8: Friends and Allies
Queen Mira stood with a contingent of four of her personal guard at the cusp of Twilight’s hive. She was immediately aware she was being tailed the second she entered the forest, though not through her own perception. A threatening creature had lunged at her within the first five minutes of her trek, only to be felled by a single arrow. It had hit the thing perfectly in the temple, killing it instantly, while mid pounce. She saw neither the one who shot the arrow nor exactly where the arrow came from.
She couldn’t help but feel bad for Crystarium. Especially as she finally arrived after the hour long walk to find the massive hive before her. It was as large as all of her four hives combined, and since it was built into the mountainside there was no telling how deep it ran. She could barely make out what looked like a human talking to some of the stockier changelings up on one of the spiraling alcoves in the side of the rounded hive that she could only guess were ramparts. The outer shell of the hive.
She was lead inside by a changeling woman with a bow strung around her, though her quiver was full. Mira remembered this to be Nictus, the captain of Twilight’s personal guard. Nobody really said anything. There were mainly just clicking noises that Mira recognized as the ones all of the race made unconsciously like body language, but these ones appeared to actually be using it as a language.
She almost ran into the captain who had stopped and was now pointing upwards. Mira followed the digit and saw what looked like a spiral in the ceiling, she recognized it instantly as an entrance to the chamber above and inclined her head to the captain. Nictus inclined it back and the queen rose, using a hand motion to tell her guards to stay. She was only moderately surprised when the opening slid open of its own volition, not even a shred of magic. She felt strange in this room, almost like she didn’t belong here. She saw Twilight sitting on the bed, holding another changeling’s sleeping hand.
She recognized that changeling…
“Your show of faith certainly helped us, to that I am grateful. I will warn you, this room has been covered in a zone of truth. I will know if you lie to me, Queen Mira, otherwise I couldn’t trust you… Not after what Crystarium did.” Twilight said, opening her eyes and standing. The Lavender Queen had a respectful demeanor that almost told Mira otherwise, but in reality it was just habit when speaking to another ruler for Twilight.
“Well, it’s more than I thought you’d give me…” Mira hummed. Twilight nodded and motioned for them to sit at a table that had been brought in with two chairs and a bottle of wine. The wine was already poured, and Mira happily accepted.
“I want to know why you’re here and what your goals are for this war.” Twilight said simply. It wasn’t quite a request, but it was veiled as such. Mira knew better, she was in another Queen’s hive. They had not signed any agreements or even entered a verbal contract stating that she was to be unharmed. If Twilight wanted to she could kill Mira now and end her hive for good. But Mira knew Twilight wouldn’t do that unprovoked, and she had no intentions of doing so.
“This may sound strange coming from me, but I came here to get to know you as the individual Twilight Sparkle rather than Queen Twilight. I am interested in you and your brood and will happily assist in your research wherever I can, and I wish to show you that all of us Queens aren’t power hungry and deranged as Chrysalid and Crystarium. You’ve only been a queen for a small amount of time, yet you held yourself with far more regality than even Crystarium -and she prides herself in being ‘above’ everyone else.” Mira explained, taking a sip of her wine halfway through. Twilight took a little while to reply, not expecting most of it.
“And your intentions concerning the war?” Twilight prodded, not quite ready to make a decision on what to think of the Rosy Queen. Mira smirked.
“I have no intentions of interfering in this war on either side currently, but beyond all else I have no interest in Crystarium’s vye for power. She will betray Chrysalid and Greta as soon as she feels they aren’t worth their soldiers’ lives anymore and I’d rather not add my name to that list.” The Rosey Queen replied. There was an ever growing silence between them before Twilight sighed and downed her glass.
“Look, I want to trust you… I’m happy for any help I can get… I’m willing to give you a chance, but the only way I can do so without doubting it you wouldn’t like.” Twilight finally said. She was fidgeting with her glass. She seemed to not like the fact that she couldn’t trust someone being openly friendly.
“What did you have in mind?” Mira asked, a little uncertain. Twilight sighed again and stood, looking at the sleeping queen on the bed. Mira followed her gaze and so many questions rose in her mind.
“A binding contract. None that you’ve probably seen. It involves using a very specific spell to brand a contract into your arcane signature, we will obviously negotiate the terms of this contract until we are both happy. If we break the contract, it causes your energy to turn on you and start killing you. I don’t know how powerful your signature is so you could theoretically survive, but if I were to break it then the resulting feedback would probably glass the entire forest.” Twilight explained. Mira paled as Twilight explained it. This was very serious.
“Such power… Are you sure you’re not overestimating yourself?” The Rosey Queen asked, cautiously probing the girl for more information. Twilight chuckled softly as she retook her seat.
“More like underestimating… I’m the Element of Magic, one of the Elements of Harmony. I’ve yet to meet a creature besides Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that had more raw arcane power than I do, though there have been many who have had greater mastery of their smaller reserves…” Twilight replied. Mira didn’t know much of what she was talking about, but assumed it was something to do with Equestria and resigned to gather information later. Mira just nodded, taking the girl’s word for it.
“Before we negotiate this… contract… What happened to Chrysalis?” Mira asked after another few moments of silence, looking at the sleeping queen. She almost regretted it when Twilight sank in her chair.
“It’s… a long story…” Twilight sighed. She was doing that alot lately. “A story for another time, I fear if I tell it now after all that’s happened recently I wouldn’t be able to hold myself together.” She continued, looking at Chrysalis as well. Mira just nodded, she could feel the sorrow that the memories brought the Lavender Queen. Mira was actually surprised the girl was giving off such strong emotion, changelings usually had nothing or only vague hints of it in their aura. This was so powerful it almost caused Mira to feel it herself.
“Well then… I suppose it’s time we got to business… I will agree that, for the duration of this war, I will not assist your enemies in any knowing way. In return I would like to request an alliance between our hives to build trust and to learn from each other. The duration of this alliance will be undefined, as I cannot pretend to know what the future holds, but I personally hope it lasts quite a while. Strong alliances are rare and cast aside so often I don’t think the other queens know the meaning of the word anymore…” The Rosy Queen detailed her intentions. Twilight nodded a few times.
“My stipulations are that you allow diplomats into your hive and I will do the same for you if you wish, and as my allies you will by extension be allied with Equestria and its allies. We all protect each other, so you may be called upon should the need arise. As the contract holder, I will have the ability to change or amend terms if we both agree, but you will not be able to do the same. Are you satisfied with them for now?” Twilight replied. Mira thought for a while.
“I know little about Equestria, who are their allies?” Mira asked.
“The Tribes that roam the continent are all considered allies, the Dragons, the Griffons, and the Dark Valkyrie are all allies as well. If memory serves there was a Minotaur diplomat in Canterlot last I was there but I don’t quite know if they’re allied or just friendly yet.” Twilight answered. Mira hummed in thought.
“I have love harvesters among the Dragons and Griffons, if we are to be allied then further negotiations would need to be made with them specifically to allow us easier access to our harvesters and possibly to grant more safe living. In our pseudo-starved state we abate the curse, but the extra love means that we could safely increase our numbers without risking full starvation or overfeeding.” Mira added. Twilight nodded.
“I have a few friends in both nations, and I can always ask a favor of the Princesses. I’ve already got talks sending diplomats amongst all of our allies. We’ll leave that specific part of the contract open until you are satisfied with the results, otherwise I am ready to seal it when you are.” The Lavender Queen agreed. Mira nodded.
“Let’s get this over with, then. The sooner we end the chance of hostilities between us the better.” Mira said. Twilight nodded with a smile before it fell into a frown of concentration as she stood and walked over to Mira. Mira saw the glyphs and symbols on Twilight’s body show themselves again, this time the energy felt much less hostile. Before long, Twilight held out her hand.
“Then the previously discussed terms are set not in stone, but in our very beings. You are aware of the consequences of breaking this contract, as am I, and you concede the right to hold this contact to me. Take my hand, and the contract is sealed.” Twilight said after almost a minute of silence. Mira hesitated for a moment, but only a moment. She took Twilight’s hand and the girl smiled.
“Brace yourself, this won’t be pleasant.” She warned. Mira nodded and almost fell over as it felt like something was scraping at her very being. In reality, the terms of the contract were being etched into her life force, her arcane signature, her ‘soul’ as some people call it. It was not visible to anyone that could not read life energy, which was a rare ability outside of dark mages, but Mira could feel the power in the words she could only feel. It didn’t take long, the contract was rather short afterall, and Twilight’s demeanor had gone from careful mistrust to a much warmer happiness.
“I’m sorry to have to do this… but I know all too well how quickly people in power can shift their morales. Crystarium was not the first.” The lavender Queen said, returning to the bed to hold the sleeping queen’s hand. “As far as this war goes, I will be glad for any information you have on the other queens. If you can spare a few veteran warriors as well, we have very little open combat experience. I plan to fight this war defensively and hope Crystarium backs off. We have thousands of defenders and hundreds of veteran hunters, but we’ve never needed soldiers. Not since before I came to power. A friend of mine is already going to start the process, but you know how other changelings do war.” Twilight continued, looking back at Mira.
“I’d be happy to. I would offer actual soldiers, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I would also like to offer what archives I deem hold no secrets to you in your pursuit of knowledge, you didn’t appear to inherit the memories of your mother as is normal. All I ask in exchange for this is that whatever fruits come from our joint research is shared and that you protect me as if I was one of your own. Crystarium will not like our alliance, and I am a speck compared to your population.” Mira asked.
“You needn’t even ask those. In time I may even share some of my more recent discoveries with you. We’ve recently discovered a more effective alternative to Crystarium’s method of reinforcing chitin. What she doesn’t know is that we’ve also had the advantage of weaponry from the start.” Twilight replied. She put emphasis on the last statement by extending her blades. They surprised Mira, expecting Twilight to say something about a superior toxin.
“That’s… incredible. Is that actually metal, or is it chitin reinforced like Crystarium’s?” Mira asked, standing and walking closer to inspect the black metal blades.
“My head mage, who crafted these, calls it Black Metal. It’s forged and infused with changeling magic so it reacts favorably to our bodies. I will ask her if she is willing to share the process, as we have developed something even stronger as I have said.” Twilight answered, Mira just nodded, recomposing herself after the flash of wonder dominated her features.
“I think I will enjoy this alliance, Queen Twilight. I ask to remain with my guard for tonight, as we are tired from our journey, but we will leave in the morning to get things in motion.I will happily take diplomats as, judging by what little I’ve seen, you have an incredible connection with all of your drones. I only know the basic state and locational information of my drones.” Mira said. Twilight was a little surprised, but she had noticed the other hive minds were not as strong.
“I am precisely aware of just about everything all of my drones are doing. Nictus is instructing your guard on how to properly string a bow and how to coat arrows and blades in the toxin effectively. I had asked her to do so as soon as the contract was sealed, it will help if you ever enter the forest without us noticing. Lashers are common and dangerous, but there are far more dangerous creatures out there.” Twilight explained. Mira nodded, though internally she was in awe at the information. Not only can she possess another drone from far away, she could actively converse with them telepathically?
“If that is the case, I would be interested to learn if it’s possible to adapt that particular ability… You say it is the hive mind, but ours is so weak in comparison…” Mira said. Twilight hummed in thought.
“I do have a branch of research specifically focused on researching our kind, if they find something I’ll let you know. Access to your archives will surely speed that along.” The Lavender Queen replied with a smile. Mira nodded again and turned towards the exit.
“Then I will bid you a good day, Queen Twilight.” She said happily.
“And you as well. If you require food or love you can ask anyone where the nearest mess chamber is. As guests you are entitled to be fed to satisfaction for both.” Twilight said just as happily. Mira inclined her head in thanks and left the chamber. Twilight resumed her hive immersion then, keeping a bit of attention on her guests at all time. Most of it was focused on the researchers, learning what they learned as they learned it and offering help whenever she could.
Twilight also watched over her friends. Applejack had convinced Keine to take part in her drilling and the head defender was actually enjoying herself. Keine may have been larger by a foot and had twice the bulk, but all it took was one kick to the chest to put her against a wall. The farmer-turned-militia-lieutenant was doing an incredible job of showing the defenders how to form ranks properly and was currently showing them effective close quarters combat techniques.
Fluttershy was giving equestrian medical training to the medic drones, and was even helping along with the transmutation array to give them all Mira’s salve upgrade to their toxin. Twilight had already parsed the formula to give the toxin gland two chambers, one for the actual toxin and one for the salve. Fluttershy’s training specifically would most likely prove useful as it helped them mould their organic cement to make better bandages and how to use actual bandages. Afterall, the toxin doesn’t last forever.
Rarity already had pages of diagrams and blueprints of what to do with the odd construction of the hive’s outer shell to turn it into a proper defensive position. Currently, though, she was going through their cloth and leather stores to find inspiration on an outfit line she wanted to start for changelings in Equestria.
Pinkie was, surprisingly, not making tons of cakes and other pastries. The cooks were going at a blistering pace to keep up with her nonsensical pace for cooking, but were happy for the excitement. They were learning new techniques as well as how to do well under pressure because dear lord this pink human never lets up. She had also introduced using plates for those who wished to dine at the hall, and already a method was perfected for the meal pod to split open like a flower like a take-out box.
Dash had just returned as well. Well, by returned what really happened was a hunter found her passed out from exhaustion on a cloud halfway through the forest. She was conscious now and way stuffing her face on Pinkie’s excellently cooked food while spilling all she had to the nearby drones knowing that Twilight would hear. She had gotten the OK to stay, as well as have a few other wonderbolts head over to train up their fliers. Spitfire had allowed it as a favor to dash and to help promote cooperation in the future.
Mira and her guards had settled into the same mess hall, curious about the human that seemed to not give a care in the world that she was surrounded by changelings.
“Say, you look kinda like Twilight, and Chrysalis. Are you a queen too?” Dash asked when she had finally finished talking about her accomplishments getting help. Mira was surprised to be addressed, assuming she’d just blend in with the other changelings. She blinked a few times.
“Yes I am, I’ve just entered an alliance with Queen Twilight... “ The Rosy Queen almost stuttered out. This was strange, even for her, to be chatting with a human.
“Sweet! If Twilight trusts you than I do, but do me a favor and don’t betray her like that blue bitch did or I’ll have to come find you and beat the shit out of you until you make it up to her.” The Valkyrie almost challenged. It took a lot of self control from her and her guards not to lash out at this human, that was the bluntest threat they’d ever heard.
“Trust me, even if I could I wouldn’t… You’re rather brash for a random passerby. By your tale I assume you’re an ally of Queen Twilight’s? From Equestria I gather?” The Rosy queen asked to try and get away from the threat. Dash seemed satisfied by that.
“Name’s Rainbow Dash, and I mean yeah I’m an Equestrian ally. More importantly I’m one of her closest friends.” Dash replied. Mira hummed in contemplation of what to say next.
“I am Queen Mira, I admit I know next to nothing about Equestria and these… Wonderbolts you said? If you don’t mind I’d like to know more.” Mira inquired, letting her lust for knowledge overpower her regality for the moment.
Boy did she regret it. It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that the rainbow haired valkyrie finally finished gushing about the Wonderbolts and Equestria in general.
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Me likey. It's nice to see one of the other Queens actually be reasonable. Her allying work Twilight should keep her hive safe from any other Queens.
Suffice to say, I like Mira.
If the Queens get their heads out of their asses and pool their resources together, changelings could become a vanguard of innovation, combining their experience and technology to create wonders.
So... Where can I find the previous cover art?
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img1.reactor.cc/pics/post/full/mlp-Art-%26-Music-my-little-pony-%D1%84%D1%8D%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%8B-Queen-Chrysalis-2061183.png
That's what it was before
While the Element of Magic may not be well known the Demi-Goddesses of that move the sun and moon should be well known.
9391861
What they are probably, their names probably not. Changelings are so disconnected with Equestria at this point many don't even know that two people weild the sun and the moon. Their harvesters do, but most never bother even interacting with harvesters outside of taking their sustenance. That's what information gatherers are for.
9392328
I don't know that would be important information, especially considering how dangerous the two are to Changelings with them literally controlling the Celestial bodies.