Chapter 2: A long day (I can tell)
Ugh. I need to get myself cleaned up and get to work. I'm almost late... can't go giving the wrong impression, can I?
That was so embarrassing. I'm the Queen's right hand! Her assistant! I can't afford to get so... emotional about things.
Wash the face. Dry the face. Put on the glasses.
Her assistant... at least, I WAS her assistant. She has another assistant now, doesn't she? Why did she think she needed one?
Clean the wings. Polish the carapace.
Was I... inadequate? I've always done everything I could for her. If she needed more, why didn't she just ask?
Brush the teeth. Buff the fangs.
She must know that I'd do whatever she asked of me... does she not want me to take care of things? Am I so... undesirable, that I wasn't even fit to serve her?!
That it made more sense to make some kind of magical construct to do it for her?!
… I want to take care of whatever she needs. I just want to be the one she can rely on...
Wash the face. Again.
-
Okay, I need to pick up the pace. I'm a little late, but I think I look presentable... or at least, no one will be able to see exactly what's going on.
Keep the posture refined.
As long as I keep putting on airs, it should just look like I've been sleeping poorly. That's close enough.
Open the door. Get inside, greet the guard.
“Iqqel! Good morni- oh, hey, are you alright?”
- “Of course. I'm just in a hurry, since I'm late.”
“You look-”
- “Like I haven't gotten enough sleep?”
“Uh, yeah. Lots of paperwork?”
Nod in an exasperated way. Smile a little.
“We've all been there. Hey, I'll ask Zoli-Nyry to send up some tea. It's a little early, but it should help perk you up, yeah?”
Looks like he bought it - “That sounds great. Thanks, Zirrum. I really appreciate it. Things have been so busy lately, you know?”
Okay, now I just have to exchange some pleasantries and get up to the office. Heh... I wonder if ponies are as easy as changelings? Everyone else seems to rely on trying to read emotions, but that's so easy to trick.
Everyone is different. All you have to do is claim a different reason for feeling the same thing, if you don't want to mask your emotions all the time. 'I feel emotionally exhausted' becomes 'I didn't get enough sleep'.
Finally here. Quickly scan over the exchange reports, then get to the important work.
Infiltrators think that they're the slickest around, blending in with ponies, but I can slip right around Infiltrators! Who else can- Huh, it looks like there's almost no one going on the next exchange trip. Been a while since we had an enrollment dropoff- where was I?
Ah, it doesn't matter. I should focus on my work. Chrysalis needs me, even if she doesn't seem to realize that right now... Ack! Stop thinking like that!
Chrysalis didn't mean to replace me with Cheery! She just thinks she needs to handle everything herself! She just tries to take everything on herself, that's all.
Dry off glasses. Finish the stupid report.
There's never anything- wait. Wait. WHAT?!
- “SomePONY is coming to the HIVE?!”
-
There it is. Plain as day. A pony is on their way here on the exchange train. Where did I hear this name before? I need to look that up later, but there's so little time! They'll be here later today, why didn't I- “Nihkel! Ezuo-Nihkel, get in here this instant!”
Suddenly, I really do appreciate that tea. This is going to be a long day, I can tell.
Neutral expression. Be professional.
“Ah, uh... yes, mistress Iqqel?”
- “There's a pony. On her way here. RIGHT NOW.”
More neutral!
“Ah, er, yes, we just got the memo this morni-”
- “WHY was I not informed of this as SOON as I got in?!”
Great. Now it's obvious something is upsetting me; good job, idiot.
“Errr... noling knew you were here yet. It's so unusual for you to be late, and then you didn't say a word when you got in...”
That's what I get for coming in distracted - “I see. I am sorry for my outburst. I'm just a little -” * SIP * “- tired this morning. So much work lately, you know.”
“Of course, of course. We-”
- “Why did we only find out about this today? There's so little time to prepare! Exchanges are supposed to be scheduled at least a week in advance!”
“Ah... yes, well, it seems that this 'Pinkie Pie' boarded the train on impulse...”
It's going to be a long day. I can tell.
-
Okay! Just go in there, tell her what's going on, and that you will take care of it! No problem! This is a good thing! She needs some good news!
Dangit, I wish I would stop shaking. I don't care if our schedule got messed up, my whole job is improvising when things go wrong!
I'm just nervous...
Take off the glasses. Open the door. Walk inside.
Oh.. she's lying on that couch again. That's never good. Come on! A good subject should never fear her Queen!
“Ah, hello, Iqqel. It's unusual for you to come up here unannounced... is something... wrong?”
She's looking at me oddly. I think my smile looks too forced - “Great news, my Queen! Today the Hive shall greet our first Equestrian exchange pony!”
“W... what?! Why was I not informed?!”
Quick, don't let this turn bad! - “The pony in question was apparently very impulsive, my Queen, and jumped on the train at the last minute, but don't worry! I've already set preparations in motion, and I'll-”
“This is terrible! I'm not ready to receive any guests!” - That's definitely true... you look a fright... what am I thinking?!
Facehoof. Breathe.
“I.. I should give a speech! I should rally the changelings, we need to give the best impression, I-”
- “I'll take care of it! Don't worry, just let me handle it!”
I... cut her off. I haven't done that since before... since we were nymphs. She looks shocked - “What I mean is, er, my Queen, I don't want you to be unduly burdened by our paperwork errors, or this change in schedule. I'm sure the Hive won't fail to impress, and just in case, I've already sent word to the Caste leaders. We'll make sure this pony has nothing but amazing stories to tell when they return home!”
There. I think that sounded sincere and confident. She's... she's smiling?
“Iqqel, I should have known you could handle this. You always handle surprises so well. I... thank you, Iqqel. I'm relieved knowing you're on it.”
Oh wow, did it just get a lot hotter in here? My hooves sure are interesting- “aheheheh, er, you're welc- er, my pleasure to serve, my Queen.”
Pull yourself together. Look up. Ears erect, eyes forward!
“Do you think I should give a speech?”
I don't think she noticed... she seems so distant these days... - “I know you hate giving speeches...”
“What?”
Oh, crud! I didn't mean to say that out loud!
“What do you mean I hate giving speeches? I... I love addressing my subjects!”
- “My Queen... I know how nervous it always makes you. You don't want to let anyone down. Because you care!”
She looks... ashamed? - “It's noble of you to put so much effort into your work! I know that you find giving speeches hard, you've always preferred working on research or designs, so I'm really proud of you for going through with it when you do!”
“...”
Well... that got awkward - “...”
“... Thank you, Iqqel.”
Eyes forward!
- “My pleasure to serve, my Queen. I will take care of things for now, and I'll try to find a good opportunity for you to come and speak with your subjects. Maybe the exchange pony will wish to meet you!”
-
- “Nihkel, is everyone informed?”
“Yes, mistress.”
- “Excellent. And what time will the train arrive?”
“Any time within the next ten minutes, mistress.”
Just barely in time - “Thank you, Nihkel. I will handle things from here. You may return to the Spire.”
“Thank you, mistress.”
Alright. All of the caste leaders are aware of the arrival of a pony in the hive today. The Warriors are always at the ready for inspections, so I should probably take the pony to the Kekay cluster first, to give the others time to pre-
“IQQEL! Iqqel Iqqel Iqqeeeeee~l!”
What the?! - “Hey! Get off of me!”
“Oh, Lili-Iqqel, I barely see you anymore! How are you doing?!”
Better before you started jumping all around me, you airheaded mockery of what I hold dear! - “Cheery. I am well. Why are you-”
“That's great! Are you here to greet Pinkie too?!”
She already knows. How does she- “How do you already know about that? We only just got word!”
Did she have a hoof in this? I'll kill her!
“The guardling who delivered the news is a friend of mine! Pinkie was invited to one of my parties by another friend of mine!”
Ugh, -ling this and -ling that... so unprofessional - “I... see. Cheery, you understand that this is important to the Hive, right?”
“Of COURSE it is! Pinkie is Equestria's premier party pony from what I hear, and now she's going to be RIGHT HERE IN HIVE CHRYSALIS! Ooooh this is going to be so much fun! We can have a party competition!”
Party pony, huh? Maybe it isn't so bad if she meets Cheery, if I can get her to show the pony around - “A competition? I hope you do your best to win, then. The hive's pride is at stake!” - As though Hive Chrysalis needs to pride itself on something as trivial as parties... but whatever it takes to impress this pony. We need more ponies to show an interest in the hive!
“Hah, don't be silly! You can't WIN a party contest! Or is it that everyone wins?”
What. - “What.”
“Oooh! Oooh! There's the train! I should go up and – erk!”
- “Listen. Cheery. I know it's hard to pay attention to stuff like this, but, please listen, okay?”
“Mmmph hmmph!”
- “Good. I want to make sure this 'Pinkie' has a great time, but it's also important that she sees what the Hive has to offer, and brings back word of it, okay?”
“Mmph!”
This is so much nicer than actually having to speak with her - “So while you're partying with her, I need you to make sure she eventually gets around to seeing all the Clusters and meeting the Castes, okay? Except maybe the Feeders.”
“Oooh! That's a great idea! We can have a different party for every cluster! Iqqy, you're a genius! Ooh, train's here, see you!”
Iqqy?! - “That's not what I.. don't call me... ARGH!”
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More please.
I can just imagine Iqqel's thoughts after meeting Pinkie Pie.
"Oh god, now there's two of them"
5012611 The horror! The horror!
Ahh. And it was such a nice hive, too
Ohh. They're childhood friends, on top of everything.
*Nyer ships it so hard*
Jackpot!
Sooo... Pinkie is technically coming because she was invited to one of Cheersalis' parties? Oh, this is grand!
Oh. Dear. Gods. You did not just encourage someone to compete in partying with Pinkie Pie
Doooooooooomed!
It'd be nice if you actually gave any kind of indication what Iqqel is doing that makes Cheery unable to answer, though
Small remark:
> Everyone else seems to rely trying to read emotions, but that's so easy to trick.
I think you got a missing word there - "seems to rely [on] trying to read emotions".
5012652
Two horrors--exactly right!
5226686
No, bad Nyer. : P *Swats at you with a newspaper.*
Oh dear. As if the hive wasn't undergoing enough social upheaval already, now it has to deal with colliding party equinoids. This could get messy.
Also, now I'm wondering how long Chryssy spent practicing her invasion speeches. She definitely seemed comfortable with herself then. I suppose ponies don't count when it comes to her stage fright.
6834617 I'm thinking Chrysalis made a grave mistake by creating Cheery. Too grave if you ask me.
i think Iqquel stuck her hoof over Cheer's mouth!
I knew it would be Pinkie arriving, she loves everypony that is nice.
Oh boy, Iqqel is going to implode...
6838777
So far it seems she is only benefit the hive with her action and didnt blow up anything with her positiv explosiv joy
There was a funny Video with Pinkie Pie in a Youtube we're she caused a nuke like explosiv reaction after consuming Coffee... Lets see the result of two Pink party Ponys
Ironic that we (now?) have an example of something like a party competition in the Goof-Off from "Pinkie Pride".