//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Twilight Sparkle Becomes a Changeling Queen, Book 2: Twilight Sparkle Defends Her Hive 
// by bahatumay 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight emerged from her room. Any qualms she’d had about using a stolen mattress had vanished during her comfortable night’s sleep; now, she felt well-rested and ready to meet the day. 

And what a long day it was shaping up to be.

“Morning, Bruch,” she said, pausing outside of her hallway to stretch herself. “How did you sleep?”

“Like I always do,” he answered, deadpan as usual. “With my eyes closed.”

Twilight let out an unprincess-like snort of laughter. She looked over and saw that one corner of Bruch’s mouth was creeping up in a suppressed smile, and she smiled as well. There was something comforting about seeing this emotion from him; he was usually so serious. “Alright. First things first. Let’s get this hive cleaned up.” She stepped out to where the changelings were moving. She straightened up. “I need some volunteers,” she called.

Every single changeling stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. Every one stood at attention, waiting for her instructions, their ears perked and blue eyes wide, each one ready to serve.

“Oh… kay…” she murmured, surprised at having so many to choose from. She was still getting used to this whole ‘every changeling is willing to obey your every command’ thing. “I’m going to have to do a little more organization than I’d thought.”



*  *  *
 


Twilight couldn’t help but smile. The changelings had been extremely helpful. Many had already begun cleaning before she’d even started her organizing.

And, of course, as queen, she needed to set a good example. After all, if she were helping clean the pits, no changeling would dare complain about that assignment again. If anything, changelings would volunteer just to emulate their queen.

So thus it was that Twilight Sparkle was trotting down the corridor, carrying a long spade on her back. 

It was somewhat ironic. Changelings lived on emotions (and mushrooms, and she had seen at least one licking a salt patch) but the emotions didn’t survive long. They would harden and congeal into a tight, acrid-smelling gel, rendering them inedible and further compounding their food crisis. Constant stirring helped; but it only delayed the problem, and the emotions would soon be rendered acrid.

This is what Bruch had told her, but she soon saw that he had been putting it lightly. She took a step inside the room and stopped short, her breath catching in her throat. This was awful. She'd never smelled anything like it.

But Twilight Sparkle was not one to give up. She steeled herself and stepped forward, fighting her way through the stench. The other changelings split up around the pits, and she found one to work on. She brought her spade down.

It bounced off the congealed… whatever it was, barely leaving any impression.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed, and she lifted the spade higher before swinging it again.

It was hard work. She suddenly understood why this was a punishment task. Even with the strength of her earth pony magic, she was barely making a crack in the crust.

Or did she even have earth pony magic anymore? Maybe it was all being replaced, and she wouldn’t have any more. What was changeling magic even like?

This train of thought was interrupted when she saw a second spade come in. This one entered at a bit of an angle, digging itself in through the crust by virtue of the edge. Then she pushed the handle down, using it as a kind of lever to lift up and break off a small chunk. Ponneka looked up and gave her a little nod. 

“Thanks,” Twilight said.

“I’ve had a lot of experience,” she replied quietly as she resumed her work.

Eventually, most of the big stuff was out of the pits. The changelings split into groups almost naturally. Some remained in the pits, getting out the smaller, more stubborn bits. Others produced brooms and began sweeping (Twilight joined this group), and still others began hauling the chunks off, perhaps to whatever dumping site the hive used.

And as Twilight worked, she staunchly refused to acknowledge the purple hair she was sweeping up along with it.



*  *  *
 


Now that the hive was somewhat clean and the glowpanels lit up the corridors once more, it was time for more organization. Twilight met with Bruch in her chambers. “Alright, Bruch. It’s inventory time. What do we have?”

Bruch cocked his head. “As in...?”

“What do we have as in resources? You know, money, materials?”

Bruch shrugged. “Anything that’s naturally found in a cave.” 

Twilight nodded, not sure he had understood her question. “Ok. Let’s start with changelings. How many are there?”

“We number about two thousand.”

Twilight nodded. “How about our financial situation?”

Bruch shrugged. “Chrysalis required us to give all money gained on harvesting runs to her. Most changelings don’t even bother to try and get any; and if they did, they didn’t bother keeping it. Foals and ice cream stores are a good combination.”

Twilight paused for a moment, and then… “Oh, oh, oh. You buy ice cream for the foals. I thought…” She shook her head. “So what does your economy run on, anyway?”

“We trade our rations,” Bruch answered with a little shrug. “It’s all we have.”

Twilight thought back to the chest of bits in her room and pursed her lips. Ill-gotten, maybe; but it could be used for good. Maybe that could be the start of her royal treasury. Funds were always needed for something or other. There were banks in Canterlot that would pay good interest on investments, especially with such principal.

But principal, regardless of size, only gets you so far. “I’m sure there’s something we have that we can sell,” she invited.

Bruch bit his lower lip. “What, rocks?” he asked with just a hint of sarcasm.

“Skills,” Twilight corrected. 

“Admiration is thin,” Bruch said derisively, “and you can’t eat gold, anyway.”

Twilight’s eyes brightened. “No, but you can use it to buy other things,” she murmured. Ideas of railroad tracks with new trains, assembly lines with conveyor belts, and paved pathways running through the hive flitted through her mind.

“Until you can buy love with it, it’s probably going to be pretty low on the priority list,” Bruch pointed out.

Twilight paused, her previous ideas vanishing in a puff of smoke. There was no point in solving problems that weren’t problems. “How do changelings know when and where to harvest?”

“Usually by assignment,” Bruch answered. “Our former queen took an hour of every day to give assignments.”

Twilight blanched. “I haven’t been…”

“It’s fine,” Bruch quickly reassured her. “You’ve been busy. Besides, we adapt.” He paused. “Also, you never said that we couldn’t go harvest, so we’ve just been doing it ourselves.”

Twilight nodded. “I thought that was fairly self-regulated,” she admitted. “So what’s stopping you from all going out at once?”

“Self-preservation, mostly,” Bruch answered. “Too many changelings in one area doesn’t work. We get noticed in smaller towns, and big cities have too many negative emotions.”

Twilight nodded. “Then let’s get organized. Bruch, I’ll need a large room, with empty walls.”



*  *  *



Bruch led Twilight to the fourth room. “How’s this one?” he asked.

Twilight stepped inside to the center and glanced around. She spun in a circle, mentally drawing out her plans. “This should work,” she said quietly. She turned back to Bruch. “You said changelings can work in stone. Find me a few of the best masons the hive has.”

Bruch paused. “I… will see who I can find,” he said.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, pulling out a quill and a piece of paper. She began drawing at an almost frenzied pace. 

Bruch turned to leave. His new queen certainly was enthusiastic. He hoped it would last.



*  *  *
 


Bruch returned. He tapped on the wall and inclined his head. “Princess,” he said.

Twilight stood up eagerly as four changelings stepped inside the room. As one, they bowed deeply.

“Yes, yes, as you were,” Twilight said hurriedly, rolling her hoof in the air. She lit her horn and held out her paper (and ignored the green streaks of magic in her violet glow). “I need you to create this, but larger and on this wall right here.”

These four changelings she hadn’t seen before. They looked up while still deep in their bow, clearly uncertain on how to proceed.

Luckily, Bruch had experience with how Twilight liked running things. The fact that he was also curious about her plan didn’t hurt, either. He stepped forward to look at the paper, and was quickly followed by the others.

It was a map of Equestria, fairly accurate but not quite to scale. There were lines drawn that did not match known legal boundaries, and the larger cities were expanded and divided into various sections. Near every area, there were small rows of small, paired boxes, labeled with the words ‘polished to bright shine’.

“I want this on that wall,” Twilight repeated, “but scaled up to take up the whole wall. Can you do that?”

The four changelings examined the drawing, and after a little contemplation, nodded. They looked up at the wall. One trotted over and tapped against the wall, and nodded approvingly. “Yes, Princess,” he said. “We can do this.”

“Great!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. “Then let’s do this!” She paused. “Or, I guess, you do it,” she amended. “I don’t know anything about stone.”

There was a brief moment of awkwardness as the changelings wanted to laugh but were unsure if they should; and stoic Bruch (who merely expelled a little more air out of his nose) couldn’t give them much of a cue. So, after a suppressed and nervous chuckle, the changelings stepped forward to their wall. One flapped her wings and began hovering, measuring mentally. One found a small, white rock, and began drawing a gridwork of lines along the wall as another began doing the same thing to Twilight’s paper. It wasn’t long before all four were copying her map, scaling it up.

Twilight inclined her head as she watched them work. Though her design began to take shape nicely in chalk, she couldn’t help but wonder. Where were their tools?

She got her answer when one changeling shook his forehooves. They flared green fire, and suddenly one was a thick mallet, and the other a sharp point. He stepped forward and began chipping away along the guidelines. Her eyes widened. That was actually pretty genius. 

She glanced over and noticed Bruch, looking mildly confused.
“This will be our command center,” she said by way of explanation. “Changelings will go out two by two, in areas they know. We’ll keep records; where are good places to go, places to avoid, that sort of thing.”

“That’s not really how it’s done,” Bruch commented.

“I’m changing how it’s done,” Twilight said firmly. “Efficiency is prime here. We need to cover the most area, while at the same time not oversaturating areas. This way, we can see at a glance who’s out and where they are, with changelings who know what they’re up against.”

Bruch nodded. “It is a good idea,” he started, but didn’t finish.

Twilight knew what he was going to say. “But it’s not going to solve our love problem,” she finished for him. “I know. And I promise, I’m still working on that. But for now…” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to go explore.”