Chapter 05 - A Job Fit For A Queen
You stopped to think about Derpy’s question for a short moment. Sure, her high consumption of love might hinder your hive’s development, but she managed to survive all this time by herself, and you knew first hoof how hard it is after what Twenty-three taught you.
“I have an offer for you, Derpy,” you said, raising her head with your hoof to look into her eyes.
“I can link you to my hivemind. You can still live your life here in Ponyville with your family, but now you’ll have the support of my hive to help you,” you proposed. You could almost feel sparks of joy emanating from disguised changeling by your proposal.
“But—” you interrupted her thoughts before she said anything, “—I ask that you act as my scout and guide, feeding the hivemind information about Ponyville and its ponies in exchange, deal?” You tilted your forehead towards Derpy.
“Deal!” Derpy squealed in excitement, touching your horn with hers.
You sent a spark of magic through the contact, assimilating her to your hivemind. Immediately, you gained access to all of Derpy’s memories of her time in Ponyville and its inhabitants, the overflow of information leaving you staggered for a moment. Likewise, the reconnection of Derpy to a hivemind seemed to hit her in full force as she lost her balance and almost dropped to the floor.
Welcome to the hive, Derpy, you said to her through the hivemind, testing to see if her connection was complete.
It worked! Oh, thank you so much, Ms. Enig— I mean, my Queen! Oh, it’s been so long! Derpy blabbered through the hivemind, quickly introducing herself to all your other drones.
Noticing the starry sky above you, you felt your previous magic exertion caught up with you as you began to feel a bit drowsy. “I’m going back to the hive, I still have to meet my drones. I’ll return to Ponyville tomorrow.”
“Alright, sleep well, my Queen!” Derpy said her goodbyes and returned to Dinky.
You turned around and walked down the main street until you reached the edge of town. Looking around to make sure nopony was spying on you, you released your disguise and flew back to your hive, eager to finally meet your drones.
The full moon lit up the night sky with its beautiful, soothing silver light, when you finally arrived at your hive. Eagerly climbing the steps to the front door, you threw them open. Your eyes went wide in surprise as you saw multiple ponies casually strolling around the castle’s main hall, your heart skipping a beat at the thought of being discovered so early.
All the ponies stopped in their tracks when a blue pegasus noticed you standing in the doorway and greeted you, “Welcome back, my Queen!”
Your mind went in full damage control as you finally realized what was going on. ‘Oh, it's just their disguises!’ You mentally facehoofed.
Soon enough, all your drones gathered in the main hall to greet you, their overwhelming happiness of finally meeting you only strengthening your own joy of meeting them.
“It’s so good to meet everyling, and I see you’ve already come up with your own disguises,” you commented. “I’m glad you’re so well-prepared, but there’s no need to keep your disguises in the hive.” As everyling dropped their disguises, you felt much more comfortable and began recollecting your thoughts and organizing your hive.
“Alright, now that I’m here, all the gatherers and warriors can go to Ponyville, but once we get our initial love boost, one unit of gatherers may return to the hive and rest so they can take turns with the other unit and keep a steady, and safely harvested, flow of love,” you instructed your gatherers, who readied their wings to take flight.
“The warriors should keep their watch on Ponyville until further notice, the gatherers’ safety is your top priority,” you instructed the warriors as well. Saluting, everyling took off and went to their assignments.
“What about us, my Queen?” Phengaris asked.
“Well, we need to make our drones stronger. Build a Gene Pool so we can start some upgrades once our new larvae are born,” you commanded the worker.
Eager to work on something to help the young, Phengaris quickly went to her assignment, rallying all the workers in the room.
Now alone, you decided to take a look at your new hatchery before searching for a place to sleep. Walking down the corridor toward the throne room, you quickly found the newly built hatchery right next to it.
Entering the hatchery, you felt immediately at home, the hardened slime structure and holed walls reminding you of your mother’s hive. You walked around the chamber, inspecting every nook and cranny to see if it was suitable for holding your next generation of changelings.
You halted your wandering by that thought, how exactly would you expand your hive? Maybe mother will send me another egg cluster? you thought, even though that seemed unlikely. Maybe my drones can have their own larvae? As you tried to figure out how exactly your hive would grow, you noticed the small holes uniformly dug into the walls, the future cradles of your little lings. You ran a hoof over one of them, inspecting it and noticing how resilient, yet comfortable they were, they would surely provide a great resting spot for the young. Your mind couldn’t help but entertain the thought of having dozens of little grubs wiggling around the couched and cozy floor of the hatchery, playing with each other and making their cute noises. You would spend all the afternoon with them, gathering in a pile of squishy and adorable pajama larvae while you fed them your purest love.
The thought warmed your heart, but was interrupted by a spark of energy running through your spine, making you shiver. “What was that?” you muttered to yourself, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing, you shrugged it off.
Well, it's probably just tiredness, time for me to sleep.
You went to the hidden room at the library and lay down on a dusty old couch. Time has not been kind to it as you could feel its rusty springs sticking out through the seat’s foam. You wish you had that comfy chair…
With that thought, an idea came to your mind. I should probably find some work amongst the ponies, it will not only earn me ‘bits’, it may also build up my reputation with the townsfolk…
That seemed like a great idea, if you could find a work where you could only show up from time to time, it would give you enough time to tend to your hive, earn you reputation, and you could finally buy that marvelous chair!
Alright then, I guess my first stop tomorrow would be at Zecora’s place… You began to plan before dozing off, your consciousness giving way to a much-deserved rest.
You woke up in the morning to the gentle warmth of the sun caressing your chitin. Sitting up on the old coach, you yawned the drowsiness away as you stretched your sore limbs and buzzed your sleepy wings. Blinking your eyes, you noticed that the small room was filled with beautiful colors as the sunlight shone through the stained glass window behind you. Maybe the rough sofa was worth it after all, you thought, admiring the light show.
Flying down the staircase back to the main hall, you decided to take a look at the new Gene Pool to see how it was going. It didn’t take long for you to locate your workers through the hivemind. As you neared the chamber under construction, you noticed how quiet things were. Landing so you didn’t make too much noise, you snuck to the chamber’s doorway and peaked in.
The gene pool seemed to be about halfway completed, its hardened slime walls already installed and a giant hole in the middle of the chamber occupied most of the space. Within it, you found all your workers gathered in a big pile, taking a nap. Apparently, they had been working all night.
Poor things… You blew them a good night kiss, charged with love to make them more comfortable. Leaving your drones to their sleep, you headed outside the castle ruins. Checking to see if you had your necklace, you activated your disguise and began your walk towards Zecora’s hut.
Your walk to Zecora’s was an uneventful one, you could feel the Timberwolves stalking you from a distance, but none of them dared to come closer. That necklace surely was useful.
Finally arriving at Zecora’s hut a few minutes later, you knocked on her door, but nobody answered. You were about to knock again when a loud explosion could be heard from inside. Worried, you frantically knocked on the door once more while calling,“Zecora? Are you okay? Let me in so I can help you!”
A few seconds later, a lightly singed Zecora opened the door, a huge cloud of dark smoke leaving through the opening. “Ah, my friend, would you help me open the windows so the smoke can vent?” she asked, coughing. Her face was slightly burned, making her white fur even darker than her dark grey stripes. Her eyes were red and teary.
You quickly got inside and opened the bottom floor windows while Zecora went to the upper floor to do the same. After most of the smoke had cleared out, you fetched some water for Zecora, which she quickly downed.
“You have my gratitude, I was concocting a very volatile brew and, unfortunately, missed my exactitude…” Zecora explained, pointing towards her alchemical workshop, its contents all spilled on the floor by the explosion. “Well, how can I help?”
“Well, since I’ve settled here, I was thinking about getting a job to occupy myself,” you explained, keeping in mind your disguise’s story. “I was wondering if you could teach me how to make some potions?”
“Ah, so you want my leasures? It would be my pleasure!” Zecora said, enthusiastically.
“Thanks, Zecora. I’ll be checking Ponyville for other options and I’ll return with an answer, alright?” you said, heading for the door.
“Alright my friend, I’ll be waiting for your answer until noon’s end,” Zecora said her farewell, waving from the doorway as you left to Ponyville.
Arriving at the town, you decided to make a stop by the town hall, surely Mayor Mare would have some job for you if her busy schedule from yesterday proved anything. Entering the hall, you quickly found Mayor Mare signing some documents on a table by the window.
“Hello, Mayor,” you greeted her. It took her a few seconds to notice you approaching, her mind lost in the wall of text before her.
“Oh, hello, Ms. Enigma. Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she apologized, putting her reading glasses away. “How can I help you?”
“Well, since I’m settling here, I was wondering if you had any job for me? Something to distract me a little?” you asked.
Mayor Mare perked up at the prospect of acquiring more help. “Oh, of course! We had so much paperwork to do these last few weeks, I’m sure my secretary would love an assistant!”
“Oh, sorry, Mayor, but I was thinking more of a part-time job maybe? Just something to earn a few bits when I’m bored.”
“Ah, I see… Well, I’m sorry, but we don’t have that kind of job here.” She visibly deflated, her hopes of relieving the weight of paperwork from her shoulders slipping from her grasp. Suddenly, she perked up again as an idea seemed to hit her. “Oh! You may find what you’re looking for at Twilight Sparkle’s library! She’s always studying magic, maybe you two could share some of your findings?,” she suggested.
That sounded like a good idea. “Okay, thanks, Mayor!” You thanked her before leaving.
It didn’t take you long to find Twilight’s library, Golden Oak. It was a large tree turned into a house, quite similar to Zecora’s hut now that you thought of it, maybe it wasn’t that uncommon architecture?
You knocked on the door to check if someone was inside. Not before long, you could hear a distant voice calling you in.
As you entered the building, you couldn’t help but notice that all the first floor walls were completely filled with books from top to bottom, all in pristine condition. Nevertheless, your hive still contained way more books than this rather small library, even though you didn’t know how many books were still salvageable from the old ruins…
Your wondering was interrupted by a big pile of books walking in your direction. From behind the books peeked the head of a small, purple and green dragon, smiling at you. “Hello there, Ms. My name’s Spike, how can I help you?”
You were surprised by meeting your first dragon. All the thoughts and memories you had access to from before you were born told you about the fearsome and dangerous creatures dragons were and how dangerous they were to changeling hives as they sought caves to store their hoards of gems… You were beginning to doubt those memories.
“Hello Spike, I’m Enigma. I’m searching for Miss Twilight Sparkle, is she here?” you asked, kneeling down to meet the dragon’s height.
“Oh, sure, just a sec,” Spiked said, leaving the pile of books on a counter in the center of the room. He walked back to a doorway at the far end of the library and called, “Twilight! Ms. Enigma is looking for you!”
From the doorway came a lavender unicorn with a dark purple mane and the cutie mark of a sparkling star. She was reading a book held by her purple aura. “Who?” she asked, looking up from her book. Upon noticing you, she put the book on top of the pile that rested at the counter and smiled. “Oh, hello Ms… Enigma, right? I’m Twilight Sparkle, what can I do for you?”
“Yes, hello, Miss Sparkle. You see, I just recently moved in and I was told by Mayor Mare that you might be able to help me find a part-time job,” you explained. You could feel a great power within her, it was somewhat frightening, but you couldn’t help but feel like you didn’t need to worry about her.
“Is that so?” she asked, confused.
“Yes… Y-you see, I’m a graduate of Ancient Magic and Arcane Studies from the Manehattan Academy of Arcane Sciences. Mayor Mare mentioned that you liked to study magic, and I thought that maybe I could share some of my knowledge with you from time to time,” you told her, your persona’s story already feeling natural to you.
“Really? That’s fantastic!” Twilight squealed in excitement. “Tell me, who is your favorite wizard?”
That was a question you were not prepared for…
Panicking, you sent a plea for help through the hivemind.
Your sudden plea woke up your workers, who were still napping at the future gene pool, with a rough rough start as they fumbled around trying to figure out what was going on. ‘W-what’s the matter, my Queen?’ Redwood asked.
Go to the library, search for anything about ancient wizards, quickly! you instructed.
Right away, Apathy replied. You could feel your drones buzzing their wings frantically as they went to the library. You tried to maintain the best poker face you had while Twilight just stared at you, anxiously waiting for your reply, trying to buy time for your drones to find anything useful.
A good two seconds passed and Twilight’s stare was almost piercing through your soul at that point. Your drones frantically searched for anything talking about ancient wizards, but with little success. We can’t find anything solid, my Queen, but there are a lot of books written by Starswirl the Bearded around here…
That would have to do!
“Well, I really enjoyed Starswirl’s works…” you offered your response to Twilight with a weak smile, praying to the Mother Queen that she would buy that.
Twilight’s maniac stare was replaced by a wide smile, she was overflowing with admiration. “I love Starswirl too!” She gave a little jump in agitation. “What is your favorite theory of Starswirl?”
Buck…
Broadcasting your conversation through the hivemind, your workers were already searching for an answer.
This is a sorcerer’s job… Lazy Mist whined.
Just focus, Devian shot back, speed-reading through a pile of books.
Try the Magic Spin Theory, my Queen, Phengaris proposed, relaying the information to you.
“Well, I particularly enjoy the Magic Spin Theory, where he describes how a unicorn horn spiral may affect the spellcasting process,” you said to Twilight, your voice filled with confidence as you reinforced your persona’s alleged faculties.
Twilight’s mouth fell agape at your answer, apparently surprised that you knew about that theory. “Yes, that’s an amazing theory! It’s a shame there’s so little record of it...” She pouted at the notion of missing out on so much information.
“Well, the place I am currently residing, the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, has some books on the subject, I could share them with you if you’d like,” you offered, totally unprepared for what was about to come…
Twilight almost burst into joy as she began prancing in place. “Oh yes yes yes yes yes! I would love to study magic with you! Can we go to your place right now?!”
Now that was getting out of hoof…
“You know, I’ve been traveling for years now, I wanted to rest a bit before anything else. I’m still looking for other options to pass the time, but I’ll come back to you with an answer later, okay? I’ll even lend you some books,” you offered, trying to dissuade her.
Noticing her over-enthusiasm causing you discomfort, Twilight cleared her throat and tried to recompose herself. “O-of course, I-I understand. But please do come back, okay?” she asked as you began to backstep your way to the door.
“I will!” you reassured her one last time before leaving. Once outside, you let out a deep sigh. That was a close one…
Deciding on taking some time to relax, you found that Derpy was at the Sugar Cube Corner throughout the hivemind and decided to meet her there.
Arriving at the Sugar Cube Corner, you took a seat at one of the empty tables, waiting for Derpy, who was ordering a big batch of muffins. Noticing you, she smiled and waved, sitting next to you when she fetched her breakfast.
“How is it going, my Queen? I’ve heard through the hivemind that you got into trouble?” she started, a bit of worry in her voice.
“Yeah, I was searching for a job and Twilight Sparkle caught me by surprise,” you explained, laying your head on the cold table’s surface.
“Yeah… sometimes Twi asks too many questions, but she’s a good mare, and a fine friend,” Derpy said with a warm smile, you could feel a tinge of appreciation in her voice. “So, what did you find so far?”
“Well, Zecora agreed to teach me how to make potions. I’m sure they could sell for a good price, and having a potion or two with me could prove helpful,” you started, stopping to munch on a muffin that Derpy offered you. “I also managed to convince Twilight to study magic with me. Since she’s so well-known, it will certainly help me build reputation, and I might even learn a new spell or two.”
“That’s certainly a good start,” Derpy complimented you, trying to make you feel better after your mistep.
“Still, I think I could try to find some other option…” you mumbled, taking another bite of your muffin.
Thinking for a bit, a rhetorical light bulb seemed to light up in Derpy’s mind as she came up with an idea. “I know! Why don’t you visit the Ponyville clinic? There is a lot of sick foals there that would love someone to read stories to them. It would be mostly a voluntary job, but I’m certain somepony will throw a few bits your way for the help. Besides, their affection could certainly be useful, especially since you’re covering my, uhm, ‘expenses’,” Derpy offered, a bit of guilt punctuating her last comment.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thanks, Derpy, glad to have you with us.” You smiled at her, trying to make sure she knew she was, indeed, welcome in your hive.
As you entered the Ponyville clinic, you found its halls to be mostly empty, aside from the occasional nurse or a coughing pony. It appeared to be a calm day at the hospital. You approached a white earth pony mare with blue eyes and pink, tied up mane wearing a nurse cap behind the reception counter.
“Hello, miss. I’m Nurse Redheart, do you require medical assistance?” the nurse asked as you approached.
“Huh? Oh, no dear, I’m fine.” You feigned your old age. “My name’s Enigma, and I have been told that there are some poor foals that could use some cheering up?”
“Oh, that’s great! Follow me please.” Nurse Redheart guided you through the hospital corridors to the pediatric isle, dozens of colorful childish drawings decorating the dull white walls, trying to liven up the place.
“You see, we had a nurse, Candy Stripper, that always spent some time with the foals, but since she moved to Canterlot, we didn’t have anypony to substitute her, so the foals have been pretty down lately,” Redheart explained, showing you a room occupied by eight sick foals, boredom and sadness stamped on their faces.
The nurse opened the door and greeted the children, “Good morning, everypony! We have a guest! Say hello to Ms. Enigma.”
“Hello, Ms. Enigma,” the kids echoed. You could feel a bit of hope building up in them, as the prospect of some entertainment came to their minds.
“Well, what do you think?” Nurse Redheart asked hopefully.
“They’re adorable.” You smiled. “I need to go back home soon, but I’ll give you an answer as soon as I can, alright?”
“Alright, I’ll accompany you out. Say bye-bye everypony!”
“Bye, Ms. Enigma.”
“See you soon, children!”
Leaving the hospital, you pondered about your job opportunities, trying to decide which one to pick. However, your thoughts were interrupted as your workers called to you.
My Queen, we’ve finished building the gene pool as you requested!
Thank you, my drones. I’ll give you further instructions soon.
Uhm… My Queen?
Yes?
I was wondering if we could dig a tunnel to the healing spring to feed some of its water to our hive. It would be an arduous task, but I’m sure its regenerative waters would help us rest and recover a lot faster!
I see…
So many choices to make, the right job may prove to be extremely beneficial to you and your hive as a whole, as does the healing spring, but is the cost worth it?
Meanwhile, Derpy just finished her breakfast and was about to leave to begin her own work when she noticed three of her hivemates, Pupa, Evening and Rose standing disguised as their pony personas in front of the shop, staring through its window.
“Uhm, what's up, everyling?” she asked, confused by their actions.
Her question seemed to break them from their stupor as they shook their heads to clear their minds.
“Oh, hum, hello Derpy.” Evening greeted her, not really know where to go from here.
“What are you doing?” She asked them.
“W-well, we were gathering love for the hive when we found this place...” Pupa explained.
“Everything here looks delicious but we don’t have any bits…” Rose completed her sister’s sentence.
“Oh! Well, come on in, I’ll buy you some milkshakes.” Derpy beckoned them, happily strolling back inside.
Milkshakes? They all wondered in unison.
Hello everybody! Sorry for such a long delay, but between my broken finger and my college tests, it was hard managing to write... plus, I got stuck with a serious writer's block '-'. It took a painfully long while but chapter 5 is finally here!
Well, enough screwing around now is finally time to talk about the good stuff... Money!
But first, we have received our first Hive Request! 
A Hive Request is a short side quest that must be fulfilled by the next chapter! If you accomplish that goal, you'll be rewarded with positive Morale and other possible treats depending on the Request! However, refusing to complete the request might give you penalties. Attempting to complete the request but failing won't penalize you, but some accidents might happen.
Today's request is: Build a Healing Oasis;
Requirements: 5 workers. (Successfulness 60% [Accounting for the -30% debuff]/ Danger rate: 35%)
Rewards for completion: +15 Morale/ Healing and Resting rate increased by +50%
Penalties for Refusing: -15 Morale.
Alright, now for the Queen's choices!
1) Work with Zecora (Keeping Zecora company will provide you with a +2 Love Supply temporary boost each time you work with her. You'll learn useful potion recipes and you may sell potions for 75 bits each.)
2) Work with Twilight. (Working alongside Twilight will increase your reputation by +2 with all Ponyville residents. Sharing you books with Twilight will earn you 50 bits and you might learn useful spells.)
3) Work with Nurse Redheart. (Assisting Nurse RedHeart will provide you a bonus of +1 reputation with Povynille residents. You'll also earn 25 bits and you'll collect a temporary boost of +5 love supply from the sick foals.)
And finally, the hive choices! Same as always, for now 
Gatherers (unit one): (Fatigue: -30% 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.)
Gatherers (unit two): (Fatigue: -15% sucessfullnes rate.)
(Returning to rest, no actions available)
Warriors: (Fatigue: -30%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: -30%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 recover Anonymity)
6) Build Healing Oasis (Request!)
7) Rest. (Take some time off to recover your tiredness)
Remember to write the choices' numbers to make it easier for me to recount them later! 
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!
I'm trying to fit a new writing schedule of writing two days a week, if things go smoothly, I should be able to publish chapters more frequently 
-A.M.
Chapter edited by:EverfreePony
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A good reputation is imperative to our plans, and money will likely be very useful as well, so I vote for Queen 2 option.
No votes on Gatherers or Warriors.
And for the Workers... I want that Healing Spring! GIMME GIMME GIMME!
Alright. Let's get some things done.
First off, work with Zecora. Potions will be increadibly useful, and due to the hivemind, you can keep the recipes for when they are needed. (Defensive mesures, removing fatigue, and anything else that may be of use.)
I'd also see if you can do some part-time work with Twilight. An hour or so here or there would be benificial. BUT! Be careful, as she is an elemet barer, if you are not careful, it can do more harm than good..
Next up, the healing waters.
Yes. So much yes.
Tell the drones to take their time with it, because this can be a great boon for the hive and we cannot afford a major screwup this early on.
Get the warriors to scout the area, we can't stop a threat if we don't know what it is. As for the gatherers, keep the current rotations. It's a good plan, and it'll work well.
That's all I've got so far, keep up the good work.
My Queen, working for the Zebra benefits us most, if not for the love boost then for amount of bits to be gained from as well as having the knowledge the zebra possesses. Let the gatherers continue their work, call the warriors back, and the workers build the Healing Oasis. Btw, Gears found Devian.
For the job my queen, I suggest we work with the young foals.
For the gathers and warriors I suggest we let them rest a little bit
and for the builders I suggest we build the oasis
my guess is working with Zecora (1), Building the request(6), and not changing the orders well except the workers for the request.
I can see your point for working with Twilight but we can at least give her a 'copy' of the book as a way of saying sorry.
Plus depending on how it goes she may help with ponyville anyway.
A small issue is how rarity and co react, one miss step and well they may send word to canterlot and in an extent Princess celestia.
Due to the limited amount of eggs, I think a request for a private use mix for a 'dna' change to allow the queen to make her own eggs, and limit when you need to 'mate' with another hive mate/unwitting pony.
If my intel on Ponyville is correct there may be a pony that may help with getting intel....for a small 10 bit fee I think was the price last I checked.
Changeling #49664 of Hive Mind 44.
(Normal changeling with blue instead of green, and is sadly unicorn only. No photo as of yet. as I have limited art skill)
(Not asking if you will commision one but just saying I have little photographic info to go on, I may come in from time to time)
Say around 5 chapters from now, if you like an ETA)
I deal in info.
I really wanna turn this into an RPG of sorts.
Call back your Warriors and Gatherers and let them rest. Better to have them rested and ready in case anything goes wrong. Option 1 for both.
For the Workers, build the Healing Oasis. A free (non magic or love draining) way to heal injury and sickness is too good to pass up! Option 6.
The Queen should work for/with Redheart. Option 3. Not only is it a safe way to boost your reputation in town, but befriending foals is a good idea. Build a relationship when they are young, and they will be more likely to trust and help you later in life. Trust goes both ways. Enough trust, and you may not need to hide anymore.
On a side note, can we place a changeling in that office assistant slot? Knowing which way the local government is leaning is always a good idea. And maybe we can have a voice close to or on the city council. Or, higher maybe? When city hall dances to your tune it's a Hell of a fun tune to play. DANCE PUPPETS, DANCE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Queen: 1
The pay is great, you learn potion recipes, and also gain enough love on the side to support the hive's newest addition (Derpy).
Gatherers:
Warriors:
Workers:
Queen's choice:
2) Work with Twilight.
Hive choices:
Gatherers
2) Continue task.
Warriors
2) Continue task
Workers
6) Build Healing Oasis
Alright, work with Twilight will be an good idea. Plus, I see the big picture. She will be an friend, someone one to trust. And friendship is Magic...
I agree with wolf lord my queen, we should go with their suggestion
queen, 3
gatherers, 1
warriors, 1
workers, 6
the option with twilight is a bit risky until someling actually reads the books by starswirl and she can (in theory) switch between jobs to earn the boons in a staggered order
As Black Star, a warrior, I'd suggest having the warriors return and rest. We're getting tired, and fatigue will start really wearing down our ability to perform further tasks. (Warriors; 1)
If it's no problem, even though my character is a warrior, I'd like to advise on the other units as well;
Workers; Build the healing oasis, and then rest. Otherwise, like the warriors, they will be too exhausted to complete their tasks. But please advise caution for them when they go to do this, since they are already tired (you found them asleep, after all, not that I blame them, given their increased fatigue). (Workers; 6)
Gatherers;
Unit 1; Return and rest. (Gatherers 1; 1)
Unit 2; Already coming back. Request that they rest as well so that the whole hive will be well rested for the next tasks.
As for the work you will be doing, Queen Enigma; that's much harder. We need love supplies (even more so now that Derpy has joined us), but we need money as well. Since Twilight is offering us no love supply, I'd advise that we decide between either Zecora or Nurse Redheart. I'd choose the latter (Nurse Redheart) since it's the morally correct choice, will give us a minimal supply of money and plenty of love supplies. My only concern is that you might drain the children by mistake, injuring them emotionally in the process. If that is not the case, and you can gain the love supply without harming them (and cheering them up in the process), then I endorse the Nurse option fully.
(TLDR; Queen; 3)
To the Author; This chapter was great, and I'll probably be reading again in the next few days. Thanks for persevering despite your finger being broken and other difficulties. I've really been eager for this, and it's great to see this story back up.
God bless, and thank you
Queen 3, gatherers 2, warriors 3, and workers 6.
I'd recommend keeping a strong relationship with Zecora and waiting till you have more time & reputation to work with her on potions. You haven't had time to study magic, so working with Twilight would be risky, no reason not to lend her a book or two though, friendship is magic! Also, you might see if you can plant a gatherer as the assistant secretary in town hall, that way you can keep abreast of any important going-ons you might need to know about, while gaining more income. Keep in mind that you aren't the only 'ling that can hold a job!
Queen:1
Gatherers unit 1:1
Gatherers unit: 2:1
Warriors:3
Workers:6
I'd say go with Twilight, seems the most interesting of all the choices.
Okay, it looks like things are going alright so far and we manage to recruit Deroy to our hive! Big win in my opinion. Now it is time to make some choices.
The choices the Queen would make seems like real good ones and I had a little trouble deciding which to pick. However, I would have the Queen work with Twilight. It may not give as much money as Zecora would give, but this will allow the Queen to learn new spells. Not only that, it could allow her to bond and gain Twilight's trust. If we can get Twilight to be our friend, the rest of the Elements of Harmony will befriend the Queen as well.
I will be honest, I like the switching between the group of gathers so that one unit could rest while the other one works. I would keep this streategy until we discover a better one. For now, let's have the gather unit 1 return to rest. We can have Gather unit 2 help the workers on the request.
The warriors are getting me a little worried. I know that they are there to protect the gathers, but they are getting a bit tired. I fear the fatigue might make them fail to protect the gathers. I would like for the warriors to return to rest, but the danger rate for the request scares me. Have the warriors return and help keep the workers safe.
Now this request is quite the gamble. If the workers were in a better state, I would go for it. But seeing they have a -30% at success, but nobody gets anything without taking risks. I would accept the request and pray nothing bad happens.
Here is the simple version of my choices:
Queen: 2
Gather 1: 1
Warriors: 1
Workers: 6
*Cross both of my fingers* I just hope that this request doesn't cause us too much...
A new 'ling has appeared! He seamlessly slips into the hive, showing serious skulking skills!
Queen: Tough choice, all have different positive outcomes. For the moment, I would say Queen alternates with Zercora and Twilight, in that order. That gives the 'lings time to research things to distract the ever, overly curious Twilight with. And working with both, while impacting the bonuses, means we have allies both in the Everfree and the town. Perfect for later introducing another changling to replace the Queen later when her time is more precious.
Gatherers 1: Return to rest, 30% is starting to seriously impact their ability to perform their jobs.
Gatherers 2: Continue resting.
Warriors: Return to rest, see reasons under gatherer 1 group. As we get more changlings, we can start taking more risks.
Workers: Grant permission to build spring, but do so carefully and rest first. We have one shot at doing this right, and injuries reduce the hive as a whole.
This seems like an interesting story. Unfortunately, second person stories give me headaches, so I am forced to give it a pass. Good luck.
Queen's choices: (3) Reading to the foals will do wonders for our reputation and, more importantly, our Love supply. We won't get too many bits, but this can be mitigated by lending some of our books to Twilight (as per option (2)) on the side.
Gatherers (unit 1): (2) Continue task. We do need the Love supply, and the other unit of gatherers are still resting.
Warriors: (2) Continue task. They'll rest when Unit 1 rests.
Worker: (6) Build healing oasis: Improving the resting rate will get everything else done faster, plus it is what they want to do. As soon as they've done it, though, they should take advantage of it by resting.
Gatherers rest warriors rest builders rest then healing oasis work with Twilight because magic
Queen 2
Warriors 1
Gatherers 1
Workers 6
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https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/810020/quick-note-about-tnq
Aye, the problem is, with exception to the last thing, the only reason we're not doing all three is rules. Gatherers and warriors should be on rotation precisely to avoid exhaustion, when the hive is seemingly so small this is rather vital in the context of reality. Not only that, but it's not unreasonable to place lings in the government and hospitals, but it is somewhat odd for the Queen to be doing so much legwork herself.
Even so, working with Zecora should be the most immediately useful activity, followed by the hospital fling.
Warriors should take a break, they'll still be at the hive, right? So not too big a deal.
Gatherers can stand to keep doing whatever.
The oasis is a great idea. Other things can wait until a more stable support structure for them is available...
Keep going! ;)
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Thanks for pointing that out, but "second person past tense" is still "second person". I'll track this story, but I don't want to risk a migraine right now. I stress that I am not exaggerating for effect here. Second person fics really do give me headaches.
Queen - 3
Gatherer - 2
Warriors - 3
Workers - 6
Queen:2
Warrior:2
Workers:6
Yus! The Story Continues! Take your time, think creatively and most of all have fun doing it! Keep up
the good work!
-Gears
Aghhh, after having played Frostpunk I wish that you could have included a third option to the request: promise to build it later, same morale reward for completion, but failure to do so within a certain time limit would make morale fall even more since, you know, we didn't keep a promise.
As is, I really want to have this oasis built, so this is my vote:
Queen: 1
First Gatherers Unit: 1, return to the hive and rest.
Second Gatherers Unit: 1, return to the hive and assist the workers.
Warriors: 1, return to the hive and assist the workers.
Workers: 6
Queen 1.
Gatherers: return and rest.
Warriors: return and rest.
Workers: 6. They asked for that.
Queen: 2
First Gatherers Unit: 1, return to the hive and rest.
Second Gatherers Unit: 1, return to the hive and assist the workers.
Warriors: 1, return to the hive and assist the workers.
Workers: 6
Queen: 2
Gatherers (Unit One): 1
Warriors: 2
Workers: 6
Have the queen come back and assist the workers. Number 6 for the workers then rest. Also I think the hospitabnle it will help with love supply if in a pitch
Also thank you for showing the changelings having a little fun. Fun fact about rose (in the canon I have for her as a character IDK what you will do with her in the story) she runs a flower stand in Hollow Shades, she sells regular flowers along with mood flowers that change color based if yhe nearess emotion to it create using a little bit of chamgling magic to enchant it will a little bit of changeling abilities. She also sells some to the town government and a modified variety that changes based off of malioucess intent. Misdemeanors a petal falls, felony multiple petals fall, extremely serious ones such as rape and murder cause it to wilt.
I expect it is probably not tiredness, and you should not go to sleep before investigation.
(Or at least send someone to investigate. Maybe the others felt it too.)
It will be ours one day...
Look for love-potions. Those can be useful in case you get hungry...
Of course, lead a pony directly into your hive... There is no way this could backfire badly!
A broken finger?! Ouch! And during college tests? That sucks.
Hopefully this gets better quick. Or at least good enough you can learn for/write the tests without complications.
To be honest, you should even skip writing more chapters if that helps you with that; real live is more important than this (even if the story is great).
Anyway, good chapter!
I'm curious what the other readers will choose and how it will turn out.
Until now everything seems to work quite good.
The choices:
(short version below)
Build a Healing Oasis:
Of yourse! Running water is always a must!
Maybe we should even send two teams to increase the success chance.
Queen's choice:
We should work in the hospital. It get's the most love and is the only one to give all three resources (love, bits, reputation).
Also, cute foals are cute.
Additionally, working to close with Twilight would be a bad idea. (But we should visit her later since we promised it; otherwise she might actively looking for us.)
Working with Zecora brings recipes and money, but noadditional love or reputation. (Maybe there are recipes in the hospital the doctors would show us later.)
Gatherers (unit one):
We should call them back and recover. 30% fatigue is too risky. Since they will recover 40% they will be fresh at the end of the next chapter.
Gatherers (unit two):
Well, no choice is not really a choice...
(Even if 15% fatigue isn't much.)
Warriors:
They should scout the area around Ponyville, since they have no Gatherers to protect. Next round we will let them rest.
Workers:
We should let the workers build our water supply.
(But why doesn't they have an rest-option?)
Short version:
Build a Healing Oasis: Yes.
Queen's choice: 3
Gatherers (unit one): 1
Gatherers (unit two): N/A
Warriors: 3
Workers: 6
I say queen choice number 3 would be best. LOOK AT THOSE POOR ADORABLE FOALS!
Queen: 2*
Gatherers: Rotate, ASAP.
Warriors: 3
Workers: 6
My queen, these jobs you were offered all have an incredibly flexible schedule, if they have one at all. It may be somewhat inefficient but it is plausible to say that you might be able to take at least two of them. At the very least, I think that the ponies would understand you taking 'trial run' of the jobs,which may allow you to learn some interesting things. According to my calculations, we are producing a net profit of 1ls, we don't need love that badly and a +5 would hardly make it very worth giving up the knowledge we can gain from the others, not to mention that working with 'friends' shall give you a boost anyways. As reputation is one of the main reasons for us getting a job I suggest we go with this Twilight pony, and perhaps assist Zecora on occasion if we have the time.
Warriors can't well protect us if they fall asleep on the job, I would normally recommend some rest for them but if we are to be without protection than I would say that we make sure there is no immediate danger first.
I'd like a rest as much as anyling else, but this healing spring seems like a great investment, we can't spend all day sleeping, great as that would be, so having something as relaxing as this seems brilliant, I'd gladly be the one to test it out.
Queen: 2
Gather 1: 1
Warriors: 1
Workers: 6
This sounds good to me. Another great chapter! I'm enjoying getting to know all our lovely little changelings, (and of course seeing my Phengaris! LOVE how you have interpreted her so far!) Keep up the good work and let's start earning some bits and good rep!
Working with Twilight seems like the best option to me!
1-1 Queeny: Work for Zecora. This is our only supply of bits right now so we should focus on that. We'll also learn potions which may be as powerful as the spells we might learn with Twilight and possibly even more useful. Plus we can have changeling manufacturing those potions later on for even more bits!
And we shouldn't risk spending too much time around Twilight until we have sorcerers in the library to back us up.
2-1 Gatherers 1: Bring those tired little lings back. No need to risk our gatherers getting hurt at this point.
3-N/A Gatherers 2: If we could have them help out the workers that'd be perfect.
4-1 Warriors: No gathers out so they should rest. When they're rested we should take the opportunity to scout around Ponyville for threats.
5-6 Workers: Obviously we build the oasis. Those red fatigue bars are already getting scary.
I believe in our guys to work through the tiredness. We should have Derpy fetch some coffee for them.
1-2 we need some rep and friendship with the mane 6 will help when things happen that might cause problems for Changelings
2-1 rest
3-x no choice
4-1 not nesseary so rest
5-6 can we counteract their Fatigue somehow? i mean the spring is right there where they are going to work
So
Queen:3
Gather1(G1)2
Warrior 2
Workers 6
.... sigh... you lings realize that Ponyville = Pinkie Pie..... the pony that has a cave full of info on EVERY SINGLE PONY IN PONYVILLE..... and you lings just strut on in....... well... hope everyling's ready for their welcome party :/
Ps: working with Twilight is just straight up asking for trouble :/ you'd need a permanent team of changelings going through the royal archives researching stuff to keep up with her intellect....
not to mention the fact that she'll now without fail show up at the castle of the two sisters to talk starswirl the bearded with Enigma <.< let's hope no ling was silly enough to leave one of the main areas of the castle ling'ified
PPs: somehow... i think Queeny here may have accidentally gotten started on the population issue <.< oh well...
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Thanks for voting!
8915460
Thanks, glad you liked the chapter
8915495
No need my drone, there's already a scout feeding info to the hive
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Me too t-t
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The queen must be active if she wishes for her hive to prosper, especially early on! Thanks for guiding her on her path!
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I'm glad you liked it! I hope it met your expectations
God bless you too
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I hope so too, because it has the potential to turn out pretty badly
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That's a weirdly specific situation
Well, it's a shame, thanks for stopping by anyway
8916522
Played that game too XD
The problem with that sort of option is that it would take too long to be done. Remember that each "turn" is one whole chapter. Things must work quick so the story can progress
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I'm not going to delve too deep within the drones' backstories and cannons... It would be too much complexity and disparity, totally unnecessary for the story. But I am trying to keep their personalities as much within their character design as possible
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Well, it's easier to conceal hat we have built once someone visits than keep fumbling around the subject '-' Ponies would get suspicious