Not happening

by Arkinstone

The Assertive

Another day, another proud changeling turning against us and becoming a creature. Our numbers are slowly falling, more and more warriors choose to become colourful, pacifistic creatures. Warriors who used to be able to slice through Maulwurf hide like butter can no longer even swat a fly without being scolded for 'not thinking of the flies feelings'. Disgraceful.

Things are sliding downhill for the hive. Less true changelings are being hatched and more adults are converting. And where is the oh so wonderful king, perched on his wooden throne? That's right. He has buggered off (no pun intended) to have a vacation with prey while the hive is at such a perilous stage.
Before he left, he implemented this mandatory 'creative outlet' that all changelings should attend. I went to this craft time seeing as I am a changeling after all, but I don't know what all those creatures were doing there. Pharynx took great pleasure in making spears and I on the other hoof revelled in painting gory scenes of glorious battles we had won in the past, guts and all. It was hilarious to watch the weak-minded creatures lose the contents of their stomachs when viewing my wonderful works. But that is beside the point.

A Changeling trots up to me, near perfectly blending in with the dark halls "General Tsetse" He salutes, his form rigid and straight, as a soldier form should be. I flick my ear down "At ease. What is your news Infiltrator?" All infiltrators share thin, weak chitin that makes then more slender, perfect for blending into the shadows, and this infiltrator is no exception.

He drops his salute and relaxes his position "King Thorax has been sighted returning to the hive from his vacation, General Tsetse"
I nod briefly "Anything else, Infiltrator?"

"Current love stores are dropping. We are dropping to critical levels, the current gatherers and infiltrators left are unable to provide enough food to support us"

I narrow my eyes "Acknowledged. You are dismissed" He nods and trots past me, probably to inform Pharynx of this development. So the mighty King Thorax returns? I should have smashed his egg.

I turn down a corridor, walking steadily up to the surface as I connect to the fragile, decaying hivemind All Changeling units, make your way to the sky commons to greet King Thorax's return
A crowded murmur of agreements filters through like static. The hivemind should have been a cacophony, a symphony of voices all at once, powerful music that could only be translated by a true changeling. Now it was little more than a quiet static, a decaying thousand-year thread of what should have been a strong steel cable. The hivemind is on the verge of snapping, only held together by the last of the high changelings. Me.
While Pharynx and I are technically equal in position, we are not equal in power or knowledge. Once a changeling reaches a certain age, or was born in a certain time, they are classified as high changelings, which are renowned for immense power and knowledge that builds over time.
I, General Tsetse, am 739 years of age. And I have the scars to prove it, the countless battles and takeovers telling a tale on my chitin. Ponies could compare us to their Alicorn princesses, but they would be wrong. While changelings have extremely long lifespans, we are not immortal, I am nearing the end of my lifespan, as the eldest changeling other than royalty ever recorded to live had died at 879. It is funny, I always thought if I was strong enough, stealthy enough, I would have enough time to do what needs to be done, now though? All I want is more of it. More time.

I continue up the tunnels, glaring as the walls themselves get lighter, and light green vines decorate them. I immediately notice when a gathering of changelings forms behind me. A deep sadness sends a pang through me as I realize, that even with my admirals and Pharynx's legion, only 22 of us remain and 9 of them away from the hive gathering love.

Creatures shy away from us as we make our way to the wooden throne. Flammable. One accident and it would be up in flames. I can tell Hawkwasp really wants to be the cause of the said accident.

King Thorax is weary from his long flight, seeing as he has just sat down. But there is something different. Could it be that the ponies put some stupid ideas in his mind?

He catches his breath while staring at us, he has something to say. He straightens his back, oh? "Unreformed changelings," his tone is stronger, what is this? his glare/stare is almost up to par with a normal changeling "I have been patient enough with you. It is time you join the rest of your siblings and share love. If not, you know where the exit is"

The changelings behind me are sent reeling. Banishment? when did he grow such a spine? Pharynx, who has taken his place beside me, seems almost impressed with his brothers moxie.

The warriors behind me begin murmuring quietly, they are scared. They do not want to change, but they want to stay in the hive more then they want to leave. I open my mouth to speak when Thorax cuts me off, did that little shit do that on purpose?! He knows I would tear his words apart like I am itching to tear out his throat. He ignores my hissing and continues on "It is time. You do not need to be constantly hungry anymore, we will gladly welcome you with open hooves"

A whoosh behind me. I glance back to see a proud warrior let himself become a creature in the hopes of plentiful food, then another, and another, and another. Before long only Pharynx, my Admirals and I are left.

King Thorax, though tired and obviously wanting rest, looks pleased with himself, but still addresses the rest of us, he just won't stop pushing! "Well? Are you going to share love too?"

Caustic acid is bubbling over as his words echo. He took what was left of the hive. He MURDERED the last hopes for the changelings! He looks so pleased with himself. He won't stop pushing. Pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing and pUshing and puShInG.

A scream of absolute rage tries its damnest to rip its way out of my throat, but I force myself to keep my tone at a vicious snarl "No. I am not. How dare you. HOW DARE YOU even THINK of threatening a high changeling of banishment!? You can't even BEGIN to understand what I have done for this hive! What sacrifices I have made! How many I have lost! And you have the AUDACITY to threaten me?!"

I step forward, more than prepared to rip his disgusting carcass apart. I want to kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him. Pharynx grabs a tight grip of my foreleg, preventing me from tearing his brat of a brother to shreds.
King Thorax seems stunned and confused, I may not be able to kill him, but I will at least wound him, tear down his confidence "You?! A pretender trying so desperately to be a Queen?! You were always too blind to see beyond the obvious. We had Queens BEFORE Chrysalis you absolute wanker! You are too weak to defend this farce of a hive. What if the other hives learn of this?! you think they will just join this little club of your and go skipping in the flowers?! THEY. WILL. KILL. US. ALL! And it will be your fault-"

Pharynx snaps at me, anger written all over his face "That's enough! We will talk later General Tsetse" I raise my head imperiously, he is pissed off because I snapped at his baby brother. He is too weak to see what needs to be done.

King Thorax is completely still on his throne. His eyes are wide and slightly fearful. I spit at his feet before turning and walking back into the depths of the hive, just before I am out of earshot I hiss mockingly "Wanna banish me? I would like to see you try"

My Admirals are at my back, their loyalty not going unnoticed. Admiral Bullhorn whispers to me "What a way to put it, General Tsetse! He got what was coming to him"

Admiral Hawkwasp snorted "A wakeup call, that dumbarse actually thinks that the Polaris Hive won't try and take over when they hear of this? Oooh, I almost want to be the one to tell them just so I can see the look on his face when his eyeball meltin' changethings are slaughtered"

Admiral Anopheles hisses at him "Hawkwasp! We may be all that's left, but if I catch you trying such a thing, I WILL make you regret it. It will a cold day in Tartarus when I allow what's left of our glorious hive fall to the Polaris Hive.

I don't respond to the banter going on around me. My world is crashing around me like glass stricken by a rock. All those changelings, warriors I had served with, Infiltrators I had gone on missions with, all of them gone. Any future I had seen for changeling kind rendered useless just because King Thorax grew thicker chitin somewhere away from the hive.

Admiral Honey puts a wing on my elytra, a quiet comfort as we walk. She understands exactly what must be going through my mind, she has always had a knack for it, even as a larva. She has her own Pupa down in lower hatcheries somewhere, and now she realizes that she may never get to see her offspring grow into a healthy hive, or grow at all. None of the eggs will.

I almost wish I didn't snap at King Thorax, but he took away my last hopes for the hive in one fell swoop of assertiveness. My voice is slightly hoarse from yelling as I speak "Admiral Anopheles. Summon what is left of the active gatherers and Infiltrators outside the hive. There is something that must be addressed"

Anopheles pauses for a moment before responding "If I may, General Tsetse, a few of the Infiltrators have expressed wishes to live in their chosen lives"

I ask stiffly "Which ones? and where?"

Anopheles thinks for a moment before answering "Carapace in Equestria, Manehatten, posing as a journalist. Beetle in GryffonStone, he has found a mate who knows of his true identity to feed off. And Ladybug in Appleoosa, posing as a researcher"

I sigh, I do not begrudge them for choosing to live close to prey and making lives there among them, but it is all the easier for them to forget where they come from if they live so far away from the hive. Though Beetle having a Griffon mate who knows of his changeling origins is worrying, she could easily betray him.

"Summon them as well if you can and if it does not threaten their positions in their chosen lives. But make certain they realize they will not be harmed nor detained if they choose to return, relay the information I will speak of later if you must, it is vital all changelings hear what I have to say"

Admiral Anopheles nods, she doesn't show it, but I can tell she is pleased with my decision to leave the infiltrators alone. Admiral Lonomia is a bit bitter, but she is accepting of their choice, it is not uncommon for infiltrators to even find happiness outside the hive. In fact, before Chrysalis, the little upstart, it was almost encouraged as long as they still funnelled love back to the hive.

I look into the darkness of the halls as I say quietly, all of the dangers we face weighing heavily in my tired mind "We may have to leave the hive"

Author's Note:

Well, this chapter was a bit of a shit show. Thorax met with Ember and took her advice, the poor bean thought it would work too. NOPE, he underestimated just how much he was pushing Tsetse. She hides it well, but even after hundreds of years, she still snaps back way too quickly.
Also, mentions of another Hive? Multiple hives? You didn't really think that this was the only hive in existence?

Changeling code
Changelings have a type of secondary communication expressed through body language. A single ear flick going down in a military setting would reaffirm an at ease order or in a civilian setting would be something like 'relax' or 'calm down'.
Flaring of a crest in a heated conversation would be a signal to back off but in a happy conversation would be excitement or interest.
There is a lot of signals that can pass in a single conversation, but changelings from a young age learn to pick up on these signals.

Terms used
Sky commons - a large area where the top of the hive is open to the sky. It is where King Thorax's throne is located, along with small groups fro activities, most of the changelings spend their time in the Sky commons, leaving the true changelings in the lower parts of the hive where no changes have yet occurred.

Changeling secondary ranks.

Secondary ranks are less cared about then first ranks, but they are valid and mentioned in a few cases such as royalty or High changelings. it is more a method to help determine the status of an individual.
Royalty- Certain changelings specially nurtured by the previous royal.

High Changeling- High changelings are NOT like nobility in the ways of bloodlines. Any changeling who lives to or past 400 years is automatically considered a High changeling due to the raw power and knowledge they have collected over the years. The older the High changeling, the more respected they are.
A High changeling that is made by the Queen, hatches from their eggs with an untapped reserve of power and knowledge that would usually take hundreds of years to acquire. They are not able to tap into this power until they are 40 years old, which is when Changelings enter their prime.

Changeling- A normal changelings lifespan reaches to about 60 years until they are killed. High changelings are extremely rare due to how often changelings are killed due to Maulwurfs, starvation, or being discovered. Changelings are not anything special, but they are not weak. Just average citizens.

Low Changelings- Most commonly drones or changelings with severe disorders that can offer nothing to the hive. Low Changelings cannot be made, only born. Changelings who were crippled in battle are not considered Low Changelings. Only those with mental or physical disabilities so severe they cannot contribute in any way are considered Low Changelings. Drones are automatically placed in this category.

Comments

[truenorth14]

I think the Tsetse needs to do a strike against the hive to get those eggs, perhaps they find a royal egg, this would also be a wake up call for those rainbow vomit hippies, if a small band of lings can do this much damage how much would an entire hive do.

[Arkinstone]

9982047
That's my point! But keep in mind, the Changelings were born and raised in that hive, they would be reluctant to move against the hive that nurtered them for generations.

[truenorth14]

9983085
Do it for the good of the Hive the rainbow puke abominations need to take off their blindfolds and prepare for self defence. The first strike needs to be done by Tsetse’s group. Other groups would not be so kind and would come and wipe them off the face of the earth.