//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Strange Happenings in the Hive // by ZealousHeretic //------------------------------// “Contrary to popular belief, the changeling queen does not produce all the drones of the hive like how a queen bee would do in a beehive, rather she is often simply the strongest changeling in a hive (female changelings are typically stronger, but there have been cases of Changeling Kings) and doesn’t have the desire, time, or ability to find a worthy mate and go through pregnancy all while maintaining the protection and leadership of her hive. This means many changeling queens never produce or raise offspring.” —excerpt from a guest chapter, by Musky Tome, on reproduction in On Changelings __________________________________________________________________________ It was waking—hopefully it would be too tired to move. It definitely would be. Since the fever it had was quite high … probably. Maybe its temperature was only slightly high, as they didn’t know the biological norms of its species. As long as it stays in bed, I don’t think anyone will do anything rash. Camo stood as part of the crowd. Intense pressure blanketed the somewhat packed medical ward. All eyes were on the creature, which was stirring in its fever-induced slumber. What would it do? The queen had mentioned it could speak, so what would it say? Camo was bearing witness to some of the first interactions between the changelings and a completely new species. It shifted restlessly. Only to roll on its side, shifting in its sleep. This isn’t going how I thought it would, Camo thought. Chrysalis and Illusion both stared at the thoroughly asleep creature. “Well that was almost interesting,” Chrysalis muttered under her breath. “My queen, as I was saying before, I think we should—” “Would you presume to order your queen?” Chrysalis cut Illusion off. She stepped painfully close, her greater height making her appear more intimidating as she sneered at Illusion, her muzzle scrunching as her fangs glistened menacingly as she glared down on the much shorter drone. Illusion knew this would go nowhere. The queen had never been a great listener, but today, Illusion was just tired of cowering. Her voice was toneless and her narrowed eyes were almost imperceivable “I was simply sugges—” “I don’t need any suggestions from you! I’ve already considered all possible options,” Chrysalis glared down at Illusion, “I’ve never needed help before, drone, why would I now?” Two words, Canterlot Invasion. Illusion’s sense of self preservation beat out her desire to be snarky. It wasn’t like she’d get anything out of being right, other than a shallow grave, assuming there was something left to bury. “The thing is moving again,” one of the other drones whispered excitedly. Everyone’s attention returned to the creature in the bed, but it only rolled over in its sleep again. “I grow tired of this game,” Chrysalis growled while walking towards the creature’s bed, “Wake Up!” It woke with a start and sprang to a sitting position. Chrysalis’s snarling visage, highlighted by a dim red glow, greeted the creature’s now open eyes. Bubbling tears and a small whimper from it gave way to a loud, teeth grating wail, reverberated through, and was seemingly amplified by, the tunnel walls, loud like the point blank trumpeting of an elephant, paired with the feeling of that same elephant stepping on your head. With her proximity to the source of the sound, Chrysalis was thoroughly stunned. Every changeling in the room had their heads to the floor covering their ears, however, the hole-riddled legs were fairly useless for dampening such a loud sound. Luckily, one partially deaf changeling was ready and willing to end the wailing. Camo let loose a spell right at the creature’s crying face and the noise ceased, it fell unconscious once more. The room was still for several seconds. Many changelings looked as though they had already forgotten what life was like without the wail. The queen was the first to shake off her stupor, despite her proximity to the apparent banshee. “That didn’t happen the first time,” Chrysalis tried to say in her head, but ended up saying out loud. Every head in the room was still ached and throbbed, the crying itself had been loud, and the acoustics of the room had magnified it. “Did you scream at it the first time?” Illusion tried to mutter but ended up saying it at a normal volume, not that the queen could hear it anyway. Camo chuckled. “Looks like you finally get to see what it’s like to be me, Illusion.” “What? Speak up, I can’t hear you when you whisp—I see what you mean now,” she replied, hanging her head while chortling despite everything. “Drone,” the Queen interjected, “how were you able to cast amidst that wailing?” The ten seconds of screaming had a detrimental effect to her appearance. She’d probably scare the creature even worse if he saw her now, with bloodshot eyes. “I lost most of my hearing in an alchemical accident, my queen,” Camo replied while bowing. “The wailing was still painful, but it was manageable.” “How fortunate.” Chrysalis sighed. “If we would’ve had to wait until the damn thing stopped on its own, we would have been in trouble.” She made her way to the exit. “Erm, correct as always, my queen.” Camo kept his head bowed and tried to process the sudden lack of haughtiness in the queen’s mannerisms. “Keep it sedated. I will return after I’ve fully processed and considered this new information,” the queen ordered. She left the room and headed towards her chambers. “Well that was odd,” Camo observed after he was sure the queen was out of earshot. “I thought for sure she’d kill the thing after that.” Illusion sighed. “It’s still a possibility. I think right now we’re all rattled.” There was a dull roar that transitioned to a murmur as the changelings in the infirmary recovered their hearing. Illusion could hear speculations on the creature’s fate were in every conversation. Released into the wild? Given to the ponies? Weaponized? Put to death? __________________________________________________________________________ Chrysalis was pacing in her room. It incapacitated me and a room full of drones with only its crying, she thought. “How could I let something humiliated me like that and live?” she grumbled to herself. It looked so scared. Am I truly that horrifying? “How can I justify keeping something so dangerous around?” It can be handled by a half-deaf drone. “If it could do that with its voice now, what happens when it gets bigger?” No one knows how it will develop, it might even stay this size. “How did it even get here?” What if it was sent here? Chrysalis stopped pacing. That was a large ‘what if,’ and if it were true, what should she do about it? A test by Celestia to see if I'll filled her in on the situation, Chrysalis thought, though that doesn't really sound like something she'd do, so that's out. Then again, telling Celestia might just end with the creature being taken away by the ponies. This is new territory. While it would be nice to have some sort of backup, the possibility of losing a potential asset made the choice difficult. “Is this creature even worth all this fuss and contemplation?” Chrysalis asked herself. We won’t know until we keep it for a while and see. “We know nothing of this thing, how would they even take care of it?” That drone seems to know the basics, she could probably figure it out. “But then if the drone fails I’ll have to dole out punishment.” Losing drones of mild competence is unfortunate, but unavoidable. __________________________________________________________________________ “She’s been gone a while,” Camo said. “I wonder what that means.” “It means she’s thinking,” Illusion replied, turning to look at the bedridden creature. “What she’ll come up with is anyone’s guess.” Camo chuckled. “That little thing caught everyone by surprise. I’d imagine the queen is getting over her embarrassment before she comes back.” “It’s easy for you to laugh—you’re the only one who didn’t get the full effect of that screaming.” Illusion shuddered. Camo gave a toothy grin. “You say that like it’s worth not being able to hear you half the time.” “It saved us this time.” Illusion glanced at the creature. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here to stop it from wailing.” “Don’t waste time pondering ‘what if’s.’” Camo moved beside Illusion. “We can only change the present and future.” “The future is entirely up to the queen right now,” Illusion said with a worried expression. Camo responded with confusion, “It’s not like whatever happens to the it affects us all that much.” “Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it feels like things are going to change, and this creature will play a part,” Illusion replied. A second later, the queen entered the room. Her steps were slow, but she had a determined expression. As was customary, all eyes turned to acknowledge her. She made her way to the creature, or perhaps Illusion, with a steady gait. Chrysalis stopped in front of Illusion. “Have you discovered anything new?” she asked, her voice quiet but still commanding. Despite having a face covered in black chitin, Illusion blanched, “I—I’m sorry, my queen. I was recovering from the screaming and haven’t been conducting any further examination.” Chrysalis’s brow furrowed and she sighed. “You three, get over here,” she said to a few of the assistants watching their exchange. “Search it. It may have clues about its origin hidden in its clothes.” The drones slinked over and started patting the creature down and checking the openings in its clothing. Why aren’t they just removing the clothes? Chrysalis thought. “I—I think I found a name, my queen,” one of the drones said, squinting to read the smallish writing in the dim lighting of the medical ward. “Ae-aron” Chrysalis’s hoof rubbed her chin. “Hmm, Ae-aron. Elegant. I like it.” Illusion made her way over and assisted the assistants in their search. Well, it’s—no, he is most likely male, Illusion thought after looking under the garments covering the creature’s legs. The presence of nipples gives credence to my theory that he’s a primate as well. These were bits of helpful information. The presence of recognizable writing in its clothes hurt the "alien" theory. Illusion hoped that the queen commanding further examination meant that she was leaning towards letting the animal live. The best outcome would be turning it over to the ponies, but it was best not to get too optimistic. With a slight scowl on her face, Chrysalis stared at Illusion and waited for her to reveal her discoveries. Illusion continued to stare at the sleeping thing for several more seconds before turning to the queen. “The creature seems to be a male and a primate of some sort,” Illusion reported. “Is that all?” Chrysalis asked, eyebrow raised. “It’s all I can find out without further testing,” Illusion answered, internally hoping the queen would deny such testing as to not waste resources. “Perform every test you can think of,” Chrysalis ordered. “I want to know everything you can learn about it.” Dammit, Illusion thought. “As you wish, my queen.” The queen left the room without another word. “Wow, ‘every test you can think of’? Is that what she said?” Camo said as he approached. She sighed. “For once, you heard right,” Illusion said, shaking her head. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go.” Camo’s eyebrows raised. “Where’s your professional curiosity for an unknown species?” ‘“Of course I’m curious, It’s just—” “We need magic suppressors, stat!” one of the other doctors yell from across the room. “I have to go whip some suppressors up, apparently,” Camo said, a tired smile on his face. “We’ll talk a bit later.” Camo trudged back to his alchemy lab. The excitement of the creature’s arrival had wore off and everyone in the medical chamber finally got back to work. Illusion stood by him, trying to think of tests she could run that didn’t involve dissection. Illusion’s pondering was interrupted when Camo rushed back with a sort of panicked speedwalk. “Camo, what’s—” “Get away from that thing, now,” Camo frantically whispered. “What?” Illusion replied as Camo stepped between her and the creature and nudged her away. “There’s something up with it,” Camo said, while glancing back at the bed. “I don’t think anyone has noticed yet, but the drone that needed magic suppressors was the drone that carried the creature in here.” Illusion’s eyes widened. At least I have something to test now, she thought. “This is definitely something we need to look into.” Camo’s jaw dropped. ”How are you so calm about this?” “I’m actually pretty nervous,” Illusion replied, “but I’m also really curious, so it evens out.” “This isn’t a game, Illusion,” Camo retorted. “This thing could actually be dangerous.” Illusion looked around to see if they had any eavesdroppers, but the majority of drones were crowded around the changeling Camo mentioned instead of working. Illusion whispered, “Listen—” “What?” Camo said, unable to hear her whispering. “Your hearing loss is really annoying at times,” Ilusion muttered under her breath. “What?” “There’s no way this creature appeared for no reason,” Illusion said, talking just loud enough for Camo to hear. “I can't think of how or why he ended up in our tunnels.” “So what's the point of worrying?” Camo replied, a small smirk on his face, "Asking 'how' or 'why' in this situation is focusing on the past. Is that really what we need right now? “I don’t know, Camo,” Illusion admitted. “All this uncertainty is getting to me.” “Let me do the worrying, you look on the bright side,” Camo said, chuckling a bit. “It was refreshing to be in the same room as the queen and not feel like I’m about to die.” “Everyone, except you, was pretty shaken after that wailing, and the queen caught it point blank.” Illusion fidgeted a bit, glancing around the room for any changelings listening in on their conversation. “I’ve just never seen the queen act like that is all. It was eerie.” “The queen will be fine,” Illusion replied, her voice a bit weary. “She’s been through worse than that and bounced back.” __________________________________________________________________________ I wonder if we even have the means to perform every test she can think of, Chrysalis thought, making her way towards her advisor’s chambers. That drone seemed hesitant to follow orders though. Chrysalis frowned, She weighed the possibilities of whether the drone was simply mutinous or worried about using up resources. One option would mean the drone would need to be executed. The other would implied that she might assume that I am unaware of our current resources and … . Wait, both options would mean she should be executed. I should probably go back and— “Did you need advising, my queen?” the drone that she had been standing in front of for a while said. “Far be it from me to interrupt your pondering, but you look like you have a question.” Dammit, Chrysalis, thought. How long have I been standing here? “You were standing there maybe ten seconds,” the drone mused. “Definitely long enough for my queen to delve deeply into any issue she might be pondering.” “Be quiet. I told you to only speak to me when spoken to.” Chrysalis glared at the smirking drone. “Of course, my queen.” “Have you heard about the new creature found in the tunnels earlier today?” Chrysalis asked, her expression neutral. “I might’ve,” the drone’s hoof went to his chin, “though it hasn’t been here long enough for anyone to have learned much.” “It’s a him,” Chrysalis replied. “And he doesn’t seem to be of this world.” The drone sat in silence for a while, pondering the queen’s words. Chrysalis stood patiently, though she glared at the drone throughout his silence. “Well, that’s certainly interesting.” Chrysalis snarled. “I find it hard to believe that you don’t have anything more for me than ‘interesting’.” The drone’s smile widened. “You haven’t asked me any questions about what I have.” Chrysalis struggled not to rip off the drone’s head. “Do not play games with me, Mirror,” she said, a dangerous edge in her voice. “What do you know?” Mirror’s expression went neutral. “Not anything more than you, I think,” he said, before giving her a half smile. “It’s a male primate, maybe from another world, that can hurt us with its crying, though that might just be the tunnel acoustics, and also does interesting things to our magic after prolonged physical contact.” “How did you learn about what he does to our magic?” Chrysalis asked, eyebrows raised. How does he always know more than I do? “Drone 124 was taken to the infirmary for magical overdose recently, and he was the only drone to have any prolonged physical contact with the creature.” “Do you have thoughts about what we should do with it?” “Yes.” Silence fell between them for several seconds. Chrysalis’s eyes narrowed slowly as the seconds ticked by. “What. Are. They?” Chrysalis snarled and fought the urge to break something, or someone. “I think we should wait until we know more about him before we make any decisions,” Mirror stated. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but a ghost of a smile was visible. Chrysalis’s teeth clenched, and her body tensed. Mirror sighed and shook his head. “I get the feeling all this excitement made you forget about the peace delegation from Equestria that’s coming around soon.” She exhaled slowly through her nostrils and turned. “The minute I stop valuing your insight is the minute you die,” Chrysalis said before leaving the chamber. “I shall try to remain useful,” Mirror replied just loud enough for her to hear. As soon as Chrysalis was sure she was alone, she let out a frustrated growl. Anything louder might echo through the tunnels. It was just her luck that her only good advisor had a deathwish and persistently goaded her. The rest of her advisors just bowed, agreed with her, and usually cowered and cried when pressed. She made her way to her throne room. __________________________________________________________________________ His breathing was short and hot. The magic suppressors hadn’t quite brought him back down to an acceptable level yet. Was it really the creature that caused this? Drone 124 couldn’t have been carrying him for more than ten minutes, probably closer to five. Is that all it takes? Illusion thought. Incapacitating a drone like this was unheard of, mostly because there were much more efficient ways to down a changeling, be it a magical blast or a hoof to the face. Causing a magical overdose in general was an inefficient way to take someone out, though it’s doubtful he meant to do this. We can’t rule the possibility out though. So far, all this creature has done is cause harm. “Seems this little guy is no joke,” Camo remarked, walking up beside Illusion, who was glancing about for eavesdroppers again. “He never was,” Illusion hissed. “How can you be so nonchalant about this?” “Panic isn’t going to help anything, Illy. You’ll have to be calm if you want the make a rational and correct decision,” Camo replied, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “None of this is my decision,” she snapped back. “This is all the queen’s choice. I’m just a little frazzled since I want to keep this thing alive to study, and there is mounting motivation for doing the opposite.” “Woah, slow down, Illy,” Camo said. “What’s with all this attachment? Why should you care if he lives or not?” Illusion sighed. “I don’t know, Camo. Because I want to know what he is and where he comes from, or maybe because he’s just a youngling, a lost and sick youngling, and I don’t like how unfair this whole situation is to him,” she said, before sighing again. “You can pick whichever one you like.” Camo’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry,” he said. “ I didn’t know you felt so strongly about this. I honestly thought you were stressed about disappointing the queen or something rather than it being a moral dilemma.” “This doesn’t seem like the kind of problem talking will fix,” Illusion said, looking down. “We need to run tests.” “You don’t have to ask. I’ll be the test subject for the whole physical contact thing,” Camo said, giving Illusion a grin. She smirked back. “I didn’t think you were the type to play guinea pig after all the accidents you’ve had.” Camo grunted in response. “So how do you think we should go about this?” Illusion pursed her lips. “Hmm, maybe just touch him for a while and we’ll see what happens to you.” “Your scientific mind never ceases to amaze me,” Camo deadpanned while making his way towards the creature’s bed. “Only for about five to ten minutes though,” Illusion said quickly. “That’s about how long Drone 124 would’ve held him.” “Which one?” Camo asked. “Five or ten?” “Try going five. We’ll check you out, then go ten.” “That would be fifteen,” Camo replied, a smirk on his face. “Then go five minutes then another five, smart aleck,” Illusion growled. “Hey now, I’m just trying to be clear,” Camo said, playfully bumping into her. They reached the creature, whom everyone was giving a wide berth since the whole screaming episode, and shared a glance as Camo slowly walked towards the thing apparently called Ae-aron and lightly touched his hoof to its chest. Several uneventful seconds ticked by, and Camo regretted volunteering. “So I’m supposed to just stay like this for ten whole minutes?” “You’re being very brave,” Illusion deadpanned. “I just remembered that I have potion stuff to do. You should order a random drone to help you out,” Camo said, sitting on his haunches and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hoof. “Is that so?” Illusion smirked and looked around the room before her eyes settled on Camo. With mock surprise, she said, “Oh, ‘random drone,’ you’ve managed to follow orders before I even gave them, remarkable. Keep doing what you’re doing, ‘random drone’.” Camo sighed. “I kinda walked into that one.” “You did,” Illusion replied, chuckling. “But in all seriousness, if you actually have something to do, then I can find someone else.” “It’s okay, the medical ward will survive me taking a ten minute break,” Camo said, glancing around the room, half-expecting to be called for something. “Making those two magic suppressors has been the busiest I’ve been all week.” “We appreciate all you do here,” Illusion said, giggling.“However little that might be.” “Says the exotic species expert when we pretty much only treat changelings,” Camo retorted, waggling his eyebrows. “Well, I think I’ve been pretty useful here at least,” Illusion replied, “though I suppose you have as well.” “I have been, haven’t I?” Camo said, rubbing his chin. “I’d go as far as saying I’ve saved the day twice today.” “We’re all in awe at your greatness,” Illusion replied, before moving her mouth and pretending to speak. “What was that last part?” Camo asked, leaning toward her and turning his ear. “Oh, you couldn’t hear it?” Illusion responded. “Don’t worry about it it was nothing.” “Okay,” Camo frowned, “we both know that just makes me want to know even more.” “It was literally nothing,” Illusion answered. “I, literally, don’t believe that for a second. Tell me.” “There’s nothing to tell.” “Tell me.” “Impossible.” “Tell me.” “I couldn’t possibly.” “Illy.” “I said you look cute when you’re flustered.” A blush tinted Camo’s cheeks. “N-No you didn’t.” “You’re right, I actually said nothing and just moved my lips.” “I don’t believe that, but okay.” Illusion went silent, and her face lost all expression. “Camo …” “What?” “Have you been keeping time?” He gave her a sheepish look before sighing. “Dammit …” they said in unison. “Well I’m not dead yet.” Camo sighed. “That’s something I guess.” “We also forgot about making you a dose of magic suppressors in case you have the same reaction as Drone 124.” Camo broke down into chuckles. “I could’ve swore we were professionals, or was I thinking of two other changelings with our names?” “Considering how few skilled changelings there are left, that’d be quite the coincidence,” Illusion answered, frowning. “Oh lighten up,” Camo said, removing his hoof for the creature. “We’ll give it a bit and then try again after we’ve prepared a bit more.” “I’m sorry,” Illusion replied, her head hanging. “I’m just frustrated that we didn’t get it right the first time.” “It’s not your fault. I rushed you into it.” “No,” Illusion said firmly. “We both rushed and made mistakes so we’ll both take the blame.” “It’s not like anyone is rushing to blame us. We kind of never told anyone we were experimenting.” Illusion grinned. “Good, then no one knows we’re both a couple of scatterbrains.” Camo matched her smile. “And I won’t let the secret out if you don’t.” “And what secret might that be?” Chrysalis asked, scowling and standing behind the pair.