//------------------------------// // 18: Turbulent Wind // Story: Reformation of the Hives // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// The Sparkle Manor was an unsettling place. At least for a particular quasi who was doing her best to remain calm, friendly, and competent. Pear Butter couldn’t stop squirming in her seat in the front lounge. All in all, it was a warm and sunny day, with the sun’s brilliance shining through the large windows. The lounge itself was tasteful in its opulence, speaking of wealth that didn’t go out of its way to flaunt. Pear Butter was disguised as a unicorn, and had gone with a pleasing color originally, mostly to get Stopwatch and Paint Brush to let her go. Yet before approaching the Sparkle Manor, Pear Butter had returned to her natural peach coat and blonde hair. As a personal compromise to herself. If Ah have to be a unicorn for ages, Ah’m at least going to be mah natural colors. Presently, she was sitting in the least comfortable chair she could find in the room, mostly to keep herself awake among such risky company. “The master of the house will be with you shortly,” Pranceton, the family butler, said from the door with a very curt and neutral tone. “They are tending to the little one.” Pear Butter nodded nervously. “Thank you, sir.” Being left alone, Pear Butter recalled her last talk with Paint Brush in an effort to distract herself. Alright… So. Ah’m glad Ah never used my real name ever since coming here, and after Paint Brush made sure there weren’t no Pear Butter in the city’s records, Ah can finally live by my old name again. Pear fidgeted nervously when she heard hoofsteps pass by the only door leading away from the lounge. Her anxiety didn’t ebb as much as she would have liked after she noticed whoever it was simply passed by. ‘Course, Paint weren’t the only one looking up names, Pear thought with a conspiratorial grin as she recalled the comic-con. Apple Bloom, Ah don’t know who ya are, but Ah know yer a friend to th’ Sparkles. Maybe Ah’ll get a chance to talk to ya if ya ever visit. Hoofsteps pulled Pear Butter out of her musings again, only this time it was actually Night Light and Azure Skies. Pear Butter practically leapt to her hooves and hastily gave a respectful bow. “T-thank you for seeing me, Sir Sparkle, ah-” Pear hesitated at the unexpected mare, unsure of how to address her. Yet it was the sudden intrusion of Polybia on her mind that caused her to choke up. It took Pear a moment to realize the ponies were talking to her, and mentally slapped herself for being so badly distracted. “-And here I thought my honey was the talk of Canterlot,” Night answered comically, only to get a gentle prod in the ribs from his marefriend. “Don’t worry too much about him,” she said before giving Pear a friendly smile. “I am Azure Skies, pleased to meet you Miss Butter.” “The honor is mine,” Pear replied with a little less anxiety at how casual the pair was. A stark and welcome contrast to Polybia and Stopwatch. Nightlight gestured to an arrangement of furniture with a loveseat and armchair divided by a coffee table. “Please, have a seat and get comfortable. We have much to discuss.” The group took their seats right as Pranceston arrived with a platter of tea. The beverage was served and Pear tried to put on a brave face while sipping the warm peppermint tea. Being only his marefriend, Azure Skies decided to take a backseat and let Night Light do most the talking. Polybia’s presence was kept light enough that Pear still maintained control, but it was only the disguise that concealed the queen’s eyes. Sadly Pear Butter didn’t get much of a chance to get used to the heavy weight upon her mind since Night Light didn’t waste any time in opening the interview. “Now, Pear Butter, I want to thank you for applying the position of full time nanny. It’s not a commitment many are willing to take, or adhere to,” he added with a careful studious eye. “You can count on me, sir,” Pear Butter replied with what she hoped was confidence. “Ah truly love children, and Ah know Ah could get along famously with Stellar Drift.” “Well I hope so,” Night Light replied with a wiry grin. “Um, Ah have ta ask, sir, there are bound to be a lot of nannies in Canterlot. Probably better…” Pear trailed off, not sure if she was suddenly hurting her chances. Night Light nodded as he sipped his tea. “Yes, well, there are plenty to be sure. However, I don’t want a nanny native to Canterlot, and it was your accent that caught Pranceston’s ear. Given who my daughter is, I didn’t want a nanny who might be more loyal to one of the other noble families, filling the child with the typical useless gossip and fads that swirl around the city. “I don’t want Stellar to grow up a diva socialite. I want her to actually contribute to society, much like her new brother and sister.” “Well, Ah can certainly agree ta that, sir,” Pear replied with a nod, unconsciously exaggerating her accent. “Pappa always said ya gotta work to eat.” “As should anyone, noble or otherwise,” Azure Skies interjected with a stern edge. “Now,” Night Light said with a professional tone. “That being said, I want to groom Stellar to be an intellectual. If by chance she would prefer physical pursuits, as an athlete or soldier,” he added after his son came to mind, “she will still need a strong and well educated mind to succeed. “Yet it is not enough to simply instruct her, we must be able to instill a love of learning. After all, the best teacher Stellar could ever have, would be her own desire to learn.” Being so tightly bound to Polybia, and the queen’s inexperience in dealing with intelligent underlings, the queen’s musings leaked into Pear Butter’s awareness. Interesting. Perhaps this will be a boon after all. I’ll be able to use my puppet to gain insight and possible leverage on Twilight Sparkle. For her part, Pear Butter was having difficulty trying to pay attention to both her queen and the couple before her. So it took her a few moments longer than she would have liked to respond. “Ah must admit, sir, Ah wasn’t expecting such a refreshing outlook from a noble family.” “Hmf,” Night scowled aimlessly. “Yes, well, sadly most families seem to have forgotten the true definition of nobility.” Azure Skies patted his shoulder to give him symbolic support. “In any case, I’d like to know how adept you are in academics.” Pear gulped as he continued. “Now, Steller is not even old enough to speak yet, and I’m not asking for a doctorate or anything like that.” I’d honestly expect you to be a researcher or doctor if you had one, not a nanny. “So you’ll have plenty of time to brush up on related topics, but I need to know how you would instill a love of learning in our child.” Given Twilight’s famous studious nature, Pear Butter half expected a requirement along these lines, and had studied up on a few solutions from the Canterlot Library. Unfortunately, that knowledge was getting hard to remember with Polybia’s weight upon her mind. “Well… Ah… Ah would get young Stellar used to reading start'n with pop up books. Get the little sprout ta start thinking of books as being fun first off.” Night Light nodded approvingly. “And…” This was at least something that Polybia approved of. That much I can agree on. A queen must be intelligent above all else. As per usual, Polybia’s command was that of queen to drone, and Pear had no control over her wording. “Ah would show the child how to solve problems with her mind instead of her brawn.” “As all ponies should,” Night Light replied with a hum. The interview progressed over an hour as Pear Butter was prodded and poked, verbally of course, over her potential qualities as a nanny. While Polybia was able to assist via probing her various other quasi for information, the queen’s heavy presence was hard to work with. It was during lunch that Night Light had given the last question. After Pear Butter gave her answer, he leaned in to whisper into Azure’s ear as she bit into a sandwich. “Well I think she’s a good match so far. Plus, Pear doesn’t have any ties with the other houses.” “That we know of,” Azure cautioned. “All told, however, do you think she’s ready for the main trial?” With only a nod in reply, Night Light pulled a simple charm off the tea platter and charged it with mana. Seeing Pear trying to hide her confusion by nibbling on a biscuit, Night Light affixed a reassuring smile on her. “I believe the most important part of any nanny relationship is compatibility. Pranceston?” he yelled behind him. “Here, sir.” The butler pocketed the charm’s glowing twin right as a bullet of fur and giggles ran out from under him. The moment she entered the room, Stellar Drift locked onto the two biggest sources of love: Night Light and Azure Skies. The tiny disguised princess was quickly wrapped in the couple’s embrace, giggling all the while. Through Pear’s eyes, Polybia glowered angrily at the sight of it. Damn you, Stopwatch. It’s bad enough my daughter must be coddled, but taken in by that… blasphemer’s Sire. Polybia’s mind was at war with itself between the boon of gaining insight into Twilight, and the curse of having her sole daughter raised as a pony. Fearing she might blow Pear’s cover with a random bout of fury, Polybia decided it was best to depart. “Looks like she’s taken by you,” Azure Skies said, snapping Pear from her fearful communion with Polybia. It was all she could do to keep from gasping at the perspective shift. However it still took Pear a couple of seconds to look down and find Stellar Drift propped up on the chair leg and giving off happy baby babble. With Polybia gone, Pear found herself in strangely familiar territory. She matched Stellar’s smile and bent down to coo at Stellar Drift. “Hi there, little one.” Pear glanced up at Night Light for silent permission to hold the filly. He nodded, prompting Pear to gently pick Stellar up in her forelegs and hefted her up onto the chair to join her. Stellar Drift was quick to nuzzle Pear Butter, and started cooing at the familiar mare. Pear Butter held back a tear as fragmented memories of holding children flooded her from an age long since gone. Ah - Ah remember. Ah was a mother after all… Ah think Ah had two, or was it three children? Pear Butter chased that fleeting memory as best could, but it was just shadows of a feeling, faces so indistinct she couldn’t even tell the gender of them, let alone any features or colors. Is the third one mah husband or one of mah children? Try as she might, Pear couldn’t stop tears from welling up at the pain of such loss. Stellar Drift had fallen asleep cosied up against her chest. Despite it all, Pear could feel a trickle of love flow from the child. Does she recognize me from after hatching? We didn’t keep her asleep all the time before giving her over. “I must say,” Azure Skies said just loud enough to draw Pear’s attention away from Stellar. “You’re the first one she’s taken a liking to, let alone cozy up to besides us, and only some of the staff.” Though he was a pale shadow compared to the embodiment of honesty itself, Night Light believed himself to be a good judge in character. He’d be right on most counts, save for love’s blindness during Velvet’s decline. Not even Twilight or Rainbow’s children could ever fool him for long with prank disguises, and he had even rooted out a few of the other queens’ infiltrators over the years by just listening to them over a meal. They all lacked that intangible quality, that he sensed in Pear Butter. “Ah’m sorry.” Pear said morosely. “Ah’m just-” She didn’t know what else to say. Pear felt trapped - a rat in a cage - between needing to please her queen to stay her wrath, and the mortification of being an emotional mess in front of her would-be employers and charge. She wanted to hide, bury her face somewhere. But no, Pear Butter could do nothing but wait in slight torment. Night Light studied Pear carefully as the poor mare struggled to keep some semblance of dignity intact. She must have suffered a grievous loss to be so emotional over a child’s affection. Night Light was not blind to the raw pain that Pear kept in check as she doted over Stellar Drift. Stellar will need every strong role model she can get, and I can hardly turn away such a good honest mare. “Miss Butter,” he kindly announced just loud enough to cut through her mounting depression. She looked up from Stellar to meet his gaze with red-rimmed eyes. “You would hardly be the first lost soul to come to my family looking for a new life.” Night cast a brief glance at Pranceston who was watching the whole scene impassively. Yet Night knew the old butler was emotional through the stallion’s eyes, a tell he could never truly cover. While his eyes betrayed him, Pranceston’s voice remained as calm and collected as ever. “Indeed, sir. Your father was an honorable stallion to the last, may he rest in Elysia.” Night Light stood up and approached Pear Butter who was too stunned to move, save to turn her head to follow him. “Whatever you’re running from. Tell me true, will whatever happened in the past ever come to harm my daughter or this family, should I accept you into my employ?” If there was one thing that Pear expected of Polybia, was that she wanted Stellar to survive at all costs. “N-no sir, it won’t. And even if it does, Ah’ll lead whatever trouble away from the family. Ah swear on my soul, as long as Ah live and breathe.” Night Light paused to measure Pear Butter's words and tone. He liked what he saw. “Very well, Miss Butter. I’ll have the staff prepare one of the servant quarters for you. Be here by the seventh bell tomorrow.” Pear Butter stared at him wide eyed, uncomprehending of her fortunes. “A-A Yes sir!” she yelped as her brain caught up with her. Pear gently slid the sleeping Stellar Drift onto the seat so she could stand free. “Thank you, sir, Ah’ll do everything Ah can to help rear Stellar as you wish.” Azure Skies cantered up to to Night Light’s side as the stallion let off a brief chuckle. “I’m sure you will. I look forward to seeing your talents first hoof. Until then,” he added with a courteous nod. “It was nice meeting you, Miss Pear Butter,” Azure Skies added with a polite nod as well. “Don’t you worry none. Ah can get ready right quick an’ be back before supper if you want.” Pear fought to keep that massive grin from making her look any more foolish than she had already had. “No need to go that far out of your way,” Night Light replied with a smile. “I plan on taking the three of us to a symphony concert, and I’d only require your services when work demands too much of my time.” A thought struck him after spotting Pranceton in the corner of his eye. He fished out a decent bag of bits from a coat pocket and levitated it over to Pear. “Here, call it an advance if you will. I will not pry, but I am not unfamiliar with the sort of troubles you may have had to endure to survive until today.” At least if the detective novels have any shred of realism. “If you have any outstanding debts, please do pay them off. I doubt I need to express my concerns of creditors casting their eyes on Stellar or yourself.” The changeling in Pearkicked in and she graciously took the coin purse in her magic. “Thank you, sir, this is more than enough for… that.” After bowing a few more times as she backpedaled to the exit. Pear bade a quick retreat to gather her wits and report her success to Stopwatch. Ah better use this money to buy some personal effects. It’d look a mite suspicious if Ah return with an full sack. Azure Skies remained silent until Pear was out of earshot, then shot Night Light an amused smirk. “I have to ask, Nighty, do all of your interviews get so emotional?” “Not unless we’re discussing money,” he replied with an amused huff. “So you really think She’ll work out?” Azure smiled at him and planted a light kiss on Night’s cheek. “I - appreciate you asking my opinion in this. I’m flattered, really.” “I care about your input, Azure. You know that,” he comforted with a brief nuzzle. Azure blushed at the level of trust he was giving her. She tried to refocus on the original question by tapping her chin, humming all the while. “Personally, I’m not all that comfortable with somepony having an unknown and potentially checkered past taking care of Stellar.” She watched Night Light take the aforementioned filly into his magic to cradle her. “I mean, if we can take her at face value, I’d say yes, but…” Night Light glanced back towards Pranceton who had remained by the door. The old stallion gave a shaky nod in silent permission. Night Light roped Azure into a side hug. “My father saw a similarly troubled youth many years ago. Though barely a stallion, that youth had a miserable life that would have destroyed him. Instead my father gave him a chance and invited him into our home where he became our family’s most trusted friend. Isn’t that right, Pranceton?” Surprise caused Azure to turn around to face the typically stoic butler was struggling to keep his composure. “If you are asking, sir, I see a good mare in Pear Butter.” "If you are so sure of this, Nighty,” Azure relented. “Then I’ll go along. I just hope her past doesn’t cause problems.” With Stellar still sleeping, Azure got an idea. “Why don’t I go get some baby food. She’ll be hungry when she wakes up.” “Sounds good,” Night Light replied as he returned the earlier kiss and watched Azure Skies leave for the kitchen. It was then that Pranceton stepped forward and looked busy by inspecting the child. “You honor me and your father greatly, sir. But I must say that your father watched me very carefully for years.” “Can I trust you to take care of that then, Pranceton?” The butler dipped his head agreement. “I will be discrete, sir.” Pranceton backpedaled a step before departing the same way Azure did. Left alone with Stellar Drift, Night Light sat back down to cuddle and keep her warm. He sat there in contemplative silence as he watched the little filly nestle against his fur. She had proven to be a very loving and intelligent filly, always acting to make those around her happy. It was a quality he desperately wanted to preserve. Don’t you worry little one. I’ll make sure you grow up smart and strong like your brother and sister… I’ll have to watch out for your cousin’s influence, though. Deep within Canterlot Castle, Twilight Sparkle, while puppeting Rolled Scroll, had caught Celestia in the middle of drawing up her orders while speaking with Rainbow in regards to a press release. Within Blue Flare’s body, Rainbow Dash sat back on a sofa with a scone in her maw, while Celestia was at her desk, quill still held aloft with ink threatening to drip on the parchment below. For her part, Twilight was panting from lack of breath in her mad dash through the castle to find her old mentor. Celestia was hardly surprised to see her former student in such a state, though most of that pity was for Rolled Scroll who was by no means physically fit. “I know what you’re going to say, Twilight, and this is hardly impulsive.” Twilight was glad that Rolled Scroll had filled her in on Gleaming Light’s surrender during her dead sprint through the castle. “But sending troops to fight in a changeling matter will only weaken this victory!” “Like hell it will,” Rainbow Dash declared with a smirk. Twilight shot her sister a scathing glare. All Rainbow got out of Twilight was wordless grumbling. Celestia calmly allowed the telepathic exchange to go on without her for a little bit, giving her time to place her scroll and quill down. She loudly cleared her throat and gestured to the sofa Rainbow Dash was sitting on. “Please, sit, Twilight. It looks like your son could use a breather.” Twilight was dubious of Celestia trying to change the subject, but she agreed with the idea nonetheless. Twilight nodded to Celestia and claimed her seat. Even though it was practically expected, Twilight always felt honored by her children’s willingness to be puppeted by her. Celestia levitated a steaming cup of tea and a few scones over to Twilight, while claiming a cup for herself. Rainbow Dash was quick to swipe up all the chocolate scones. Twilight was too distracted by the impending press release disaster if Celestia went through with her plan to care about scones. Ultimately, old habits took over, and Twilight waited impatiently for Celestia to explain. “You know me to be a champion for diplomacy, Twilight, but rulers such as us must plan for everything, and war is one thing I always plan for.” Celestia sipped her tea. “The fact of the matter is, there is nothing in the world that unites people like a common enemy or threat. The windigos united the three tribes, the first invasion of the minotaur empire brought an end to our two hundred year war with the griffins, and the rise of Discord allowed the Zebras a chance to show themselves as honorable people when they helped the very ponies that had been warring against them for decades. “This declaration of military assistance against Polybia in tandem with the leadership of the PCE confessing that they were… horribly misguided,” Celestia put diplomatically. Rainbow grumbled spitefully at the wording while Twilight merely frowned at their mention. However it didn’t take Twilight long to realize some depth to Celestia’s plan. “You mean to send troops that hate us into the jungles, don’t you?” I’ve always loved her sharp mind. Celestia gave a slight frown and wobbled a hoof. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say they hate you, but more along the lines of belonging to the anti-changeling camp. Admiral Harper hoof-picked the battalions that will be going with you, just to make sure they are willing to follow orders, even if that means putting their lives on the lines for your own. “The purpose is to have these particularly stubborn ponies realize your bloodline is starkly different than that of the other queens, and thus, be the next step in seeing you more as the newest tribe rather than outsiders.” Celestia fished through her desk for a file. “As I’m sure you already know, Twilight. The common pony can see the difference between your hive and those of the other queens, but sadly that perception only goes skin deep.” Celestia found the file she was looking for and removed several papers and split them between the queens. The documents were an assortment of statistics and transcribed conversations. Celestia gave the queens a few minutes to go over the reports in silence. Donut shop patron: “Sure, sure, the PR lings are all hunky dory out in broad daylight, but… I don’t know, mare. How can we really tell they aren’t disguised amongst us right now, feeding on us, huh?” Shop owner: “Don’t you pay attention to the papers? Those changelings don’t need to feed on us ‘cause they can do it to each other.” 1st Patron: “Oh yeah? Who's to say they don’t prefer the taste of pony over another ling?” 2nd patron: “Ah come on, (redacted) I’ve spent the past three semesters with a few blues and purps. They’ve never done anything wrong, well, ‘cept for TPing the dean’s house.” 1st patron: “See? They act all nice, but deep down…” (speaker looks nervously around) “Just keep an eye on them ya hear? And don’t go down a dark alley if you see one.” Twilight skimmed through the rest of the data and transcripts in short order, only to sink into her chair at the confirmation of a fear she desperately wanted to be unfounded. Rainbow Dash wasn’t as put off by what she found. “Are they seriously saying pranks are that bad? What, did they forget ponies pull pranks on each other on a regular basis or something? I know I did.” “Prejudice is always difficult to combat, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said as she looked up from her press release. “And ponies are as friendly as they are xenophobic towards newcomers. It doesn’t help that, thus far, pony and changeling forces have not fought side by side in battle.” Celestia sighed as she looked up on her way down memory lane. “I remember how it was fairly soon after the unification. The tribes stuck together for the most part, but true unity was barely a pipe dream, even while those original six leaders still lived and breathed. “It took a war with the griffins before the stubborn hardliners really took the old saying ‘No matter what our differences, we’re all ponies,’ to heart. ‘Course it wasn’t old then.” Twilight scuffed the soft velvet lining of the couch in a bout of defeatism. Rainbow Dash, however, saw what Celestia was ultimately planning. “So you’re going to send reporters along with the troops right?” Rainbow asked as if she already knew the answer. “Correct.” Celestia cast her gaze on her former student who perked up a bit. “Between the returning soldiers and the media coverage, the public will finally see that your bloodline can be trusted in both broad daylight, and the dark alleys of the world.” At least as much as anypony else in a dark alley. Twilight brooded in silence for far longer than even Celestia was comfortable with. Rainbow Dash had initially wanted to wait her sister out by going over the deployment plans. For her part, Celestia knew Twilight just needed some time, and nibbled on her scones and tea with ageless patience. However Rainbow hadn’t acquired such long lived patience, which made her slap the papers down with a huff. “Come on, Twilight, this is probably the best thing we could hope for.” “...Alright, Princess.” Twilight spoke while shoring up her regal baring. “If you really want to do it this way, then I’ll support you.” Half expected though it was, Celestia was still moved by how much trust the three of them shared. “Thank you, Twilight.” Celestia let the conversation lapse to give Twilight a few moments to mentally shift gears. “Now that we’re all in agreement, I’ll fill you in on the details so you can share them with Aegis and Blitzkrieg.” Two days later… Polybia sat in her primary hive’s throne room as her consciousness permeated her vast brood. She had eyes all across the jungle, following her enemies' every move. Most of that attention was focused solely upon the Long Shot as it hovered in the middle of the remaining bulk of Chrysalis and Kreesus’ swarms. The pieces move into position, the players reveal their cards, and yet I can’t quite shake the feeling that Rainbow Dash is holding something back. Polybia ordered several scouts to watch the skies immediately around and further away from the swarms. They must have been able to salvage something of their cloaking technology. So why is that flying hive always visible? It’s obvious now that it shies away from direct combat, so why doesn’t it have cloak? Feeling the need to brainstorm, Polybia summoned forth the mental images of her two primary quasi generals: Split Horn and Commander Talon. The throne room was already fairly small and poorly lit. Only silvery decorations bore witness to her reverence towards the Silver City and her version of the First Mother. This caused the blue glowing images of the quasi to stand out in almost painfully stark contrast. Split Horn knelt immediately while Talon simply saluted. “Generals, this flying hive’s standoffish nature is proving to be more of a nuisance than I thought it would. After that little tussle over the ruins of Stripped Gear, I half expected the thing to flee in the face of a real army.” Split Horn grumbled at the memory of the failed attack on Chrysalis’ farmlands. “Such a pitiful cowardly machine. Hiding behind a mountain of bodies instead of being in the thick of battle. At least archers or siege weapons must still dirty their hands.” Commander Talon tsked at himself. “You are as violent as you are dense, sometimes, Split. Though I can hardly talk when I didn’t realize this sooner.” Polybia’s growing irritation at the generals’ bickering abated when the griffon got back on track. “I’ve seen this type of warship before,” Commander Talon said with begrudging respect. The statement earned a surprised look from both Polybia and Split Horn. The ghostly griffin raised a claw and created an image of a very old style of Equestrian airship. It looked for all the world to be a river barge held aloft by a massive balloon. “The Equestrians used a vessel that was similar in concept ages ago, when I still flew alongside my kin. These ships served as platforms for pegasi to not only rest, but to enter battle from high altitude, rather than try to climb up from the ground. In addition they offered better protection and mobility than clouds. “Not only that, but these warships also served to get unicorns high enough to lend magical support in aerial skirmishes.” Polybia drummed the edge of her throne impatiently. Is it possible that’s where Cadista and Yumia originally got the idea to focus their military around airships? Polybia shook the errant thought aside. “I hope this means you have a plan to counter this tactic.” “Shouldn’t be too hard to adapt the old stratagems.” Polybia settled more comfortably in her throne in anticipation when a harsh taboo occurred: someone spoke unbidden over the hive mind. Polybia roared in a flash of rage. Stopwatch said hastily before Polybia remembered she could still enact punishment over the Link. The news halted Polybia’s ire. “Against whom?” she said dangerously. <...Is that so?> Quickly realizing she wasn’t going to be killed via disconnection, Stopwatch tried to shore up some confidence, if only to placate her queen. Polybia went silent. Stopwatch and the two generals waited in cold dread for the expected outburst to come. So… Celestia has finally grown a spine, hmm? Took her long enough. “Looks like a change of plans is in order. We’ll need to capture either Twilight or Rainbow alive so they can force Equestria to exit the war before they can add their full weight of force.” Polybia mentally dismissed Stopwatch and sent her consciousness far to the south. She puppeted a drone located in a secret hive along the very fringes of the jungles. It took barely a thought to drag both the griffin and minotaur along with her. Polybia’s latest puppet stood at the lip of a massive chamber with the walls and ceiling completely covered in eggs. Short pillars covered in bioluminescent moss offered poor lightning, but it was more than enough for a changeling to navigate. An uncountable number of drones flew to and fro either carrying eggs, food, or water. Polybia directed her puppet towards one of several large individuals spaced evenly throughout the area. The individual in question was a queen covered in green chitin that was muttering to herself. However, unlike most other queens, this one had an enormously enlarged ovipositor that dwarfed the rest of her body by several factors. The ovipositor pulsed and quivered as well over two hundred eggs were being created daily. Drones crawled all over the bloated sack that was simply too large for the queen’s normal lungs and intestinal tract to keep her alive at such a production rate. Even now, after personally overseeing these transformations take place, Polybia was repulsed by the fact that that a few extra lungs, mouths, hearts, two extra GI tracts, and every other internal organ necessary for life had grown in as the ovipositor continued to expand, even years after the queen’s capture. Polybia’s sense of disgust was only partially stymied by the fact that the growth was by far much slower than it used to be. And to think, each and every queen could become the same thing with just a few changes in drone pheromones. The immobile queen was thus far unresponsive to Polybia’s puppet, and simply muttered constantly with her head down and eyes closed. Polybia flew over to the queen’s head and made a snapping sound with two plates of her chitin. The noise, along with Polybia prodding the queen’s face snapped the green queen out of her stupor. “Ah, so you’re awake,” Polybia stated with mockery as thick as tar. “I trust your accommodations are keeping you comfortable, Yeelindrus.” Yeelindrus instinctively tried to back away, but her egg sack proved an effective anchor. “P-please, just let me die. I can’t s-s-stand being like this.” “If that is your wish, I’ll grant it,” Polybia replied cooly, causing Yeelindrus to look up hopefully. “But only after my rogue status has been reversed. Not before.” “You… you were declared rogue?” Yeelindrus’ orginal fearful tone slowly morphed into a vindictive sneer as her mind cleared from the pheromones' effects. “Serves you right, bitch. Only the most depraved criminal against the First Mother would ever force another queen into being a Vel’chu!” Yeelindrus slapped Polybia with a satisfying crack, turning the puppet’s face around. “If not true death, why couldn’t you at least give me the dignity of being raised as an undead?” If Polybia had any anger at being struck, it never showed. “I have no use for an undead queen. The dead can not lay eggs, and I need a swarm the likes of which has never been seen before.” Polybia idly tested the puppet’s injury to make sure it would not interfere with its work once she was done with the puppet. “I’ll have you know, it took quite a bit to bring you back to life. And as repugnant as being a Vel’chu may be,” Polybia’s eyes took on a twisted malicious light. “You don’t want to be undead. At least for now, you get to have a will of your own.” Yeelindrus growled impotently as Polybia made a show of looking at Yeelindrus’ mammoth egg sack and broken horn. “For all the good it will do you, at least.” “You best pray Chrysalis never gets her hooves on you,” Yeelindrus threatened as she tried to slap the puppet again, only for Polybia to dodge it this time. Yeelindrus went into a tirade of threats and revenge fantasies, but Polybia tuned it all out, primarily out of boredom. “You know, I think I’m going to start keeping count of how many times you repeat certain threats. If I recall correctly, this should make it forty two.” Polybia’s blasé faire tone only enraged Yeelindrus further, making her try to reach forward to grab the puppet. The drones covering Yeelindrus started vibrating and releasing pheromones which took the fire out of her. Polybia shook her head in mild irritation. “Can't let you get too worked up. That might halt the expansion of your egg sac.” Yeelindrus’ eyes drooped and she calmed back down. She eventually returned to her original state with her head down, eyes closed, and muttering to herself. Polybia huffed indignantly. “Why do I even bother trying to have a decent conversation with you?” General Split Horn, who had been silent thus far, believed the question wasn’t rhetorical. “Perhaps you queens need more conversation partners other than fragments of your own mind.” “I suppose I’ll have to settle for the two of you,” Polybia chided. She fully turned around and gave a wide command to the drones in the chamber. Over half the caretakers departed the birthing chamber to locate the hundreds of thousands of adult drones hibernating in countless tunnels buried deep in the soil. Polybia’s legion was waking up. Polybia actually felt a thrill coursed through her at the sensation of so many minds joining her hive mind. “It’s time I finished this war.”