybe even these 'politics' things Cimmerian's been having me learn were things that I never reached before the hive fell. I was nowhere near the end of my training."
Taking a steadying breath, Din tried once more. "I know I'm not good at this, Mirage, my mother said I had another three decades of training before she would permit my advancement to a queen. Three decades of nothing but training to learn how to run a hive that I don't have now. Do you know what that means for me, for my hive?"
Mirage was now focused on the queen, a confused expression on her face as she shook her head.
"It means that I'm having to improvise. For pities sake, even then half the things I know have been turned on their heads with out situation here. I have to take the things my drones knew about their hives to fill in the rest of the blanks. Everything I've learned so far about infiltration is what I've pulled from Grift." She scooted forward just a little bit. "Smoke said he was a guard, so that's hive defense, and the rest of the other drones Cimmer recovered were infiltrators, away from their hives when they were captured. I don't have any medical knowledge, or information on how to care for my eggs or hatchlings properly besides what you've taught me on Cimmerian's orders and my own instincts. I don't want to make any mistakes with them, I can't. Will you please help me?"
Mirage was confused by the strangely pleading tone. "I thought queens weren't supposed to show any weaknesses? Or did you not get to that lesson?"
"I had that drilled into me from day one, actually." Pandinus responded with a self-deprecating chuckle. "A certain alicorn has been teaching me otherwise. It helps that his lessons are accompanied by the most delicious meals I've ever tasted, while for my old lessons I was merely punished to not adhering to the rules. Cimmerian and Thrisha have both been quite insistent it's beneficial to reveal weakness to close allies and friends. Cimmerian even trading some of mine for his own. It was, strange to hear."
"What did he tell you?" The Clutch Nurse asked, ears perked in curiosity.
"That, little changeling, would be breaking confidence. They were also quite thorough in explaining to me why that is bad." Din said with a smile. Her face then turned thoughtful. "Trust is an odd thing, is it not? Thrisha said for most creatures, trust comes before love, so I need Cimmerian's trust before I can have his love. So no, Mirage. I will not do anything to harm you or any other changeling in my hive. I can't risk losing what trust I've gained so far. It's too precious to me, it's too important to my goals."
After a few moments of silence, the queen's face became a serene smile, an expression the matron found strangely relaxing. "I have an idea. Both Thrisha and the book have mentioned written contracts for agreements between two beings or countries that can't trust the others. How about we ask her to help us set one up, we can even have Cimmerian sign it as a witness."
"You'd be willing to go that far? Just for two nymphs that aren't yours?" Mirage asked cautiously.
"Cimmerian's gone farther, I can tell you that much from what he's told me. He has claimed every being in this Temple as a child under his care, or did you not hear of his moment with your friend Blur?" She asked with a smile. "He said I need to care for the Temple's residents like he does. For me this has mostly included the nymphs, but don't think I haven't seen you lately as well. We are born into a hive, always connected to other changelings in a way ponies can never comprehend." The queen finally stood up, moving to curl around the matron. Settling back on the ground, she leaned closer and spoke softly. "So when that link is interrupted, we don't feel complete. We feel empty, alone. I felt that way before Grift joined me, you felt that way before you bonded with those nymphs. Now you've lost that connection again, and you're not willing to follow them because of what could happen. I understand that, but I also understand that to be what my prospective mate seeks, I need to be willing to accept children that aren't mine." Pandinus leaned her neck over the changeling, pressing down on her back reassuringly. "That includes those who don't like me. It means accepting that I may argue with them, may fight with them, may even have to sever links for the good of the hive. But it also means giving every changeling I come across a chance. That's the least I can do. After all, the only reason I'm here to do so is because someone did that for me."
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Later that evening, after the Temple's resident alicorn had overseen the backlog of reports that had piled up during his recovery as well as the requests by several of the griffons for more permanent accommodations. He'd sent a message to Lady Thrisha regarding his plans to have interviews of sorts with one or more changelings in the room, so the prospective residents knew exactly what they were getting into. He wasn't going to risk some sort of hidden trauma causing a griffon, a predatory species, to lash out at Gem or Adamant.
Finishing his meal, he noticed the children were in the care of Miss Goodhooves again, leaving him wondering where their actual caretaker was. Stopping to consider it, there were several missing parties. He checked the library to no avail, but soon heard familiar voices coming from the war room. The voices belonging to the beings he was looking for.
An odd sight greeted Ted as he walked in. The table was mostly cleared barring a single paper with fresh ink sitting in front of Lady Thrisha, a quill just being laid on the table. The old griffon had an excited smile on her face, a stark contrast to the straight face of both Pandinus and Mirage. However, while Pandinus was fairly calm, the smaller changeling was shaking badly. Warning bells immediately went off in his head, even as the griffon greeted him.
"Ah, Lord Cimmerian, Queen Pandinus was just about to send a drone to escort you here!" she said, a smile on her beak.
He was about to ask what was happening, when the griffon hushed him. "They're about to start."
Ted had no idea what was going on, but immediately stepped up to the gathering, pulling Mirage back into his barrel even as she started walking around the table to Pandinus. "Nothing happens until I know what this gathering is about." He said in a firm voice.
"I, I don't n-need you to watch ov-ver me all the time, F-father." Mirage managed to stutter out.
"We were just about to link." Pandinus said, giving the alicorn a confused frown. "She's been depressed since her link with the nymphs was severed, so I offered a solution."
"What solution, Din. If she's being threatened or forced into this, I won't be upset. I'll be angry. That's not something you want directed at you." The alicorn's face was a stone mask, but the changelings could taste the anger just waiting to be given a target.
Thrisha took that moment to clear her throat, shrinking back slightly at the glare that was leveled at her. "Queen Pandinus and Mirage asked me to oversee a contract between them, an agreement to not harm each other in any way after the connection is made. Seeing as Miss Mirage has been undergoing, as the two have put it, Link Withdrawal, it seemed to be a proper solution to their, issues, with one another." The griffon turned the contract to him, allowing the alicorn to read over the many bullets presented. Each side seemed to have been fairly thorough, describing what could and couldn't be done. "They asked that you be the primary witness."
Ted chewed on his lip as he finished reading over the entire document, watching for any loopholes he could find that would allow them to strike at each other, but they were very thorough. Nothing was left in the air or up to the involved parties, including a clause that prevented hostile action up to two weeks after the willing termination of the link by the queen, allowing Mirage time to leave without being harmed while preventing the drone from sabotaging Din's hive.
"I want to speak with Mirage before you go through with this." looking down at the mentioned shape shifter, he asked "Is that ok?"
She nodded, following the alicorn out of the war room and into the nursery. Ted wrapped her in his aura, setting her on her bedding before laying down in front of her, much like the queen had done earlier. Slowly her breathing steadied, the prospect she'd been fearing no longer immediately before her.
"Are you ok with what was on that contract, Mirage?" Ted asked her, touching his muzzle to her own. The mare nodded her head in response, so he asked another question.
"What made you change your mind? I know you don't like her."
"I can't be alone again." She said quietly. "I know it may not seem like much to ponies, or any other being, but we're never really alone while we can hear our mother, our brothers and sisters, our whole family. Drones can't make out much, but it's there, always reminding us there's someone else out there. Someone we can trust implicitly. But here I am, avoiding a link because I want to find my own mother again. I want a link without the risk, but... but there's not even a guarantee mother is still alive."
"Joining Pandinus doesn't have to mean giving up on your mother." He countered.
The mare just stared at her hooves for a moment before sitting up and hugging his muzzle. "I know, but I still feel like I'm betraying her for my own comfort. Like I should be working harder to find her."
"I know, Mirage. I felt the same way for a while, but I have to put off my own search until I'm sure you are all safe. Not to mention I've started seeing you as my responsibility." The alicorn gave her a few moments, letting a bit of his care for the changeling wrap around her before speaking one last time. "Are you certain this is what will make you happy?"
"No." The changeling responded almost immediately. "But what would make me happy is beyond me right now. So I guess I'll have to settle for content. For now."
"It's getting better for everyone here everyday, Mirage. After this is all taken care of, go talk to Rose. She knows you're not feeling very well right now, and she's worried about you." Ted said, finally breaking contact.
"I'll never understand how you can detect emotion without being able to taste it." The changeling muttered. "I know it's part of you, but it never made sense."
The alicorn led the way back to the war room, smiling. "We work with what we have. We don't have empathic senses like yours, so we learn to read body language. Some of us are better at it than others. I'm sorry I didn't notice your pain sooner."
Queen Pandinus was looking a little worried when the two walked back in, but a smile from them settled her worries. Ted took a place next to Lady Thrisha, grabbing a feather from his own wing and dabbing it in ink before signing his full title on the contract. Looking up from the contract, he spoke.
"Queen Pandinus, Mirage is placing her life and her mind in your care. Take care of both of these things as you would your own. Remember, she's not like your own drones. This also means that it is up to you to keep track of who you let into your hive. The nymphs don't have much in the way of loyalty or hatred for other queens from what I've seen, but Mirage mentioned drones joining other hives for sabotage. You are the gate to your hive's link, and you need to be weary of that.
"Mirage, take care of her hatchlings and eggs like you would your own mother's children. Teach her how to be a better queen, and if she does something wrong, let her know, preferably in private so you don't embarrass her. She's the face of your link, your hive. Do what you can to promote her cause, and you'll be pulled higher with her. I don't want to see either of you getting hurt from this."
At his nod in her direction, Mirage once more made her way up to the changeling queen. She still shook slightly, but being able to glance back at Father, whom she knew had personally gone over the contract, she seemed to feel a little safer, a little more certain of herself. The smaller drone walked up to the queen, they touched horns for a moment and...
Nothing.
Well, nothing as far as Ted could tell. They just seemed to stare at each other for a while, the two making whatever mental connections were involved in a link. Despite his disappointment, Thrisha seemed to be bouncing with excitement, giggling at being present for something no griffon had likely ever seen before.
After nearly ten minutes of contact, the two finally shifted, Pandinus raising her head slightly, and Mirage swaying unsteadily once she was released. Ted immediately used a foreleg to support her, looking between the two cautiously. "That's it, right?"
"Yea." Mirage answered softly, probably exhausted. "It would have been faster, but she wanted information on hatchling care. There's a lot she needed to know, and she wanted everything I had on the topic."
"You need help getting to bed? I'm sure the kid's would love to see you, 'specially if you're not feeling so down in the dumps anymore." He offered softly. The offer was shot down, surprisingly, by Pandinus.
"She'll be staying with me tonight. Her connection to the royal link is still weak, and staying near me will help it develop quickly. Besides, I know two hatchlings who will be very happy to see her." The queen explained, picking Mirage up and setting the smaller mare on her back. The two wandered out of the room, leaving Ted and Thrisha on their own.
"But, the kids? Oh, whatever, I've got it." He said, heading to his room. He'd not spent much time with them lately anyway, and he had a surprise he'd been wanting to share with them. Being close to them would make it easier.
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Ted had soon taken over for Miss Goodhooves, much to the mares relief, and had even brought his blanket and pillows, planning on staying the night with them since their normal caretaker was unavailable. He taught them a few games he remembered from his own childhood, though sadly there wasn't enough room in the nursery for sharks and minnows. When the time came to finally sleep, Rose and the foals who he'd first met immediately took places by him, followed by the pups who were nervous but eager to be close to their new alpha. Ted just smiled at them, the proximity only making his idea easier. Making sure the last one wasn't just faking sleep. Ted cast the spell as he dove into his dream.
He found himself in the prepared fields, a snowy chunk here, a small beach there, even a small playground he'd recreated based on what he remembered from home, some pony friendly parts added to it as well. His attention was dragged from the world around him by the voices of the children.
"Whoa, what are you doing in my dream?"
"This isn't your dream, this is my dream!"
"This is so cool!"
"How are we all doing tonight?" Ted's voice cut through the chatter, drawing the eyes of every child there. "Yes we're all asleep, and for those who are arguing about it, it's my dream." He said with a warm smile. "I invited you here tonight for a little fun. The jungle can be a dangerous place, so tonight, you are free to wander the different areas here. Everything here is safe, even the water is breathable if you want to go in it. This night is my gift to you. Go on, get!" With a wave of his hoof, the alicorn dismissed them, the children darting off to explore the dream world in detail.
"Good night, Cimmerian." Luna's voice greeted from behind him. "I see, I was wondering why you asked about those spells and lessons."
"Hey Luna. I figured they needed a chance to cut loose. We don't really have anywhere to let them run free, so I improvised. The area is even set up to teleport them to the other side of the field if they go too far. Brick can fly for as long as he wants in a straight line; no walls, no fences, no one telling him he has to stop. The pups are welcome to dig all they want; there's a stone plate this place is set on, so they won't go too far. As for everyone else? Well, there's plenty of other things to do."
Luna giggled lightly "You're going to spoil them, Cimmerian."
"You girls spent all that time telling me I'm their adopted father already, I think that clears me to spoil my kids every now and again. I may try to do this every week or so, something for them to look forward to, you know? I just wish I had someplace like this in the real world to give them" Ted told her.
The smaller alicorn's response was cut off as a green and pink bullet sent her rolling.
"I found you again! Are you two friends now? That's great. Mr. Cimmerian is really nice and can you play with us too?" The little filly jabbered even as she clung to the lunar alicorn's fur like a piece of gum.
Ted laughed at the Luna's misfortune, enjoying the show before he too was interrupted, several snowballs whizzing through the air and striking him almost simultaneously. The strikes were soon followed by a shout of "Victory!" from the other children, who then screamed in mock terror as he turned to face them.
"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" He bellowed, pulling several snowballs from the snow with his magic. The poor fools were hopelessly outmatched. Ted had been pelting his friends with the powdery ammunition for years. With an evil laugh that would put Snidely Whiplash to shame, he stormed their pitiful barricades. Maybe later he'd teach them how to build a proper snow fort.