Changelings: A Summary

by HypernovaBolts11

The Queen

The queen is the prefrontal cortex of the hive, the processor of every bit of intel, and the final say in every decision. The queen's importance in the hive's foreign affairs cannot be overstated. She is in charge of everything. She chooses each target, assigns each outpost, and interviews every infiltrator before sending them on their first mission, deeming them fit or not for the task ahead of them.

Her primary role however, has nothing to do with foreign powers at all. It is to mate, and to keep the population of her hive stable. She is the only fertile female changeling, and will court once every few months or so.

The queen possesses the most complex and easily identifiable body profile, being larger than the other changelings, with a stature and figure comparable to that of an alicorn. She lacks the retractable frills of the plebeian changelings or drones, and instead sports a mane and tail that match the color of her aura.

She has multiply lensed eyes, unlike every other changeling, but ones that resemble those of a pony, with visible whites and muscles that allow her eyes to move independently of her head, which the plebeians and drones lack. The pupils are similar to those of a cat, with vertical slits that narrow and widen to adjust the amount of light reaching the retina.

Her horn is longer than the other changelings', and her wings are also much larger. Her barrel and hindquarters are guarded by solid plates of armor, which extend below the base of her tail, and form two plates of chitin that keep off any unwanted advances from especially determined drones.

Her fangs are smaller than those of the other changelings, and a sensitive subject amongst the plebeian population, as it is considered sexier to possess disproportionately large fangs.

The queen will live longer than all of the other changelings in the hive by several millennia, and does not leave the hive except to lead military attacks. Throughout her long life, her body will deteriorate and sustain damage, and she must enter a metamorphosis once every few thousand years in order to rejuvenate her body.

Each time she undergoes a metamorphosis, a new layer is added to the cornea on top of the old one. This is supposed to adjust for any imperfections in her eyesight that have developed since her previous metamorphosis. When this happens, new irises develop on top of the old ones, forming concentric circles around the pupil, darkening the older ones near the center.

Her horn will also change during her transformation, and develop extra layers of keratin atop the bone, sometimes filling in any cavities that may have developed, often resulting in a very curved and gnarled structure. She accesses the queens' hive mind through her horn, which contains the wisdom and memories of all her predecessors.

The queen's reproductive system is more distinguished than those of the other changelings, resembling that of a female pony, but with the back of uterus funneling into a tube that runs through an ovipositor, which she uses to deposit her eggs inside of workers.