...
Sicaria’s grin stretched all the way across her cheeks, her wings fluttering in excitement. “Splendid! We’re gonna rock this city tonight!
Cicah and her sibling cheered with their Queen, sitting on their hind legs and clapping their hooves. Sicaria gave a quick bow in mockery before returning her attention to you. “We still have plenty of time before the show. Say, would you like me to give you a tour of the hive? I’m sure us queens can share some notes, right?” She winked.
That was a great idea! Every tip you could get from this visit was one less thing for you to worry about screwing up back at your hive. You were about to reply before another subject crossed your mind. A much more important matter to you.
“I’d love to, but…” You hesitated for a bit, a tinge of guilt and shame permeating your mind as you put your own desire on top of what would be best for the hive. But still, you wanted to know more, you needed to know more… “Before we go, could we talk more about my mother?”
The question caught Sicaria off guard, you could feel as her grin turned into a worried frown that you touched a sensitive subject. But why was it a sensitive subject? It’s been days since you left the hive and your mother never tried to keep in touch so far, even Cicah visited you before you heard from her!
“Please…” you pressed on. Sicaria gave a quick glance to Cicah, looking for advice. You could feel their silent discussion through their hivemind on what to do. A few moments passed and you were beginning to worry they wouldn’t agree, but then Sicaria gave you a warm smile.
“Of course, my dear. Come with me to my chambers, there are quite a few things we need to talk about,” she said, gesturing for you to follow her back to the elevator, but before she picked a floor, she called out to Cicah, “Cicah, dear. Why don’t you give her drones a tour around the hive instead? I’m sure they’re more than capable of learning everything our little Queen will need while we have a little talk.”
Cicah gave her a salute while the elevator doors closed.
The elevator only took you one level below Sicaria's personal chambers. It was a huge room filled to the brim with pillows and clothes scattered all around. The room was filled with pink everywhere! There was pink on the carpet, on the pillows, on the bed, even in the walls.
“Wow…” you muttered, not really sure if it was in amazement or in pure cringe due to the pink overload.
Sicaria seemed to pick up on your reaction, chuckling. “What? I like pink.” She showed you her tongue jokingly. She walked to her bed and lay on it, asking you to sit on a pile of pillows that sat in front of her.
After you made yourself comfortable, Sicaria's expression turned into a more concerned one as she asked you, “Tell me, darling, what's afflicting you?”
You slumped back on your pillows, feeling like you wanted to just sink in and be absorbed by the comfy pile. You thought about that question for a moment, gathering everything that was on your mind. “It's just that… Ever since I woke up, I was tasked on establishing my hive and I was so preoccupied with it that I'm just realizing how little I know about my mother, even my drones know more about her than me! And now, Cicah came to visit while I haven't heard from mother since… it feels like she threw me out…” you said, tears beginning to form in the corners of your eyes as you processed all of that.
Sicaria reached out to you with her magic, wiping away your tears. “Now now, dear, it's nothing like that!” She got up from her bed and slumped on the pillow pile next to you, giving you a hug. “Life is just… complicated, you know? Heh, I still remember the simpler times back in the day, more than a thousand years ago. A time when there were no crowds of ponies to entertain, no hive to keep up… It was just me, my sisters, and… our Mother.”
Your ears shot up, picking up on the way she mentioned “Mother”. It wasn’t like the common expression your drones would use, or how the ponies would use Celestia’s name, you could feel the weight of past history present in her words. Like she actually met this holy figure all those years ago.
“Tell me about her,” you asked, struck by a spark of curiosity. Has she actually met Mother? And if so, has Queen Elysia met her as well?
Sicaria gave you a saddened smile, her gaze distant like if her mind was sailing through a long lost sea of buried memories. She shifted around in place, tuckering you close to her as if she was about to tell a tale to a newborn grub, yet somehow, you felt like she needed your contact more than she let it show.
“Once upon a time, long before this land was called Equestria, there lived a lone creature, the only member of her kind. Her colorful chitin shone with all the colors of a rainbow after a rainy day and the flutter of her wings spread her colors all throughout the earth beneath her, bringing awe and admiration from the critters that witnessed it. She was a magical being made of the purest emotion, yet, the one emotion that always stalked her everywhere she went was sadness, for she felt lonely.
“One day, she reached her limit. She wouldn’t be alone any longer. Casting a powerful spell, she split her essence into twelve, sharing her powers between them, and from those pieces, her daughters were born.”
The gears of your mind ground to a shrieking halt as you took all that in. Twelve pieces… Twelve Hives…
“Wait, you’re saying that-” you began to say, your eyes wide in realization before Sicaria interrupted you, raising a hoof and asking for silence.
“Indeed, me, your mother, and our sisters, ‘The Great Arch Queens of the Great Changeling Hives’, we’re all Mother’s daughters, her legacy.” She gave you a knowing smile. Knowing that your mind was overflowing with questions, she allowed you a moment to speak.
“But my mother’s hive doesn’t look like yours, she has multiple colors and they’re all faded, almost translucent!” You thought back to your earliest memory of your mother, the moment you hatched. You remember her tall and elegant figure of an Arch Queen. But you also remember her hive and how each drone she took care of had the color of their original hive while you and your drones had an iridescent mix, no defined trait. Now that you thought about it, your mother looked even more out of place than you do. She had an array of colors just like you, but hers were faint and segregated, unlike yours.
But then, another thought came crumbling over your mind, burring everything else. “What happened to Mother?”
“After she gave birth to us, she was left weakened. We lived happily together for hundreds of years, but then a… misfortune took her away from us. And when she left us, we lost a part of ourselves, ever since then, our bodies were stripped of our colors and we now need to feed on the emotions of others to maintain us,” she explained, sadness returning to her face.
“Your mother blames herself for what happened to us, and ever since that day, she hid in exile, taking on any lost drone she finds as a way to atone for her mistake. I haven’t seen her for almost a thousand years now…” Tears began to run down her cheeks as she buried her head in the pillow pile to wipe them away.
“Why would she blame herself for what happened? I don’t understand!” you cried out.
“I’m sorry, dear. But I believe that’s something for your mother to talk about,” she told you, sniffing a little. She could see the despair in your face as you thought about if you would even ever get to see your mother again, even when her sisters haven’t seen her for a thousand years. But before you could say anything, she enveloped you in a tight hug, chasing away your dread with her warmth.
“Now now, dear. I know it has been tough for you, being apart from your mother from such an early age. But if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that if there’s anyling that would make Elysia come out of hiding, it is you! Every drone is precious to their Queen, but nothing compares to the love of a mother to her daughter. Have faith in yourself and be confident, and when the moment of Elysia’s return finally comes, she’ll be greeted by the strongest hive ever made, her daughters’!” she encouraged you as she struck a fierce pose, shooting neon pink sparks out of her horn for special effects.
“Heheh, thank you, Auntie, for everything,” you said, fluttering your wings as you got up from the pillows.
“Awn, come here!” Sicaria captured you in a bone-crushing hug, endeared by the nickname. In her embrace, you could already feel your heart being filled with determination. Your mother would meet you again someday, and when that day comes, you’ll have fulfilled your promise and established a prosperous hive worthy of her lineage!
The hug went on for longer than you thought it would. Feeling like your chitin was about to crack, you changed the subject. “So, how can I help you show those ponies how to party?”
Sicaria’s eyes filled with stars as she remembered the big show tonight, quickly letting go of you. “Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” She ran back to an abstract painting she had at the far end of her room and pulled the frame to the side, revealing a large safe behind it. Putting on the right combination, she retrieved a heavy bag of bits with her magic and hoofed them to you. “Here, take these bits and buy the best lighting equipment you can find, I want to see that bag empty when you get back!”
“Leave it to us!” you said with a mock salute, rallying your drones through the hivemind.
Back in your disguises, you and your drones trotted around the streets of Manehattan once again. Volt and Mist walked beside Star with you right in front of them, acting as a buffer between her and the crowd. That seemed to help her relax a little bit, the fact that this part of town wasn’t as busy as the one you first arrived in also felt like a blessing. Sunstrike led the march in full stalker mode, her eyes peeled for the fabled items that would be deemed worthy as light equipment in her eyes.
You’ve been trotting around the market district of the city for what felt like an hour and so far, said items seemed to be nothing more than that, a fable. During all that time, the only thing you bought so far was a mirrored spotlight, which in and of itself was admittedly a very impressive thing. In the time you spent in Ponyville and now Manehattan, you grew to find interest in how weird pony civilization was. On one side, you had castles and soldiers with spears and on the other, there were skyscrapers and electric machines such as this spotlight, where a tiny lamp in a mirrored casing could produce such a powerful and intensely bright light.
An annoyed huff distracted you from your wandering thoughts. Sunstrike marched on, looking from store to store with a little more strength put on her pace, almost stomping her way around. “This isn’t working, these stores have nothing of value!” she exclaimed in aggravation. You were on the electronics and equipment street of the market district, presumably the right place to find good lighting paraphernalia, and you did find quite a few pieces of equipment, but alas, none proved to be enough for Sunstrike.
“Let’s try another street, maybe we can find something interesting there,” Volt suggested, excited to see what other devices they could find.
With no better options, you decided to follow his suggestion and began making your way across the streets. You passed by clothing articles, party items, even beauty products, but nothing fitting your search. You were about to call it quits and think of something else when Sunstrike made a sudden, sharp turn around the corner of the street.
“Woah!” you yelped, skidding to a halt, your drones bumping into your rump, caught off guard by the sudden stop. Following after Sunstrike, you found her staring intently at a big shop billboard. It was a jewelry shop called “Magnifique”, its name written in fancy golden letters with a huge diamond as the first i’s dot.
“Sunstrike?” Star called in concern.
“It's perfect~” she muttered before darting inside the store.
You ran inside after her. The shop had a very elegant and refined look about it, the mirrored walls giving a feeling like the store was way bigger than it actually was. Beautiful pieces of jewelry sat proudly in display on pony mannequin heads and busts, promising an air of status to everypony that would buy them.
Sunstrike made a beeline for the shopkeeper, a tall and gorgeous white unicorn mare with golden locks and the cutie mark of a diamond ring. When she saw you, she gave your group a big smile and greeted you with a unique foreign accent you’ve never heard before.
“Ah, bonjour, madame. How may I help you today?” she addressed Sunstrike, who reared over the counter to try and get to her eye level.
“I want to buy that big diamond on your billboard!” she blurted out within the second.
“Pardon?” the mare asked, visibly confused.
Sunstrike retrieved a hoofful of bits from your pouch and placed them on the counter, fiery determination in her eyes. “Is that enough?”
“I’m sorry, madame, but the diamond is not for sale, it’s-” Sunstrike cut her off, dropping another hoofful of coins on the counter.
“Again, I’m sorry, but the diamond is not-” This time, Sunstrike dropped the whole bag of bits on the counter. The mare stood there in shock for a good minute, her eyes wide at the size of the bag. Judging by how skinny she was, one could wager that the bag contained about one-fourth of her weight in bits, anypony would take a moment to reflect on an offer that big.
“... W-would you like me to wrap it as a gift?” The mare finally gave in with a sheepish smile.
Sunstrike trotted back to the staging site with a smug smile on her face, full of pride by feeling the weight of the diamond she carried on her back. The sun was almost setting when you got back on the stage. There were a lot of working ponies finishing up the stage with Sicaria and Cicah overseeing the project in their disguises.
“Hey, Nightingale!” you called for Cicah, happy to see that everything went smoothly on their end.
“Hey, guys! Glad to see you back! Got everything you needed?” she asked with a huge smile, Sicaria following right behind her.
“Yes! This baby here will be the sickest prism when I finish installing it!” Sunstrike replied with pride.
“Great, the stage is yours, dear, make us proud with that diamond!” Sicaria cheered her. “You can ask around for help if you ever need it, everypony here are my drones, so you don’t need to worry about anything. If you could help them out with the final touches, that would be great!” she said, directing the last part to your other drones.
“Alright, everyling, it’s your time shine. You’re in charge, Mist,” you rallying your drones.
“On it.” With that, they went off to install the lights and finish the stage.
The show was just about to begin. Every changeling of the Cicada hive worked hard to set the stage and, with the help of your drones, they made a wonderful job. At the backstage, everyling was warming up for the upcoming show. You watched as they trained their choreography and singing, surprised at how amazing the Cicadas’ traits were. With only a couple of specialized drones, they could simulate an entire orchestra of hundreds of instruments with ease. You doubted you could tell the difference form a real orchestra and their performance.
But of course, the star of the show was Sicaria. Her voice was on a whole another level. The sheer range and volume of her notes made her entire hive run for their money. She wore a fake microphone with her disguise, but in fact, she sang so loud that they didn’t even need speakers! The only changeling to get somewhat near her level was Cicah, but it was still a very noticeable difference.
“Alright, everyling, it’s time to shine as bright as a shooting star!” Sicaria rallied everyling who made their way on stage to the loud cheer and applause of the massive crowd that gathered outside. Before Cicah could leave, Sicaria pulled her off to the side.
“Alright, Cicah, the stage is yours, dazzle them!”
“What?!” Cicah might as well have lost her soul there and then when she heard that.
“Did I stutter?” Sicaria teased, showing her tongue. “You’ve been touring all this time for this moment, dearie. I’ll be your backing vocal and you’ll be the lead singer. Show me what you got!”
“You can’t throw that at me so soon! I’m not ready!” she cried, holding onto her mother’s leg, pleading for mercy.
“Of course you are, this is not your first show and I’ll be there to back you up if the crowd gets too nasty,” she reassured her, picking her up from the floor.
Cicah looked at you for backup, but all you could do was give her a reassuring smile and gesture for her to go at it.
“A-alright…” Cicah took a deep breath. “I can do this...”
“Of course you can, now let’s get moving!” Sicaria took hold of Cicah and unceremoniously pushed her towards the stage.
“Good luck!” you called out to her before making your way to your VIP balcony Sicaria set up for you and your drones.
Sicaria’s Songbird started off the show with a solo song before bringing on Cicah’s Nightingale. It took a while for her to clear her mind off the nervousness, but when she did, she let herself go free. Picking up the tempo with every song, the crowd cheered louder and louder as more and more ponies danced to her rhythm as if they were entranced.
Sunstrike’s spotlight shone directly into the diamond which dispersed the light in a rainbow of colors in all directions, reflecting off of strategically placed mirrors put up by Volt, Mist, and Star to create a truly amazing light show.
Cicah’s voice echoed throughout the park as Sicaria quieted herself more and more, letting Cicah take the wheels fully without realizing it. Soon enough news ponies started to gather to cover the new shining star of the show.
The show went on and on until the late hours, but eventually, much to the disappointment of the crowd the show was about to end. Finally back at their hive everyling popped a bottle of sizzled apple cider charged with love to celebrate the great performance. You and your drones gathered by the pool at the roof to celebrate Cicah’s grand debut into the next level of her singing career.
“Cheers!” Sicaria called, raising her glass of champagne. “Cheers!” Everybody downed their drinks.
“I’m very proud of you, Cicah! You’re finally ready to take your place in the new hive!” Sicaria let it slip, almost spitting her drink when she noticed she talked too much.
“What do you mean?” Cicah asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well… this was meant to be a surprise, but I’m planning on expanding the hive to a new location, maybe Baltimare or Fillydelphia. And of course, every hive needs a queen, and you have just proven to me that you’re the perfect candidate!”
There was a long silence between you three. Cicah would shift her stares between Sicaria and you, doing her best “is she joking?” expression every time she looked at you.
“Am I missing something here?” Cicah finally said.
“Nope. In fact, quite the contrary, you have everything to make the perfect queen for the new hive! I’m very proud of you, my daughter!” Sicaria fluttered out of her chair and embraced Cicah in a tight hug, the younger changeling finally starting to digest everything she just heard.
“No way, you want to make me a queen?! Oh, Mother above, thank you, thank you, thank you! It’s an honor!” She hugged her back, proving to have a hug just as strong as her mother.
“Congratulations, Cicah! I bet you’ll do a better job than me!” you cheered for her, clapping your hooves.
“Ohhh, thank you! Now we’ll be queen besties!” Cicah let go of her mother and picked you up off your chair in another hug.
“Alright, dearie. Please try to stand still, let’s proceed with the coronation!” Sicaria laughed, peeling her daughter off of you.
Cicah couldn’t contain her excitement. Her wings buzzed and she would almost hover in place as she tried her best not move. Focusing her magic, Sicaria plucked off one of the orbs from her crown and brought it close to Cicah’s head, charging it with magic. During that process, you could feel a weird sensation growing within you as if you were being filled with energy. When the orb was ready, Sicaria pressed it against Cicah’s head. The orb seemed to phase through her chitin, planted inside her head.
Slowly, Cicah was enveloped by a bright pink cocoon, carried away to the realm of dreams. Once again, you felt bathed in a weird energy as if the cocoon was seeping its magic to you. A good minute has passed and Sicaria kept feeding her magic into the cocoon, the more magic she fed to it, the more you began to feel that strange energy swell inside you. You began to feel a little distressed as you your belly extend, revealing the soft chitin underneath your plate.
Your mind shot straight back to the time you had your eggs as the feeling was pretty similar. “But I just laid my eggs!’ you exclaimed throughout the hivemind, not wanting to disrupt the process going on in front of you. You tried to feel for any new minds forming inside the hivemind, but nothing came out, maybe it wasn’t new eggs…
Suddenly, the cocoon dissipated in a flash of powerful energy, showering you even more in its radiation and extending your belly further. Now it felt like you were really ready to lay eggs. Disturbing as all that was, you got distracted as Cicah emerged from her transformation. Her eyes lost their monochrome look in favor for a slitted pupil just like her mother’s, her wings and horns grew in size as well as her body, now she was as tall as you were. At the top of her head sat a tiny crown with a single “pearl”, her receptor and transmitter amplifier to her own hivemind.
With a big yawn, Cicah fluttered her wings, sparks flying off of her horn as she got accustomed to its new powers. She quickly flew to the edge of the pool to look at her reflection. “No way! I look so pretty!”
“Just like your momma!” Sicaria joked, letting out an exhausted huff, her horn flickering a bit after its exhertion.
Cicah flew up to her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, and a hug before zooming around to greet you. “Don’t I look pretty-” She cut herself short when she noticed your bulging belly.
“You have more eggs?! Wow, that was quick!” she exclaimed, landing by your side. A hue of pink escaped from your thin membranes as you held your belly with worry.
“I don’t think those are eggs…” Sicaria pointed out, approaching from the other side.
“I don’t know what's happening!” you said, panicking.
“Calm down, dear. Take it slowly.” Sicaria leaned closer to your belly to investigate. You could see what appeared to be a swirling pool of energy inside your belly. You’ve never seen anything like that before.
Sicaria lit up her horn, charging it with magic. Much to everybody’s awe, the energy within you seemed to reach to it, shining brightly every time Sicaria would focus her horn. “Hmm... I think I may know what that is. Cicah? Do you feel weak or drained if you light up your horn by any chance?”
Cicah lit up her horn to test it. “Nope, nothing at all.”
“Hmm... Okay, dearie, I need you to try and do something for me. Try to imitate our sound abilities, like the beatboxing or singing while focusing your magic. Whatever feels natural to you,” she asked, you giving you some pointers for breathing techniques and vocalization.
You had no clue how to do all of what the Cicadas could do, but you tried anyway. Focusing your magic, you thought about how to transform your body to mimic their unique anatomy. Suddenly, you were engulfed in the usual flame effect of changeling transformation, but this time it was a bright pink flame!
As the flames went out, you were surprised to find your body transformed past what you had in mind. Your iridescent mane and carapace turned into various shades of pink, your black chitin turned into a dark pink hue and your wings grew larger and rounder, similar to Sicaria and Cicah’s. On your neck appeared all the extra organs the Cicadas used to make their songs. Taking a deep breath, you tried to imitate the various beats of the show and you managed to do so almost perfectly!
“Oh, wow! You turned into a Cicada just like me!” Cicah bounced with joy, fluttering her wings excitedly.
“I didn’t know I could do that!” you said, just as excited.
“Heheh, you look more like your mother by the hours!” Sicaria teased. “She had a similar power to yours. That means you inherited her abilities!”
“So I can copy other hives at will?” you asked, confused.
“Not quite. Your mother used to have the ability to store energy from other Queens. Though hers’ had some… side effects, yours apparently lack that problem.” Suddenly, a big smile came to Sicaria’s face as an idea passed through her mind. “That’s it then! You’re the Nameless Queen of the Yuma Iridescent Hive! Congratulations!” she cheered.
“Nameless?” you asked, a bit unsure about that name. “That’s not really a name.”
“Why not? Until you find your own name you think is worthy, that’s the perfect placeholder!” She laughed.
You laughed with her, happy to finally have something to be called as. But then, a realization came to mind, even though it seemed as you burned through some of the energy you had stored, your belly still held a good amount of it. Also, for how long would that transformation hold? Was it permanent, was it burning through your special magic reserves? You pushed those thoughts aside, however, at that time, you were just happy to celebrate your and your friend’s new transformations.
You continued to chat on the roofs for a bit longer before tiredness crept its way to your eyes, weighting them down. You asked if you could spend the night at the hotel and go back home in the morning, to which they were more than glad to offer you and your drones a room. You were about to take the elevator down when a sudden ping through the hivemind completely froze you in place.
“What’s the matter, Nameless?” Cicah asked, already at the elevator with her mother.
“My eggs are hatching!!!
“What?!” Sicaria and Cicah cried in unison.
“I-I can’t stay here tonight! I have to get to my babies!” In your panicked state, you started to buzz your wings and take off, but were yanked back by Sicaria’s magic.”
“Calm down, girl, you can’t fly that distance in this state, we’re not Locust Changelings!”
“Let me go! I wanna see my babies!” You fought against her pull but then a better idea came to mind. “I know! I learned a teleportation spell from a pony friend of mine, I think I can pull that off!”
“C-can you teleport all of us?” Evening Star asked, worried that might be too much to handle.
“I have no idea! And I don’t care!” Before even giving the chance to reply, you overcharged your horn with all you got, enveloping you and your drones in your magic. With a powerful burst, you vanished, leaving Sicaria and Cicah alone on the roof.
<Hivemind>
It was late at night when the warriors returned from their last patrol around the perimeter of the hive. Thankfully there were no real threats detected in the vicinity. When they finally landed back home, they were greeted by the workers who just finished building the Covert Network, the hive was almost fully functional! The gatherers that returned from Ponyville helped them relax, feeding them their recently collected love supply from the afternoon.
“Any word on when our Queen will return?” Farsight asked.
“It appears she’ll pass the night at the Cicada’s Hive and return to us by morning,” said Rose, walking into the main hall.
“I don’t like the idea of our Queen spending the night away…” said Insectsidous. “What if she’s betrayed and captured by the Cicadas? O-or what if that pony comes back and lays waste to the hive while she’s away?!”
“Calm down, Insectsidous, there’s nothing in the perimeter, and nopony would risk wandering around the forest at night!” countered Black Star.
Suddenly, Mask Charade came rushing down the corridor, crying out in his feminine voice. “The eggs are hatching!”
In an instant, there was mass panic throughout the entire hall. Everyling zoomed to and fro, trying to make their way to the hatchery. As they stormed their way to the hatchery door, they were faced by a dangerous looking Phengaris gatekeeping the door with a scolding face. Slowly but surely, they all calmed down and were allowed entrance inside with the other gatherers that were watching over the eggs.
In the hatchery, the eggs sat neatly on their little sockets, squirming and wiggling around as the babies were ready to hatch.
Suddenly, the drones felt the presence of their Queen spawn near their location. She was off target by a couple of meters but turns out her group teleportation spell worked! Without delay, she rushed her way to the castle, arriving at the hatchery door within seconds. Everyling noticed her different appearance, but noling dared to comment, for this was a very special occasion, especially for her.
She slowly walked to the wall the eggs were placed on and laid in front of them, tears of joy forming in the corners of her eyes. She watched every single egg intently. Every time they wiggled around but didn’t manage to break their shell was excruciating torture for her. The seconds ticked by and her worry grew more and more, the little larvae not able to break free yet, some of them were squirming more weakly each time. She wanted to help them out by ripping open their membranous shells, but deep down she knew she shouldn’t.
Suddenly, she could hear a faint echo of her mother’s voice whispering in her ears, as if she was there with her, watching over the birth of her grandchildren. ‘Open your eyes, my child’ Where some of the first words she heard when she was born. Closing her eyes, Nameless put her new form to use and softly whispered to her little larvae in an inaudible frequency that traveled through the viscous protective liquid of the eggs more easily.
“Wake up, my children…”
“Can you hear me?”
“Open your eyes…”
Her echoing voice reached out to the little grubs and, hearing the call of their mother, they doubled their efforts. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the first larva burst out of its egg, slipping out of its socket due to the slippery fluids and falling to the floor. Phengaris almost dove in to catch the baby before stopping in her tracks. Nameless caught the baby with her magic, bringing it close to her. The baby wiggled around in her aura, taking a deep breath as its lungs expanded for the first time. Slowly the grub opened its big, monochrome eyes and squealed with happiness upon seeing its mother for the first time.
With her tears now running freely, she brought the baby close and gave it a kiss on the forehead, infusing it with energy stronger than love collected from other creatures, her love.
“Happy birthday, little one…” She wished her child, crying openly.
One by one her eggs would hatch and one by one she would wait for them to wake up and give it a kiss, welcoming it to the hive. After a while, finally, all her eggs had hatched as healthy and squeaky changeling grubs. The day’s exertion and emotional stress took its toll on her, and when her last larva found its place in her warm embrace she laid her head down and passed out. Her changelings gave her the privacy she deserved, sleeping by the hatchery’s entrance.
Before fully delving into the realm of dreams, Nameless gave out one last thanks.
“Thank you, mother.”
Zecora please also more please cause zecora could keep secret
Roll credits! Oh wait, this isn't a sins video.
What a fun ability! Can and lay eggs while charged to let the grubs inherit that we a default state? Science must be done!
Queen: 2, getting more rep in the town should open more opportunities.
Gatherer 1: 3,watch the grubs!
Gatherer 2: 1, now that the number of mouths to feed is increasing, it would do to keep the supply stream going.
Warrior 1: 4, we're interpreting it to allow for guarding of their charges, but still be more restful than typical.
Workers: 2, would be good to keep the progeny defended in a dedicated way.
Keep going! ;)
For the queen, work with Nurse Redheart, option three ( 3 ). After all, if a foal trusts the queen, so to will the parents. And trust will pave the way to greater safety and dividends later. Plus, foals are cute!
For the gatherers, warriors and workers, have them all watch the larvae, option three ( 3 ). Let everybuggy take the chance to rest and bond with their new siblings. [this is a great time to write in cute, fluffy larva shenanigans btw]
Well,
Queen 3) food for our new hive members would be good right now.
Gather 1 3) watching and resting? sounds good
Gather 2 1)as said, more love!
Warrior 4) rest plus guarding
Worker 1) Guardians might come in handy now.
*knock knock*
It's a me, Captain Absolution!
I'm back!~
Anyways, choices:
Queen's choices 2
Gatherers (unit one) 3
Gatherers (unit two) 1
Warriors 4
Workers 2
Have you decide an name for the Nameless Queen yet, or we still voting?
Another great chapter, can't wait for the next one!~
Queen choice: 1
Hive choices
Gatherers (unit one): 3
Gatherers (unit two): 1
Warriors: 4
Workers: 1
2
3
1
1
3
Queen: 3
Gathers 1: 3
Gathers 2: 1
Warriors: 4
Workers: 3
I can't wait to see which hive we meet next.
Q:2
GUO:3
GUT:2
W:4
W:1
9660950
I second these ideas, which for simplicity's sake are:
Queen 2
First Gather Unit 3
Second Gather Unit 1
Warriors 4
Workers 2
Q:2
GU1:3
GU2:1
W:4
WOR:2
Is it possible to unlock a science building and a shipyards?
A Shipyards to make money from selling merchant airships and a science building to research airship improvements, better hive defences and army weapons/armour.
Edit
I'm thinking that the airship yards will require 50+ workers and create 6 small ships or 1 medium ship a week or one large ship a month.
The drydock for ship maintenance could require 30+ workers.
The research room could have 10 workers?
Queen 2, gatherers unit 1 3, unit 2 1, warriors 4, workers 3. Most of the lings are in need of rest or they will fail their assigned tasks soon.
Q:2
GU1:3
GU2:1
WAR:4
WOR:2
Q = 3
G1 = 2
G2 = 1
War = 4
Wrk = 2
Q -- 1
G1 -- 3
G2 -- 1
War -- 4
Wrk --3
Who would have guessed?
*sigh* Changelings... Of course they like shiny stuff.
It's not as if anything important is on stake, right?
Hold on! Isn't her name "Enigma"? Or did I miss something?
Interesting idea. Will this be temporary or permanently?
Well, here are the choices:
Queen's choice:
3) Work with Nurse Redheart. (This brings lots of love, some income and reputation. Also it is not directly listed, but she may learn more about caring for foals/grubs or medicine in general. (Even if I hope we will never need the latter.))
Hive Choices:
Gatherers (unit one): 3) Watch the larvae. (because they should be watched. Not sure if this would actually cause resting, but if you say so...)
Gatherers (unit two): 1) Gather love. (Because love.)
Warriors: 1) Scout the area around Ponyville (Not without risk, but it should do. We really should try to get a second unit of those; so one can rest while the other is working.)
Workers: 2) Build Slime Pit. (Is probably important, and 70% success is still acceptable.)
Speaking about buildings: How can we use the buildings, for example the Arcanium? Do we need an special event for that?
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Probably not for the foreseeable future. Aside from the fact that would probably need far more ressources than they even have, they could never do anything of this scale without anyone noticing.
Good chapter!
I enjoyed reading it!
Queen - 1
Gather unit 1 - 3
Gather unit 2 - 1
Warriors - 4
Workers - 3
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Yeah, it would be sometime in the future when the hive has 500+ members at least and require a satellite hive to act as the company "headquarters" so maybe y the time the storm king comes rolling in the nameless queen will have a secret armarda of her own? Or maybe she can create a magic generator (instead of electric) to power a powerful illusion spell and sheild spell (so she can build however she desires, including giant skyscapers and secret drydocks for her personal fleet)
Queen 2
Gatherers (unit one) 3
Gatherers (unit two) 1
Warriors 4
Workers 3
can't go wrong with a good reputation, could save us if we get caught
we are really starting to push it with the fatigue thing, everyone except Gatherer unit two needs to rest right the f now
From the sounds of it Enigma’s mother’s ability is more parasitic, draining the queen she takes the magic from(maybe she took or believe she took too much from Mother which is why she exiled herself?). Enigma’s ability appears more symbiotic gathering the excess magic lost in casting not to mention that the other queens trust her and were willing to share (never underestimate intent especially in realities like Equestria where concepts has more physical presence, ie love magic, elements of harmony) the main question is will she use all her stored Cicadas magic or remember to cut the flow and keep some stored? Can she regenerate other magic types if she has a sample or does she need a fresh supply each time? Will Enigma being in Cicadas form affect her newly hatched children? Do any of her hive have similar or a lesser version of honeypot magic? Does the honeypot ability work with other magic types or just other queens (I can see her getting into trouble if she accidentally absorbed some of Discord’s chaos magic though it sounds like she did experience Harmony magic already.)
Sounds like Enigma and Cicah will keep in close contact as fellow new queens and support each other. Maybe a drone exchange program to allow the other access to abilities available only to the others hive (ie race specific units, buildings)
I get the Iridescent part of the hive name (relating to her carapace) but what is the Yuma about?
For my choices;
Queen: I think that having Enigma continuing work with Twilight is the best option as it would be odd for her to change jobs so soon after starting. Also gaining reputation is important as she is the leader of her hive and gaining the trust of the locals will only help in the future. Also Free spell tuition for the queen and she can research her talent using Twilight’s lab. (Is it me or does it feel similar to pony having a special talent (ie their cutie mark)?)
Gather unit one: As their is no rush to keep love supply up keeping the gatherers in top shape is a good idea. Plus they can teach the newborns about pony interactions if the hive is planning close ties to Ponyville populous. Also give the newborns a positive impression of ponies.
Gather unit two: rotating out to cover supply while unit one rests being it top shape.
Warriors: while a at 2/3 top form I believe they are still able enough to keep an eye on the surroundings. I imagine after the scare with the timberwolves they will want to keep an eye out for other dangers in the forest and in town. With the teleport spell Enigma can travel to them if they are in trouble to evacuate them or bring reinforcements. EDIT: on reading the updated statistics page I saw we have a multiplier on morale boost so while warriors have a -30 for fatigue they also have a +150 for morale making this choice less risk than I thought.
Workers: as the warriors are starting to be pushed having a hospital would be a good idea to prevent casualties. Especially as with a small hive quality is more important than quantity. Plus the current hive has a family feel to other members it would make sense they would want to avoid losing their siblings.
EDIT: I forgot we already have the healing spring still a hive keeper sounds like either a sentry or a administrator both of which the hive could look to incorporating. The sentry would allow the warriors to have more freedom to move away from the hive while the administrator would keep the hive becoming unorganised as it grow in physical size and drone numbers.
Queen: 2 (wouldn't want to get "fired" by Twilight for being tardy, would we?)
Gatherers: 3,1 (have the gatherers change shifts)
Warriors: 4 (rest)
Workers: 3 (rest)
Queen choice (2) - Having a chance to learn any new spells may help in the future like the teleportation did and having a good rep with not only Ponyville but also Twilight will also help strengthen the Hive if they need an ally & the bits are just a bonus if we need to buy anything that the Hive can't make or grow.
Gatherer unit 1 (3) & Warriors (4) - With any species children are the future so having both units watching over the little ones will help keep them safe and if anyting does happen the gatherers can evacuate the larvae to safety while the warriors defend there retreat and give them a better chance of escape but if nothing happens then they will be well rested and ready to tackle any challenge better then if they where tired.
Gatherer unit 2 (2) - Sense they are not fatigued they will be more helpful helping out the workers.
Workers (1) - Now that the Hive is growing having stronger fighters will help protect the Hive better & if a changeling is managing the barracks they could take care of light injuries and use the healing oasis for heavyer injuries and any new units trained inside the will help them grow stronger & sense Guardians have a boost to assistance rate they can help out where ever needed.
Queen: 2. Be study buddies!
Gatherers Unit 1: 3.
Gatherers Unit 2: 1.
Warriors: 4.
Workers: 3.
Everyling is tired except you and your one worker unit. We can't take any risk of structural collapse now.
Black Star (annoying fan of nail-on horseshoes) here.
Queen; 3
As long as you aren't draining love from the foals, and assuming they give you love willingly, it means more love supplies for the hive, which means more eggs and more changelings.
Gatherers (unit 1); 3. Watch the larvae. 30% chance of failure seems a bit high for the other options.
Gatherers (unit 2); 1. Gather love. No fatigue, so it seems efficient that they work.
Warriors; 4. Watch the larvae. Same reason. as Gatherer unit 1.
Workers; 4. Watch the larvae. Same reason.
Glad to see this is back. I hope your troubles at home have turned around, and that those problems are getting defeated.
May the Lord Jesus go with and keep you.
IT'S BACK!! Call Pinkie, time to set up a Party!
Had a rough night, been away seeing family, come back to found this updated, boosted my mood way up. Great to see you Ani, hope things in you life are getting better.
Now on to the chapter;
Things went very well, Cicah became a young Queen and we have a new ally. Our batch of eggs have hatched too, one word: Dawwwwwww.
Interesting ability, though I not 100% sure about it, will need more information first. Although looking at the Rules and Mechanics, could this ability allow our Queen to create broods from other hives? Just a thought. (If so I personally would want to avoid the Firefly Brood.)
As for choices;
Queen: 2. Best to continue working with Twilight for now, new spells to help in tight areas is good and we are slowly but surely building good reputation. Through it might be a good idea to rotate jobs once in a while after some time has passed or get some of our Drones to work with Redheart and Zecora.
Gatherers (Unit One): 3. -30% fatigue is a bit too high for my liking so best to let them rest, plus now that we have hatchlings about we'll need one group to keep an eye on them.
Gatherers (Unit Two): 1. Best to keep rotating to get a steadily flow of love going.
Warriors: 1. As much as I would like them to get some rest, after that scare with the Timber Wolves I don't think we can afford to take any chances, and, unfortunately, they're the only group of Warriors we have right now. We need to get a second unit of Warriors up ASAP, might be a good idea to bring that Timber Wolf heart to Zecora and see what she can do with it, might want to pick up more of those charm necklaces like what we had before while we're at it.
Workers: 2. Really torn on this one to be honest, while rest would be nice, I was reading the statistics and noticed that the Healing Oasis only has 85% integrity, that's a bit worrying, might want that looked at. At the same time one one hoof, having Guardians to train our drones and help defend along with the barracks slowly healing injuries, especially after that Timber Wolf scare, would be great. On the other hoof, having Hivekeepers to fortify the hive's structural integrity and to expand the hive later on. I picked 2 because I'm a tad worried about the Healing Oasis integrity.
This just came to me, Twilight, knowing her, might have sent some letters to Celestia at some point after we started working with her, telling her mentor about the new friend (our Queen) she made. Just a thought.
9663965
hey buddy it's Gatherers Unit 2 that's the one that isn't tired and the opinion to rest for the Gatherers and Workers is three. might want to fix that
9665797
I have no idea how I managed to transpose numbers in the way that I did. Thank you for pointing out my error.
9666910
you're welcome
Queen: 2: Resume work with Twilight. We know she's been poking around the Hive; with luck, and with our new Covert Network, we may be able to divert her suspicions somewhat.
Gatherers unit one: 3 Watch the larvae. We need a rest.
Gatherers unit two: 1 Gather love. One fully-alert set of Gatherers ready to go, and we have hungry larvae.
Warriors unit: 4: Watch the larvae. Too much fatigue is Bad News.
Workers unit: 3: Watch the larvae. Everyling needs to take a moment to rest. Well. Almost everyling.
9664832
I saw the same thing with the healing spring. Maybe half the worker unit could work on repairing the integrity on a rotation basis while working/resting on another project. It would take longer to repair but as it is only down 15% I believe we have a good enough margin in case of any sudden need of heal unless the whole hive is majorly hurt And any circumstances I can think of that happening i would think the long term prospects of the hive at the current location are limited (as most of the drones are kept near home currently if everyling was hurt it would mean something strong has discovered the hive’s location.)
Enigma already has made the personal acquaintance of Luna so Celestia knowing of her public persona is not too big a worry especially if she takes a favourable opinion of Enigma due to the help she gave her recently returned sister she reconciled with. The only worry would be if she gives Enigma an invitation to Cadnice’s wedding but I doubt she is that close an acquaintance yet.
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Yea I may have been "Twilighting" on the healing spring. Though if the hive is found, we may be in trouble, but let's not temp fate.
You are right on them knowing the public persona, I hadn't thought about that. Somehow, I think we will end up at the wedding one way or another, but let's cross that bridge if/when we get there.
But I do think a second Warrior unit would be a good idea.
Glad to see this coming along just fine . Take it slow now, no need for a rush as long as we all enjoy the ride. Real touching moment with nameless and the hatchlings ♡. Heh, had moments where it made me chuckle.
Here are my options:
Queen: 1
Gatherers 1: 3
Gatherers 2: 2
Warriors: 4
Workers: 2
As always keep up the good work!
-Gears
9660950
Exactly what came to mind as I wrote that scene
You'll have to wait and see
Thanks for voting!
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Thank you all for voting!
9664832
I'm really glad to know my story made you happy And yeah, things are slowly getting back together, thanks for the sentiment
I
You'll have to wait and see
Oh, we'll have a little dance with Sun Butt at some point alright
9664333
It's slowly getting there, thanks for the sentiment
9662672
All will be clearer soon, but you got some things right there
Yuma is part of the Scientific Name of the species of Honeypot Ant I chose to base Nameless's hive on
9662371
Enigma is her disguise's name
Soon you'll see
9661519
We have equivalents already, those being the Gene Pool and the Arcanium
I'm afraid the shipyard has no place in the story, so no...
9685278
Your welcome!
9685302
Not unless we establish a FOB near a coastline thats when we either build or capture a abandoned shipyard
9685287
Your welcome! Better slowly to help sort things out.
Wait and see huh?
Somehow I had a feeling we would have a little dance with her royal Sunniness at some point, through since we helped her sister Luna that should allow us to start on good terms at least.
I do have to wonder though, does she know of changelings? She is over a thousand years old after all.
Also quick question; how do you do the highlighted (like a chapter's author's notes) areas showing the line or quote you're responding to?
9685299
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if she identifies herself by that name.
9685263
Wow, looking back at that comment we give you props for being able to make sense of that autocorrect nonsense....
9685500
there's a quote button you can click to highlight the text you want
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Got it, thanks.
Amazing chapter OUR QUEEN has by now Zecora, Twilight, Luna as slack allys & the Cicada Hive as certain allys
We know the queens specialty now and know for a fact that she is a protige as a queen. Inexperianced but learning fast. I see only two problems atm: 1. Her instincts are still to strong for her to make a calm calculated ruler. 2. She is lacking of a hierarchy. Without a second in command her drones are ineffectiv BUT on the other hand they are stronger individuals for it. Have we a larve counter? I seem to miss it... After all we need to start a vote for future class selection if there isnt something planned specifically yet. Good job so far overall
9714020
there's no larvae count 'cuz the votes for the classes and the changelings were already adopted a while ago. But there will be one for the next batch
9715444
Worldbuilding the way we love it
9715452
I just get a sudden important question poping in my mind up... Changeling that get produced without a 'mate' didnt they have a light disadvantage? In my head it would be that her mates would give the 'next batch of eggs' bonuses like : earthpony plus 10% endurance or constitution , unicorn get 10% more magical effectiveness or mana storage , pegasus could give better flight attribute or/and eye sight. Why? We know for a fact she can mimic/copy/assimilate for a limited amound if time special traites. Who thinks it would be 'interesting' ? AND if not pony/other races than ChangelingssSss Aaannnyyywayyy ... Amazing no matter what Love to see you replay with that in mind? See you