Golden Shadows

by Sylif Daring Doo

The hive was home.

Author's Note:

Just to clarify a few facts that you may or may not know about this universes Changeling's, and from the previous story.

Manti/ pronounced mant eye, they are elite soldiers entrusted with the Queens protection, as well as acting as high ranking officers.

Queen Phera's hive does not replace Chrysilis.

Despite the flashback from the prequel story, Changeling's are hatched with knowledge and the mentality of a teenager, but childlike tendencies aren't uncommon.

Enjoy the chapter.

_______*years ago, Queen Phera's hive.*______

The two young Changeling Females were inside the den that had been given to them, the first one to be hatched had yellow eyes and a pale green carapace along with matching hair and tail colors, the second one had blue eyes and dark green hair and carapace.

It wasn't very big, only two rooms, they were living in the more densely populated area of the hive.

Right now however, the two sisters were sitting down and listening to a larger Changeling. "These are your quarters, you sleep and live here, as well as eat." He explained. "Do you understand?" He asked.

With a confirmed nod, the Changeling continued to speak. "The Queen will decide your names tommorow, but she has asked me to explain a few things to you." He stated.

"Most Changeling's are male, Females are rarely birthed, as they tend to be stronger in magic due to their emotions." He continued.

"But do not allow this knowledge to go to your head, arrogance gets one in more trouble than it's worth." The Changeling stated before bowing its head and leaving.

Afterwards, the two sisters decided to look around, the furniture was sparse, a couch, a table and two chairs, there was a small bookcase and a few books on it, and in the next room was a bed, a small desk and a lamp. "So uh, what should we do to pass the time?" Asked one of the sisters.

"I don't know, I'm thinking of just going to sleep and seeing where that takes us." The other sister replied as she walked into the bedroom.

______*the next day.*______

The two sisters walked with Queen Phera as she deliberated on the names for the sisters, they were inside what was called the archive.

It was a very big chamber in which books, scrolls and even arcane tomes were stored along with artifacts and a room for rituals, where they were going right now., but only the Manti or the Queen may read them, as well as any given permission.

Earlier in the day, the blue eyed Changeling had taken the same test as her yellow eyed sister, and she had resonated with the sharp object, which the Queen seemed intrigued about.

Soon enough, Queen Phera brought the Sisters into the ritual room and urged them to take places on stone slabs, it was different from the rest, where the rest of the hive seemed to be shaped based on necessity, this room looked to be intricately carved, at least compared to the rest of the hive.

The ritual room was dark, it had a large rune in the center along with stone slabs on the floor, Queen Phera stood in front of the sisters and spoke. "I have thought on names for the two of you." She looked at the yellow eyed Changeling. "You will be Skitter Firefang." She stated.

She then looked at the blue eyed Changeling. "And you will be Sapphire Bladewing." She said.

Queen Phera then walked to the center of the room and lit her horn. "Now I shall give you the blessing of the hive, allowing you to hear and feel the hive mind that connects us, you shall also be granted full access to your powers, without the normal limiters or the connection to your emotions." She explained as the rune lit up in a bright green glow.

The stone slabs that Skitter and Sapphire stood on soon shined with the color of their eyes, and then two beams of light erupted from their horns and merged with Queen Phera's. "What's going on?" Sapphire asked nervously.

"Do not be afraid young one, you are simply connecting to the hive mind, you may feel a flood of thoughts at first, but I shall help to ease the process." The Queen said reassuringly.

In but a moment, all the lights in the room went out, and the sisters were barraged with thousands of thoughts at once, all swarming and overwhelming their minds.

Skitter quickly dropped to the ground and screamed in pain, Sapphire soon followed as Phera spoke over the voices. "Concentrate young ones! you must not fight the hive mind, calm your minds and simply listen." She instructed.

Not seeing a better option, Skitter did as she was told, it took around five minutes but sure enough the Queens instructions worked.

Skitter took a few deep breaths and looked over at Sapphire, who slowly stood up, she grunted and forced herself to stand up.

"Well done, the merge was successful, welcome to the hive mind young ones." Queen Phera said as she lit the lanterns in the room.

With the room now lit up again, Skitter looked at the Queen. "What do we do now?" She asked curiously.

Queen Phera looked at Skitter. "Now I shall send you to where you need to go, do not worry, more will be explained shortly." She said as she lit her horn and teleported the two sisters away.

_______*elsewhere in the hive.*_______

Skitter gasped in shock as she was suddenly in a large chamber filled with Changeling's, they seemed to be fighting for some reason, while others were doing some exercises, she looked around and saw that Sapphire wasn't with her.

"Good, your on schedule." Said a gruff male voice.

Skitter looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large Changeling that had a broken horn, tattered wings and only one eye, he was quite terrifying. "Follow me." He ordered.

The large Changeling started walking and Skitter gulped, but she followed all the same, they went through a large door and entered a smaller chamber with young Changeling's like Skitter, the instructors were busy teaching them things ranging from basic combat to alchemy.

They continued walking until they reached the more quiet part of the room, where a male Changeling with only one hole in its legs stood, watching over its students as they practiced magic, there were only seven students which surprised Skitter, as the other teachers had at least twenty each.

The smaller Changeling had a black carapace and looked much older than the larger Changeling, his eyes were green and he seemed to notice the two, he walked over. "Andromadas, this is your new student, Skitter Firefang." Said the larger Changeling.

Andromadas looked at Skitter and nodded. "Yes, I can see that, come on then girl, I need to test your abilities." He stated.

Skitter followed the instructor and he presented a small wooden block. "First things first, I will teach you the most basic of magic, it may take days or even weeks, so do not rush it." He stated.

"Now, to actually use magic, you must have focus and concentration, so let's see you try to light your horn." He said. "Try to feel the magic within, tap into it, and focus it until it only has one place to go." He explained.

Skitter listened to his instructions, and attempted to use her magic, but she was completely unable to do so, she sighed in disappointment. "It's alright, no one gets it their first time." Andromadas stated.

"Try again, and when you have done it, I will speak to you again." The old Changeling said before turning his attention to his other students.

Skitter tried once again, and once again she failed, and she tried again, and again, and again, this went on for hours.

Soon enough, Skitter growled and felt her aggravation driving her, she grit her teeth and focused hard on sending the energy to her horn, she felt it bubbling at the surface but it wouldn't comply, so she decided on a different tactic.

Skitter then sent the energy somewhere else, she focused hard on its destination and sure enough, her hooves were lit up by a red aura, she took a few deep breaths as she heard someone walking over. "Interesting, instead of sending magic to the horn and powering through the mental block, you sent it to another place entirely." Andromadas chuckled. "I applaud your innovation young one." He stated.

Skitter allowed the energy to dissipate as she silently celebrated her small victory. "Now then, let's start with the next lesson." The instructor said calmly.

______*hours later, Skitter and Sapphire's den.*______

Skitter panted as she laid on the bed, comepletly exhausted from the magical exertion. "Where were you?" Sapphire asked, her voice was calm but Skitter could feel the worry eminating from her sister.

"I was in training chamber one, you?" She asked curiously.

Sapphire sighed and sat down on the bed. "Training chamber two." She replied as she rubbed her shoulder. "Those exercises are painful." She stated.

Skitter rolled over on the bed. "My training was magic based, I'm comepletely burnt out." She said as she closed her eyes.

"If today was this bad, what's tomorrow going to be like?" Sapphire asked.

Skitter groaned. "I really don't want to know." She said.

______*two months later*______

The day's blended together for the sisters, they would eat, they would train physically, they would learn magic and every few days they had days off to rest, where they practiced flight sometimes.

By the end of the second month, the sisters knew the hives layout, they also expanded their den by one room, it had taken a month and a half but it was done, the original bedroom was cut down a little, but that was fine.

Today though, Queen Phera had wanted to talk to them about something important, but she said it had to be done in person.

Skitter and Sapphire approached the throne and kneeled. "Leave us." The Queen said.

Soon, all the other Changeling's left the throne room and it was just the sisters and the Queen. "You may stand young ones, we have something to talk about." She stated.

Skitter stood up and looked at the Queen. "I know you have been wondering why I conducted that test on the day you hatched, and the day after for you Sapphire." Phera said as she walked to a small pedestal near the throne.

On the pedestal was the tray from the test. "These items are special, they are enchanted with a unique spell that chooses one to resonate with it."

"We use these items to determine ones role, Sapphire resonated with the blade, which means she will be warrior for the hive." She then looked at Skitter. "The sundial has not chosen a Changeling in a long time young one, as such, I am not sure what your destiny is." Phera stated.

Skitter blinked. "What do you mean by that?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

Queen Phera sat down on the throne once more. "With the other four objects, I am able to accurately predict the path the Changeling will take, but with the sundial, the Changeling's fate is unreadable, you are not bound to a fate, and are able to choose your own path." She explained.

Skitter looked at the floor in thought as the Queen spoke again. "You should not dwell on this news, many have been driven to madness attempting to discover their fate, now go." She ordered.

The sisters complied and left the throne room, allowing the other Changeling's to go inside.

After the twenty minute walk back home, Skitter sat down on the couch and looked at her sister who seemed to be radiating confusion and....jealously? "What's going on with you?" Skitter asked with worry.

Sapphire didn't seem to care that Skitter was worried. "You want to know so badly? read my mind." She said with irritation.

Skitter felt the anger from her sister slam into her, she sighed. "You know I won't, we have an agreement." She said, reminding Sapphire of their promise.

They had sworn that unless absolutely necessary, they would not read each other's minds, at least not for personal business. "So please tell me, what's wrong?" Skitter asked again.

"Why are you so special?" Sapphire asked with anger.

Skitter flinched as she felt another wave of anger wash over her. "What?" She asked out of shock.

Sapphire looked away and huffed. "We shared a pod, why do you get to choose your own path when I had mine chosen for me!?" She snapped.

Skitter stood up and looked at her sister who refused to look at her. "I didn't exactly have a choice!" She stated firmly. "Neither did you Sapphire, so don't hate me for something I had no control over." She added.

Sapphire grunted and walked into the bedroom, she closed the door and Skitter sighed.

Skitter sat on the couch again. 'What am i going to do with her?' She wondered.

______*one month later*______

Sapphire was walking home from training, she hadn't spoken to Skitter since their little incident, and while she knew she was at fault, Sapphire wasn't quite sure how to apologize.

So as she walked home, she simply took in the sights of Changeling's going about their business, moving supplies, leaving their homes, flying around to their destinations.

Sapphire soon approached her home and heard a voice behind her. "Can we talk?" Skitter asked.

With a nod, Sapphire walked inside with her sister, and they simply looked at each other.

"Saph, I know I cant change things, but if it helps, I won't leave you behind or at all." Skitter said.

Sapphire shook her head. "Skitter.....I'm sorry I lashed out, i guess I was just upset, I guess I'll make the same promise as you." She said.

Skitter could feel the guilt coming from her sister. "Thanks." She walked up and held her hoof out.

Sapphire shook her sisters hoof and smiled. "It was driving me nuts avoiding you." She stated.

______*two years later*______

The days blended together as the years passed, the training intensified and days off became less frequent for the first year, the sisters matured as well as time passed, because of the accelerated growth, Skitter and Sapphire were now adolescent Changelings.

They had been placed into specialized training after displaying incredible feats, Sapphire had a knack for lightning fast strikes, as well as a unique ability to make her wings as sharp as a dragons fang.

Skitter on the other hand was exceptional in fire and conjuring magic, while also having a respectable skill in physical combat.

The training they were in was for the Manti, but they were going for the Hunter positions, which meant going outside the hive and hunting down the enemies of the hive and Queen, as well as scouting out possible future homes or outposts.

Right now, Skitter and Sapphire were in training chamber one where they just finished their training for the day, they were both tired from all the work they put in so they started to walk to the resting area to cool off.

As they sat down, Skitter looked at her sister and spoke. "You hear about Andromadas?" She asked.

Sapphire nodded sadly, the old changeling had passed away days ago, and was buried in the ceremonial tomb of the Manti, to honor his one hundred and thirty two years of service. "I'm going to miss the grump." She muttered.

After a couple minutes of resting, the sisters were approached by a drone. "The Queen wishes to speak to you." He stated before leaving.

Skitter stood up. "Let's not keep her waiting then." She replied.

Sapphire followed Skitter as they flew to the entrance of the palace, it took barely two minutes to reach the entrance, and when they arrived, they quickly made their way to the throne room.

Once inside, the sisters approached the throne and bowed in respect.

The throne room itself had only seven Changeling's inside, the Queen, her four advisors and the sisters. "Skitter Firefang, Sapphire Bladewing, the both of you have shown incredible promise in your training, you had the respect of Andromadas, as well as the respect of your instructors." Queen Phera began.

"As such, we are prepared to promote you both to junior Manti." Douglas, the new archmage of the hive stated.

"But we will need proof that you are truly ready for the tasks that ahead, as such, we have a mission for you two." The military strategist, Wallko added.

Queen Phera then spoke. "Our scouts have learned of an ancient mine, filled with Crystal and even artifacts if we are lucky." She explained.

"Regardless of the presence of artifacts, the hive could benefit greatly from these crystals, as it will bring us more profitable trade with the Equines." Terrance, the supply commissioner said calmly.

"Therefore, you two shall explore this mine comepletely, bring back any artifacts you find, and ensure the mine can be harvested." Phera ordered.

Skitter and Sapphire bowed once again and walked out of the throne room. "This shouldn't be too difficult." Skitter said confidently.

"Maybe, but I'm going to pack anything we may need, never know when you may need something random." Sapphire said with caution, trying to warn her sister to be careful.

______*the next day, outside the hive, 6:10 AM.*_______

Skitter took a long deep breath and simply enjoyed the fresh air of the surface, the sun was just rising, and the lighting was perfect, she rested her back against the tree.

Sapphire smiled at the sight of her sister enjoying the outside world. "I'm glad we can enjoy this quiet moment." She said grimly.

Skitter chuckled and looked up at the sky. "Why are you being so morbid? we are trained for combat, we can't be beat by some random animal." She stood up and looked at Sapphire. "So stop worrying." She said with a firm tone.

Sapphire nodded. "I suppose your right, I just hope I'm wrong and things go smoothly." She muttered the last past to herself.