Chapter 04 - Weird Ponies... And Someling Else?
I need all the gatherers harvesting love as soon as possible, I'm headed to Ponyville to scout the area, send them here at my clearance with the warriors’ assistance. Meanwhile, have the workers build a new hatchery, you instructed your drones.
Yes, my Queen!
Oh, one more thing. What's your name?
N-name, my Queen? the changeling stuttered, worry and confusion on its mind.
Uhm… yeah? Now you’re confused… What’s the matter about names?
I-it's not my place to decide, m-my Queen… The changeling said meekly.
Of course it is! Everyling deserves their own name! Besides, it would be easier for me to remember all of you by. If you don’t want a name of your own, at least come up with a persona you can disguise yourself as, you lectured your drone, not fully understanding why such a reluctance to pick a name for itself.
Y-yes, my Queen. Then what should we call you?
That question caught you off guard, a little bit of guilt invaded your mind as you thought about how you were complaining about your drone’s reluctance to pick a name for itself when, in fact, you don’t have one for your own.
Your guilt was picked up by your drones through the hivemind. Don’t worry, my Queen, you’ll earn your name soon enough, we know it! They encouraged you, quieting your troubled thoughts.
Thanks… you replied sheepishly.
We’re going to work right away, my Queen, and we’ll come up with something…
True to its words, you could feel your drones starting to buzz their wings, zipping to and fro around the ruined castle, searching for the perfect spot to execute their commands. Maybe if you concentrated enough, you might even be able to see and feel through their minds?
Your wandering thoughts were scattered to the winds as the reality of your current situation took hold of your attention. You still needed to reach Ponyville to give the clearance for your gatherers to work, and what about this rhyming mare?
There's no reason for me to treat her as my enemy. You finally concluded, the black and white pony has only been kind to you so far, it was only fair of you to return in kind.
Your mind returned to the mare’s hut as you heard the clip-clop of her hoofsteps coming from the second floor, it only took a few minutes before she returned, wearing a dark gray cloak and carrying a small, ornamented wooden chest in her hooves.
Opening the chest, the mare revealed a pair of plant fiber necklaces with beautiful greenish-orange stones embedded to their center, they were shaped like a seed and emanated a soft magic glow. “This is a Timberwolf’s seed,” the mare explained. ”It will keep lesser Timberwolves away, if you're ever in need.” She put one of them on and handed you the other.
You furrowed your brow in confusion. “You're giving me this?” you asked, taking the necklace with your magic.
The strange mare only nodded, smiling.
It was so weird. You always had this notion that ponies were these dangerous and suspicious creatures that would take all your cunning to fool and feed from, but this mare was being so nice. You start feeling kind of bad for having to lie to her and for having such misconception. You make a silent promise to yourself to never commit these same mistakes again!
“Thank you, miss…”
“Zecora is how I'm called.” The mare bowed her greetings. “Though your name, I can't recall.”
“Oh, sorry, my name is Enigma. Nice to meet you.” You smiled back at her.
“Well, Ms. Enigma, I can escort you to Ponyville, if you so desire. I was going there anyway to buy some ingredients I may require, ”Zecora, offered, putting on her hood and enchanted necklace.
“Oh, that would be lovely, thank you.” You smiled, you put your own necklace and followed the mare out the hut.
The declining sun signaled the start of noon. As you two traveled through the Everfree Forest, you and Zecora engaged in a pleasant, small conversation. You felt you were starting getting used to her rhyming, but you still wondered if she’s going out of her way to form these rhymes, or if it’s just how she talks.
“So you left the big city life to wander? What made you take such decision, I wonder?” Zecora asked as you explained to her how you arrived in the Everfree Forest in the first place.
“Well, after years of researching magic and legends, I grew tired of the busy city life, so I decided to pack my most essential things and travel around the world, searching for all the legends I’ve studied for so long. That, and beauty and tranquility of the nature brought me here, to the Castle of the Two Sisters,” you explained to her. Your persona’s story felt so natural to you, you didn’t know if it was just a changeling thing or if you and your persona just seemed to “click”, either way, this familiarity also brought a sense of security, since it would be harder for you to slip up and compromise your disguise.
“Oh, so you’re staying her for a while? That’s lovely!” Zecora smiled. “I’ve been traveling by myself for a long time since I left Zebrabwe, and it was getting really lonely.”
Oh, so she’s a zebra… That probably explained the rhyming and the exotic jewelry.
“It’s wonderful to have a traveler friend living nearby, maybe someday I could pay you a visit, and say “hi” ?” the mare asked hopefully.
Well, that was to be expected, sooner or later somepony would stumble upon your hive. She did say she received visits from time to time, but it must be on very sporadic occasions.
I better keep the hive discreet if I want to avoid prying eyes… you thought before smiling and replying to the zebra, “Sure, just give me some time to set things up and we can arrange a visit.”
The conversation continued for a while as you talked about your interests and hobbies. You found out that Zecora is a master alchemist and can replicate almost any unicorn complex spells with only a few ingredients and then some! You thanked the mother to have such a powerful witch doctor at your side. Your little chat died down as you two arrived at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
You could see a big clock tower near a cozy looking cottage on a hill nearby, and just a few feet farther, your destination, Ponyville.
Zecora would greet some ponies as you two navigated your way among the colorful houses and shops toward the marketplace at the heart of the town. There, just down the street after a fountain with a statue of a rearing pony, you found dozens of ponies going to and fro through several stalls and shops. The multitude of shapes and colors of all these ponies brought you memories of your short time within your mother’s Hive. If only a little bit less crowded.
Feeling homesick, my Queen? your drone asked, sensing your emotions through the hivemind.
Yeah…
Don’t worry, I’m certain you’ll return someday. We wish we could have seen the hive… I-I wish I could have met mother… your drone said, sadly.
Your drones never had the chance to meet their mother, your mother…
Concentrating, you focused your memories of your time with Cicah, broadcasting it through the hivemind for your fellow changelings. You could feel their joy and happiness as images of the hive and Queen Elysia flashed through their minds.
T-thanks, my Queen. You heard the voice of your hive echo in unison.
You might be far from your Queen, but your family was right here with you. With your homesickness gone, you made a promise to your drones, We will return someday, but for now, our Queen is counting on us, we can’t fail!
Yes, my Queen! your hive shouted back, you could feel a newfound motivation driving their actions.
Your thoughts were interrupted as Zecora abruptly stopped ahead of you. She turned around toward you and gestured toward a flower stall down at the marketplace. “We have arrived, I have some tasks to do, so I must leave your side.”
“Oh, thank you, Zecora, have a nice day!” You waved her goodbye and walked toward the marketplace.
Now alone, you organized your thoughts and trace your path. Alright, I need to search for key points of interest; popular places ponies like to gather, well-frequented shops, soldier garrisons, and law offices.
Looking around, it didn’t take you too long to notice a big circular building standing right in the middle of town, its enormous, four-story hight made it easy to spot, even from out of town!
Hum… Big and right in the middle of town, like a Royal Chamber. It must be the town’s hall, you pondered, trotting towards it.
Passing through the big, open doorway, you found lots of fancy-looking ponies trotting around the big structure, carrying loads and loads of scrolls and other parchments. You were about to approach them when a beige earth pony mare walked into the room, she wore a pair of glasses and portrayed a tied up scroll as her cutie mark, her grey mane and tail giving away her advanced years. She staggered from side to side, struggling to balance a big pile of scrolls on her back.
You ignited your horn and lifted the weight of the scrolls away from her back, earning a relieved sigh as the mare recomposed herself.
“Thanks, Ms, those were really heavy…” The mare huffed, adjusting her glasses.
“Where should I put them?” you asked, pointing toward the scrolls that were now levitating above your head.
“Could you put them on the counter over there, please?” the mare asked, guiding you to a counter next to the entrance. Once the scrolls were set, the mare properly greeted you. “Thank you, now, I’m Mayor Mare, what can I do for you?
“Well, I’m new in town and…” you started explaining, but was cut off by the Mayor.
“Oh, so you’re moving in? That’s wonderful! Would you be interested in meeting the town’s foster care? I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with their great accommodations and services!” Mayor Mare rambled.
“W-what? No no, I just wanted some information on some of the hot spots of town, that's all.” You halted the mare before she pushed more advertisement your way.
“Oh, well, we have a library just at the end of the street to our left, our hospital is near the town’s plaza, you can find a marketplace just down the street with all sorts of stores and stalls, and at the end of the marketplace you’ll find Sugarcube Corner, the town’s favorite confectionery and just out of town you’ll find Sweet Apple Acres, its residents, the Apple family is the oldest and probably most well-known members of our community and they sell the best apples and cider of all Equestria!” the Mayor ranted, pointing her hoof to their general direction.
Taking your time to process all that information, you pictured a crude map of the town and broadcast it through the hivemind.
“Alright, thanks for the help!” You smiled and waved your goodbye.
“You’re welcome!” Mayor Mare waved back at you before returning to her duties.
You decided that your first stop should be in the marketplace, it would be useful to know what ponies liked to acquire. It wasn’t before long that a low grumble resonated from your stomach and stopped you in your tracks. It had only been a couple of hours, but you did spend a lot of magic fighting those timberwolves, and that healing potion might have affected your metabolism, no matter the cause, you were hungry.
‘It's too risky to try and feed off somepony here…’ you pondered, searching for an easy target, but failed. In your weary state, you could feel the faint smell of love emanating from somewhere nearby.
‘Strange… this doesn't seem to come from a pony, what might it be?’ you wondered, following the sweet aroma.
The trail of love led you to a cheerful red and white Apple stall, behind it, a big orange-maned, red stallion was arranging three barrels full of apples, each weighing probably half-a-ton, but despite that, he moved and maneuvered them with ease. Suddenly, a small yellow filly with red mane and a big pink bow jumped from behind the stall with a bucket full of apples on top of her head. Noticing you, the filly smiled. “Hey there! Care ‘bout some apples? Ah bucked them myself! Right, Big Mac?” the filly offered cheerfully.
“Eeyup,” the stallion confirmed the filly’s claims.
You could feel the care and hard work put into those apples, that's what attracted you to them. And they did look pretty tasty...
But then it hit you. Ponies used those round, golden pieces of metal to trade, and you didn’t have any nor knew how to fake some…
“Sorry, little one, I’m out of… currency…” You didn’t know its name…
Really smooth, Enigma. You mentally facehoofed.
The filly pouted. “Well, that’s a shame, but here, take this one as a free sample!”
Grabbing the apple with your magic, you take a small bite out of it. Immediately the strong flavor of the apple mixed with the sweetness of the love imbued on it intoxicates your taste buds, shooting sparks of pleasure down your spine.
“Holy mother, it's so good! Thanks, little one,” you exclaimed in bliss, sure that wasn’t enough to really satisfy your need for love, but it sure as Tartarus was worth it!
“Thanks, come back someday, yah hear!” the filly called as you left.
Your next target was Sugarcube Corner, since apparently, it was a very popular area, it would be a great target for your gatherers.
As you walked down the streets, you noticed how nonexistent security appeared to be, you’ve been wandering for about half an hour by now and not a single guard was to be seen, it was almost too easy…
Your thoughts were halted as you caught sight of an interesting store, Quills and Sofas. The store itself had nothing out of the ordinary, but its weird logo caught your attention.
“Once you get in, you’ll never get out,” you read aloud. ‘Is this some kind of trap or disguised prison?’
Deciding it was better to make sure the store presented no harm to your gatherers, you entered the store. True to its name, the store held an incredible collection of different shapes and sizes of sofas all around it. An as impressive collection of quills sat on display on a nearby shelf, they even had a phoenix feather quill!
A beige earth pony stallion with brown mane and green eyes walked towards you, he was wearing a tie and his cutie mark depicted a quill and a sofa, so he must be the owner of the establishment.
“Hello, Ms, the name is Davenport. What can I get for you today?” he greeted you, he had a low voice filled with confidence.
“Hello, Mister Davenport, don’t mind me, I’m just looking around.” You dismissed him politely, but being the business pony that he was, he insisted.
“Would I interest you in sampling some of our best sofas? One hundred percent guaranteed satisfaction or your money back!” he offered.
One hundred percent guaranteed, hum? That sounds interesting. You decided to take upon this as a challenge, nodding to the salespony.
With a smile on his face, he led you to a matching set of two-seats green sofas, their polished dark wood giving them an elegant look.
“This is our medium foam sofa set, perfect for that get together with old friends or some tea with your loved one.” The stallion presented the sofa, gesturing you to try it. As you sat on one side of the sofa, the salespony sat on the other side. “As you can see, even if occupied by multiple ponies, the special foam maintains its form and spread their weight equally, providing enhanced softness and comfort for both occupants.”
An interesting offer, but not enough to defeat the Queen.
“Eh, I don’t know… what else do you have?” you asked, a small drop of venom teased in your voice.
With a grin, the salespony led you to the next sofa. This was a three-seat sofa with thick seats and a high back with soft looking pillows. The salespony suddenly threw himself on the sofa and started jumping up and down on it.
“As you can see, this oak wood sofa has a reinforced frame and stronger springs so your grandchildren can play all day long on it without damaging it,” The stallion explained between jumps.
Well, at least this one seemed fun. With a defiant grin, you asked the salespony. “Is that all you got?”
Now that was war.
Getting down from the sofa, Mister Davenport fixed his tie. “I can see you’re a mare with fine tastes, please follow me.”
This time, the salespony led you to a secluded section of the store, where the most valuable items were kept safe. He presented to you a simple looking red and pink upholstered chair. Pointing with his hoof, he announced, “This is: The Comfy Chair.”
What? No long introductions this time? Hah, this will be easy, you thought triumphantly.
As you rested your haunches on the chair’s seat, your eyes went wide as you were suddenly overtaken by an indescribable sensation of comfort. The seat was so smooth and soft that even a cloud would feel hard and crooked. Snuggling deeper into the chair, you could feel its back relaxing every single fiber of your being. Resting your head on the chair’s back, it took a godly level of concentration to maintain your disguise as relaxation took hold of your mind, the comfiness was so extreme that it seeped into the hivemind, turning every single drone into a mushy mess of relaxation as the entire hive experienced true tranquility, like you’ve ascended into the Iris...
Managing to regain control of the minimal functions of your mind and body, you dragged yourself out of The Comfy Chair and went into a mad sprint out of the store.
Dropping on the street in defeat, you warned your drones through the hivemind. You’re never to enter this store. NEVER!
Still, in the back of your mind, only one thing remained, That chair shall be mine!
After recomposing yourself, you managed to reach Sugarcube Corner, apparently, The Comfy Chair sucked hours of your life as the sun was almost setting, its orange rays providing only enough luminosity to barely avoid the need for night lamps.
True to the Mayor’s words, Sugarcube Corner was full of ponies even at this late hour. As you entered the store, you were, once again, assaulted by that same aroma of love, but this time, it wasn’t coming only from the food… Looking around, you could see all the happy faces of the ponies chatting, eating, and overall having a good time, you could feel their love toward this very establishment.
“Thanks, Mrs. Cake, see you tomorrow!” You heard a blonde, grey pegasus say through gritted teeth as she held a pack of freshly baked muffins. You two froze as you crossed glances, her walled eyes conveying the feelings of shock, worry, and fear… You could feel something different about this mare, a faint familiarity that you simply couldn’t figure out why.
The mare slowly scooted around your right as you kept your guard up and scooted to the left. Once the path was clear, the pegasus sprinted out the door and took to the skies. You ran after her, following pursuit, you had to catch her.
Despite your efforts, the pegasus soon proved to be a great flyer, her speed and maneuverability proving too much for you to keep up on hoof. It would be too risky to break out of disguise, but maybe a little magic could help!
You concentrated your telekinesis onto your hooves, creating a small “rift” on the sole of the hooves that pushed you up, strong enough to make you hover on the floor, allowing you to skate your way to your target. Noticing you catching up, the pegasus began flying more erratically, trying to lose you. But with a little help of your magic, you managed to keep up with her.
The two of you were almost at what appeared to be the Ponyville schoolhouse, sitting on top of a small hill. Noticing a small bump on the dirt road, you decided that that was your chance. You fed more energy into your spell, gaining more and more speed. When you hit the bump, you jumped, the momentum and strength of the spell sent you close enough to the fleeing pegasus that you managed to catch her with your magic.
With a tight grip, you brought the struggling mare to the ground, pinning her against the wall at the side of the schoolhouse. You looked around to check if there were anypony spying on you, you were safe.
“P-p-please, d-don’t hurt m-me!” the pegasus pleaded, teardrops forming in her eyes.
“You ran away from me as soon as you noticed me. Who are you?” you asked, looking the mare straight in the eyes. At least, as straight as you could.
“I-I’m Derpy, Derpy D-doo,” the mare stuttered, struggling to free herself.
Looking deep into her eyes, you knew there was something else. “Who are you?” you asked again.
With her ears glued to the back of her head, she was suddenly enveloped by a bright flash as green flames burned away her grey fur and blonde mane and replaced them with changeling chitin and a green carapace, her feathery wings gave way to long membranous insect wings. The only remaining feature were her crossed eyes as they remained that way after the transformation.
“You’re a locust changeling!” You gasped, reverting to your own changeling form. “What hive are you from, drone?”
The now terrified drone struggled even more against your grip, to no avail. “I-I’m not with anyling! I’m an outcast, I swear!”
“Look into my eyes,” you commanded the drone. She tried her hardest, but her eyes wouldn’t focus. Not wanting to torture the frightened changeling, you decided to calm it down.
“Shh, don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you.” You pat the drone. “I’m gonna let go of you, I want you to look into my eyes and explain to me what happened to you, ok?”
“Y-yes, Queen…” The drone waited for your name
“I’m the daughter of Queen Elysia,” you provided.
The mention of Queen Elysia seemed to help calm the changeling. As you let her loose, she transformed back into her pegasus persona and took a deep breath to calm down. “I once was part of Arch Queen Chrysalis’ hive. I always managed to mess things up back at the hive, I was born an infiltrator that couldn't change a simple thing as its eyes. I was defective. One day, Arch Queen Chrysalis ordered me to scout the area around Canterlot and when I arrived at my destination, I was severed from the hivemind.”
“She cut you out of the hive? Why?” you asked in repulsion, the notion of simply casting your drones out on the world felt so nefarious to you.
“I don’t know. Maybe she was tired of me messing up, maybe she couldn’t feed me anymore. Our hive was always in a constant state of starvation, so when a changeling failed to return home, it meant that more love would be distributed among the hive…” the mare explained, sadness for her fellow hivemates still in her voice, despite being cast out. “I ended up here in Ponyville a long time ago, I built my life here as the mailmare “Derpy” and managed to go by, but since I was severed from the hivemind… the sudden silence that its absence leaves your mind, it's torturing.”
“Why didn’t you asked my mother for refuge? I’m sure she would take you as part of her hive,” you asked her, confused.
“Well, I was going to, but then…” Derpy was suddenly interrupted by the ring of the schoolhouse bell.
You quickly shapeshifted into your persona as the school kids ran out of school in a mini stampede of laughter and joy. Among the herd of playing children was a pale purple unicorn filly with blonde mane and yellow eyes. She was looking around her, searching for something, upon spotting you and Derpy, she ran toward the two of you, a wide smile on her face.
“Mommy! Mommy! You won't believe what I did today!” she squeaked, tackling Derpy and giving her a big hug.
“What was that, sweetie?” Derpy asked, embracing the filly with her wings.
“I’ve managed to levitate my math book for ten seconds!” the filly shouted with pride at her accomplishment.
“Really? That’s great, sweetie, three more seconds than your previous record!” Derpy praised her, nuzzling her cheeks.
“Yeah, isn’t that awesome?”
Their love was so strong, so pure, that it was almost palpable… the unconditional love of a beloved filly.
“Sure is, sweetheart, now Dinky, why don’t you greet my friend Ms…”
“Enigma, how you’re doing, little one?” You provided as Derpy put Dinky down.
“Hello, Ms. Enigma, I’m doing fine, thanks!”
“Now dear, why don’t you go play with your friends while I have a little chat with Ms. Enigma? I’ll be with you shortly, okay?” Derpy asked, nudging Dinky with her muzzle.
“Okay, bye, Ms. Enigma!” The filly waved at you before running off to play with the other kids.
“Mommy?” You asked, definitely curious.
“When I first came to Ponyville, I had a hard time doing my job as a mailmare, lots of ponies were mad at me for delivering the wrong mail by accident or damaging important packages, a few ponies even mocked me because of my eyes. But every time I came to deliver mail for Miss Cheerilee, the Schoolteacher, Dinky would always come up to chat with me. You see I always ended up coming here at their lunchtime by mistake and Dinky would stop playing with her friends to come and talk with me.”
“Then what?”
“Well, one day, when I couldn't take being lonely anymore, I flew by the orphanage to meet with Queen Elysia and saw Dinky through the window, getting ready for school. So I’ve gone and adopted her and never met Queen Elysia, I chose to take care of Dinky. I chose her not as a replacement for the hivemind, she’s so much more…” Derpy concluded, a single teardrop running down her cheek.
The sun was hiding behind the mountain, the stars began painting the dark sky as a drone called to you through the hivemind. My Queen, we have completed the hatchery without any complications, the workers are a bit tired but able to work on your next assignment, also, the gatherers and warriors are ready for deployment at your command.
Understood, Ponyville is secured, you can deploy the units. I’ll be back soon. You instructed your drones.
“So… what now?” Derpy asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.
Hello, my fellow players! I'm happy to bring you the long-awaited (very long-awaited) chapter 4! In it, we not only got our Hatchery but we are also introduced to a new mechanic and choices, these choices being, about our newly discovered neighbor Derpy! Is she really trustworthy? Or maybe there's a threat hidden within her?
First lets talk about the new mechanic: Fatigue.
Every time your drones perform a command, it gets tired, the more tired it gets, the less efficient its work become, decreasing its sucessfulness rate by 15% each time. If a tired changeling returns to the hive or any annex structure, it may rest and recover 40% of its efficiency. Some structures may allow the changeling to recover faster while some upgrades or spells may allow them to tire less rapidly.
Additionaly this chapter was the first to feature the game mechanic called Personality!
Every choice the Young Queen makes will reflect in her personality, more friendly Choices will make the Queen a happier, if not a bit naive, changeling, more strategic choices will make the Queen an analitic and thoughtful changeling and lastly more agressive choices will make the Queen a more assertive ,albeit rude, changeling. Her personality mighty interfere with what side quests will be given to her by other, and it may also give her bonus reputation points if her personality matches the faction she's interacting. Her personality will never prevent her from making any future choices however.
Now, before I present to you with the choices available for this chapter, I'd like to ask for a favor!
I love reading through those long comments where the player explains its strategy, express its general opinion or roleplay. I read every single comment in its entirety the moment I notice them in my notitication box. However, it was aparent to me that it was becoming quite troublesome to extract the vital information I needed when I returned to the comment section to count the votes. Again, I love reading all your comments, be it long or short, but I'd like to ask you that when you're going to inform your vote, you specify the number of the option you want, so, for example; last chapter, most people voted for the warriors to perform their 5th option, so, after saying everything you wanted to say, if you could leave a "Warrior 5" or something like that I would really appreciate it.
Thank you for your colaboration, this will help me a lot!
Now for the Queen's choices!
1) Ask Derpy to assist you. (She'll be integrated into the hivemind and will work as your guide, providing useful information about ponies and other changeling hives, but due to her locust breed, she'll consume 2 love supply while connected to the hive.)
2) Leave Derpy alone. (You don't recognize her as a threat and leave her be. However, your gatherers will suffer a -5 love supply collection penalty, due to Derpy's locust hunger, draining love from other ponies.)
3) Replace Derpy. (Since she's already a disguised changeling, replacing her will be easy and the love collected by her daughter, Dinky, will proved a huge boost of +10 love supply per active chapter.)
4) Kill Derpy. (Her presence represents not only a competitor for love, but also a threat to the hive in case her old Queen senses her. Desposing of her will incur no penalties since she confessed that there are not much ponies to notice her absence.)
Now for the Hive choices.
Gatherers: (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
1) Return to the hive. (Calls them back to the hive to perform another task.)
2) Continue task. (Don't issue a new command.)
Warriors: (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
1) Return to the hive. (Calls them back to the hive to perform another task.)
2) Continue task. (Don't issue a new command.)
3) Scout the area around Ponyville (Searches for possible threats around Ponyville.
Workers: (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
1) Build Arcanium. (Unlock new spells for the Queen/ Unlocks the advanced unit: Sorcerer [support])
2) Build Barrack. (Unlock the advanced unit: Guardian [fighter]/ Slowly heals warriors)
3) Build Slime Pit. (Unlock the advanced unit: Hivekeeper [defense]/ Increase hive structural integrity)
4) Build Covert Network. (Unlock the advanced unit: Spectre [espionage]/ Can recoverAnonymity)
5) Build Gene Pool. (Unlock the advanced unit: Geneshifter [researcher]/ Unlock drone upgrades)
6) Build Reinforced Hive Annex. (Lockout a nearby area and add it's benefits for the hive/ successfulness rate: 25% [+15% with support])
7) Build Hidden Hive Annex. (Add the benefits of a nearby area without raising its defenses or loweringAnonymity/ successfulness rate: 50% [+25% with support])
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!
Leave your votes in the comments below! I can't wait to see where you'll take the story!
Next chapter will be up soon-ish... ™ 
-A.M.
Chapter edited by: EverfreePony
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Queen 1
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Workers 2
Derpy... Derpy.. What will we do with you? I say first option. That will help here and we should let her still live in her home with Dinky.
Just let the Gatherers and Warriors do their things.
And for the Workers, a Barracks will be nice to have.
Wow, this chapter was worth the wait, over 4k words makes an good chapter!~
Take your time, and don't rush, mmk? 2k or 4k words, I'll be here, reading it.
Queen 1
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Workers 1
This is a great chapter. Oh the chair what a glorious chair, we must have it to make fatigue non-existent
. Derpy being a changeling was unexpected though. Keep up the good work!
Well isn’t this an ambitious concept of a fic. I really hope it does well!
Queen 1
Workers 2
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Awww No way can we kill or harm dear Derpy! Having her be from another hive originally could help us in the future if we come across Chrysalis's hive. Sure she isn't connected to them anymore, but she knows how their hive does things and that can be valuable information. Plus Dinky I feel is an observant pony, kind of like Pinkie in a way in that if we replaced her mother, she would KNOW
. So yeah keep the pair together. Dinky probably gives Derpy enough love to keep her mostly satisfied, so we wouldn't need to worry about fighting Derpy for food from other ponies.
A barracks would indeed be nice. Heal our poor hurt changelings in the future and give em all a nice place to sleep.
I agree with Absolution. This chapter was totally worth the wait. All the cuteness, fun, and good length kept it entertaining and informative. I can hardly wait to see our little hive grow in personality and size! But yes, no rush, take your time and make this the best you can, Be it 2k words, 4k or more I will keep returning and reading. (Might not reply each time, depending on when I get around to reading it, but will still keep reading.)
I still do not understand this game to be honest is the first time I see it.but I will try to play it
Queen's choices!1 = I choose Ask Derpy to assist us. she may be clumsy but her experience is valuable. and we do not have to feed her much because she feeds on her daughter (if I read correctly)
Gatherers:1
Warriors:3
Workers:1
Queen's choice;1. Ask Derpy to assist you. Having her join your hive, despite the cost of love supply, will be an asset. There's no need, unless she wants to, for her to live in the hive itself; if she wants, she can remain in Ponyville and help to keep tabs on it, as well as providing information and advice.
Warriors; 3. As Black Star, a warrior, it may be best to scout the area before ordering the warriors back. Knowing possible threats is important, and the scouts can retreat if they are attacked. If pursued, they can hide (and change form) until the enemy is gone, and then return. After that, it is best that they rest.
If, as a warrior, I can make suggestions regarding the other classes;
Gatherers; 2. Its probably best that the gatherers come back. The food we gain is necessary, and how much we can grow in the beginning will be decisive. Best not to risk the early food supply. Let's quit while we're ahead.
Workers; 2. Building a barracks early on will ensure that we are protected well, unlock a new, advanced class with (if I'm not mistaken) superior abilities to normal warriors, and will provide the hive with the ability to heal up more effectively.
Edit; one more thing. If we do get a barracks and my changeling is upgraded, will that affect my character's backstory and everything (specifically the nail-on horseshoes part)?
Queen 1
Gatherer 2
Warrior 3
Worker 1
I don’t like any feeling of an unknown threat so the warriors should search around Ponyville for a possible threat the Queen may have missed.
Queen 1
Workers 2
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Queen 3
Gatherers 2
Workers 2
Warriors 2
Queen 1
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Workers 3
Would Derpy also add the locust breed to our collection if we get the gene pool? Not that we currently have use for that but a collection is an collection (might open the possibility to sabotage an enemy queens love supply) Edit: just read up on the game rules so locust are also great flyers with good stamina? nice to have
Just let the Gatherers and Warriors do their things. ctrl-c ctrl-v ty captian
If Derpy joins she might cause some structural damage so we should have the guys to repair that ready and i think they might unlock more hive construction options.
Queen 1
Gatherers 2
Warriors 2
Workers 4
I agree with Absolution on how Derpy should be handled I also think that Operation Get the Chair should be enacted ASAP.
*sees pic of stuck changeling*
*SNERK*
Queen: 1
Gatherers: 2
Warriors: 3
Workers: 5
The gatherers will be fine without the warriors' support, best to have them scouting and getting a read on the area.
We've got our love supply covered for the moment, and we've built a hatchery so we're ready to pump out new units. Time to get those sweet, sweet ling upgrades before the ponies out tech us.
Queen 1
Gathers and warriors 2
Workers 1, 2,5 vote to all three of those choices
Queen 1
Gather 1 / 2
Soldiers 2
Builders 5
The rouge drone who calls herself Ditzy Doo is already a trusted member of this 'ponyville' and a more experienced 'ling than any in the hive, plus if she misses the hivemind so much than simply making her part of ours should almost guarantee her loyalty.
Not all the gatherers need to be out but we do need L/S, if some gatherers went home and rested while the others hunted than we could (at least for now) cycle them in and out, thus keeping our group somewhat rested while also gathering more than enough love.
Soldiers, we need those gatherers to stay safe.
With exhaustion being made a thing it is getting clearer that maintaining powerful drones will be important. To make sure we are on top in any possible circumstance it is imperative that we construct a gene pool in order to improve our potential asap.
Mild nitpick and not to be rude but I think you meant to say 'buy'
8803006
Sllly gatherer, we have only just begun. A barrack is for those with enemies who need to fight a lot, all we have for threats is a few angry pieces of wood, it is far too soon for a barracks.
Queen 1
Gathers 2
Warriors 3
Workers 2
" building barracks!" -random worker
Queen 1
Gatherer 2
Warrior 3
Worker 1
Arcanium is a must i believe, if the Queen's backstory is that she was a sorceress then wouldn't it be a little suspicious she isn't talented in it? especially when her persona is aged? granted she could lie and give some sort of excuse for why she cant cast but still better safe than sorry. on that note while she can explain her reasons for not casting her lack of knowledge on the matter is harder still to explain so she may want to get on reading those books, specifically the ones on arcana.
missing e in here
Queen: 1 (2 if Derpy refuses)
If Derpy wishes to relocate to the hive, offer her to take Dinky with her to the hive, so long as Derpy makes sure Dinky does not spill the secret until the hive is revealed. (how Derpy achieves this matters not[the hive could be kept hidden from Dinky, or disguised as ponies living in the castle, or Dinky is told while Derpy makes sure Dinky does not tell others])
Having a source of love INSIDE the hive would definetly be useful, especially if the gatherers will have to pull out of ponyville for some reason.
And should Derpy not be trustworthy, she can always be killed or replaced later.
Gatherers: 2 [until we can generate enough income passively, gatherers need to keep gathering]
Warriors: 3 [there were strangely few guards. this implies other means of defence, if one does not assume ponies to be naïve]
Workers: 4
In the case Derpy is still connected to Chrysalis' hive up until she joins ours, we may have the problem of being revealed this early. As such, we need ways to cover our tracks. Spectre's might also make excellent scouts.
Also, have some gatherers check out the Orphanage while they are in ponyville. The more foals with changeling foster parents we can get into the hive the better.
The problem is how do we afford such a glorious chair? I must redouble my efforts to sell my gears! (That is if I am born in the world
)
For Derpy I would go with 1, as local/inside help is invaluable. Although having her independent of the hive may work better for a time if you can soft manipulate (ie let her know you are trying to get her to consider joining a new hive) as being an outcast would have caused her to become more independent and increase her will so would be harder to subjugate if you forced it. Besides it seams that her mother was considered in high enough regard and respect for Derpy to have plan to go to her before taking in Dinky. Derpy also make a good study of how to collect love without discovery or harm.
Gatherers 2, no need to change their actions yet
Warriors 2, keeping the Gatherers safe is important for a small hive especially as she counts the as close family,
Worker 2 or 4, Enigma needs to build a defence for her hive or develop her intelligence network so surprises like Derpy don’t happen as it could have been an emery or hostile rival. A Arcanium should be high on the priorities but one of the other two sh
I can see a possible tread appearing in the Mayor pushing for Enigma to adopt. She will have the choice to be rude and reject or accept. Will she set up a outpost (house) to live in the town or keep to the carstle. Will she reveal herself to the foal (either straight away or slowly after getting a feel of what they are like), replace them with herself or a drone or seek to keep the hive as hidden as possible from her new charge (and risk a misunderstanding if discovered)
The Apple could be a supplement or emergency store for the hive. Not sure if they are enough to be an alternative although the description put their value on the high side. Enigma will need to warn her hive so they know and don’t accidentally reveal themselves if they lose their disguise from sensory overload. Enigma would have to work out how to obtain (legally) pony money if she did want more. Same for food from sugar cube though threat of a reveal is much higher with an overload of love (not to mention Pinkie Pie both her knowing [from Pinkie sense and spying] as well as her surprise parties.)
Finally the comfy chair (Enigma’s new throne [will she steal it, buy it or get discovered from relaxing too much and dropping her disguise ])
NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!
1 Derpy Assists the queen, because it is most likely the best outcome if she refuses then choose 2 because that has less likely a chance of getting spotted and the queen will be kinder (and if you are going long term and they are revealed Derpy, along with Dinky, would be a valuable asset as they are known around Ponyville).
2 Collect more love, at least until there is enough to compensate for Derpy
3 Scout the area around Ponyville, there must be something fishy going on if there are no guards
1 Build Arcanium, to help fit the queens backstory, along with the Castle of the Two Sister having an extensive library which will make the Sorceresses stronger
Congratulations! You found The Timberwolf's seed!
Sorry, it was fitting for the moment.
2, 2, 3, 2.
8803352
Actually, let me add something to the queen action:
In order to accept the offer to join the hive, Derpy must prove that she isn't a Spectre pretending to be a Locust.
Should Derpy fail to do that, offer her the being a partial hivemember instead.
This would mean:
After reading the chapter twice did we just revealed the location of the hive to zecora? Oh no! Everyling panick!!
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/4/42/Thorax_%22a_changeling_patrol%21%22_S6E26.png/revision/latest?cb=20161024031435
8803521
Not necessarily that the hive is at that location, just that Enigma lives there, whoever Enigma actually is :P
Can I choose option 1.5
We should leave Derpy be as she only needs Dinky to sustain her, but she will give the Hive all the necessary information we need to know in ponyville, she would not risk revealing the Queen as the Queen will reveal her secret as well.
Derpy cannot compete with love as there are very few that sadly loves her {except for bronies of course}
I will let my brothers and sisters decide what each individual changeling will do as we are all doing what we can for the benefit of the hive, but what will happen if for example a changeling worker was given a name by one of the chosen personality, Will they be given a free will to do what they can to increase the success rate of the mission given to them?
Wait, so taking Derpy in loses us 2 Love supply, but replacing her gives us 10? She's consuming 12 Love?
No wonder Chrysalis kicked her out, that's nuts. I don't think she's worth a swing of 12 Love (though it's weird that she's already consuming 10 but would take 2 more of ours - would she just stop collecting as much?)
Queen's Choice: 3, because there's no way she's worth that much.
Also, this quest format is something I haven't seen here before - the big Quest hubs are Sufficient Velocity (the best) Spacebattles (a larger userbase, but shitty mods and the userbase isn't as good as SV's) QQ (if you can deal with there being some lewds, or want that I guess.) This reminds me a bit of some of the Sliver Quests which appeared on SV and SB, given the whole manage-a-hive-as-it's-queen deal.
Queen 1!
Well let me just say what is on everyone's mind: WE ARE NOT KILLING DERPY AND THAT IS FINAL! Now that we have that out of the way, we have three choices to choose from for Derpy. I'm completely against replacing Derpy because I can never bring myself to separate a mother from her daughter. The best option would be to intergrate Derpy into the hive, she had lived in ponyville for a long time and could have information we can use to our advantage. We can easily handle the extra love cost for the Locust... For now. But seriously Derpy being a changeling, I did NOT see that coming.
Anyways, it is best to bring the gathers back to recover from their fatigue. I know that we need love to keep the hive going, but the -15% from fatigue makes it too risky to continue working. If they work in their tired status, they might get caught and that will cost us some anonymity. That is something we can't risk losing.
The Warriors will do the same as the gathers and come back to the hive for a different task. They aren't that tired so we don't need to put them on resting yet. We can use them to assit the workers on buidling projects.
Speaking of the workers, I think we should invest in building a slime pit. I believe we will need an improved version of the workers if we want to build and expand our hive. Not only do we get the upgraded workers, but we will have a higher success rate in building. Now the -15% success rate is troubling, but will ne nulled with the help of the warriors... I hope.
I read your notes about the voting so I will give my strategical explanation on the choices and give a basic vote like this:
Queen: 1
Gathers: 1
Warriors: 1
Workers: 3
My main goal is to make sure the hive survives and form a peacful future for the changelings and ponies like in the show.
Queen 1, Gatherers 2, Warriors 2, Workers 5
First of all there is the question of Derpy. She has one thing which is of inestimable importance to the Hive - she has experience. Killing or replacing her is a bad idea, because ponies will notice (at the very least, they'll notice she seems to have forgotten them all). So that leaves either ignoring or assimilating her into the Hive.
Assimilating her takes a 2-Love penalty. Not good. But ignoring her reduces incoming love by 5, which is even worse. On that basis alone, it's better to take her in. And, as an advantage, we'll also have access to her no doubt extensive knowledge of the town. Especially if she can play it over the Hivemind for us.
Gatherers need to keep gathering. We have a Locust to feed now as well, and that will cost us.
I considered having Warriors scout out around Ponyville; but reviewing Derpy's memories will give us a much better idea of local dangers and/or opportunities, and with less chance of failure. Since we're assimilating her, then, the Warriors should continue to assist the Gatherers.
Now, the next question is, what to have the remaining Workers build? I like the Arcanium, but that only strengthens the Queen. The Covert Network will be important, because our Anonymity is our biggest asset; but we don't need it yet, and can simply build it later. The Gene Pool, on the other hoof, is something that we want to have built as soon as possible; that strengthens not just the Queen, but the entire Hive, and the longer we have our Geneshifters working, the more and better they can improve our Hive.
So I'd say Gene Pool now, but Covert Network is certainly on the short list for the future.
I wonder if apples could be harnessed as an auxiliary/portable love supply? Could any other food made with love?
Also, the artifact chair with hive-wide effects, both positive and negative? Glorious. I wonder if there are any other items like this around.
Queen 1. Short-term benefit of the intel and assistance Derpy can provide outweight long-term risks. It puts a significant strain on love supply, but... Besides the obvious, Derpy is a regular of Sugarcube corner and a mailpony, this can provide intel about and access to pretty much anyone in town. She's also friends with Pinkie (although whether Pinkie exists here or not is unclear so far) and this can potentially help with anything from maintaining anonymity to procuring supplies to... well, sky's the limit, truce with ponies even, in time.
It would seem unlikely she would want to relocate to the Hive. But if she did, the single most important condition she'd have to fulfill would be ensuring Dinky doesn't reveal our presence.
On a side note, it's quite odd that a single locust has such a huge love supply consumption - 2 from the hive and whatever love she is having given to her freely by Dinky. Perhaps she isn't willing to feed on her all the time, or is there some other cause? An inquiry into this might reveal something useful about her, locusts or changelings in general, rogue or otherwise. Also, a rogue drone might have learned something about living among ponies that's not obvious for a hive. There might be valuable knowledge she can provide for the gatherers.
Gatherers 2. We can push it a bit further, the penalty isn't that severe yet, and the risk is... acceptable, even without warrior support. We need love, we need it now. Two points now is better than ten later.
Warriors 3. We have a rough map of Ponyville. Now we need to map out the surroundings. There are unlikely to be any immediate threats around, given the low security and general relaxed attitude of the town, but the Everfree holds many secrets. Focus on the part between the old castle and the town. Derpy might know the town's surroundings, but even if (and that's a big if) a lone Locust is more durable than a pony, she's unlikely to have risked going there regularily.
Workers 2. While it's unwise to pursue offensive actions now, we do need a way of reinforcing and maintaining our numbers. The castle is fairly well-protected, what it needs is someone to garrison it. Barrack will help with that.
Queen 1, with a caveat that Dinky will be protected like she is one of our larvae. Politely ask Derpy if she will share her reserves. If not, oh well.
Gatherers 2.
Warriors 3. Do so carefully! Revealing the hive is bad, bringing the next monster attack is equally so.
And the Workers 5, build a gene pool. Better drones can make life easier for the whole hive.
Queen: 1. She has the experience. She has contacts with the locals. But because it can be useful for the Hive... for now. If she refuses, then without any doubts 3 or even 4. We can't let her threaten the Hive.
Gatherers: 2. Feed us greater power!
Warriors: 2.
Workers: 5. The sooner we start upgrade our drones the better. Therefore, Gene Pool should be our next priority. So far, we are not in any danger, and we should take advantage of peaceful times.
Queen (1) - We will need an ally to give us some information around Ponyvile so we can plan our next move.
Gathers both groups (1) - Return to the hive let them take 5.
warriors (3) - We need to scout the area around Ponyvile. It maybe defenceless but the Everfree still contains wildlife which maybe a problem for us.
Workers (2) - Building a Barracks will come in handy for any attacks on our hive.
- If we are going to buy that chair we are going to need get some money.
- I was a hard choice for me pick on what to do with Derpy. It was ether 1 or 3.
8804050
If I'm understanding the rules correctly, then I think that the Covert Network will be better for anonymity than the Hidden Hive Annex (but the Annex provides a few other benefits, like - if we use it to incorporate the healing spring, for example - better health for our drones).
queen 1, gatherer 2, warrior 2, worker 3
8803006
I'm glad you enjoyed the story! now that the game has properly begun, It will be easier for me to put more content into each chapter, so you may expect them to be around 3k words
8803028
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Th chair shall be ours!
8803033
Well, idk if its ambitious, but it sure is giving me quite a lot of work. But I'm loving it
I'm glad you're enjoying it too!
8803037
I can't wait either!
Now that the game has properly begun, the chapters should end up around 3k words from now on. I just hope I don't take too long to release the next chapter
8803048
Well, I'm glad you're tagging along!
If you need help understanding the game, you can find an extensive amount of information about it here!
Thanks for participating
8804242
Thank you
ok
Please tell me we didn't Flowers for Algernon'd our hive with the "comfy chair".
8804308
Sorry, didn't get the reference there...
Queen:1
Gather: 2
Warrior:2
Worker: build the gene pool
8804050
if she disagrees, we replace her. (I'm evil)
8804234
For a story like this, I think 3k sounds just about perfect.
If you do take a little longer it's okay. We all have lives, some crazier than others, and life, even if we don't want it to sometimes, should come first before just writing for fun.
8804360
The Nameless King from dark souls right?
Actually, I chose this name for the story 'cuz I didn't know what the readers would like to name her