Chapter 08 - Family Trip! (The Cicada Hive part 1)
The remainder of the night was a wholesome one. After offering Cicah a place to stay, the whole hive gathered in the throne room, began sharing their Nightmare Night experiences. To your heart’s content, your drones seemed to have had a great time and a much-deserved rest. Cicah joined in as well, telling her own stories of the multiple adventures and misadventures she and her brothers and sisters went through that holiday.
As the exertion of the day finally caught up to you, you began retreating to your chambers at the library, but you halted halfway through, deciding instead to go to the Hatchery. You didn’t know for how long you would be far from your hive, and even though you worried about your eggs, you knew you couldn’t risk bringing them with you.
As you walked through the entrance, you saw one of your drones, Phengaris, laying snugly around the egg cluster. That scene gave you a bit of a relief. You knew your drones would protect the eggs. Still, more worries clouded your mind, you’ve never been so far away from them, would you be okay if you were to go by yourself? Maybe I should bring some company with me, you thought. If anything, you wouldn’t be so lonely on your trip.
Letting out a heavy sigh and pushing as much of these thoughts away, you approached your drone and eggs, snuggling beside them like a big spoon. Phengaris twitched at the unexpected movement. You gave both her forehead and your eggs a little goodnight kiss and tucked your head in, soothing her. Mother give me luck, you prayed, before letting your mind drift away to the realm of dreams.
The following morning was as hectic as you expected it to be. The first thing you did was notify your drones of your absence and announce who you selected to accompany you; Evening Star, Max Volt, Sunstrike and Lazy Mist being the lucky winners. Then you went over every nook and cranny of the castle with your drones, checking and foolproofing everything that may cause problems in your absence. The commotion disturbed Derpy, who offered to go with you as well, but you refused, asking her to keep an eye on the hive instead and assist with whatever your drones may need.
After everything was said and done, you let out a sigh of satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan so far. Nothing to worry about, you thought.
Too early…
On your way to the train station, everyling put up their disguises, Star turning into a dark blue earth pony mare, Volt turning into a light grey unicorn, Sunstrike turning into a white unicorn, and Mist turning into… a mannequin. You saw a few memories flash through the hivemind of him turning into such a thing to hide from his fellow drone, but you didn’t expect him to use that as an actual disguise!
“The train is about to depart! We need to hurry!” Cicah called you from the side of the train station, her changeling self being replaced by a rosy beige pegasus mare with a reddish brown mane, tail and feather tips.
With no time to argue, you grumpily balanced the mannequin between yours and Sunstrike’s backs and hurried to the train. As you passed by Cicah, she quietly whispered to you with a wink, “By the way, you can call me Nightingale.”
“Enigma,” you whispered back. In your hurry, you almost forgot to introduce your disguises.
Once on board, you quickly found your designated car and seats. You felt a bit of relief when the train took off and only a few passengers shared the same car with you, Star seemed pleased as well. The trip was relatively quiet and peaceful, much to your surprise. You kept a small chat with Cicah while your drones added something here and there but mostly listened.
A steward pony walked in and out from time to time, offering goods. You had to move Mist out of the way so she could pass, but every time the train would pass through a tunnel or something would obscure the view, Lazy would move to a new spot within the car.
Some ponies were starting to be creeped out by the seemingly haunted mannequin, so you called him out over the hivemind, That disguise is not working, Mist.
Of course, it is! It’s simple and effective! he shot back, unaware of the ponies’ stares.
You’re scaring the ponies, you tried to reason, to little avail.
That’s good, that way they’ll keep clear of us.
That was it. You waited for the next tunnel, snatching Mist and dragging him to the cargo car at the back as soon as the shadows fell upon it. The sudden absence of not only the mannequin, but also an elderly pony scared some of the passengers even more, to the point some decided to leave the car and seek refuge at the front car.
Once in the safety of the cargo car, you dropped your disguise, Mist dropping his soon after.
“Come on, Mist, stop messing around!” you scolded him, stomping your hoof impatiently.
“I wasn't, a simple disguise helps save love, and since we don’t know for how long we’ll be out, that would be a good idea,” he argued. His argument had some merit to it, but saving love was not worth drawing unwanted attention.
“It won’t matter if we end up having to waste love trying to flee should we be discovered. Now, please behave!”
Letting out a sigh, he bobbed his head. “Alright. What should I turn into then?”
“It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s a living creature, preferably a pony.”
You later exited the cargo car and returned to your seat, Mist following behind you as a light gray, black-maned pegasus.
Now that you were drawing less attention, the trip returned to its quietness. Some of your drones wandered the other cars to pass the time while Mist just lay on his seat, mumbling and asking strange questions about even stranger things, somehow, someway, he ended up being more talkative than Cicah when bored.
After an hour and a few minutes, Cicah jumped off her seat, calling you to look at the window. “We’ve arrived, guys!” she squealed in excitement.
The sight amazed you, the big city was nothing like Ponyville. You were crossing a long metal bridge with cool, horseshoe-shaped arcs. Innumerous gigantic square buildings reached for the sky, some even higher than the clouds! In the distance, a huge statue of a mare holding a torch could be seen. Lots and lots of carriages ran to and fro as your train sped through the streets, nearing its destination.
“Come on, everypony!” Cicah beckoned you as she ran out the door when the train stopped. The station was a massive building lit by electric lamps on enormous chandeliers. A big, four-sided, golden clock sat in the middle of the station to help its passengers find to keep track of their appointed trains. There were more ponies buzzing around the station than in the whole Ponyville square!
The crowd was a bit intimidating, maybe too intimidating for Star, who had her ears almost glued to the back of her head. You ran a hoof on her shoulder to calm her and walked her out of the train. Cicah guided you out of the station and into the street. To some extent, the exterior as even more intimidating than the interior. The buildings seemed even taller up close and the carriages darted madly through the streets. How could anypony try to cross a street like that?!
The sidewalk wasn’t much better either. Ponies would bump and push each other as they tried to move through the crowd, the occasional swear word thrown here and there. This is pure madness! you shouted unintentionally through the hivemind, earning the silent agreement from your fellow changelings.
Apparently, Cicah noticed your uneasiness. “Oh, come on guys, I know that the big city might be a bit intimidating at first, but there’s nothing to worry about.” Suddenly, her eyes glimmered as an idea crossed her mind. “I know, I’ll show you around! This way you can get acquainted with the big city while visiting some cool places! What do you say?”
“Can’t hurt, I guess,” you replied, still somewhat reluctant.
“Let us go!” Cicah jumped into the air in excitement.
She navigated you through the sea of ponies and dashing carriages deeper into the city. The more you walked, the more you noticed your drones growing more nervous, especially Star. She couldn't take her mind away from the sheer number of ponies around her. Images of her dropping her disguise and drawing attention seeped to the hivemind as her imagination and worry ran wild. You confessed that the amount of prying eyes were really intimidating, so was increased presence of security ponies.
Don't worry Star, no need to be afraid, you tried to calm her through the hivemind. We're here with you.
T-that's one of the things that worries me, my Queen, she replied, her ears flat on her skull and her tail between her legs. What if they capture you as well?!
They won't, because they will not find us, you reassured her, patting her back. You quickened your pace a little bit to reach Cicah, leaning in, you asked, “Cicah? Can we get a carriage there instead?”
Cicah stopped to think for a while. “Humn, a carriage for six is going to be hard to find, but I'll try!”
You thanked her as she ran to the side of the sidewalk, eyeing the passing carriages like a starving husk stalking its prey.
You took your drones to rest near a store's showcase to clear the sideway. True to her word, most of the carriages had space for just a passenger or two, but after a few minutes, Cicah found an empty carriage. Throwing herself in front of it to make it stop, she gave the stallion directions and a few bits as everybody climbed on the back.
The ride was relatively short, but the time spent in the confined space of the carriage was enough to help calm the nerves down, even you let out a sigh of relief for being out of that never-ending sea of ponies pushing and bumping into you all the time. It reminded you of the brief time you spent at your mother’s hive and how that, even though there were a lot more bodies moving around, there was always a sense of order among all that chaos. Changelings rarely bumped or ran into each other, they always knew how to navigate, minding their fellow hivemates.
The carriage left you in front of a bridge that led to a giant statue of a rearing mare sitting on a tiny island, the mare sported a robe and a crown, a torch in one hoof and a stone tablet in the other. Cicah jumped out of the carriage with a bounce. “Here we are, guys, ‘The Mare’ statue!” she singsonged.
The bridge to the island was littered with other tourists, taking pictures of everything. As Cicah walked you by, a few ponies recognized her and soon enough a small crowd formed around her.
“Nightingale! I love you!”
“I'm your biggest fan!”
“Can you sign my shirt please?!”
The admiration from her fans was very much palpable. You could see and feel the energy feeding into her. It wasn't love, nor was it any real deep feeling, but the sheer volume of it was enough to surpass all of your gatherers’ output. Now you knew how well the Cicada hive was able to maintain itself.
Cicah greeted her fans, signing a few things here and there for a couple of minutes, but when she tried to leave, it seemed that her fans still wanted to spend a little more time with her. She tried to push through the crowd, but they simply followed her. You were beginning to consider stepping in to help her when she covered up her mouth with her wings, feigning a yawn.
“Is that Sapphire Shores?!” you heard a voice of a crowd echoing nearby, followed by the sound of stomping hooves and screaming fans. You searched around to see from where that noise was coming from, but you couldn’t find any other crowd. Still, that was enough to capture the attention of the mob surrounding Cicah, who took the opportunity to swiftly sneak away.
You followed her to a souvenir shop where she fetched some shades and “The Mare” statue-like cap as an attempt of a disguise. The notion of a changeling disguised as a pony having to wear a disguise was very amusing to you. Cicah noticed your giggling and smirked, sticking out her tongue. Checking herself in a mirror and finding her disguise sufficiently adequate, Cicah paid for the goods and you continued to the statue’s entrance.
“You have quite the fanbase,” you teased Cicah.
“Not really, I only performed in a few shows here and there, nothing major. Those tourists must have met me in one of those. Nobody from here knows me though, this city is a tough crowd.” She giggled. “Good thing they were easily distracted!”
“Ah, so it was you who made the sounds of those crying fans?” you asked.
“Yup! We Cicadas are great at imitating sounds, remember?” She gave you a proud smirk, puffing out her chest.
I wonder if I have any special talent like them. You remembered your little tour of your mother’s hive, and that each changeling hive had their own specific color, maybe that was linked to what powers they possessed? But your carapace didn’t have any specific color, it was an iridescent sheen that reflected all sorts of colors as light shined through it, kinda like your mother’s…
No, you corrected yourself. Mother had a translucent carapace with only the faintest signs of colors, it was almost see through… But then, another thought came to mind. Now that I think about it, I never knew what sort of powers mother had… what we may share… The more you thought about it, the more you realized how little you know about Arch Queen Elysia. You were her daughter, and yet, she felt so distant to you...
In your inner turmoil, you failed to notice that Cicah had taken you to an elevator that led you to the crown of The Mare. The crown was, in fact, a huge balcony with binoculars for ponies to spy the horizon and appreciate the view. Volt quickly darted towards the edge of the balcony, leaning out. He was looking enthusiastically at the tip of the statue’s torch, noticing a few lightning rods. His mind was ecstatic at the thought of what an amazing light show would it be to watch the lightning cracking down from the skies, dancing as it reached for the rods on a stormy day. “We need to come back here when it’s raining!” he squealed in excitement.
You leaned against the railings of the balcony, mindlessly gazing over the horizon as you thought over and over about Queen Elysia. Star leaned in next to you, observing the city below. “It’s interesting how the many streets and avenues of the city resemble the hive’s tunnel network from up here,” she commented.
Her comment went straight over your head as you maintained a somewhat blank stare, only letting out a simple “uhum” of acknowledgment. Your lackluster response was not unnoticed by Cicah, who placed a hoof over your shoulder. “Princess? Are you okay?” she asked.
The title dragged you out of your stupor. You haven’t been called “Princess” since you left Queen Elysia’s hive…
“I… I don’t know.” You faltered, letting out a sigh of frustration. “It’ just that, I’ve been thinking about my mother and how little I know about her. Maybe my time with her was cut too short…”
“Aw, don’t be sad! Sadness is too sour! What you need is something sweet, something to make you happy!” Cicah exclaimed, spreading her wings wide. “I know, let’s visit the city park! It’s a beautiful place full of flowers and critters. The park always made me happy, maybe it will make you too!
You laughed at Cicah’s chirpy demeanor, her joyfulness sure was infectious.
“Alright, thank you, Cicah.”
“No need to worry, I got your back!”
After another carriage ride, you arrived at the city’s Central Park. It truly was a beautiful sight. The park consisted of wide, flower-covered fields of grass with a gentle river cutting it in half. Ponies sailed cute, yet goofy looking swan boats up and down, passing beneath moss-covered stone bridges. Squirrels skittered among the trees, hopping from branch to branch. Colorful birds flew among even more colorful kites pulled by young colts and fillies playing in the fields. The whole place emanated peacefulness, an escape from the exhausting life of the big city.
You ran your hooves slowly through the grass as you stepped in, feeling it caressing your sensitive flesh after spending so much time walking on hard concrete. All the worries you had gave way to the relaxing sensation, allowing you to rest for a moment.
You and your drones quickly found a cool shade near the river bed and nestled there, flattening the grass just right to make it into a comfy bed. You placed one of your hooves on the water surface, mindlessly playing with it, appreciating the fresh air and pleasant scent of the flowers all around you.
A few minutes later Cicah brought everybody some milkshake. Your drones dived in right away, proving that milkshake apparently became a hive favorite, but after a few gulps, they seemed less enthusiastic. Curious, you take a few sips yourself and surprisingly, you didn’t like it that much either. It tasted so… bland, it wasn't as sweet as the milkshake from Sugar Cube Corner.
“Tastes bland, right?” Cicah asked you, almost as if she heard your thoughts through the hivemind.
“Yeah…”
“It’s one of the problems of this city.” She nodded knowingly. “The ponies that live here are so worried about work, keeping a good image or following trends that they forget to take a moment off, enjoy some company and have fun. Everywhere you walk around town, you only see these deflated, mindless shells walking to and fro, hoping for the day to end just so they go to bed and repeat the process the next day.”
You could feel a bit of sadness within Cicah, but also, hopefulness and... determination?
“You know, the Cicada Hive have almost no gatherers, the amount of love they can collect is not worth the upkeep. Instead, we have changelings like me! We try our best to cheer ponies up so we can feed the hive!” she said with pride, striking a valiant pose. “Still, most of us act as traveling musicians instead of performing here. Like I said before, tough crowd.” She giggled at the end.
“That’s why you and your siblings were at Queen Elysia’s hive, correct?”
“Yup! We were just about to come back after a long tour!” she chirped.
“Oh? How was it?” you asked, taking one final sip of your milkshake, happy to see Cicah gleeful again.
“Oh, it was great! We ran all along the coast, performing at Fillydelphia and Baltimare, making a final stop at Hollow Shades before coming back to organize the Queen’s…” Cicah, trailed off for a few seconds, the gears in her mind screeching to a halt before speeding backward, a loud gasp escaping from her shocked expression. “The Queen’s performance! I almost forgot!”
“The what?” you asked, confused and worried.
“We gotta get back to the hive right now!” Cicah suddenly grabbed your hoof and dragged you with frightening force. You tried to ask her to let you go and calm her down, but there was no stopping her. She flew away as if her life depended on it. At that moment, it kind of did.
Cicah carried you to the entrance of a fancy building. Two pink flags hung on the sides of the glass doors. A bellhop pony stood at attention beside a golden sign.
Manefair Hotel.
Cicah walked over the red carpet to greet the bellhop pony. “Hiya, Luggage Cart, how you doing today?”
“Hello, Miss Nightingale! I’m as fine as always, thank you. If you’re looking for Miss Songbird, she’s at her suite,” he greeted back, tipping his hat.
“Thanks! By the way, this is Ms. Enigma and her friends, they’ll be staying with me and Songbird for a while!” she introduced you, pulling you closer.
“Welcome to the Manefair Hotel! I hope you enjoy your stay!” The stallion waved as Cicah dragged you into the elevator, your drones following closeby. The elevator was so spacious that all six of you easily fit in it with room to spare.
The elevator stopped at the twentieth floor. The doors opened to reveal a gorgeous living room, its walls light beige with golden adornments. The floor was covered in a soft, dark crimson velvet carpet extremely soft to the touch. Pink roses sat on a nearby window. Cicah guided you deeper, passing through a corridor that led you to an open space with a big glass pool. Across the pool were a couple of ponies preparing some drinks behind the counter of a small bar. In front of it were multiple pool chairs, and on the farthest chair sat a pegasus mare with beige fur and black and yellow mane and tail, drinking a coconut cocktail and relaxing under the sun.
You immediately felt a powerful presence as you approached the pool. She must be Arch Queen Sicaria. An unexpected nervousness slowly began to make itself known. This was your first contact with another changeling hive beside your mother’s. You could not afford to screw things up if you wished to have any semblance of an boost to your diplomatic endeavors. You tried your best to still your nerves. Putting up a smile, you began to circle around the pool to approach, her but were interrupted by Cicah, who raised a hoof to stop you.
Cicah slowly sneaked behind the mare with a devious grin. She pounced at the mare, covering her eyes with her hooves, making her yelp in surprise.
“Guess who?” Cicah sing-songed, giggling as the mare struggled.
You couldn’t help but think of how silly that game was. She was a changeling, they knew exactly who each other were, and yet, you could feel the joy of their play. Cicah let go of her, burning away her disguise and returning to her original self.
“Hey, mom, I’m back!” she buzzed her wings in excitement, a large smile on her face.
“It’s good to have you back, Cicah!” The pegasus mare was replaced by a big changeling Arch Queen. She had a small, soft and squishy looking exoskeleton and a bright pink carapace. Her legs had pink musical notes decorating her holes and her hot pink mane and tail were styled like the ones of actresses and performers you saw on multiple billboards around town. She had two pairs of wide wings and she wore a beautiful and detailed crown, it grew in the shape of musical notes, forming a tiara, its silver coloration making it look like silver jewelry when, in fact, it was changeling chitin.
“Tell me, how was your tour? I bet you dazzled everypony with your voice!”
“It was a lot of fun, but we can talk about it later ‘cause I brought a guest!” Cicah pointed at you, all your mental preparation seemingly melting as you were not expecting such a sudden introduction.
As soon as Sicaria locked her neon pink eyes on you, something seemed to have clicked in her mind, her expression one of surprise and joy.
“Is she…” she asked Cicah, trailing off.
“Yes! She’s Queen Elysia’s daughter!”
You gave her a meek wave, the only thing you could muster.
“I can’t believe her eggs finally hatched…” You heard her mutter to herself. “P-please, come closer! Let me have a look at you!”
You circumvented the pool, dropping your disguise as you walked. You sat a couple of meters away from Sicaria, your iridescent eyes avoiding hers. “H-hello, Arch Queen Sicaria, I am--” You bowed to greet her, cut short as you were suddenly lifted off the ground by a hot pink magic aura and brought to Sicaria’s arms. She gave you a tight hug and snuggled her cheeks with yours.
“Mother be praised, you look just like my sister! I can’t believe her eggs finally hatched! I’m so happy to meet you! Your iridescent carapace is gorgeous! Ohhh, you’re already a Queen! Your tiny crown is so cute! Who are those? Are those your drones?! Are they my sister’s as well?!
Like mother, like daughter, apparently...
“Y-yes, they’re my siblings…” was the only answer you could give from the onslaught of questions.
“No way! Come in, let me see you!” She beckoned your drones, who were waiting at the entrance. They approached her as asked, dropping their disguises.
“Ohhh, you’re all so cute! I wish I could have seen you as tiny little larvae!” Sicaria squealed in joy, her hug tightening around your neck. You tapped her hoof in surrender, catching her attention.
“Oh, I’m sorry dearie! Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, just give me a moment…” you pleaded, your body limp at the edge of the pool.
“Look at me, such a horrible host! CC-1232? Please bring us all a coconut drink, please?” she asked her drone at the bar, who nodded and began preparing your drinks.
“Please take a seat, there’s so much I want to talk about!” She levitated the pool chairs closer, forming a circle.
You took a seat right next to her, Cicah sitting on her other side and your drones took the remaining seats in between.
“So, tell me, dearie, what’s your name?”
“I… don’t have one yet.”
“Oh…”
Her drone finished preparing the drinks, an awkward silence taking hold while he served them.
“Then… how’s Elysia doing?
“I… don’t know.”
Sicaria’s expression went from awkward to worry. She turned to Cicah and asked, “What happened?”
“She was cut off from the hive the moment she hatched,” Cicah explained.
“What?! Why?!” Sicaria asked, baffled.
“I’m not sure, Mother said that something was going to happen between the changeling hives, she asked me to build my own hive so that I can help her,” you elaborated, recollecting you mother’s words from your first day.
“‘Something between the changeling hives’? What does she mean? The hives have been in peace for nearly a millennia now,” Sicaria said, confused.
“I don’t know, but I wish to fulfill my mother’s request and to do so, I’d like to ask you to form an alliance with me, I don’t have much to offer at the moment, but I’m sure our hives would benefit from our friendship!” you pushed on, praying that your good will would be enough to convince her to join you.
“She’s also going to help me with my problem with the show!” Cicah blurted out, with pride of her friend.
That completely overtook Sicaria’s attention, the queen asking worriedly, “What problem with the show?”
“Oopsie… hehe.” Cicah giggled nervously, shrinking on her chair.
“Wait, I thought she knew about this.”
“Knew about what?!”
Cicah crumbled under the pressure, taking a deep breath and blurting everything out, “I’m so so so so sorry! You charged me with organizing your next show and that made me so happy that I wanted to make the greatest show ever so I talked with that Svengallop fellow and hired him to set everything up. But when he learned the show would be for charity he bailed on me and I had no idea who to call, but I didn’t want to worry you so I went to Ponyville and visited her to chill out a little and then I saw the Nightmare Night event she set up at her hive and thought that was amazing and that she could help me so I brought her here and I planned to fix everything before you knew, but I let it slip. PLEASE DON’T BE MAD AT MEEE!"
Mother make her stop! your drones cried over the hivemind, covering their ears. Somehow, Cicah was talking multiple things at once! Powering through the deafening noise, you noticed that her neck had two pairs of almost gill-like incisions near where her vocal cords must be. They were vibrating and opening at different intervals. Maybe that was the source of the sound? That would explain how she imitated the sound of a crowd of fans earlier. That must be the special ability of the cicadas.
Sicaria shoved her hoof down Cicah’s throat, silencing her. “Good grief, Cicah, calm down!” She removed her hoof, allowing her to take a deep breath. “So nothing for the show was set? Not even the permits?”
“I took care of the permits, but the stage, lights and the special effects are all gone…” Cicah explained more calmly.
Sicaria let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, we can still salvage this. Can you take care of at least one of those problems?”
“Yes!”
“Then we’ll be fine.” Sicaria turned towards you. “Dearie? This is your time to shine! If you can help us get this show on the road, you’ll more than earn our friendship! Will you help us?”
Stage, lights and special effects… You had no idea how any of these work! This was a much bigger problem than what Cicah let on when she asked you! Your fear quickly spread throughout the hivemind, but your drones were quick to respond.
Don’t worry, my Queen, we can tackle this challenge! I can take help you with the lights! Sunstrike encouraged you.
I can set the stage, seems simple enough, Lazy Mist added.
And I’m sure I can make some cool effects with the right amount of electricity! Max Volt offered as well.
You could also feel the support coming from your drones back at the hive, their praise and encouragement pushing you forward. You may be young and inexperienced, but you have the entire hive at your back all the time. Together, you could accomplish anything!
You smiled at Sicaria and said, “We won’t let you down!”
...
<Hivemind>
Everyling was hard at work back at the hive. The warriors were patrolling the area around the hive to make sure nothing came too close unnoticed. They were carrying the timberwolf seed to ward off potential threats. The first group of gatherers was collecting love around Ponyville while the second group was watching the eggs. Meanwhile, the workers were finishing construction of the Arcanium.
The chamber had a large pinnacle made of hardened changeling slime coming from the ground and the ceiling, almost touching each other. Each pinnacle had about a dozen of clear, crystalline-like slime resin feeding energy into it. Once the room was finished, the workers charged the resin with their magic, powering up the pinnacles. This caused them to shoot magically charged sparks between each other almost like a neuron synapse. With a job well done and exhausted after spending too much magic, the workers decided to join in with the gatherers at Ponyville, maybe paying a little visit to Sugarcube Corner to grab a few milkshakes.
As the hours passed by, the drones would tune in to the hivemind and feel the distress of their Queen. This caused them to be more worried by the hour, the Young Queen’s confidence dwindling more and more.
“She’s doubting herself,” Pupa commented.
“Would you blame her? She was literally kicked out right after hatching. There’s not much for her to cling on to,” High Tide said.
“What if we were to give her something else to identify herself with? This way she may get her mind out of Queen Elysia for a while,” offered Redwood.
“I know! She received a black crystal when she arrived right? Why don’t we sculpt her a nice throne? Every Queen needs a throne, plus it would add to our defenses,” Mask Charade suggested, buzzing its wings.
The whole hivemind agreed on that idea. They fetched the black crystal and placed it between the old thrones of the two sisters, igniting its growth with magic.
“There, it will take a few minutes before the crystal is big enough to be sculpted, meanwhile we could--” Rose was interrupted as the warriors warned the hivemind.
There’s a pony approaching the hive!
Twilight Sparkle trotted happily towards the castle ruins, the prospect of meeting a friend and maybe borrowing some new books being more than enough reason to venture into the Everfree Forest.
She knocked on the doors, causing it to creak open slightly. “Hello? Is anypony home?”
Hearing only her own echo, Twilight decided to step inside, surely Enigma wouldn’t mind, right?
The drones stalked her like a predator under the full moon, ready to strike if she made the wrong move.
What should we do? Should we attack her? one of them asked.
No, our Queen has been trying to live peacefully with the ponies, let’s not ruin that. But be at the ready.
Twilight slowly walked through the castle ruins, admiring the architecture and decor, or at least what was left of it. She passed over the thrones of the two sisters without paying too much attention, she didn’t want to pry on Enigma’s new house for too long, she just wanted to fetch a book to continue her studies, her knowledge of old pony architecture guiding her to where she deduced to be the royal library.
With only a few backtrackings, Twilight quickly found her target.
“Wow, so much hidden knowledge!” she admired the seemingly limitless amount of books, everywhere she turned, she would find a new shelf or corner filled with books.
It only took a couple of minutes for her to find her desired book. She pulled it off the shelf with her telekinesis, but her magic failed soon after, dropping the book.
“Huh?”
Twilight tried to ignite her horn again but had some difficulty, after a few attempts, she finally managed to focus her magic and pick the book from the stone floor. She brought the book closer to inspect her magic aura but found nothing out of place.
“Weird…”
Twilight wanted to investigate further, but decided that it would be best for her to leave, she didn’t want to upset her friend by prying around her stuff while she was away.
When she left the castle, the drones came out of hiding.
“Do you think she suspects anything?” Insectsidous asked, warily.
“Maybe, maybe not, gotta pay close attention to her,” Onyx Axe replied, watching as the pony vanished among the trees.
The Young Queen tackles the big city! A pony wonders into the Hive! But most importantly, she met a new Arch Queen! And what's that? "part 1?" Oh my! 
(art by:Lola Dotz)
It's a small step for a Young Queen, but a large jump into a great adventure! Let's whish her the best of luck! 
Twilight suspects something! What should we do?! 
I say we capture her and drain her love until she turns into a husk 
Alright, everybody, it's great to be back and you all know what comes next 
It's time to make some choices!!!
But before we jump into it, let me just give a refresher to our beautiful veterans and a notice to our newbies: PLEASE REMEMBER TO NUMBER YOUR CHOICES IN THE END TO HELP ME COUNT THEM LATER! Thank you!
Queen's choices:
1) Help with the stage. Let's hope Mist puts his interest for weird stuff to good use and manages to properly set up the stage, otherwise, someling might get hurt! (successfulness rate: 70%/ Danger rate: 50%)
2) Help with the Lighting. Sunstrike shall shine the light of hope for this new alliance! hopefully... (successfulness rate: 70%/ Danger rate: 40%)
3) Help with the Special Effects. Everypony will be ecstatic with the electrifying effects that Volt will provide us, that is if they don't end up fried... (successfulness rate: 70%/ Danger rate: 60%)
Just to clarify, all three options have the same percentage for success, however, some are more dangerous than the others so if they do fail, the consequences will be harsher 
Hive Choices:
Gatherers (unit one):
1) Gather love. (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
2) Help the Workers. (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
3) Watch the eggs. (Causes Resting)
Gatherers (unit two):
1) Gather love.
2) Help the Workers.
3) Watch the eggs.
Warriors:
1) Scout the area around Ponyville (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
2) Help the Gatherers. (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
3) Help the workers. (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
4) Watch the eggs. (Causes Resting)
Workers:
1) Build Barrack. (Unlock the advanced unit: Guardian [fighter]/ Slowly heals warriors) (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
2) Build Slime Pit. (Unlock the advanced unit: Hivekeeper [defense]/ Increase hive structural integrity) (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
3) Build Covert Network. (Unlock the advanced unit: Spectre [espionage]/ Can recover Anonymity) (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
4) Watch the eggs. (Causes Resting)
If you'd like to create a changeling for the story, learn about the game rules and mechanics or check all the details about the character's statistics, you can find all of it within the Support Page! We even have a discord server!
I hope you like the chapter!
-A.M.
Chapter edited by:EverfreePony
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Queen 2, gatherer unit one 3, gatherer unit two 1, warrior 3, worker 4. I prefer to play it as safe as possible.
Queen - 2 Has both the lowest Danger change and reading sunstrikes description they might be able to do great stuff with lighting
G1 - 3 No need to overwork right now
G2 - 2 To counter worker fatigue
G3 - 3 Rest + more egg watching
W2 - 2 Defence is always good
A wild Twilight Spackle appeared. What will the Hive do?
Pokemon reference if you don't know.
As for choices: Q #2, GU1 #3, GU2 #2, Wa #4, Wo #3
First of all, nice to see the next chapter up! Lengthy read is great too. Everyling on edge is definitely why the chances are all... so so XP.
Queen:2
Gatherers (U1):3
Gatherers (U2):3
Warriors:1
Workers:2
Waiting for the next one
-Gears
Okay first:
IT'S Back!!! 
Okay got that out of my system, been waiting for this. 
Was not expecting Songbird Serenade to be the Arch Queen we meet, but glad to see she's very friendly. For some reason she reminds me of Pinkie Pie, wait a minute, could Pinkie Pie be a member of this hive?
Maybe I'm reading too deep into this, anyway.
So Twilight suspects something, this could be a big problem later.
As for choices;
Queen 2
G1 3
G2 2
Warriors 4
Workers 2
A:2
GU1:3
GU2:2
Wa:1
Wo:1
Queen choice; help with the lighting. It has the least chance of someone getting fried. The third option seems way too risky. If a pony (or a changeling) dies here, it's going to go REALLY poorly.
As Black Star, a warrior wearing nail on horseshoes on his hooves (or will, assuming we ever get the money and resources), I must advise that the warriors watch the eggs. We've just been patrolling, and, other than Twilight, no one has been bothering us. I.e, Warrior choice 4..
If I may suggest choices for the others, depending on whether or not they have done any tasks since last chapter...
Gatherer unit 1; watch the eggs (choice 3).
Gatherer unit 2; gather love (choice 1).
Workers; watch the eggs (choice 4). If that choice is outvoted, I'd ask to build a barracks.
Also I love the chapter. At least the Arch Queen seems friendly, though I'd keep my guard up. Again, Q3 seems way too dangerous. A diplomatic blunder between two hives right now would be very bad.
Also, IRL serious, hoping and praying. God bless, and stay safe!
G1 watch eggs
G2 gather love
S1 watch eggs
W1 build barracks
G# = gatherers unit
S# = soldier unit
W# = worker unit
Have you try having a Straw poll vote to help organize your votes?
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I find that having to send people off to vote might discourage/ create some confusion along the way for some people, so I prefer to keep it all here. Plus, I enjoy reading everybody's comments
Twilight has the bad habit of breaking in. Maybe have some warriors pose as ponies (and be the Queen’s friend) and tell Twilight that Egnima is busy or something? Then again... that’ll be risky.
I would chose 1. While it may not be the lowest chance of danger, I believe that setting up the stage is more important than lighting and effects is a bit... dangerous
Queen: 1
Gatherer: 1
Gathers 2: 2
Warriors: 4
Workers: 3
It seems that all the tasks with the performance share the same chance of success and reward, but lighting appears to be the least dangerous. No reason to choose differently. (Queen 2)
Gatherer Unit One, and both the Workers and Warriors, look a bit worn out to me. They should probably rest up, maybe keep an eye on the eggs in the meantime (Gather One 3, Warrior and Worker 4).
Gatherer Unit Two is fresh for assignment, and since the Workers should be taking a break, obtaining more love would be the best option. (Gather Two 1)
One more thing... Do we remember how the throne is supposed to improve defense? I worry its effects may hinder our anonymity before we're ready.
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Thanks for the votes!
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Glad to see you made it
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Glad to know you enjoyed it
God bless you too
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Your welcome! Did you get the reference?
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I would like to make a Changeling but I'll wait til the next batch hatch first, gives me time to come up with the details.
Happy to join in.
Queen choice: 1
Hive choice -Gatherer unit one: 3
-Gatherer unit two: 1
-Warriors : 1
-Workers : 1
Number one [ 1 ] for the Queen's choice. Weird stuff needs a calm head to keep an eye on.
Gatherer Unit 1 and Warriors, option four [ 4 ]. Rest up and watch the eggs.
Gatherer Unit 2 and Workers build option three [ 3 ], a Covert Network. Maintaining and increasing Anonymity Is crucial for continued survival. Also, yay! Fun new changelings! Ooooooh! Maybe Derpy can teach them a few tricks to better blend in, or divert attention. Plus, if your distraction can also feed you, you got it in the bag!
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Of course!
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Alright. There may be a few new options by the time a new batch becomes available as well.
But if you'd like to have your changeling born on this current batch, there's 1 worker left for the picking
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Ok
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When does the next batch come?
Queen: (1) Help with the stage
Gatherers unit one: (3) Watch the eggs
Gatherers unit two: (1) Gather love
Warriors: (3) Help the workers
Workers: (3) Build Covert Network
With more ponies feeling like they can come visit the Hive at any point, it's suddenly very important to be able to handle discovery of the Hive. And the best way to handle discovery is to recover the Hive's anonymity... and the workers are fatigued enough that they could really do with the warrior's help on this.
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In about 3 - 4 chapters I would say
Queen Choice: 1) Light 'em up.
Gatherer Unit 1: 3) Rest.
Gatherer Unit 2: 2) Help workers.
Warriors: 4) Rest with eggs.
Workers: 2) Build slime pit. Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger.
Q-2 Least chance of failure. I suspect greater reward in the others, but I'm not sure enough to chance it.
G1-3 Rest rotation.
G2-2 Help with fatigued workers.
Wa-1 Continue our defense. (next priority for rest)
Wo-2 Would help with defense so our 1(!) unit of defenders don't get overrun.
Looking forward to more. Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
9418994 Also: Hey, fancy seeing you here.
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Hi
Uh oh looks like Twight is starting to visit the carstle library. Have some way of monitoring when she or others plan on coming seams like a good idea.
Is the throne a magic draining one like Chrysalis’s? I recommend giving some of the off cuts to Twilight as a potential future ally. Having her know about the stone would mean she wouldn’t feel so threatened when/if they reveal themselves later down the line (also i reckon Twilight would find a workaround).
EDIT: another reason to outsource to Twilight is that the hive has no scientific or research division and even when they set one up they will not have much in the way of resources, knowledge or equipment for testing. Where as Twilight as a student of Princess Celestia has the Knowledge,equipment and funds along with the mindset to conduct detailed research. Twilight is also really bad at keeping secrets and unless the Princess orders otherwise will be more than happy to share any of her findings with Enigma who she views as a fellow knowledge seeker.
As Enigma is working as Twilight research assistant the Queen will be their for much of the experimenting anyway.
Queen’s choice
3) i think Volt is a little to excitable and needs someling to keep a eye on him so he doesn’t get to over his head.
Gatherers U1
2) keep those who are tried close to home.
Gatherers U2
1) they can also act as a early warning on if anymore ponies from town head into the forest.
Warriors
3) as the line of defence I wouldn’t send the, out and protecting the eggs is the most important task they have with Enigma away.
Workers
3) a way of monitoring the carstle undetected is needed if Twilight continues to visit the library there. Also it would help if any of the hive (or visitors) make any mistakes while in town.
Quick query,
You say way back at the start this is after Chrysalis’s attack on Canterlot. What is Sicaria’s thoughts on what happen and how has the fallout effected her?
2
3
1
1
3
Also have you ever considered using strawpoll for the voting?
It would probably be easier than using comment voting.
Queen: (2) play it safe. Lights are pretty straightforward, and if the Cicadas are more experienced in this it would be beneficial having the pros to the complicated or dangerous stuff.
Gatherers unit one: (3) since we forget what the last action was, attempt rotation.
Gatherers unit two: (1) Gather love assuming they were resting last time.
Warriors: (4) it's been quiet, and not much external activity seems to be going on. Get some rest!
Workers: (3) building a covert network serves twofold: information that will help the hive in its goals, and staging positions that will encourage the mingling.
Placing a twenty Internet cookie bet how: the hives' attunement is Harmony.
Keep going! ;)
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Before*. it's on the story description.
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1
1
best of luck and great story so far :)
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I prefer to keep it all here, makes it easier for me to remember where it all is
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thanks! Glad you liked it
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Ah my mistake. I had forgotten. I guess this is mid season 2 with Luna eclipsed having just happened (unless you plan to mix the timeline up from cannon).
Yeah, a walking mannequin shouldn't caught any attention at all...
Madness? Madness?!
This. Is. Manehattan!!!
Enigma: "My honor is gong... going... gone."
First of:
Update! Yay!
Good to see the story continues.
Now that we arrive in Manehattan we already have our first job.
Instead of building our hive (as we are supposed to do) we (literally) set up stage for an possible ally. But if we gain the favour of this ally it might be worthwile for the future.
I don't want to sound picky, but I should mention the statistics page is already two chapters out of date. Makes it difficult to determine how much love we currently have (are we starving or do we even have to throw love out because the storage is full?)
Now, abou those choices:
Queen's choice: 2
(That one hast the smalles risk. Also, it's hard to be in the spotlight if you are the spotlight... I think.)
Hive's chioces:
Gatherers (unit one): choice 2: Help the Workers (New building, yay!)
Gatherers (unit two): choice 1: Gather Love (Love is tasty...)
Warriors: choice 1: Scout the area around Ponyville (Go keep the hive save)
Workers: choice 3: Build Covert Network (we might need that in the future)
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I'll update the statistics page soon, I haven't forgotten about it
Queen's choice: 2
Gatherers (unit one): 3
Gatherers (unit two): 1
Warriors: 1
Workers: 3
EDIT: I was re reading and noticed the following in ‘job for a queen’
I wonder what that was about?
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If our dear Enigma’s abilities are linked to the elements maybe the hive could be called something like concordia (Latin for Harmony) or armonía (Greek).
Speaking of names other than the fact this is a cyoa story is there a reason why Enigma doesn’t have a Changeling name like Cicah?
EDIT: Also in re reading I have to wonder what Derpy is upto currently as she has her own life already established in town. Also what happen with the bear Enigma left at the hospital?
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Okay, I'll wait for the next batch.
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Yup. Actually, the fact that this is a comment driven story didn't come to mind when I picked her name. The concept behind it will be explained briefly around chapter 9 or 10 and it will be explored more in-depth on the special companion story I'm working on
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Let's play it safe and swap the gathers squads
If the queen help option 2 you can stay in the shadows
Let the guards rest for now.
The spy ring may help keep the hive hidden by helping us see a better chance of win or lose
Plus if something fails how much risk do we get.
The risk is not that bad till word gets to ponyville. So maybe a 25% debuff to risk
Let me explain, if risk is a 1000 point scale
If the debuff is 25% that means we get 75 risk for ever 100 points in failure. Due to the time it takes for news to travel to ponyville
The idea being that the risk is not just on us but the local hive as well.
More so if the failure calls twilight and co.
Finally this story got a new chapter and I have to say I truly enjoyed it. Also about Max Volt..... You managed catch his behavior and personality perfectly. Now then... Let’s get to work.
I’m going to vote for the queen to help Lightning. I’m a little worried about the 30% chance of failure, but the danger is by far the lowest of the three. Not to mention we can’t risk anything with high danger right now. We need to be able to gain an alianange with this hive when Chrysalis begins her attack on canterlot.
Seeing as the Gather unit one has fatigue, I would recommend for them to get some while while watching the eggs. We need to have someone watch over the eggs in case something happens to them. Not only that, but I don’t want one of our main source of food to get caught or worse.
I have something for the worker’s to do, but I can see that they are fatigue. That is why I’m planning to have Gather unit 2 to help them out. I know this means we will have to go with the amount of love we have, but there is something I would like to get build.
I truly want the warriors to get some rest, but I can still remeber the Timber Wolves attack. I REFUSE to have something like that happen again. Because of of that, I will have the warriors scout around Ponyville. I know that we have a -15% chance of success due to fatigue, but I will allow them to get some rest in the next chapter.
I have been contemplating to myself if I should go with the barracks or the Slime pit. The barracks will allow our warriors to heal their wounds and give us the Guardian class. This would mean we will have better fighters in case the hive gets attacked again. However I would like to have the Slime Pit as well since it will increase the structure integrity of the castle, which means we don’t have to worry about something breaking or fall apart in the castle. I thought for a long time and I have decided. I want the workers to build the slimpit. With Gather unit 2 assisting them, it should negate the fatigue penalty
Now if this story is following the same timeline as the show, we should still have some time before the Canterlot Invasion happens. We should use this chance to gain the ponies’ trust and show them that we aren’t like any of the Changelings rom Chrysalis’ hive. I’m also have a plan that I would like to put into action as soon as the Queen returns home.
My plan is to have her spend some time with the Main Six and get to know them. I am hoping that the queen will gain their trust before I can go to the next part of my plan. I know that Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be the most deifficilt due to their life style and personalities, but this should help us in the long run. Once we have gained their full trust and their friendship... I want to take the risk and have the queen reveal her true form to them.
Queen: 2
Gather Unit 1: 3
Gather Unit 2: 2
Warriors: 1
Workers: 2
Queen - option 2 less changes of damage.
Gather unit 1 -3
Gather unit 2 -1
Warrior squad - 1
Workers build - 2
That's was close when Twilight entered the Hive.
1. 1
2. 3
3. 1
4. 2
5. 4
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I doubt people will agree, but let's see what happens
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thanks for voting!
Queen: 2. (lowest chance of harm)
Gatherer1: 3. (reset fatigue)
Gatherer2: 1. (you are the standins for the 1st unit of gatherers when they rest)
Warriors: 4. (reset fatigue)
Workers: 4. (reset fatigue)
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I’m fully aware that not many people will agree with my risky move. However it is quite obvisou that once Chrysalis invades Canterlot, it will cause major problems for us later in the future if one of the ponies discovers our hive after the Canterlot invasion. If we can show them what we are and gain the Mane six trust, we might be able to avoid any diplomatic nightmares. I’m still aiming for my peaceful goal in all of this.