A Day In The Hives

by Shaded Changeling

Warrior Hive: Part 1

Twilight was a bit nervous about the next Hive she would be visiting, for one very important reason; she knew very little about the military. Now she wasn’t absolutely clue-less to the Equestrian military, she had done her fair share of studying into famous battles and old warrior civilizations of pony culture, but in modern times, the military was a pretty obscure section of the Equestrian education system. The last major conflict Equestria ever had was nearly half a millennium ago. Nowadays most of the military was used to help push back threats such as Hydras or Cockatrices, so when Twilight received the letter from Celestia, needless to say she felt that she may be over her head.

So she was a bit relieved when in the letter Celestia said she was sending a military advisor to look into the Hive, as it could technically be considered a branch of the Equestrian military. Another big reason was that since Pupa revealed herself, many of the citizens of Equestria were worried that such a force could be used against Equestria. While Celestia knew Pupa would never attempt anything against Equestria, she didn’t want to have false accusations thrown around regarding her guards.

Regardless of who they are, Twilight was busy going over how she had planned the day to go in her head, though given the last few Hives she entered, she expected this plan to be quickly discarded. Though a part of her was hoping that due to the Hive’s military nature, it would be more structured than the others. Though there was no real way to know until she saw it for herself.

Her destination this time was widely considered to be the best military academy within Equestria, seeing many of the top captains and other high ranking members of the Equestrian military passing through its doors. Twilight had been there once or twice to visit Shining Armor when he was still in training, but had never really gotten a good look around the campus.

As the train began to slow down, Twilight looked up from her notes, looking out towards the campus, from what Twilight had read, the buildings were designed not to simply look like those in a castle, but be just as durable in the case of an attack. While Twilight didn’t know much about what happened inside the campus, she certainly did do her homework with regards to the history of the building. As to what Pupa actually did here, if the previous Queens were any indication, she had something to do with either the upper management or just the training aspect of the academy, but she wouldn’t know if she just hung around on the train all day.

As she got off the train she decided to head straight to the Academy, wanting to get as much time speaking with Pupa as she could, as who knows when the next chance she would get to speak with her in her busy schedule would be.

She soon found herself at the entrance to the academy; a large stonewall surrounded the entire campus, and she could see armed guards on top of the wall itself, as well as the spear wielding guards in the front of the open entryway, though Twilight bet the entrance could be closed on a moment’s notice. Twilight cast her eyes above the wall, seeing Pegasi flying around in various formations above the buildings.

As Twilight neared the gate, the two guards stopped her, but after showing them the letter from Celestia, they let her pass through the archway after telling her where she was expected to go to meet with the superintendent. Upon passing through it, Twilight got a chance to see the large open field within.

The field itself was large and had many aspiring Guardsponies either walking around the field or training, Twilight noticed quite a few Changelings within the crowds of ponies. She was actually pretty impressed with the dispersal of the Changelings; she had expected the population within the Academy to be more weighted towards the Changelings, but there were more ponies than Changelings, at least that she could tell.

Across the field were a number of stone buildings, each one built into a rectangular design. There were five main buildings, with most of them being what Twilight assumed to be the barracks. The closest building was slightly taller than the others, which Twilight was told to head towards. The building itself reminded Twilight of the design for Canterlot Castle, if somewhat smaller.

As Twilight walked across the field, she saw a few groups of guards running drills and training, while there were a couple small pockets where the ponies and changelings seemed to just be relaxing, they were clearly the minority. A few of these groups even stopped when they noticed her, mainly those with Changelings in them. She couldn’t be sure what they were thinking, but she figured they were surprised to see her.

Making her way to the main building, she pushed upon the wooden doors to get a look at the interior of the building; just as the outside seemed to mirror the design of Canterlot Castle, the interior seemed to attempt to replicate it as well. The doors led to a large open room, the however unlike the royal castle, two balconies stood on either side of the room, for what Twilight could only think of as gaining a height advantage upon any attackers. A few of the Cadets were walking around the interior, either talking to one another or moving from place to place.

At the bottom of the stairway, stood a pale blue Pegasus mare, clad in the golden armor of the Royal Guards, her emerald eyes looking over Twilight before walking up to her. “You must be Twilight Sparkle,” The Pegasus said, extending a hoof to Twilight. “I heard quite a lot about you from the Captain.”

Twilight shook her hoof. “Yes, that’s me. What’s your name?”

“Sky Chaser.” She replied. “It’s an honor to finally meet one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I can rest easy knowing you six will handle anything the Guard can’t.”

“Well… I wouldn’t exactly say that…” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Well, you six took care of Discord, even when the Guard were powerless to do anything. Luckily he seems to be sealed up good and tight this time, shouldn’t be breaking out for another thousand years.” She said with a light chuckle. “You familiar with our little campus?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not as well as I should be given my brother went here.” She admitted, leaving out the fact she spent a good portion of her time studying, even when visiting the campus.

“Luckily you have an alumni with you, then.” Sky Chaser said proudly. “I knew this campus like the back of my hoof back in the day, just follow me.” She said as she began to walk up the stairs, Twilight following behind.

“So, were you in any classes with my brother?” Twilight asked, trying to make small talk as the two of them walked through the building.

“The Captain,” Sky Chaser began. “Nah, he was a couple years ahead of me; heard a lot about him though.” She replied. “Apparently he was one of the top students in the academy for all four years.” She looked back at Twilight. “Guess you got that gene too, huh?”

Twilight blushed a little, remembering some of the times her brother would help her with school work in her younger years.

“Got fast tracked through the ranks because of it. Now look at him, Head Captain of the Royal Guard and officially a Prince.” She said with a smile. “Wonder if he’ll start growing wings.” She said with a laugh, flapping her own set for emphasis.

Twilight joined her, imagining her brother trying to learn how to fly with wings. “Knowing my brother, he’d end up face planting into the castle.”

“Was he a clumsy colt?” Sky chaser asked.

“Wouldn’t say clumsy, but he definitely had four left hooves.” Twilight replied, getting another laugh from Sky Chaser. “What about you?”

Sky Chaser turned to look back at Twilight as they reached the top step. “Nothing really to write home about. I’m just a Lieutenant, sent here by Celestia to make sure everything in the Hive is on the up and up.”

“Celestia said it would a military advisor.” Twilight stated, seeing no forms of saddlebags or any other form of note taking supplies.

“Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but the Grunt Grapevine says something big might be happening soon.”

“Like what?” Twilight asked, curiously.

Sky Chaser pursed her lips slightly. “See, the thing with the Grunt Grapevine is it’s not particularly useful at ‘details.’” She explained. “We can never be super sure what is going on, but we know when something is up with the higher ups.”

“You don’t think it has anything to do with the Hives do you?” Twilight asked, slightly worried.

“Oh, I doubt it.” Sky Chaser replied simply. “Queen Chrysalis would have been spotted at one at least once if that were the case; but so far she’s been a no show.” Sky Chaser explained as they continued to walk through the stone building. “I’m hoping it’s not another ‘ancient evil from the past.’ I’ve had quite enough of those over the past few years.”

Twilight let out a tired sigh as she rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it.”

“Maybe the Guard should ask for a raise if we keep getting attacked by Alicorn level threats.” Sky Chaser said with a laugh. “Would certainly help with recruitment.”

It didn’t take the two of them long to come to reach the superintendent’s office, a simple wooden door with the words “Superintendent Steel Coat” When she saw the name, Sky Chaser let out a small sigh.

“Glad to see the old stallion is still kicking.” She said, slightly nervous. “Hopefully he doesn’t remember me…”

Twilight recognized the name, trying to figure out how she did. Sky Chaser’s comment helped her remember. “He was the Superintendent when Shining Armor was here.”

“Yeah, he was.” Sky Chaser replied, taking a deep breath. “No use hanging outside his door, come on.” She pushed open the door and walked in, followed closely by Twilight.

Inside the room was a good sized waiting room with a secretary sitting behind a desk. Lining the walls were a few chairs. Near the ceiling small portraits of various ponies lined the room, Twilight assumed they were the various Superintendents that worked at the Academy. The Earth Pony secretary looked up from her desk as the door opened. “Hello, how may I help you?”

Sky Chaser walked up to the counter. “We’re here to see Steel Coat.” She stated with a casual tone in her voice.

The Earth Pony looked at Sky Chaser then over at Twilight. “Ah, yes, he’s been expecting you two.” She pointed to the door beside her desk, “Right through that door.”

“Yup,” Sky Chaser said with a nod. “I remember, believe me.” She said with a sigh, walking towards the door.

As the two of them stepped into the Superintendent’s office, Twilight took a look around. The room was fairly spacious, easily able to accommodate ten ponies, the right side of the room was dominated by a rectangular table with eight chairs placed around it, three on longest sides and one on the shorter sides. A cluster of flags stood in the back of the room, from Twilight’s quick scan, she could make out the flags for Equestria, the Royal Guard, and the general military force. On the left side of the room, Twilight could see a sealed fireplace, above which a small shelf was placed, on the shelf was a small clock and several pictures. Directly above the shelf was a pair of crossed swords. A couple shelves were placed on either side of the fireplace, holding a plethora of books. Along the walls were pictures that Twilight couldn’t quite understand the significance of.

In the middle of the room sat a wooden desk, a few pictures atop it that could be seen through the paperwork that lay atop it. Seated behind the desk was the Superintendent. A unicorn stallion clearly getting on in age, owing to his graying mane and wrinkles. His ivory coat was covered by a blue colored version of the Royal Guard armor. The Stallion took off his glasses as the two entered, casting his green eyes over the two of them. Upon seeing Sky Chaser, the Stallion’s face seemed to brighten up instantly.

“Well I’ll be damned,” He said in a gruff voice, “If it isn’t the party girl herself.” He said with a smile.

Sky Chaser blushed at getting recognized by her superior officer. “Come on, Sir. I told you I stopped doing that.”

Steel Coat put down the paper he was reading before responding. “Hard to forget the young cadet who kept coming in and out of this office for various charges of drunken flying.” Sky Chaser blushed in embarrassment.

“And Twilight Sparkle!” Steel Coat said as he saw Twilight. “An honor to meet you again, Ma’am. How are you liking our fine academy?”

“It’s… Nice.” Twilight said, trying to figure out what she could actually say about the campus, having largely not taken much of the building into her mind.

Steel Coat shook his head. “I suppose it isn’t quite as grand as the Royal Palace, no matter the builder’s attempts.” He picked up the papers on his desk with a green glow as he slid open one of the drawers of his desk, placing them within it. “Now, to business then. Queen… Pupa, was it?” He asked for confirmation looking at Twilight, who nodded. “Ah yes, Queen Pupa was meant to meet you two here, herself, though evidently she wasn’t too keen on her disguise being discovered.”

“Did she give a reason?” Sky Chaser asked.

Steel Coat thought on it for a moment. “Something about it tainting the public trust or her achievements or something along those lines.” Steel Coat said with a sigh. “I’m not entirely sure what she means by that, but I’m certain she has her reasons.”

Twilight nodded at that, being reminded of Fleur. Though Sky Chaser was a bit more confused. “So, if the Queen isn’t going to be here to bring us to the Hive, how are we supposed to get there?” She asked uncertainty in her voice. “I didn’t exactly pack for a hike.”

“Ah yes, give me a moment.” Steel Coat said as he slowly got off his chair, the sound of clinking wood meeting Twilight’s ears as he did, looking over at the Unicorn as he walked to the other side of the room, she noticed that his hind left leg was oddly stiff, and every other step was met with a wooden click. Sky Chaser noticed Twilight’s slightly concerned expression.

“He lost it in a fight with a Minotaur,” Sky Chaser whispered carefully leaning closer to Twilight to ensure that Steel Coat didn’t hear her. “He’s been living with a wooden leg for nearly thirty years now.”

Twilight looked between Steel Coat and Sky Chaser, watching the leg closely and seeing it rarely bent at the knee. “And he’s been in the military all that time?” Twilight asked back.

Sky Chaser nodded, looking to check and see if Steel Coat had grabbed what he walked across the room for. “I heard he’s been acting as an intelligence officer since the incident and hasn’t…” Sky Chaser was cut off by Steel Coat’s magic lighting up as she returned to a slightly more rigid stance than she had previously as Steel Coat walked back towards them, a wooden box held in his magic.

“When Queen Pupa said she wasn’t going to be able to escort the two of you, she sent this box in her stead.” Steel Coat sat back down in his chair and placed the box in front of the two mares before removing the top of the box to display two red gemstones inside.

Sky Chaser looked at the two gems in confusion. “And what exactly are we meant to do with these?” She asked as she looked at the two stones. “Don’t get me wrong, they are pretty but I don’t see how these are going to help us get anywhere.”

Before Steel Coat could respond, Twilight spoke up. “They’re Teleportation crystals.” She explained, picking the two of them up in her magic and moving one over to Sky Chaser. “They should be able to activate if you put a bit of magic into them.” Steel Coat looked impressed at Twilight, unaware that she had experienced several of these already.

Sky Chaser looked at the crystal in question, holding it in her hoof then looked back at Twilight. “Umm… small problem there.”

Twilight looked over at Sky Chaser, who was currently pointing her empty hoof at her own forehead, indicating her lack of a horn.

Twilight was going to say something, but closed her mouth, uncertainly. She had only ever used the ones that require her natural magic to activate, but this version needed to be activated instead of passively drawing on her magic. She spent a few seconds thinking about the problem. “Maybe if you treat it like a cloud when you are walking on it?” Twilight suggested.

Sky Chaser rolled her eyes. “Oh, so what I just have to pretend that this shard of crystal is a cloud and then suddenly it’ll just-” There was a bright flash of red light around Sky Chaser as she suddenly vanished, taking both Twilight and Steel Coat by surprise.

“Well I guess that worked.” Twilight said, pulling out one of her notebooks and taking note of the fact Pegasi could use certain Hive crystals. When she finished she looked over at Steel Coat. “I should go catch up with her.”

“Before you go, Miss Sparkle.” Steel Coat said as Twilight raised the crystal to her horn. “I have a small request.”

Twilight lowered the crystal, trying to avoid accidentally activating it. “I’m not sure if I can be much help, but I’ll certainly try.”

“It is nothing major,” The old Stallion said with a small chuckle. “I had heard that Crimson Lance was making an expedition to the Hive in order to see if they might be able to join her Lancers.” Twilight looked at him uncertainly at first. “If you see her there, would you tell her that Steel Coat would love to meet with her and catch up?” He asked with a small smile. “I’m curious how her mother is holding up.”

Twilight look at him a little confused by the request. “I… suppose I can do that.”

“Her mother and I served on the same squad , if she weren’t there it’s likely I’d not be here now.” Steel Coat explained at Twilight’s confused face. “If you don’t see her, don’t worry, it’s just an old Stallion’s request, you have your own purpose to be there.”

Twilight smiled at the old Stallion. “I’ll see what I can do.” She said as she raised the crystal to her horn.

“Good luck, Miss Sparkle.” He said as Twilight closed her eyes and put some magic into the crystal. With a bright red flash, she was gone from the room.

As she reappeared underground, she felt the familiar pounding in her head, forcing her to keep her eyes closed for a few seconds. As she did she heard the sound of retching nearby. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked towards the sound of the retching and saw Sky Chaser trying to orient herself on a wall while she vomited on the floor.

Twilight walked up to Sky Chaser, trying to avoid any puddles of her vomit in order to ask if she was alright.

“This is… the worst hangover I’ve ever had.” Sky Chaser replied slowly. “How in Celestia’s name do you Unicorns do this?” She asked looking over at Twilight, who could only smile sheepishly at that remark, remembering her own initial experience with the Hive’s crystals.

“I guess it’s unnatural for a Pegasi.” Twilight replied, patting Sky Chaser on the back in an attempt to reassure her that it was fine. She took this time to look at her surroundings. Much of the walls were covered in the same hive walls she was familiar with, a red wooden double door stood on the far side of the chamber.

It took a few minutes for Sky Chaser to be able to stand without her hoof on the wall, let alone for the headache to abate entirely. Twilight assumed this was due to a lack of direct magical connection and that the gems had never been intended for use by Pegasi or Earth Ponies.

Once Sky Chaser was certain she was fine, she took a look around the area. “Wow, this place is pretty spacious,” she commented, looking towards the high ceiling, “I was kind of expecting it to be more cramped.”

“The first hive I went to was a giant underground hospital.” Twilight replied. “It was a big shock to see just how massive the facility was.”

“I guess Changelings need medicine same as we ponies do.” Sky Chaser commented, never having actually thought about this small detail herself.

“I didn’t get much of a chance to study their medicine, though it didn’t seem too dissimilar to what we use.” Twilight stated, looking towards the red door. “Are you ready?”

Sky Chaser looked over at the red door with uncertainty. “Tell me, Sparkle. You’ve been to your fair share of hives, anything I should know about?”

“Like what?” Twilight responded, not entirely sure what she should tell Sky Chaser.

“I don’t know; basic rules, things to watch out for, mannerisms, stuff like that.”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight replied, thinking over her times with the various Hives, there never seemed to really be any exceptional faux pas that wouldn’t be in pony society. As she thought about it, she remembered something Cytes had told her. “There is one thing; try to avoid eating or drinking anything you don’t recognize.”

Sky Chaser looked at her with an expression of light worry. “It’s not poisoned is it?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Twilight replied quickly, trying to quash that thought before it got worse. “Changelings feed on emotions, so they add it to some of their food. Apparently it can have an adverse reaction to ponies when consumed.”

Sky Chaser’s worried expression seemed to only get worse at that. “I won’t, like, become a Changeling or something, right?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, nothing like that, you just might not be able to feel that emotion for a little bit.”

Sky Chaser let out a relieved breath. “I’ll certainly keep that in mind. So, do we just go through that door or what?” Sky Chaser asked, pointing to the red door.

“I assume so, I don’t see any other exits.” Twilight replied, looking around the room again, seeing no other doors or entrances to the room.

“No point making her majesty wait on us any longer then.” Sky Chaser stated as the two of them walked towards the wooden door. Upon reaching it, Twilight could hear a small commotion on the other side of the door, insure what to make of it though she looked at Sky Chaser, who pushed open to door. “After you.” She motioned for Twilight to pass through first.

Upon passing the threshold, Twilight heard a male voice shouting “Attention!” As she saw thirty changelings standing in two columns on either side of the door, all standing at attention and saluting as the two ponies stepped into the hall. Each of them wearing deep red armor covering their black carapace. Each of them were stoically staring forward, their red eyes holding steely gazes that Twilight was only familiar with coming from Celestia’s personal guard.

At the other end of the columns there were three changelings, the one in the center was Queen Pupa, a pleased smile on her face. To her right was an armored changeling, he was taller and stockier than most changelings that Twilight had seen. His armor was a brighter red then the soldiers making up the two columns. He stood with the rigid stance of a lifelong soldier, even from this far away, Twilight could tell his gaze was locked firmly on her. On the other side of the queen was a smaller changeling, who looked to be much less comfortable with the situation, given they kept glancing up at Pupa.

Twilight heard the door behind her shut as Sky Chaser walked into the chamber behind her, far more used to this kind of thing, Sky Chaser began to walk forward, motioning with her head for Twilight to follow her. As the two of them walked down the line of changelings, Twilight took the chance to look at a few of the passing changelings. They seemed larger than the other changelings she had seen on her visits to the other hives; which was understandable as this hive seemed more focused on combat than the others she had visited. Their eyes were all varying shades of red and backplates were usually a darker red shade then their eyes.

She continued making mental notes about them as the two ponies made their way closer to Pupa. When they were a few feet from the queen, Sky Chaser and Twilight both bowed to the Queen.

“Queen Pupa, it is an honor to be allowed into your Hive. My name is Lieutenant Sky Chaser of the Canterlot Royal Guard.”

“At ease.” Pupa replied as the columns of warriors behind them all entered into a parade rest as Sky Chaser got up from her bow.

“I was sent here by Princess Celestia as an adviser to oversee the-”

“Oh, I’m well aware of why you’re here” Pupa spoke up, cutting off Sky Chaser. She indicated the Changeling to her right, who was still standing in his rigid posture. “This is General Xiphos. one of the highest ranking Changelings in my Hive’s military.”

Xiphos gave a salute as his eyes passed over Sky Chaser, giving her a steely glare and sizing her up.

“He’ll be in charge of showing you around the Hive’s illustrious military academy and the training ground for the various branches we have in our humble Hive.” Pupa explained as Xiphos gave a small snort. Pupa leaned in closer to the two ponies before whispering. “He’s also a bit of a hard ass, so don’t be surprised if he makes you do some of the training exercises as well.”

“There is nothing wrong with using this rare opportunity to test our own training against that of a pony, my queen.” Xiphos replied, obviously overhearing Pupa’s comment.

“You could easily just ask one of the other Royal Guards we have in the Hive.” Pupa replied, looking over her shoulder at the General.

“They are used to our own training on top of that. It would be rather educational to see how a pure pony handles the training.” Xiphos stated simply.

Pupa sighed. “You just want to show off to Celestia, don’t you?”

Xiphos let out a small snort. “If we were guarding the capital, Chrysalis wouldn’t have-”

“And you would have been the one to make the call on revealing us to the world as well as Chrysalis.” Pupa shot back. “Or would you have been willing to put your name down in history for attacking an Alicorn Princess on a hunch?”

Xiphos looked away from his Queen, grumbling something under his breath. Pupa smiled as she turned back towards Sky Chaser and Twilight. “Apologies about Xiphos, he’s always been concerned with Celestia’s safety. The old Grumbler just wants to ensure Celestia is safe, for all of our sakes.”

Sky Chaser sighed. “In truth, I was stationed in Cloudsdale during the invasion. That question was what bothered me the most before I headed back to Canterlot. So I understand how he feels.”

Pupa looked at Sky Chaser as she finished, a pleased smile of understanding on her face. “You know,” she began, lowering her neck to speak with Sky Chaser, “Now would be an excellent time to prove the old Grumbler wrong about the Royal Guard’s training.” She said in an almost conspiratorial tone. “Show him and the rest of the Hive just what the Royal Guard are capable of.”

Sky Chaser looked over at Xiphos, who was still looking at her with a steely gaze. “You sure about that, I don’t know the first thing about-“

Pupa waved her hoof in dismissal of her worries. “It’s nothing too strenuous, I’m sure you’ve had to put up with worse in the academy. Think of it as a little inter branch contest.”

Sky Chaser’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the idea of a competition, but died down a second later. “I can’t I came here to look over how your Hive is organized from Celestia herself.”

Pupa looked a little disappointed. “Well, if you insist, but I’m sure that some of the cadets here would absolutely love to watch a Royal Guard at work. Keep my offer in mind, and don’t be afraid to show up any of the cadets; a friendly rivalry does wonders.” Pupa stated, brightening up as she spoke to Sky Chaser. “General Xiphos, if you would take Lieutenant Sky Chaser here to our hive’s little training facility.”

Xiphos saluted to Pupa. “Of course, my Queen, it would be an honor.” Xiphos gave Sky Chaser and Twilight another look down before turning and motioning for Sky Chaser to follow him.

“Knock ‘em dead, Lieutenant.” Pupa said as Sky Chaser walked past her.

Twilight watched Xiphos walk for a few seconds, each of his steps held an almost calculated distance between each hoof fall. Even as he walked, his straight backed stance never changed, obvious to see he took great pride in his duties to the hive and his Queen.

Pupa watched the two of them leave before addressing the other Changelings. “Alright boys, back to your posts.” She said casually. The columns of Changelings around them dispersed. Two of them remaining at the entrance Twilight and Sky Chaser had entered and the others taking to the sky, presumably to help cover the other hive entrances.

Once a majority of the soldiers had left, Pupa looked at Twilight. “Sorry if it felt like I was ignoring you, Twilight.” Pupa said casually. “Xiphos has a massive stick up his ass when it comes to procedure.”

Twilight wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine. It was a direct request from Celestia, after all.”

“Your little investigation is also a request from Princess Celestia, so either way I’m technically holding up a direct request from Celestia.” Pupa pointed out. “But no, I actually wanted Xiphos and the Lieutenant to get on their way to drop this whole military hive pretense.”

Twilight blinked at that statement, not entirely sure how to take it. “What do you mean?”

Pupa let out a small sigh. “It’s all in the name, isn’t it? ‘The Warrior Hive’ while yes, a good chunk of our population goes into the military or related fields and serves those roles with distinction. It has become a bit of an oversimplification of our Hive’s role, I think.” Pupa explained. “It would be almost expected for me to string you along to show off the military might of our Hive and show exactly what we can do. But I feel that doesn’t do the rest of my Hive justice.” She said, looking back at the other Changeling she had with me. “Which is why I decided to flip the script a little.” She smiled, motioning for the Changeling to come closer. “Introduce yourself.”

The Changeling in question took a few steps forward, still noticeably nervous. “My name is Athena. I’m a school teacher for some of the nymphs in the Hive. It-It’s nice to meet you.” She said with a small bow of her head; causing Pupa to slightly shake her own head in disbelief but say nothing.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Athena.” Twilight said with a smile.

Anticipating the awkward silence that might arise, Pupa spoke up. “Athena, here, will be in charge of escorting you around our lovely Hive for the first part of your visit.”

Athena looked up at Pupa with an uncertain expression, as though she was very much doubting her own abilities to be a good guide for such an occasion.

“Then what will you be doing?” Twilight asked Pupa.

“Little old me?” She said with feigned surprise. “I will be serving as your humble military escort for your trip around the Hive.” She said as a wisp of flame covered her form to be replaced with a seemingly normal Warrior Changeling, though she noticeably kept her normal eyes instead of changing them to the pure red of her subjects. “It’ll help some of my subjects feel more at ease, you understand, right?” Pupa said with a small wink.

Twilight wasn’t entirely sure if she believed the reasoning Pupa provided, though equally she could see the reasoning behind what Pupa wanted. “So long as I can still ask you some questions.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Sparkle.” Pupa said teasingly. “Though maybe you should ask Athena first, she is your guide after all.” She said gesturing to the Changeling in question, who looked at her Queen nervously. “I’ll let you ask me questions later on, we’ll have plenty of time.” She looked towards Athena with a reassuring smile.

Athena took a deep breath, trying to help calm her nerves. “If you’ll just follow me.” She said with a small bow as she turned to start walking through the Hive.

“After you,” Pupa said with a small flurry of her hoof, indicating the direction Athena was going to walk towards. Twilight began to follow Athena, with Pupa taking up the rear a short distance away.

Twilight followed Athena in silence for a minute or two, simply taking the time to look around the Hive’s interior, trying to discern any differences from the others she had seen in terms of the materials or structure of the tunnels. Taking small notes as she did.

“So, Athena,” Twilight began, causing the changeling to look back at her. “You said you were a school teacher, what do you usually teach?”

“Me?” Athena replied. “I usually teach them about Equestrian and Hive history. While it’s far from the most interesting subject, I’ve always had a deep fascination in history.” She let out a small sigh. “Though most Changelings I talk to don’t seem to think the same way.”

“That’s their own loss.” Twilight stated. “Without learning history, I don’t think that my friends and I would have been able to defeat Nightmare Moon.” She replied. “I’d love to hear a bit about the Hive’s history if you’d be willing to tell me.”

Athena stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Twilight in surprise. “R-Really?”

“Of course I’m always happy to learn more about a subject.” She said with a smile.

Athena’s solid red eyes seemed to twinkle with excitement. Pupa letting out a chuckle “Oh no, you’ve got her going now.” Twilight turned to see Pupa smiling. “She’ll talk your ears off for hours if you let her.”

Athena’s ears pressed back against her head as she gave the Queen an embarrassed smile. “I can’t help that I enjoy history, my Queen.”

“Never said it was a bad thing, Athena.” Pupa replied. “But maybe just give her some of the basic stuff. Don’t want to overload our little Unicorn here.” Athena seemed to almost blush at that comment.

“Oh it’s no problem, I’d love to hear-”

“I’m sure you would, Sparkle.” Pupa said, cutting off Twilight. “But last time I checked, and forgive me if I’m wrong, but the purpose of your visit is to see the inner workings of our hive, not get a history lesson.” Pupa said, looking between both Athena and Twilight as the two learned ponies looked as though they had just been scolded by their teacher. Seeing their reactions, Pupa scratched her chin. “Though I guess you could give her something to tickle her brain. Give her the rundown on the founding of Equestria.”

Athena’s ears perked up at that. “Are you sure, my Queen?” She said, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

Pupa gave a small shrug. “It’s so far in the past I don’t think it’ll hurt at all. If it interests you enough I’ll ask the other Queens if they’d be okay with me getting you some kind of history book or something; Nothing too fancy though.”

Twilight nodded as she pulled out a new notepad in her magic and flipped it open, marking the top of the page ‘History.’ “Go ahead”

Athena nodded as she walked back to be in line with Twilight, attempting to treat the conversation more casually while still leading Twilight through the Hive.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, before the founding of Equestria, the three Pony tribes were constantly at odds with one another. The Pegasi would regularly raid the Earth Ponies, who required the assistance of the Unicorns to protect their crops and homes. Though the Unicorns required the fealty of the Earth Ponies, taking large cuts of the produce the Earth Ponies would grow.”

Twilight nodded. “And the disharmony and ire the Ponies had back then eventually drew the Wendigos and covered the land in an eternal winter.”

Athena nodded. “Not only were the Ponies divided, so too were what would eventually become the Equestrian Hives. The Artist Hive lived with the Unicorns, what would later become the Lust Hive and Medical Hives lived with the Earth Ponies, and The Warrior and Joyous Hives lived alongside The Pegasi.”

Twilight read over her notes. “The Joyous Hive were with the Pegasi?”

Athena nodded. “In the past, the Joyous Hive were considered master weapon smiths; they would make weapons for Warrior changelings and Pegasi, who would then use them to raid the other two tribes. Much like the ponies, many Changelings back then were content to raid and steal from other Hives for their own benefit. Sneaking in and taking emotion before fleeing out of the Hive.”

Twilight looked back at her notes, noticing that a Hive was missing from the list she had made. “What about Chrysalis’ Hive?”

Athena smiled at Twilight for catching on to the missing Hive. “That’s actually a fairly interesting-”

“Should probably put a pin in that,” Pupa said, speaking up, causing both the Unicorn and Changeling to look back at her. “We’re almost at the Hive proper.” Pupa pointed to the end of the tunnel they were currently walking in, where a light could be seen on the other side.

Athena’s eyes widened. “Oh dear, I didn’t realize how long we had been walking.”

Pupa sighed. “You were the one who wanted us to pick a spot closer to the Hive proper,” Pupa stated, causing Athena to chuckle in embarrassment.

Athena cleared her throat as she walked ahead of Twilight slightly. Stopping just short of the exit to the tunnel “Miss Sparkle, it is my honor to welcome you to the Warrior Hive capital.” She said with a small bow, motioning at the tunnel entrance.

Twilight walked past Athena into the cavern beyond. As she did, she was immediately struck by the sheer size of the cavern. She had entered the cavern at an elevated point halfway between the ceiling and the floor, letting her get an overview of the small city that lay within. By her rough estimates, the circular cavern must have been at least ten miles in diameter with the roof of the cave being hundreds of feet above the ground at its highest point. From her position, Twilight could see numerous simplistic square buildings, spread out among the cavern. In the center of the massive cavern sat a large castle, which Twilight assumed to be Pupa’s home. While Twilight couldn’t make out any defining characteristics of the building, she could see another circular building to one side of the cavern; there didn’t seem to be a roof to the building but it had several tapestries on its stone surface. Another intricately designed building lay on the opposite side of the cavern, it’s purpose impossible to determine from its shape.

Twilight couldn’t resist letting out an audible “Wow” as she looked over the scene before her. Marveling at the size of the underground city. When she began looking around the periphery of the cavern, she saw numerous tunnels lining the cavern walls, larger tunnels lay on the ground and Twilight could barely make out Changelings working on the tunnels or carrying supplies through the tunnels. She could also see several Changelings flying around in the air throughout the cavern.

“Impressive, ain’t she?” Pupa asked rhetorically, walking up to Twilight and looking over the scene herself. “No matter how many times I go to other Hives, I can’t help but think back to home.”

“It’s incredible.” Twilight replied, looking up at the roof of the cavern. “How do you keep the cave from collapsing?”

Pupa tapped the side of the tunnel, a light clink coming from her chitin touching the stone. “Hive stone isn’t just here for aesthetics, this stuff can help fortify structures and caverns like this one with no problem. Just a little bit of yearly maintenance and it’s sustainable for centuries.”

“But none of the other Hives had something like this.” Twilight pointed out. “There’s not even any supporting pillars.”

“Changing design philosophies, if I understand it properly.” Pupa replied. “What you are looking at is the single oldest Hive in all of Equestria.” Pupa motioned to the cavern. “While every other Hive has had to change locations at least once since Equestria’s founding, we Warriors have lived in the same place since we originally came to this land.” She stated proudly. “As such our Hive Proper is a piece of history all to itself.”

“That’s incredible.” Twilight said, taking a few steps closer to the city, stopping just short of the edge of the pathway she was on. Catching herself, she made the regrettable choice to look down.

Below her was a seeming sheer drop down to the floor of the cavern, she felt her eyes widen as she quickly took a couple steps away from the ledge. She looked to her right and saw a slowly sloping pathway down towards the ground.

“How do we get down?” Twilight asked turning back towards the two Changelings, trying to keep her nerves out of her voice.

“Oh that’s simple.” Pupa replied as she opened her wings.

“Really? Do you have some sort of elevator system or-”

“Up we go” Pupa replied, hooking her front legs under Twilight’s and picking the studious Unicorn up from the ground, cutting her off as her hind legs lost contact with the ground.

“What are you doing!?” Twilight asked in shock as Pupa flew the two of them towards the edge of the cliff.

“Relax, Sparkle.” Pupa said in a reassuring voice. “Even like this carrying you is gonna be cinch.”

Athena caught up with Pupa, a more nervous expression on her face. “My Queen, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Pupa smiled at Athena as they flew past the cliff’s edge. “Fastest way to get down.” Pupa replied as she continued to move further from the cliff, aiming to take Twilight all the way down to the ground.

“Yes, but Miss Sparkle…”

“Look, I’ll go slowly, alright?” Pupa replied with a annoyed tone.

“I really think I’d prefer to just walk.” Twilight stated nervously as her horn lit up, prepping gravity magic in case she slipped from Pupa’s grasp.

“And miss out on all that valuable study time?” Pupa asked jokingly, clicking her tongue in mock disapproval. “Doesn’t sound like you, Sparkle.” Pupa began to slow her wing beats, causing the two of them to descend down the side of the cliff. “Just trust me, Twilight. I’m not going to do anything risky.”

Athena flew down a little further than where Pupa and Twilight were, preparing herself to catch Twilight if the worst occurred.

Twilight, whose mind was trying to figure out if it was better to keep her eyes snapped shut or wide open as she watched her dangling back hooves slowly lower to the ground, couldn’t stop her heart from pounding in her ears.

“See, Sparkle?” Pupa spoke up to try and calm down Twilight’s nerves. “We’re just going nice and slowly.” Pupa continued to try and reassure Twilight as they slowly got closer to the ground.

It took an agonizingly slow three minutes for Twilight to finally feel the ground under her hooves again.

“See, Sparkle? That wasn’t so bad.” Pupa said as she landed next to Twilight, who was currently trying to ease her pounding heart. “Would have gone a bit faster, but Athena kept panicking in the Hive Mind about dropping you.” She said motioning to the now embarrassed Athena.

“I-I was just worried for her safety, that’s all.” She said, trying to make herself a bit smaller.

Twilight, having now calmed her heart down from her impromptu test of her body’s survival instincts, turned to look at Pupa. “Next time, could you at least warn me so I can prepare myself?”

Pupa gave a small shrug. “Personally I think it’s better to just get it over with, saves time on psyching yourself up.” She explained simply. “Besides, I could have carried you down with one hoof.”

Twilight let out a sigh, before looking back up the cavern wall she was rather forcibly descended. “You don’t have a more effective way to descend it?”

Both Pupa and Athena shook their heads. “Like I told you earlier, this place is ancient. Back in those days we didn’t account for the possibility of ponies being able to enter the Hive.” Pupa explained. “They’d more than likely be killed if they ever got this far into the Hive, anyway.”

“Was it really that bad?” Twilight asked, slightly concerned.

Athena took the chance to speak up before Pupa did. “In the past, secrecy was everything to us Changelings. If that meant we had to kill and impersonate a pony to keep the Hive safe, we would have done it.”

“But those days are long over.” Pupa stated, seeing Twilight’s worried expression. “Think that was back before Celestia was around, even.”

Twilight took notes on the topic, before looking around the area they were in and seeing they were still a good distance from the closest building. Looking down she saw that instead of the usual dirt paths she was used to in the Hives, there were paths of polished and well maintained stone that wove between the buildings.

“Does your Hive mine this stone?” Twilight asked, tapping the stone with her hooves, it felt like some form of granite.

“Oh this stuff?” Pupa asked, tapping the stone path with her hoof. “This has been a fixture of the Hive for millennia. We pride ourselves on taking excellent care of our Hive Proper.” Pupa said puffing out her chest. “This is what many call the ‘Heart of our Hive’ for just such a reason.”

Twilight looked over the stone a little more, before looking at one of the closest buildings. Despite the apparent age of these buildings, there were no signs of wear and tear that you would expect from such an old structure. In fact, the building almost looked like it was built yesterday. She took a look at more of the buildings as the small group began to walk further into the Hive Proper.

“It must be a real honor to live in one of these buildings, then.” Twilight said, looking back at Athena and Pupa.

Athena nodded. “Just like Pupa said, the Hive proper is one of the most historically important areas of the Hive. While any changeling has the chance to live within one of these buildings, it’s generally reserved for those who have gone above and beyond in service to the Hive or to the Queen.”

“In what way?” Twilight asked, growing curious as to what that could mean aside from military strength.

“Well, those who serve as the Castle Guards live within its walls, while those who work more janitorial and secretarial work live closest to the castle. Those who have a vested interest in maintaining the past live nearest to the Museum and Mausoleum; and those who distinguish themselves as fighters tend to live close to the-“ Athena stopped dead in the middle of her sentence, as though someone had just called her name. She looked back at Pupa, who ran her hoof back and forth across her neck in a ‘that’s enough’ motion.

Athena nodded. “W-well… They aren’t the only ones who live here.” She began with a stutter. “The other way to get a chance to live within the Hive Proper is to have gathered a good amount of emotion or wealth for the hive. But more often than not a lot of these buildings are rented out to families.”

“And what about those who can’t afford to live here?” Twilight asked.

“Oh there are plenty of chambers throughout the Hive for the average changeling.”

“Where do you live, Athena?” Twilight asked.

“Oh me?” Athena repeated. “I live in chamber 16-F. It’s quaint and quiet. Plus it’s close to where I work.”

Pupa chuckled. “Don’t sell where you live so short. Plenty of changelings would love to live in 16.”

“It’s not much, really.” Athena said modestly.

“Better than any of the places here.” Pupa laughed. “The newer chambers are always better then these places, anyway.” Pupa said motioning to the nearest building as a changeling stepped out of it with a yawn and a flex of their wings. “The big prestige to living in one of these places is just the history and proximity to the castle.” Pupa explained.

“Do you usually track the history of each of these homes?” Twilight asked, curious about what kind of changelings used to live this close to the Queen.

“Not as much recently.” Athena admitted. “Most of the homes do have markings for who used to live there if they were of importance to the Hive; Generals that served under the Queen or some of the best fighters of their generation.”

Twilight looked at one of the buildings, wondering what kind of changeling could have lived in each of these simplistic buildings, if what Pupa had said was accurate, these buildings could be older than even Canterlot. The thought brought her back to a prior conversation.

“Athena,” Twilight began, causing the Changeling in question to turn, “earlier you mentioned Chrysalis’ Hive was an interesting case. Could you explain that a little more?”

Athena’s eyes seemed to almost light up when Twilight remembered their earlier conversation. “As I’m sure you recall, the Love Hive wasn’t one of those that I mentioned were part of the ancient pony tribes.”

Twilight nodded.

“So the Love Hive were originally a much farther reaching Hive. It’s believed that they used to be present in every nation, but what evidence of that remains is scattered and unreliable.” She explained. “They were only originally located when the three pony tribes had moved to Equestria. As the other Changeling Hives followed the ponies to Equestria, they began making new Hives, resulting in the eventual discovery of the Love Hive as they had already built a Hive in the area. Some scholars even believe that the Love Hive were the ones to discover a means to defend against the Wendigos and shared it with the ponies…”

Twilight continued to take notes as the two continued to discuss history, with Pupa interjecting a few times to remind both of them as to what the reason they were here was; keeping both of them on track.

While Twilight wasn’t quite sure where she was being led, she did enjoy the casual stroll through the residential district of the Hive. She got to witness the Warrior Changelings in a far more casual environment then she expected to see. Walking through the streets of the small hive city felt almost like being brought into the past. All of the buildings were well maintained and Twilight couldn’t see any major structural damage or weathering on the stones used to create the buildings. This feeling was aided by Athena pointing out certain buildings of extremely important changelings.

Certain war heroes, future leaders of the Hive, each of them were discussed briefly by Athena, either because there wasn’t much to say or because Pupa started to push her down the street to get her moving, saying that “She’d be here all day if we let her.” Resulting in a flustered changeling and a few stares coming her way.

Despite her pushing, Pupa was no stranger to chatting with the casual changeling while they walked, often having short conversations while Athena stopped to tell Twilight about specific buildings. Occasionally she would speak with one of the guards in the street, while Twilight couldn’t hear what was said, it seemed to be something official as Pupa would generally speak to them quickly before they flew off.

As they walked, Twilight was given a few confused stares by various Warrior changelings, clearly not expecting to see a Unicorn in their Hive, though when they saw Pupa they tended to ignore Twilight shortly after.

With all of the stops Athena made to discuss parts of the Hive’s history and other small inconveniences added together, it took the group an hour and a half to finally reach their next destination; From Twilight’s brief overview of the City, she determined that this was the large rectangular building she had seen. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be some kind of Museum of sorts. The carved steps leading up to the intricately designed entrance. Either side of the stairs were marble carvings of Warrior changelings, saluting. Twilight could see several Warrior changelings walking around the entrance, a few going into the building and some coming out. A few changelings were even working on the statues, buzzing around it with a clipboard and looking over the statues.

Twilight looked up at the grand building with her insatiable curiosity, wondering what kind of information could be held within its walls that nopony had seen before her. Athena, sensing Twilights excitement, smiled happily. Pupa, on the other hand, was more reserved, looking up at the building with a hard to decipher expression.

“What is this building?” Twilight asked Athena, still admiring the structure’s construction.

“This is something of a museum for our Hive.” She replied, beaming. “Within these walls lay artifacts and history of deep importance to our Hive, even containing a comprehensive history of our Queen’s lineage.” She said, now noticing Pupa’s expression, her smile faltered slightly. “My Queen, are you alright?”

Pupa let out a sigh as she looked up at the building. “I haven’t been inside in nearly a decade,” She stated. “Guess you could say I’m a little nervous.” She replied, trying to diffuse the tension with a small chuckle.

Twilight looked over at Pupa, finally seeing her slightly downtrodden expression for herself. Noticing that she was being watched and anticipating the question Twilight would ask, Pupa replied simply with, “Later, Sparkle, you’ll understand.”

Pupa took a deep breath before starting to ascend the stairs. “Come on, you two,” She said, a bit more seriously then she likely intended, “Time’s a wasting.”

Twilight wanted to ask Pupa about the building, wondering why the previously cheerful Queen had become suddenly somber when looking at the building. Before she got the chance, Athena started following her Queen up the stairs, speeding up a little to catch up to her. Twilight decided it was best to simply heed Pupa’s words and wait, following behind them.

When she reached the top of the stairs, Pupa and Athena were talking, with Twilight only catching the tail end of the conversation.

“-don’t have to go there if it will hurt you, my Queen.” Athena said an expression of concern on her face.

“I’ll be fine, Athena,” Pupa replied, “I’ve had three centuries to get over it.” Before Athena could respond, Pupa noticed Twilight coming into earshot. Gesturing with her head at Twilight, Athena got the hint.

Clearing her throat, Athena cast another glance at her Queen before speaking with Twilight. “It’s a very great honor to be acting as a tour guide for Celestia’s prized pupil, I’ll try my utmost to give you the best experience in our little piece of history.”

Twilight nodded, flipping the page in her notepad to get a fresh start on any new information she would gain before walking up to the doors and being let in by Athena.

Inside the building, the high ceiling allowed Changelings to fly around the building easily, moving between different areas of the building without causing too much hoof traffic on the way. Twilight could see at least three different floors from just the entrance as well as a staircase in the back of the building that appeared to be leading down. There was a small reception desk with a pink-eyed changeling sitting behind it. He was busy writing something when he heard the door open. Looking up he smiled. “Welcome to the Warrior Hive Historical Center.”

Athena and Pupa walked up to the Changeling as Twilight looked around the entrance. There were several banners with what Twilight assumed was the Warrior Hive’s Emblem throughout the years hanging from the ceiling. As she looked at them, each of the banners seemed to follow a certain theme. Each one was emblazoned with a shield, a circle around the shield with the moto of the Royal Guard written around it in Ancient Equestrian. Where each banner differed was the weapon that was present in front of the shield.

One, the furthest to the left, held a golden bow and arrow; the bow pulled back and tensed as though ready to fire. The next held two spears, crossed over the shield, the tips of each spear a glittering silver. Another was a simple hoofprint of bronze. The next, two swords crossed over another. The banner in the middle, which was the largest of the group, held a lance, two feathered wings sprouting from the handle.

Thinking that this museum mimicked rules of others in Equestria, Twilight chose not to use her camera to take a picture of the banners, making quick sketches of each of the symbols. As she finished up sketching the last symbol, Athena and Pupa walked back towards her. “Unfortunately we don’t have the entire day to go through the museum.” Athena admitted as they walked back. “There’s something of a special event going on later today that a lot of changelings are going to be preparing for. So we only have an hour or two hours to look around.”

Twilight, having finished the last sketch, looked up. “What kind of event?” She asked quizzically.

Athena closed her mouth, unsure of how to reply.

Pupa spoke up instead. “I’m sure it isn’t anything that you’d be interested in, Twilight. It’s something that went out of style in Pony culture a long time ago.”

“Even so,” Twilight began, “If it is something of such importance that you would close buildings down early, it would no doubt be valuable information.”

“I don’t think it’s anything that-” Athena began.

“Tell ya what, Sparkle.” Pupa spoke up, “If we get through this and the little castle tour that Celestia insisted on,” She said with a roll of her eyes, “I’ll think about taking you to see exactly what we Warrior Changelings consider quality entertainment.” She said with a smile, clearly out of her funk from earlier.

Athena looked at Pupa worried. “My Queen, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Athena asked through the Hive Mind.

“It will be fine, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“But Ponies wouldn’t understand it, it could hurt her impression of the Hive!” Athena retorted, leading to Pupa rolling her eyes.

“Through this entire visit she’s been nothing but curious, even when you were talking about ancient war heroes and battles. If it comes down to it I will explain it to her.”

Athena looked at Pupa, a worried expression on her face contrasted with Pupa’s more serious one. Twilight could tell there was some form of tension in the air from looking at the two of them, however she had no way to know what they were saying to each other.

“I have to admit, I am intrigued by what your Changelings consider entertainment, I haven’t really gotten much of a chance to see what specific hives do for entertainment.” Twilight said, unsure if the conversation between the two had ended.

Pupa turned to look at Twilight, her expression softening. “Can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy it, but it’s something we’ve done for generations now.”

Twilight felt a little bit of excitement at the idea of seeing a tradition so closely tied to the Hive that they’d hold such an event for generations. Even though she was interested, she decided it would be best to focus on the current information she could gather.

Though Athena was a bit nervous at first, she quickly found her stride while escorting Twilight around the museum. She showed Twilight through the various exhibits, holding information regarding the original founding of their Hive, various military battles they had been part of, and even a long list of the Queen’s lineage. As they walked around the museum, Twilight couldn’t help but notice Pupa looking towards the staircase that led to the basement, she wasn’t quite sure for what reason, though at times Pupa seemed almost lost in thought.

Of particular interest to Twilight was an exhibit on the construction of the Warrior Hive, the exhibit displayed several diagrams of the Hive, displaying the various tunnels that stretched throughout the Hive. She simply stood and looked over the slowly expanding interconnected tunnels of the Hive throughout the millennia, shocked by the sheer size of the entirety of the Warrior Hive. While she asked if she could take a picture or two, Pupa was quick to shoot down the idea, citing that the Changelings deserved to feel safe in their own homes.

As they walked through the last few exhibits, slowly getting closer to more modern times, Twilight’s eyes caught a strange exhibit. It looked to be a broken halberd in a glass case, the shattered fragments painstakingly organized and placed back in their proper place. Besides the halberd was a mural of a Changeling Queen and her guard fighting off a hoard of what looked like other Warrior changelings.

On the other side of the Halberd stood a young looking changeling standing victoriously over another Warrior changeling, being presented a crown.

“Athena,” Twilight called, causing the changeling to turn. “What is that exhibit?” Twilight asked, pointing to the halberd.

Athena looked over the exhibit and paused for a moment, almost uncertain about how best to phrase it.

“That’s the weapon of what we call ‘The Reviled Queen.’” Pupa replied no small amount of distaste for the name evident in her tone. “It’s a reminder to all Warrior changelings the dangers of an unfit queen.”

Twilight looked back at Pupa surprised. “Unfit queen?” Twilight asked curiously. “From the previous hives I thought that all Queens were chosen through heredity.”

“It usually is,” Athena replied, “but there have been instances where the Queen either dies in combat or is found to be unfit where that isn’t exactly possible. Such was the situation for the ‘Reviled Queen’” Athena stated walking up to the halberd, followed by Twilight, who was taking notes.

“From what records state, the previous Queen was killed at a young age on the field of battle. She was too young to have an heir and as such the Hive was left without a Queen. After the hive grieved for her loss, a tournament was held to determine the next ruler.” Athena pointed to the mural of the young changeling. “She was a skilled warrior, easily and swiftly defeating her competition for the crown. After the tournament had concluded, she was chosen as the next Warrior Queen, an honor beyond imagining for the normal changeling.”

“It was a slow few years as she gradually got used to the new powers that came with being Queen. She would constantly train and battle others to enhance her own abilities and gain a further hold of her new magical and physical strength. By the time she had acclimated to the power of a Queen, she became known as the most feared fighter of her generation. Constantly seeking tougher and tougher challenges to satisfy her cravings for battle.” Athena said with a tone of sorrow in her voice. “But in all that time she never thought of how to benefit her fellow Changelings, too obsessed with gaining more and more power, the Hive slowly began to suffer.”

“As she ignored her Hive, and pushed her changelings through more and more conflicts, she stopped thinking of the normal changelings as anything more than pawns to be used in battle, sacrificed for her own benefit if need be. Her own aspirations were that of conquest and command, which was anathema to the Warrior Hive’s mentality.”

“In response to her constant hunger for power, a rebellion slowly fomented within her hive, with many of the changelings despising her obsession with power. It began with a few members, but slowly was backed by nearly half of the Hive, despite the Queen’s attempts to destroy it, the rebels evaded capture at every turn. Eventually the rebels had gathered enough strength to take a fight directly to the Queen herself.” Athena pointed to the other mural, where Twilight could see the anger apparent in every one of the Warrior changeling’s eyes as they attempted to strike down the Queen.

“It was a meager fifty years after her ascension to the throne that she found herself attacked within her own castle. Refusing to surrender, she and her loyal guards fought to their deaths, killing hundreds of rebels and leaving a dark stain on the Warrior changeling’s legacy for decades to come.”

Twilight looked again at the Halberd and its shattered pieces, the story of this one queen swimming around in her mind. “But if they killed the queen, what happened after that?”

Athena looked at the halberd for a moment before responding. “The leader of the rebellion was brought forward to be made queen, and she worked tirelessly to reverse much of the damage The Reviled Queen had done; she repaired many of the relationships with the other Equestrian queens, helped to repair the damages done to the Hive and sought to overhaul the emergency measures to curb the possibility of such an event occurring again.”

“You mentioned that what the queen was doing was ‘Anathema’ to the mentality of the Hive, why is that?”

“In the Warrior Hive, we see our role as a necessary one. You no doubt saw the banners at the entrance?”

Twilight nodded.

“The reason all of them incorporate a shield is due to our duty to protect Equestria. We seek to protect Equestria and Pony-kind even if it risks our own lives, we have no aspirations to push outwards and conquer, doing so would not only betray the trust of Celestia, but of the other queens who rely on us for assistance. The Reviled Queen sought only her own power and station; she would have swept across the world to claim as much power for herself as was possible, more than likely revealing us in the process.”

Twilight wrote in her notebook. “Does the entire Hive feel this way?”

Athena nodded. “It is a great source of pride to us to be able to defend Pony-kind, those of us who are able to would happily lay our lives on the line to defend Equestria, Celestia and the Hive.” She said puffing out her chest.

“That does help to explain why you wouldn’t have joined Chrysalis when she invaded.” Twilight stated with a smile.

“Oh, she’s lucky I was out of Equestria.” Pupa stated with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. “I’d have put a stop to that shit right away.”

Twilight turned to look at Pupa, who was currently looking up at the Halberd of the Reviled Queen. “What were you doing during the Invasion, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“There was some talk about a rebellion against the Griffin King, Celestia asked me to go personally to work with one of my good friends in the Griffin Kingdom to quell the rebellion, peacefully if possible.”

Twilight looked at Pupa with a confused tilt of her head. “But why did Celestia send troops?”

Pupa let out a small laugh. “Oh, it’s all a politics game. If my sources were correct, and they usually are, the rebels were hoping to hightail it to Equestria if things went pear shaped, Celestia sending us just made it clear she didn’t support the rebels.” Pupa explained simply. “You’ve got to hand it to her, she has a knack for preventing these kinds of situations from ever popping up.” She finished with a chuckle.

Twilight sighed, knowing that Celestia had reasons for her decisions but never really understanding the political side of her duties. She knew that Celestia often had guests from the other nations whether they were royalty or just delegates to discuss trading. She let out a sigh. “Maybe I should have paid more attention to the political scene.”

“You ain’t missing much.” Pupa replied casually, as though it was a subject she only knew so much about due to necessity. “Celestia’s got centuries of experience more than any other living leader, she’s got a lot of political sway and rarely finds herself in a situation she can’t navigate around.”

“That’s to be expected though, right?” Athena asked. “Given how long Celestia’s been ruling Equestria.”

“I’m more curious about if Luna is going to get involved with any of it. Might make things a bit more interesting.” Pupa thought out loud.

Athena looked up at a nearby clock. “Oh my, where has the time gone… Looks like we have room for one more stop before they have to close up.” She said, turning her gaze to Twilight. “Anywhere in particular you want to see?”

Twilight thought over the map that Athena had shown her, but in reality she only had one place she really wanted to see. “What about that basement level?”

Athena’s eyes widened as her ears slowly pressed back. “I’m not sure if that’d be really…. I mean it’s just that….”

Pupa let out a sigh. “It’s fine, Athena.” She said with little energy in her voice.

“My Queen, but…”

Pupa turned and seemed to ignore Athena’s words. “Come with me, Sparkle.” She began walking away from the two of them without saying another word. Athena speeding up to catch up to her as Twilight followed a short distance behind.

Twilight wondered if she had somehow asked to go somewhere heavily restricted by the reactions of Pupa and Athena. She started to wonder if she had maybe pushed the hospitality of the Warrior Hive too far. She stayed quiet for a few minutes, not entirely sure if Athena and Pupa were having a private conversation via the Hive Mind or not. The silence remained until they reached the staircase that Twilight had seen Pupa looking over at previously.

Standing at the top of the stairwell, Athena looked past Twilight to look at Pupa, who had a stoic and indecipherable look on her face. Athena, meanwhile was nervous. “Pupa, you don’t have to-”

Pupa began to walk down the stairs, not saying a word as she descended the stairwell.

Athena attempted to call out for her again, but the Queen moved forward without looking back at them.

“Did I um… Do something wrong?” Twilight asked, looking between the staircase and Athena.

Athena let out a sigh. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She said, annoyance and worry clear in her voice. “This place just… has a very personal meaning to Pupa.” Athena paused for a second. “Well, to all of us, really.”

Athena started to descend the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time to try and catch up with Pupa, with Twilight following behind, wondering what could be down here that was so important to Pupa. She got her answer upon descending the second flight of stairs.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Twilight saw a sign on the side of the wall.

No magic, Flying, Flash Photography, Weapons, or other recording devices within the Mausoleum. Be respectful to the Queens and those around you.

“Mausoleum…” Twilight said looking at the closed doors in front of her, suddenly getting a heavy feeling in her chest. She looked over at Athena who was simply staring up at the doors, uncertain if she should go in to find Pupa or not.

“When it says Mausoleum,” Twilight began, “does it mean what I think it does?”

Athena, momentarily broken out of her trance looked back at Twilight. “It… would probably be better to show you.” Athena said, walking towards the doors and pulling one of the doors open with her magic, gesturing for Twilight to step inside.

Twilight took a deep breath and walked into the room, followed by Athena, who slowly closed the door to try and avoid any loud bangs that might be caused. Upon stepping inside, two things struck Twilight; It was dark in this chamber, something she didn’t think would be an issue, but the crystalline lights were noticeably dimmer then the rest of the museum, casting the entire chamber in a darker tone. Not only that, but Twilight found herself surprised by how quiet it was. She hadn’t given it any thought before, but the Hive had a surprising amount of ambience, all of which became obvious when the area was plunged into silence.

In front of Twilight was a small map of the area, broken up into three colored sections, each one labeled differently. “Pre-Equestrian, Early Equestrian, Modern” Twilight looked over the sizes of each of the areas, surprised by the space taken up by the “Early Equestria” area. After looking at the map, she turned to Athena, who was tracing her hoof along the map. After a few seconds she tapped the map with her hoof twice and motioned for Twilight to follow her.

Twilight followed behind Athena in near silence for a couple minutes, the only sound she heard was their own hoof-falls, neither one wanting to break the silence that had fallen over the area. They continued this way until Athena turned down one of the hallways, stopping at the first of the glass cases, allowing Twilight to look inside.

Behind the glass display was columbarium niche containing a detailed bust of a Changeling Queen, next to the bust sat a well preserved blade, the light from the display shimmering off of the sword’s lightly chipped blade and worn handle, wrapped in some kind of deep red leather. A gemstone embedded into the bottom of the pommel. Looking back towards the bust, Twilight looked down slightly to see the name: “Queen Alna”. The name was etched into a golden plaque just below the bust.

Looking below the plaque, Twilight could see a series of plaques detailing the Queen’s achievements during her life. While Twilight wasn’t familiar with many of the battles listed, what she could understand were a few of the Hive specific improvements. Looking over the information, she turned to Athena, who was looking up at the bust of the Queen with an almost reverential look.

“So… These busts?” Twilight whispered to Athena.

“Each one is of a previous queen and if possible, their ashes lay within, so that they can be remembered and honored for all that they did for the Hive.” Athena replied back, in a hushed voice.

“Their ashes?” Twilight repeated a mixture of surprise and mild disgust in her voice, looking back at the bust.

Athena nodded. “When a Changeling dies, the remaining magical power in their bodies will swiftly ignite and incinerate them, leaving nothing left behind but a pile of ashes to be blown away in the wind.” Athena explained, using the same tone one might use when explaining the proceedings of a funeral. “The only way to prevent it is to sever the horn completely before death.” Athena pointed up at her own horn.

“I’m um… Sorry to hear that.” Twilight responded, not entirely sure what the best way to respond to the information was.

“It’s fine, it’s just a part of life for us.” Athena said, she stared at the bust of Queen Alna for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. “Come on, Pupa should be just up here.” Athena said before turning and walking further down the hall.

Twilight gave one final look at the bust of Queen Alna before turning and following Athena down the hall.

The two walked for another minute, Twilight looking over the various busts and weapons on display, noting mentally that all of the weapons looked to be exceptionally well maintained, though she did not get a close look at any of them, she couldn’t see any form of rust or decay on the weapons she looked at; making a mental note to ask about that in a less serious atmosphere.

The two of them turned another corner as Athena stopped, her expression dropping slightly. “You go on ahead, Twilight.” She stated. “I hate seeing the Queen like this.” She admitted, turning back over the corner, her ears pressed against her head, a bit embarrassed having admitted that little detail.

Twilight nodded at Athena, giving her a quiet thanks before rounding the corner herself. She saw Pupa sitting down in front of one particular niche, she was no longer disguised and was looking at the bust inside. Twilight took a deep breath to prepare herself before walking up to Pupa.

The changeling queen noticed her as she walked closer, her red eyes glancing over at the purple Unicorn before returning to look at the bust in front of her. Her face was sullen as she looked at the bust and Twilight thought she could see a few small streaks on her face. Twilight stopped a little distance away, giving the Queen a few more seconds to herself before speaking up. “M-May I come closer?” She stammered, unsure exactly what to say.

Pupa looked over at Twilight and nodded. “You may, Sparkle.” Pupa replied.

Twilight walked up to the queen, who had turned back to the bust in front of her. When Twilight got closer, she could see inside of the niche a little better.

The changeling queen on the bust had a look that displayed both her composed commanding demeanor and her care for the Changelings under her command. Her horn was chipped in a few places, more so than the usual decay of a changeling horn, showing that this queen had been in her fair share of battles, even at an old age. To compound that, her face had several scratches and cuts along the chitin; unhealed near-misses and grazing blows. To her left was a smaller urn, the contents unlabeled. To the right of the bust lay a saber; the metal of the blade tinted a light red, yet none the less sharpened. The saber looked as though it had been plucked straight from a battlefield, the hilt a clean and shimmering gold with a single red jewel embedded into the pommel. Under the blade lay a plaque; engraved upon it were the words: “Schutz”, Crafted by Queen Sreka of the Joyous Hive.

Her eyes panned to a similar plaque under the bust of the changeling queen, which read: “Queen Battalia”

Pupa looked down towards Twilight. “She was my mother.” Pupa replied to Twilight’s unspoken question.

Twilight looked up at Pupa, her ears drooping a little as she suddenly understood the importance of this situation. “I’m sorry.”

Pupa let out a shuddering breath “It’s funny. I always used to come here when I was a nymph; looking back on the long history of my family and my hive always gave me some form of awe. I wanted to grow up to be just like them, the best of the best in combat. I would always look forward to the day I’d take the throne and lead the hive to new heights.” Pupa let out a small sigh. “Now, though, whenever I come here, all I can think about is her.” Twilight followed Pupa’s gaze to the urn of Queen Battalia. “My mother was always seen as an amazing queen. A warrior without equal and a ruler that never asked her subjects to do what she was unwilling to do. The hive loved her and she always did what was best for the hive and for Equestria. To that means, she was a bit hard on me, and I never really learned to appreciate it at the time. It wasn’t until I was fifty that I finally understood why my mom had been so hard on me, when I was on my first real mission with her.”

Pupa looked down at Twilight, then back towards her mother’s urn. She shook her head. “But you aren’t here for a history lesson, are you Sparkle?”

“If it would help you feel better, I can listen to you for as long as you need, sometimes it’s best to just get all your feelings off your chest.” Twilight replied, giving Pupa a warming smile.

Pupa let out a small chuckle. “Sounds like something Eve would say.” She looked back at the bust of her mother. “Even after all these centuries, I still miss them.” Pupa stated, “both of them.”

“Both of them?” Twilight asked, confused.

Pupa pointed to the urn next to Battalia’s. “That one there, that’s Kova, my father.”

“What was he like?” Twilight asked, curious as to what exactly the father of a queen would be like.

“Dad? He was always there for me whenever my mom couldn’t be. Kova was never too far away, even when mom was busting my ass about training or school, dad was always there to ease the tension and keep the two of us from spiraling into a brawl. He didn’t take too well to all the paper work it took to be King, but he certainly stuck with it, especially when his legs stopped working.” Pupa seemed to smile a little. “He was almost like the glue holding us together, don’t know how I’d have gotten through my early training without him.” Pupa’s eyes teared up once more, causing her to wipe them away with her hoof.

“How often do you come here? if you don’t mind me asking,” Twilight asked, not wanting to push the subject if Pupa wasn’t open to it.

“When they first died, almost every day,” Pupa replied, earnestly. “But as time went on, it became a lot longer before I could see them.” Pupa let out a sigh. “It’s been nearly a decade since my last visit.” She admitted, taking a deep shuddering breath. “Sometimes, I think I can feel her looking back at me.” Pupa stated looking directly at the eyes of Battalia’s urn.

The two simply sat in silence for some time. Twilight not wanting to disturb Queen Pupa as she looked over her mother’s final resting place. Time seemingly crawling by as the queen occasionally let a tear fall down her face. Once she was finished, Pupa stood up. “Even after all this time, the hardest part is still saying goodbye.” Pupa admitted, wiping a final tear from her face. “Goodbye Mom. Goodbye Dad. We’ll meet again in the afterlife, save me a spot at the table until then.” Pupa smiled, letting out a low breath. “Thanks for sitting with me, Twilight, I know it can’t have been the easiest thing for you.”

“No, it was fine. I couldn’t just leave you alone.” Twilight replied, trying to keep her voice down still.

“Well that’s very thoughtful of you, Twilight.” Pupa looked past Twilight at Athena, who was peeking out from around the corner. Pupa shook her head, “Sometimes it still surprises me how my subjects react to stuff like this.” Pupa admitted with a smirk. “Come on, Athena, we’re leaving. Unless, of course, you want to stay here all night. It’s said you can sometimes hear the Queens’ ghosts haunting these halls.” Pupa teased. “It’d be a great chance to learn all about history.” She chuckled as Athena looked up at the nearest niche and started to quickly scamper towards Twilight and Pupa.

“Y-you shouldn’t say t-things like that, M-my Queen.” Athena stuttered. “S-Somepony will actually believe you.”

“Oh, what? You don’t want to see the ghosts of all these ancient Queens? I’m told they even hold a little tournament amongst themselves every Nightmare Night.”

“Y-Yeah R-right, that’s j-just a story t-they tell the N-nymphs to-”

Battalia’s weapon rattled lightly, causing Athena to jump and hide behind Pupa. Who was laughing as she turned off the magic flowing through her horn.

“P-Pupa! Y-You can’t just do that!” Athena shouted in annoyance, clearly both embarrassed by her behavior and annoyed at Pupa.

“Come on, Athena, still scared of spooky ghosts? OooooOOOOooOOoo.” The Queen replied teasingly.

“That’s not funny, Pupa!” Athena replied as the two of them began to walk back towards the main hallway of the chamber.

“I don’t know, I found it pretty funny, what about you, Sparkle?” She turned to Twilight, who was slightly confused at Pupa’s sudden shift. “Wouldn’t you like to speak with all the ghosts of these queens?”

Twilight thought over it for a moment. “Well it would be rather interesting to get the perspective of queen’s from all different points in the Hive’s history, there’s so much they could tell us.”

Pupa chuckled. “See, Sparkle gets it.” As they turned the corner, Pupa stopped for a moment, casting one last look back towards where her mother’s ashes were stored. Her face falling slightly before smiling and continuing to walk with Twilight and Athena, the later of whom was currently sticking as close to Pupa as she could and trying not to let her legs wobble too noticeably.

Comments

[NotBurgerShot]

Damn. Some somber history here, and Twilight gets a look at how this hive handles the death of its most influential changeling.

[Razzy]

"Puuuupa! Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupa! ... ... ... I'm haunting you!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"