39 - The Other Queens
The Border of Zebrica, The First Changeling Hive
Twilight, who was still in her Pegasus form, looked down in awe at the sprawling structure jutting out the trees just as they passed through the perception filter. The large stone brick dome was in pristine condition, the drones sent to maintain it having performed their duties to an almost religious degree. On each side of the dome existed a large set of double doors, each of them entrances to the large hive. From each door extended a long path reaching all the way of to the treeline, and each path was lined with statues of armoured changeling guards standing at attention, forever guarding their home. At the very peak of the dome a large crystal was imbedded into the roof, not dissimilar to the one held in the grasp of Avia back in the Badlands Hive’s atrium, keeping up the perception filter surrounding the structure.
And from her high vantage point Twilight could see changeling drones, and a lot of them. Drones from all the attending hives roamed the grounds. Guards in various armors patrolled around in joint security operations while the proceedings unfolded. Twilight could even spot a few queens around the place, some merely inspecting the décor, others in deep discussion with one another about various topics in the lead up to the council.
And then there was one queen standing directly where those from the Badlands were coming in to land, surrounded by changelings in red armour. The queen had the standard teal mane and green eyes of a queen, her mane being done up into a neat bun.
And Twilight noticed her mother visibly smile as she laid eyes on that queen.
As they came in for landing all of the drones began to shed their Pegasi disguises, with them taking point and landing before the royals or the carriages. Said carriages were next to landed, making contact onto the grassy ground and quickly coming to a halt, several drones immediately getting to work in unloading its contents.
Twilight and Chrysalis were the last to shed their disguises, and the last to land. As their black hooves made contact with the ground, the queen Twilight had spotted began to approach the pair, her guards taking position at a respectful distance. Several of Chrysalis’ drones glanced at the approaching queen cautiously, but relaxed on her identification.
“Draco,” Chrysalis greeted cheerfully. “It is a joy to see you again, my old friend.”
“And I you, Chrysalis,” Draco responded, accepting a quick, friendly embrace from the other queen. “I trust you are well?”
“As well as can be expected. How has everything been so far? Any trouble?” Chrysalis asked.
“No. Things have been quiet, and now that you’re here the council can go ahead. The first session will likely be pinned to take place tomorrow morning. However, I would actively seek to avoid Crudelis if I were you.”
“I wasn’t exactly planning on saying ‘hi’. Besides we are at the Council, what could she possible do here?”
Draco grimaced. “Hopefully nothing, but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. My one brief encounter with that queen set off some alarm bells for me. I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I, nor have I ever,” Chrysalis bitterly responded. “But enough about that bitch, perhaps more pleasant forms of conversation would be better suited?”
Draco chuckled. “I’m sorry, you are right. It has been too long since I have seen one of my oldest friends, this should not be a somber occasion. Come my friend, I will show you to your prearranged accommodations.”
Chrysalis held up a hoof to stop Queen Draco. “But a moment Draco, you have yet to meet my daughter.”
Chrysalis stepped aside to reveal Twilight lingering slightly back, watching the two queens curiously. Draco nodded on seeing the young princess, and stepped towards her.
“Twilight Sparkle, we meet at last. I have heard much about you,” Draco bowed her head slightly in greeting.
“Queen Draco, isn’t it? Yes, mother has mentioned you fondly before. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Please, just call me Draco.”
“Ah, right,” Twilight scuffed the ground awkwardly with a hoof. “I’ve never actually met another Changeling Queen aside from mother before now so… I don’t really know what the precedent is.”
Draco chuckled. “Then how about the precedent of how to act among friends.”
Twilight’s face lit up. “Yes, I think I can do that. Friendship is my speciality after all!”
“So I hear. Element of Magic are you not? Pretty strange when you consider the fact that your mother, when I first met her, wasn’t exactly master of the magical arts...” A mischievous grin appeared her face.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked out of curiosity.
Chrysalis’ face somehow turned a bright red through the chitin. “No! Draco, don’t you dare!”
Draco turned to the other queen. “You worry too much Chryssie! I would never dream of telling your daughter of how we first met. How, in our very first visit to this very hive that you tried to show off your recently learned ability to use portals, only to end up trapping yourself in a wall in the process of doing so.”
Chrysalis looked absolutely mortified.
Twilight on the other hoof, tried very hard to keep in a bout of giggling. “Trapped in a wall? With that and what you did to the first crystal in the atrium, your accidents would give Derpy a run for her bits!” the Princess teased her mother.
Draco raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “First crystal? What is all this about?”
“That is enough of that!” Chrysalis stepped in between the two changelings. “My daughter and my best friend, how did I ever think this was going to be a good idea?” she muttered to herself.
Both Draco and Twilight couldn’t help but titter at the expense of a rather bemused Queen Chrysalis. But when all was said and done, they relented.
“Very well then Chrysalis, we’re done. Not that I doubt you will attempt to get me back at a later date.”
“You know me too well,” Chrysalis said with mirth.
A cough caught their attention. “If your majesties are finished, we have the carriages unloaded. Now we just need a place to put them. On top of that, those who aren’t joining the security arrangements right away are keen to hit the hay,” Carduus said to the three royals.
“Ah, my apologies. You all will be staying in the east wing of the hive along with myself and my drones, and that of Queens Xerox, Plastron and Cocoon.”
“Understood,” Carduus bowed his head. “We will make our way over there right away.”
Draco turned to a few of her own guards. “You three, go with them. Help them bring in their things and point them out to their rooms if you will.”
“Yes my Queen!” All three saluted before running off towards the carriage along with Carduus.
Chrysalis spoke as Draco turned back around towards them. “Xerox, Plastron and Cocoon are in the east wing with us?”
“Yes, that is correct,” Draco confirmed.
“What about the others, who else is attending exactly?”
Draco stopped to think a moment before answering the question, “Queens Pupa, Carapace, Acadica, Tempora and Antannae are in the west wing. In the north wing we have Ingrica, Orbata, Pensylvanica, Vulgaris and Crudelis.”
“And the south wing?” Chrysalis enquired.
“That would have been reserved for Arisana, Austriaca, Germanica, Nursei and Vespula. The former four couldn’t be located. As for Vespula…” Draco trailed off.
“There are now only nineteen queens,” Chrysalis realised.
“Vespula is dead,” Draco said solemnly. “I don’t know how or why. But it will almost certainly be a point of discussion in the Council.”
“A queen is dead?” Twilight asked, eyes wide in horror. “How can you not know what happened?”
“As far as we can tell, there were no survivors,” Draco shook her head sadly. “My scouts reported heavy signs of heavy fighting. They fought down to the last stallion, mare and nymph.”
“What about bodies? Could you identify the attackers?” Chrysalis asked.
“When we arrived the other hives had already sent drones to perform clean up duties. They were burying the bodies, recovering anything useful and then scuttling what was left of the hive. It was in a cave system so it wasn’t too hard to collapse it in.”
“Then what about the first hives on the scene, did they identify them?” It was Twilight who asked this time around.
“If they did, we will find out tomorrow morning. Until then all we can do is make idle theories.
“You said they buried the bodies,” Chrysalis recollected. “Where did they bury Vespula?”
Draco motioned towards the large dome before them. “Here. Along with a great many other queens throughout our history.”
“Did you know Vespula, mother?” Twilight asked.
“No, at least not personally. But I had nothing against her either. She had a small hive, smaller than ours, and they mostly tried to keep to themselves. I can’t imagine who would actively want her dead.”
“Enough of that Chrysalis,” Draco said. “Come, I will lead you inside. I made sure you were actually provided nice rooms, since Crudelis probably would have been more than happy to stick you in a cupboard somewhere.”
“Appreciated,” Chrysalis deadpanned.
Carduus directed a few of his changelings as they picked up the various crates and bags that had been unloaded and began to take them into the hive, the drones Draco provided at their head. Once everything had been taken indoors he directed a few drones to go and park the carriages with a few others near one of the entrances, and then started to head inside himself.
As he approached the door he spotted a drone in blue and red armour speaking to Queen Xerox, a checklist held in his green aura. Carduus realised the drone was part of Crudelis’ hive, and simply tried to bypass him without making eye contact.
No luck there.
“Excuse me Queen Xerox, there is other business I must attend to for my Queen.” The drone bowed in apology.
“I understand,” Xerox bowed her head in return. “I must check in with my captain anyway. Farewell”
As the Queen turned and walked off in the opposite direction the drone intercepted Carduus and walked directly in his path.
“Captain Carduus? If you could hold a moment?”
“Sorry, no solicitors,” Carduus budged past the drone.
The drone frowned. “Jokes are all well and good, Captain, but I order you to stop!”
Carduus halted in his tracks, and turned to the changeling threateningly. “You, order me? Who do you think you are, and on whose authority?”
“My Queen is organising this council, so on hers,” the drone shot back. “Now, all I need to do is discuss your arrangements for your stay, who you have with you and other statistical information. I’m just doing my job, so make it easy will you?”
“What? I have been to one of these before, many years ago. I may have just been a rookie at the time, but I clearly remember no such information needing to be given.”
“That was when Queen Germanica was arranging the council. Now it is us,” the drone stated. "Honestly, and I thought Private Scorpion complained too much."
“Look, I can tell we are both busy changelings. So why don’t you just let me go on my way… and shove that list up your ass!”
“The quicker you cooperate, the quicker I leave, Captain. I know you and your hive have a history of insolence-"
“Insolence?” Carduus growled.
“-but the other queens have already done it, even your little friend Draco. So you will cooperate!” the drone delivered his ultimatum.
“I…” Carduus groaned in frustration.
Deciding a quick ping to his Queen over the hive mind was the best solution he asked Chrysalis what he should do. But a few short moments later he received permission, albeit reluctant, to go along with the drone.
“Very well then, but make it quick.”
“Splendid. This is just so we can keep track of everything better for organisational purposes. I’m sure your Princess would agree.”
“Just get on with,” Carduus said with little patience.
“Very well. Now, how many drones are with you?”
Twilight slumped down onto her bed, only now realising how exhausted she was from all the flying she had to do in the past couple of days. She and her mother would be sharing a room on the second floor of the east wing for the duration of the council. The room itself was decently large with various bookshelves, a fireplace with a few cushions, a work desk and a window looking down over the grounds. Twilight guessed the room had also previously been host to a double bed, but Draco had her drones swap it out for two singles in preparation for them. Their accompanying drone’s rooms were all clustered together, adjacent to one another. And just a hallway away Draco and her changelings were staying. They had yet to encounter the other three queens or their drones in the east wing as they were on different floors, but that would likely soon change.
Chrysalis had a few more words with Draco before the latter left to attend to other matters, and with two of their guards taking position by the door Chrysalis walked in and laid down next to Twilight on the latter’s bed.
“Are you well my daughter?”
“Tired,” Twilight groaned. “Celestia will be lowering the sun soon, and I’m more than ready to sleep.”
With a loving smile Chrysalis pulled Twilight towards her, draped over a gossamer wing and nuzzled her daughter on the head, “Well before you drift off to say hi to Princess Luna, I thought you would like to see the council chamber first.”
“The council chamber, as in the chamber where all the most important decisions in changeling history have been made? As in the literal centre of our very society?!” Twilight’s scholarly mind buzzed with excitement.
“Er… sure. That one.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes.
Twilight pondered for a second, sleep vs satisfying the scholar within her. The latter easily won out, it wouldn’t be the first time.
“Yes, I would like that.”
“I thought you would,” Chrysalis smiled, “Come then, the day grows short. And I too would like to retire to bed before long.”
In case you missed it, Plainoasis made something Change related, and it is pretty damn awesome.
http://plainoasis.deviantart.com/art/Atrium-597756809
Also, here are the names of all the nineteen current living queens:
Xerox, Plastron, Cocoon, Pupa, Tempora, Antannae, Carapace, Acadica, Arisana, Austriaca, Germanica, Nursei, Ingrica, Orbata, Pensylvanica, Vulgaris, Chrysalis, Crudelis and Draco
Update:
“That was when Queen Germanica was arranging the council. Now it is us,” the drone stated. "Honestly, and I thought Private Scorpion complained too much."
Any of you who have read 'Queen of the Hive' know who this 'Private Scorpion' is... 
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PREPARE FOR BRITTISH PARLIMENTRY BICKERING
7256893 David Cameron VS Changeling Queen... I don't think Dave would win that somehow
I still can't take Crudelis' name seriously, but ah, I'll live.
your
remove both and of
our
remove and
now if i was the editor there would be less mistakes but oh well
Well, time for things to escalate, and don't tell me I'm the only one who think that there's something not quite kosher about that checklist.
Okay, wait a momen- ah! Found it! *grabs clipboard*
Okay, now let's see.
Seemingly peaceful setting- check
Return trip ambush in place- check
Enemy acquiring info- check
All that's left is execution of villain plan, foiling/discovery of villain plan, and punishment.
I eagerly await to check this off!
... Are all of Queen Xerox's changeling exact copies of her?
7257260 I was just looking for synonyms for imitation, Xerox was one of the ones I found.
Others names are types of Vespula wasps, and then others are just names I randomly picked out a freakin hat cos thinking of names for 20 queens is a pain in the ass!
can't wait to see who's after who.
7256893 that or American parliamentary bs.
Chryssy you should have never given that information.
I can't wait to see what happens when Crudelis and Twilight meet face-to-face.
Tension, a few moments of silence ... maybe a few dagger-sharp words aimed at Twilight and Chrysalis.
Huehuehue
precisionroller.com/img/models/xerox-phaser-3300mfp.jpg
7257105 I wholeheartedly agree, something just doesn't seem right...
7257527 Thanks for pointing out the mistakes and for the feedback, always appreciated.
I have implemented all but the use head In H.I.V.E. That is going to stay.
7257527 And yet do you see them anywhere else in the show?
7257320 It wasn't Chyssy who gave the information.
7257285 We Americans do not have a Parliament.
We have Congress, Senate, house of representatives, and the president.
Supposed to make it so that everyone agrees on what is being put into law, but it means that nationwide laws take a very long time to be approved, most of the time.
The greatest of all queens when it comes to copying others. She can even send a facsimile of someone with her magic. But can she duplex that is the question.
LOL
7258347 that was the point.
I was trying to make a point, and yes i went to government class back in school, I also know our government is fucking stupid.
7258389 Eh, could be worse. We could have a dictatorship.
Okay Looking at my imminent war-o-meter it says chance of war is 90%.
7258221 She gave permission for Carduc to do so. Thus she did via Proxy.
Wait. Waaaaait... I just thought of something. Soronis and Puellala... could they be survivors of Vespula's hive? Perhaps, from what we've seen of Puellala... even her daughter(s)?
7258550 true, but that sounds a little better than having a showboat, a flip-flop criminal, or someone who will take us to commie territory.
7258221
Eh hrm.
As you can see, it was Chrysalis who gave the confirmation.
7257105
In the world of politics, every question made is for a reason. Considering that the only question so far made (that we're aware off) is "how many changelings came with you?" we can be certain that, minimum, Crudelis is trying to measure up how easy it would be for her to break into her bedroom or how hard it could be to start a fight in the First Hive.
7258550
7259081
To be honest, from what I've seen in my country's history (Venezuela) of how Dictatorships come to power, the possibility of a dictatorship can only be attained under this conditions:
A) The Dictator has control of a majority of the branches in the government. I.E.: Take control of the Executive power and the Legislative power to make any law he wants. If the legislative power decides to rebel, take control of the Judiciary power to negate its power (what it's happening in my country now) or modify/remake the constitution to concentrate power in the executive branch (how much this can be done depends of how much influence the dictator has on the legislative power or how well verse in the constitution is the dictator to bypass the legislative power).
The how the dictator attains control of the branches is something that can be discussed since there are many ways to do so.
B) Make a new constitution (again, this needs to have control over the legislative power) so the executive power not only has more powers than needed, but also to make sure that it can be easier now to have control since, once the new constitution is made, new elections will have to be held to legalize all the new powers.
Also, please take note from Latin America (that has a dictatorship every once in awhile), dictatorships have evolved, they're not longer the typical dictatorship that uses the military to concentrate their power (as Hollywood tends to make them look like when it's never like that), the new dictatorships uses the law to be authoritarian (they use a disguise of democracy to fool the world when they say that everything is fine) and try to be as legal as possible. A clear example of this were the dictatorships of Hugo Chávez Frías in Venezuela, the dictatorship of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina and the actual dictatorship of Peña Nieto in México. You cannot say that they're a dictatorship because they're not breaking any law and uses the judiciary power to attack their opposition and send them to prison.
In that regard, I see Crudelis as a very amateur villain, she doesn't know anything about politics and anyone with enough knowledge of politics would not only figure her out (and realize what she has done), but also manipulate her to do it's bidding.
7259434 agreed, and that is what America is going to be if Clinton becomes president here.
Crudelis is the first form of it.
Shits about to hit the fan I just know it!!!
7257046 There’s also:
And the usual commas-before-quotation-mark mistakes as described in my other comment (all the commas in red should be replaced by full stops):
So on and so forth.
7258845 Close, but they are not related to Vespula in any way. However, they are related to another we know of...
7259434 She has weaponized the checklist, Twilight's gonna have an aneurism.
7260064 Hm... the only two we actually know at this point are Draco and Crudelis... and given Soronis's temperament, I'd say Draco is the more likely.
7260238 I meant another changeling. Not necessarily a queen
7260238 I see what you mean there , seeing as Soronis is intending to just give some love to her sister , instead of taking the heart itself.????
Now we enter Changeling politics. If it's anything like human politics I don't expect much to get done except for a lot of name calling, subtle or otherwise. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
BS! They want to know how many are here with Chrysalis so they know how many they need to send to destroy Chrysalis' Hive like they did Vespula's.
7258845 From the previous chapter:
We only know of one changeling hive that was destroyed.
7258845 he right.
Great chapter also i can I see my military tiger chacter in here
Well Dakingace, this was something that took an intrest to me when i saw it and thought about it for a moment. So now may i introduce, " THE JUDGMENT BROS" in my own side-story. (You can skip this if you want to.)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*A few hours after the destruction of Vespula's Hive*
The ruined hive that belonged to the EX-queen Vespula had no other form of life inside, that if you didn't count the hooded figure outside.
???: So, the hive i would of helped to become the strongest fell because of the failure of one. All i needed to ask is why...Why would they do this because one failed, the queen that should be not judged for the actions she caused., whoever "SHE" is.
The hooded figure said, taking out a sword that looked as if it was made of bones with his right hand. It sighed to itself and took off his cloak, and to be like another "Sans" clone, but with a dark-looking armor with red lines going through it, and leading up to his chest that pulsated every now and then. He then stabbed the earth with his sword and kneeled before the destroyed hive, until he heard some whimpering coming from a broken part of the hive. He walked over to there and found a survivor from the massacre. Even though most of the ones he seen were killed, he found a nymph that his from them under a broken part of the hive, with one leg broken and wings damaged enough to never let it fly again. The 'Sans' then closed his eyes or a moment and then opened them to find his left eye glow a unnatural navy-blue to find what it's LOVE was.
???: Huh, she doesn't have any EXP or LOVE inside her, i wonder why?
He said to himself, checking the nymph out to find out what she is like. But after a few minutes, he found her memories to see her past, and he was immediately taken back by what he saw. The Nymph not only had no name, but it was only a few days old too. Realising this had not only surprised him, but he was also saddened and angered by what they did.
???: So not only did this queen destory a hive, but she also made this nymph an orphan and homeless, and she was only A COUPLE DAYS OLD!?!?! WHEN I FIND THIS QUEEN SHE WILL BE-- AAAAGGGG!!!!
He roared out, with both of his eyes turning the same navy-blue color, and he picked up his sword and threw it over to a wall in rage. Then, she woke up crying from the outburst he made. The Sans stopped for a moment and realised what he had done, and for another moment thought what he must do.
*A few minutes afterwards...*
The Skeleton walked away from the ruins with his cloak on, and in his arms a small changeling rested while he walked away, and the clone thought of one last thing before leaving this place.
???: Don't worry moonlight, we will get revenge on the killer of your family, or i am not Judgment Sans, one of the protectors of this world.
Judgment Sans thought to himself before he teleported away from the scene to not let the other know of his existence, until they needed to be judged.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welp, that took quite a bit of work. And now this begins another side to this story, one where a Sans clone has came to this world. Let's see how this will end up. (It took me about 1 hour and 21 minutes to make, because of my mind wanting to make this a good side-story.)
When Xerox's brood doesn't get enough love energy, do they turn white?
This has been my daily stupid question. Thank you for listening.
she possibly
These names are funny!
Queen Austria, Queen Germany and Queen Nurse!
>Queen Xerox
You know, I'm not surprised in the slightest. There are so many changelings out there that there was bound to be at LEAST one joke about photocopies, but this one takes the cake. This is the original of all unoriginal names, and is perhaps the most copied of all copies. Regardless, all hail Queen Photocopier
I just watched Nine To Five last night and Queen Xerox's name made me laugh way more than it should. Praise be to the Queen of all Copiers! (Photo or otherwise)
Queen Crudelis ( or as I like to call her Cruela de vil ) reminds me of Queen Scarlet and Blister from Wings of Fire
9775090
Cruella de vil
Cruella de vil
If she doesn’t scare you, nothing will
9775090
I know this comment is old but I saw that you read WOF! (And yes, I see the resemblance)