Queen Chrysalis is under new management, and the new Chryssie swears to beat the Equestrians at their own game!
Shortly after Queen Chrysalis' defeat at Canterlot, her army is demoralised and hungry, and the Queen herself is at her wits end - having locked herself in her bedroom, presumably to spare her subjects from her upcoming mental break in a short moment of compassion.
The Queen that leaves the room is far different from the one that entered it.
Queen Chrysalis, seemingly revitalised in her entirety, declares a change in course for her and her subjects. She promises to lead them to a new battlefield... and she swears victory in her name.
Changelings buzzed around and worked various menial tasks that were beyond my understanding, most of them doing... something with the walls of the Hive. Molding them? Reshaping them? Opening new holes?
I had no clue; I didn't know.
What I did know, however, was that each and every one of them took the time to pause and bow or hurry out of my way as I walked through the twisting and honestly implausible halls and corridors of the Hive.
A gaggle of drones followed behind me, a stench that I have quickly come to associate with fear wafting off of them, and a pair lead from the front, those two terrified most of all.
An outside observer might have thought it strange for a Queen to follow after drones, but anyone capable of seeing this was scared out of their minds. They all were ever since I got over my initial panic-attack and left Queen Chrys- and left my room.
Their fear was unfounded, however, as I was simply having them lead my to the Love Storage Room.
All in all it was a pleasant walk.
When we got to the room, I discovered that their fear was very much founded.
What I expected was some sort of monstrous mix between biological and industrial; rows upon rows of living creatures forced into translucent green pods, maybe some tubes sticking out of them too. A big wall of pots or something, shimmering with pinkish smokey liquid or something similar - a healthy stockpile hidden from the common drones.
What I got was... disappointing, to put it politely.
There was a bunch of mostly ponies in green pods just as i imagined, but there was only a couple dozen at most. Like, enough to probably just qualify for a village. And they looked skinny, too.
The pots filled with smoky pink liquid was bang on the money though, except for the fact that the shelves were mostly empty. Some Changeling was hovering around the pods somehow extracting what I assumed was Love and handing the filled containers to another drone.
The room faintly smelled of what was probably Love, but I was associating the aroma with disappointment.
The gaggle of drones with me tensed as I finished that thought, reminding me of their existence.
The fear of the drone besides me slammed into me like a howling gust of wind as I placed a foreleg over his back.
The others all took a step back.
I tapped the drone i was resting my limb on. "How much Love would you say we have, here?"
He looked around, first at what was presumably his friends and then at the working Changelings within the room.
"There... isn't a lot, my Q-Queen."
Okay, that was good. Well, not good good, but at least I knew what sort of scale we were working with here.
I tapped him again.
"And how long would you say this Love would last the Hive? Be liberal with your estimate."
The working Changelings slowed down and obviously started listening in on the conversation. The drone I was holding swallowed before answering.
"I'd say three mon- I mean, I'd say half a year. With rationing."
That few pots, for an entire Hive, and it'll last half a year?
"Half a year, with rationing." I parrot and give him another tap. "And without rationing?"
He tensed. The gaggle tensed. Even the workers tensed, though they quickly recovered and went back to work at an even more sedate pace.
Eventually he found his voice, soft as a whisper. "I'd say... a month, my Queen. Maybe less."
A month without rationing. 30-ish days. Could i fix the problem within 30 days? Scratch that, could my Changelings fix the problem in 30 days. Probably not. If they weren't hungry from rationing?
...maybe?
Not even here for a full day and I'm already gambling mu subjects on a half-planned scheme, I really am a Queen!
I nod and raise my voice.
"Cease rationing."
All movement stopped. The smell of fear was replaced with an entirely new one as all attention in the room was now fully on me. Someone in the corridor outside swore as someone ran into them.
One of the Love room workers dropped a pot, shattering it and letting the Love seep into the floor.
I waited patiently, and then it got awkward.
I slapped the drone I was talking with perhaps a little too hard, but his chitinous hooves quickly found purchase in the floor.
The hoof which slapped him was pointing at the pitiful reserves my Hive had.
"Go! Feed! Your Queen commands it!"
A moment of hesitation... and all of them all but leapt at the stores. Changelings flooded in from the corridor behind me, taking special care to avoid me but pushing past their peers with little care or restraint.
I watched then feed with a smile on my face, and it twisted into a grin as a new smell wafted through the air. Whatever emotion my Changelings were feeling was deliscious.
The drones distracted, I loudly gave the order to spread the word before retreating back to my room.
I had a month, probably less, to fix the situation at hoof. Might as well get started planning properly.
It was the next day, and my planning hit an unexpected obstacle: I knew nothing about the world.
I mean, sure, I had a basic grasp on MLP but it wasn't like I watched it religiously or anything. Equestria was the first world country, if I recalled correctly. The Griffons were... I think across the ocean? And poor as dirt?
The Changelings lived in some sort of desert - looking out a convenient window proved that easily - but I didn't know if they- if we even had an economy.
We had to, right? The money that harvesters or infiltrators or whatever needed to blend into Ponydom had to come from somewhere.
And so I went to check the treasury... and had no clue if the amount was impressive or not. 100,000 Bits. Probably enough to last the Changelings blending in, but did it have any value on the industrial scale? Could I buy a boat with 100,000 Bits, or would I be left with a decades-old rusted heap used by only the most desperate of fishermen. Or ponies, I guess. Fisherponies? Fishermares? Whatever.
And so, as.the great Queen I was, I summoned all Changelings of note in the Hive to my throne room.
Then I dismissed 80% of them because they were some kind of soldier and desperatly needed to rest and heal their injuries.
What remained was what I guessed made up the 'civlian' side of the Changeling administration: a couple cliques of Changelings that represented their respective workforces.
A long and very scared - on the drone's part - overview/debate later, I had my conclusion.
The Changelings, and thus me, were broke, backwards, and generally unknown as a people, half because of the secrecy and half because there was nothing if note in the desert we claimed to live on.
But that was fine! Rome wasn't built in a day, and Las Vegas was built in a desert! Great funding - which I don't have, A respectable reputation - the Changeling as a whole did not have, an eager workforce - a numerous one at least, and a Grand Vision - this I had in spades, were all.I needed to transform this isolated people into a powerhouse!
In with only 100,000 bits.
...and the lives of my subjects to spend.
I slumped on my throne of hard stone.
I'm going to need to learn very much, very fast...
The Bits in the treasury were accumulated over time, funds that infiltrators brought back from their alt-identity's jobs once they packed up and left. My Hive had no income of any kind, no trade treaties, no alliances... no nothing of any kind.
And with our recent... debute in Canterlot, Equestrian vetting procedure and security was bound to get better, further diminishing the trickling income from infiltration.
That was a problem. Obviously.
There was, however, a second and much bigger problem looming over my head: the imminent famine.
Feeding my subjects, properly, was not a thing I regretted. Quite the opposite actually. As impulsive and possibly harmful as that decision was, it wonderfully symbolised the new direction I wanted to take the Hive in. A time of Food. An Era of plenty.
Hopefully the full stomachs will be enough for my Changelings not to question my plans.
Now, there was the obvious route to go down now: conquest.
Failure that it was, my- my predecessor's attack on Canterlot was based on a reasonable idea. Ponies = Love = Food. The podded ponies over in Love Storage more than supported this way of thinking. To think that simply abducting ponies would fix the food issue would have, technically, been correct.
Correct, and tested, as that was, I was impulsive and stubborn, as befitting of a Queen, and had no desire to do as Chrysalis did.
I was better than Chrysalis. I will be better than Celestia. And I was going to do it my way.
But first... I needed to have a long and hard think on my throne.
I had it. I tossed and turned on my throne - pretty sure i chipped a bit off with my horn too - for hours, but I had it.
It was so obvious in hindsight.
Why don't Changelings have an economy? They never needed one!
What do Changelings need? Love, thus ponies.
What do ponies need? An economy!
It was all so simple now that I figured it out! All I had to do was start an economy to attract ponies, and that goal would be the thing to base the foundation of the new Changeling economy on.
Housing, food, and water. The three things ponies needed to survive.
The lands around the Hive couldn't exactly offer much, since its all desert and dust, but at the very least we had some real estate. Prime, inside-Changeling-Lands, absolutely-nothing-for-miles, dustbowl real estate.
Houses needed amenities, which meant food and water, and maybe healthcare. I... some drone delivered me water while I was thinking on my throne, so we had at least one of those things sorted. Food could be bought, I had 100,000 Bits on hoof, and proper agriculture and the other parts of 'civilisation' can be figured out later.
Water, done.
Housing and food now.
That, I would need my Changelings for.
I threw my hoof at the open entrance to the throne room, catching a drone that happened to glance in completely by surprise.
"You, drone, I have need of you! Approach."
The drone stopped dead in their tracks as the familiar smell of fear wafted into the throne room. After a second of hesitation, they dutifully rushed forwards and bowed low at the foot of my throne. That action made a pleasant warm feeling rush through me and I couldn't help but smile as I addressed the drone.
"Rise. Tell me, drone, what is your job in my Hive."
He rose, shrank in on hinself when he noticed me smiling, and visibly swallowed before answering. "I'm a maintenance drone, my Queen. I help maintain and expand the Hive."
Jackpot.
"Do your duties include creating new rooms? Are you knowledgeable in structural integrity, safety, and other such things?"
The drone cocked its head at 'safety' but hurried to reply all the same. "Yes my Queen! I've been trained in maintenance and construction since I grew into a drone."
That response earned him a nod, and the stench of fear seemed to lessen slightly.
"What is your name, drone?"
Aaand the fear was back in full force for whatever reason.
"It- my name is Proboscis, my Queen."
Insect themed, nice. "Very well, Proboscis. I have new orders for you. A task of utmost importance that the future of the Hive depends on." The fear wafting off him lessened as he bowed his head in acknowledgment, wings flicking on his back - a sign of nervousness? "You are to build... houses, outside the Hive. At the foot of it, though a fair distance away. Pony houses."
He nodded, then stopped dead. He looked up at me as if I was mad. "You want 'pony houses', my Queen? Near the Hive?"
Proboscis tensed as my smile dropped in response to his... questioning. "Yes. Houses. Habitats. Shelters. Each is to have running water at the very least, like we do in the Hive." I leaned forward on my throne and looked down at him. "Is there an issue, drone?"
"O-of course not, my Queen! Your will be done!"
Thats more like it. The fear was back, but so was the obedience. Honestly, I feed these drones and barely a day later they start questioning me?
"As it should be. You may requisition any Changeling and material you require. I want quality, Proboscis. Don't go thinking that I'll be satisfied with a barely stable shack in the sands."
"I'd never think that, my Queen! I always work my hardest for you!"
My eyes bored into his for a moment before I leaned back into my throne and waved a dismissive hoof.
"You have two weeks before I come inspect your work. Dismissed."
Proboscis rushed out of the room the second the dismissal left my mouth, and I watched him go until he rounded the corner.
Thats housing... delegated, not done. Next up on the agenda: food.
A group of infiltrators, gorged on Love thanks to the fact that I ceased rationing, stood gathered before me at the foot of my throne. I spied around two dozen of them.
Also at the foot of my throne, were twelve sacks filled with Bits. 22,000 to be exact.
Fortunately the things looked far heavier than they actually were.
"Is this all my infiltrators?"
Silence reigned throughout the throne room until one of then stepped forwards.
"Yes, my Queen. The rest of us are either on missions or... requisitioned by some maintenance drone."
Good, Proboscis was doing his job. He probably needed the infiltrators for their first hoof experience with pony comforts and architecture or something. I nodded my approval.
"Good. I have a task for you." I said as I gestured to the bags of money. "You are to head to the nearest settlements and buy as much non-perishable foods as these funds permit. Edible for ponies."
The same infiltrator who stepped forward tilted her head. "My Queen... why?"
I met the infiltrators curious gaze with what I hoped was an imperious one. These Changelings didn't seem to be as inherently scared of me as the other drones - something to file away for later.
But confident enough to question the Queen? To question, for all intents and purposes, Chrysalis?
First Proboscis, and now the infiltrators as a group, questioning me at the very first steps of the plan.
"Because I ordered it. I expect your return in no more than two weeks."
She stood motionless at the front of her group, staring up at my throne with an expectant expression as if she was waiting for someething. Whatever it was she was waiting for, it didn't happen as one of her fellow infiltrators obediently stepped forward and grabbed a bag of bits with a bow before departing.
One by one, all of them did so and filed out of the throne room.
Something... something about that unsettled me, for whatever reason, but I quickly banished the thought with a shake of my head. I'm a Queen! My authority is inherent, I wasn't about to let some jumped-up drone unsettle me.
They went off to do as told, anyway.
Water... already done.
Housing... in progress.
Food... also in progress.
Everything was set in motion now. I've gambled two weeks of time into this plan so far. The Hive was all in.
Naturally, I settled in to spend that time reclined on my throne. Thinking.
I watched the construction outside from a window, for the third day in a row now. There was surprisingly little to do in the Hive, for me, at the current time.
Proboscis had wrangled a truly great number of Changelings to help him, as I had permitted. A swarm of black hung around the construction area like flies around spilled soda, carrying and building and generally zipping around the place.
The buildings themselves, or at least the ones left behind as the swarm moved on to construct more, were about what I expected. From the distance I could tell that they were made out of that same material that the Hive itself was, and I judged them to be of a decent height. I'd have to personally inspect them later, of course, but so far it appears that the work was going along without issue.
My mind wondered briefly to the infiltrators sent out to aquire food.
I haven't ordered any special storage place erected within the fledgling village, but that oversight could be turned into a boon. We'd keep the pony food in the Hive, for now. Have the ponies that may- that will live here associate the Hive with food - that'd probably help them grow to like my Changelings.
I think.
This is my first time building an economy from scratch, after all.
Giving one last look at the construction outside, I let myself slump on the window, looking down at the base of the grand spire, before picking myself up and strolling through the twisting and changing layout of the Hive.
Noticeably more empty since Proboscis requisitioned the workers I permitted him to, but lively nonetheless.
Drones, mostly guards, walked with relaxed gaits until they noticed my presence, talking to their fellows in cheerful voices or friendly debates. Every single drone I passed had somewhere to be once they finished bowing, every clique having a purpose.
The few, presumably, maintenance drones left behind by Proboscis were working double time, flitting this way and that as I passed, hooves seemingly glued to the Hive walls at all times. I took some time watching each of them as I passed, making note of the way that they smoothed and mushed the walls together as if they were putty before pulling back and striking the now hard surface to test its durability, sometimes letting out a disappointed sigh and returning to mess with that patch of Hive some more.
It was somewhat entrancing. If my subjects didn't hurry to get out of my way then I'm sure I would have walked into, over, or through one of them by now.
The wonders of watching others perform menial labour aside, not much else had managed to catch my interest as I walked. Passing by the infirmary was of brief interest, with a large amount of injured Changelings being tended to in a cavernous hall, but upon seeing the sheer quantity of patients I decided to keep walking rather than disturbing the doctors working.
My Hive was busy, my Changelings were working hard... and I had nothing to do but sit and wait for my great economic plan to be fruitful.
On my throne. Thinking.
Ponies need recreation, right? Maybe that could be step two of the plan...
Proboscis was finding his new task surprisingly manageable.
Insane, neurotic, and impulsive as the Queen was, she at the very least had the grace to saddle him with something that was actually possible to do. Building pony houses.
Plus, she was merciful enough not to strike him down the second he questioned her, as was tradition, and Proboscis wasn't dumb enough to push his luck.
Rounding up his fellow drones was difficult, most of them having found that their new diet had left them with more energy and thus their daily work was completed faster, and thus they had more free time - a rare luxury for as long as anyone could remember. He ended up having to threaten them with the Queen to mobilise them, and even now a few tried to slack off when they thought he couldn't see.
...like that one trying to hide in the shade of the building.
"Oi! You on site 12, in the shade! Get back to work or so-help-me-Queen, I'll personally drag you to her throne room and you will explain any delays!"
Proboscis smiled as he watched the drone shoot up and rush back to work.
His smile quickly fell as his gaze travelled over to some of the infiltrators who he rounded up to help too.
Those... they were harder to manage. Some with attitudes matching the Queen herself, and others who saw construction work 'below' them. They were relaxing under a rare, for the environment, tree. Hiding from work in its shade.
He went to them because they knew what a pony house was supposed to look like, and they very much did help him design the model, but now that 'their job was done' they decided to litter the construction site, not only not helping but getting in his way too. They were chatting amongst themselves, and laughing, and one of them cracked open a pot of Love for all of them to share.
Proboscis sighed in irritation. It wasn't like he had the authority to tell the infiltrators to go away, he'd only been given the power to get them to help him.
Sending a drone to ask the Queen to do it... well, Proboscis had some sympathy for his peers and wasn't about to send someone on a suicide mission when the more likely outcome was said drone 'going missing' than the Queen herself leaving the Hive to tell some Changelings to move.
Such was life.
At the very least he and all the drones he wrangled into helping him weren't in the Hive with the Queen. She's been eerily docile the last couple days, which usually signified that the upcoming outburst would be more intense, or cruel, or discreet, or, may the Queen have mercy, a mixture of all three.
He shuddered, imagining what his monarch could be doing at this moment.
So apparently Changeling entertainment options were very lacking.
I had come across a hatchery/nursery during yet another stroll throughout my Hive, and have planted myself down at a vantage point to observe the grubs and nymphs.
The two life stages didn't mix too well. The grubs just sort of... bumped into each other and hissed occasionally. The Nymphs were more interesting, forming into adorable little gangs of five or so and doing whatever, all under the watchful eyes of the drones assigned to this place.
The nymphs spent their time playing, as I imagine children of most species did, and so I this excursion doubled as recreation research.
One of the games was one from my own childhood, or at least resembled it. They'd gather stones and throw them at a wall, and the one that landed closest to the wall 'won' the game. There was much grumbling and cheering after each game, my heart swelled when I noticed that miniature pots of Love were swapping hooves after the games ended.
My nymphs were gambling, just like I did back in school!
I couldn't have been more proud.
Another game was straight up pit fighting. Well, not 'fighting', more of a scuffle, but violence nonetheless. I watched in amusement as the caretakers stepped in to separate the nymphs whenever they got too intense.
In terms of less organised fun, the nymphs were just generally being abrasive to each other. Sneaking up and scaring, getting into arguments, the like. This either ended in laughter or a scuffle.
All in all, definitely enjoyable but still incredibly bare bones entertainment for them. No toys or boardgames, nor any other aids other than the occasional stones to play with.
As... 'sufficient' as it was, my subjects wouldn't amuse themselves on stones and imagination alone now that they weren't going hungry and I doubted that the eventual pony citizens would manage it either.
Yet another thing I'd have to copy- appropriate off Equestria when the time came.
I settled down, content to watch the nymphs throw stones at the wall, for now.
It wasn't like I was needed anywhere. My subjects knew what they were doing.
Probably.
They'd surely tell me if they needed guidance of any kind.
I pulled away from the now empty pot, the delicious taste of Love spreading a warm feeling throughout my entire body. My vision seemed more crisp, my hearing sharper, my very chitin seemed to gleam brighter than usual.
All in all, Love was pretty good food.
The drone that delivered my food quickly took the empty pot and scampered out of sight, the stench of fear trailing in his wake, and left me alone once again. Who would have thought that being a Queen would be so lonely?
Pondering that thought, I relaxed into my throne once more. It was a quite skillful maneuver if I say so myself, what with the throne being made out of stone-ish material and whatnot. Maybe I should add a pillow - but would that make me look weak to my Changelings? Do Changelings even HAVE pillows?
A shiver passed over me as I realised that I wasn't aware of the living conditions and comforts of my own subjects.
I'll add that to the list of things to do, right after 'recreation'. Or maybe before? Nah. They've been sleeping however they've been sleeping now for a while so creature comforts can wait a little longer.
Once the ponies, thus Love (which is good for Changelings) and bits (which are good for ponies AND expansion), start rolling in those issues will fix themselves.
In a perfect world.
I'll keep an eye on it when we get to that point.
But that's for the future. There's more immediate concerns right now such as the upcoming famine, which is being dealt with theoretically, and... me.
While I am the Queen undisputed with grand ambitions and an intellect to match, I am lacking - through no fault of my own! - in other Queen-ly fields.
Such as magic!
Queen Chrysalis The Previous had successfully used her magic to both transform into ponies and overpower Princess Celestia in a standoff.
I... figured out levitation by accident the other day.
A wizard I was not.
Now, unfortunately, Changelings seem to believe in a 'trial by fire' method of education - I saw one of the caretakers leading some nymphs past the Changelings in the infirmary and taking note of which looked interested or didn't shy away - which means that getting taught how to do magic properly would be impossible.
Silver linings, however! It would be highly concerning if the Queen tried to learn magic from a drone.
So, obviously, that only leaves the conclusion that a Queen must be taught by another Queen.
I am a Queen.
With that thought, I focused on levitating a small nearby rock, trying to remember the muscle memory that prompted me to do it by accident the other day. A mild green glow suddenly began somewhere above my field of vision - my horn - and the small rock in turn became enveloped in sicklyglorious green aura.
With a mere thought the rock flew across the room as if shot from a trebuchet, stopping exactly where I wanted it in the air.
Then I made it rotate.
Then I made it do a loop.
And then I made it do a loop while rotating.
I soon dropped the rock into a corner of the room, confident with my mastery over the levitation of small rocks. I'd have to try it with something bigger later... maybe wait till a drone questions me in public or something.
There's only so many times I can let it slide before word spreads and they start questioning me, or worse, stop working on starting my economy.
I had to be cruel to be kind. Yes.
That'll be what I would say at my trial.
The trial which won't ever happen, because I'm pretty certain that the Changeling justice system boils down to 'whatever the Queen says'. Go- Me, I love absolute monarchism.
But back to work. I've mastered telekinesis, what I suspect to be the most fundamental of spells that there is, and thus should move onto the second, confirmed magic, Chrysalis displayed and so I am supposed to know.
Generic magic beam!
...
...
Go!
...
Nothing happened.
Okay, minor setback. Inconsequential for a Queen like me. Just needs some more effort.
I thought about what I wanted, that being a green beam erupting from my horn capable of scorching the flesh of my enemies and cutting through stone with its sheer might. I imagined the scene from the wedding where old Chrysalis managed to defeat Princess Celestia with the sheer power of her beam. The glow above my vision came back.
Looking upwards, I could see that my gnarled horn was enveloped in that glorious magical light.
Yes! Now... just to focus. I'm doing this for a grand cause. Come on Chrissie, think about the economy!
Proboscis, and every other Changeling in the area, jumped up in a shock and surprise as a deafening 'crack' echoed over the badlands.
Construction ceased entirely as every drone, worker and infiltrator and supervisor alike, turned their head in the direction of the Hive. A thin pillar of green energy - instantly recognisable by every Changeling - was rocketing out of the side of the spire, towards the top, roughly near the throne room.
The beam cut off as suddenly as it began, and a small chunk of the Hive spire fell off the top, slowly peeling off the structure before plummeting downwards, bouncing off the Hive around halfway down before finally burying itself in the dust below and kicking up a great cloud of the stuff.
The same thought ran through every Changeling's head at that moment, and Proboscis was the one to voice it.
"Cruel Queen above, am I glad I wasn't whoever that was."
At the very, very, very least, this could be definitely be attributed to the dreaded 'delayed outburst' of the Queen that everyone has been dreading being on the wrong side of recently.
The moment passed, and Proboscis didn't even have to yell for the other drones to get back to work.
They worked like their lives depended on it.
I could only blink as a section of the wall literally fell off after my beam pierced through it.
That... was more than anticipated. I was either some kind of magical prodigy or Chrysalis' muscle memory is just that good.
Following that display of my divine power as a Queen, I decided to shelve the idea of magical self-teaching for now.
In brighter news, I had a lovely new window from which I could see the construction work without even getting off my throne.
Proboscis and his work gang seem to have been getting on splendidly, the number of buildings having grown since I last looked. It might have been my eyes playing tricks on me, but the drones seemed to have been revitalised by something, the small black dots that they looked like from this distance moving with a sort of frenzy that I haven't spotted before.
Maybe the extra Love has began kicking in properly? Its been a week and a half after all, and my Changelings weren't shy about consuming Love now that rationing had stopped, as evidenced by my daily trips to Love Storage.
Whatever the case, I would have to think up some sort of reward for Proboscis once all the work is done. The drone has earned it.
Now it was only three days or so until I inspect the dwelling and the infiltrators I sent put to get food return - phase one of step one of the economic plan will be soon complete, and phase two would have to begin shortly afterwards.
We'll have the homes, and we'll have the food and water. The only thing missing would be the ponies themselves.
It wasn't like we could just kidnap random ponies and force them to live at the foot of the Hive - I mean, we COULD but if we do that we might as well just pod them - since the plan hinged on ponies eventually coming here out of their own volition. Besides, I wasn't about to rely on stockholm syndrome to feed my subjects.
No. The desperate ponies, the ones at their lowest points in life, they will be the the first pony citizens within my lands.
They'll live here. They'll see the plenty their new Queen can offer. And they will Love me.
Hopefully.
I really didn't want to base my survival on podding whatever we could get our hooves on - it just wasn't sustainable.
Feather Duster was straight up not having a good time.
It was a little known fact, but the Maid and Servant industries in Canterlot were a lot more cutthroat than most ponies outside the business realised - maids and servants came and went, but the masters always stayed the same.
That was the job. Feather Duster was well aware.
Its just that she wasn't expecting to be the one that got sent packing when all the cards were down.
"Go to Canterlot" They said. "Its literally your talent to be a maid, you'll breeze right past the competition!"
And Feather Duster, the fool she was, listened.
It went well at first. A bit choppy since she had to get used to the unwritten rules of both Canterlot as well as dealing with the nobility, but all in all it went well.
She made good bits.
She got given a room in the mansion.
She spent five months living the life a pony of her background had no business living - during her time off, that is.
Her gaze drifted down towards a nearby puddle, her uniformed reflection staring back up at her in turn.
But it all went away as quickly as it came...
One day some government pony knocked on the door of her master's mansion, and suddenly the Lord she served decided to cut on costs.
It just... it wasn't fair. Why her? Why now!
She should have seen this coming. Mother always warned her to have bits saved for a rainy day-
Oh BUCK, her mother!
Feather Duster couldn't show herself to her, she'd be so disappointed. Her mother expected, deserved, better. Feather Duster had failed.
The puddle rippled as a drop of water splashed against its surface, distorting the image.
Feather Duster just sighed and slumped her head further. She had to... she had to find somewhere else to go. Something else to do.
Away from Canterlot and all those blasted nobles that didn't want her.
"You're looking awfully down, miss."
Feather Duster's head snapped up to the source of the voice: an annasuming blue unicorn stallion, just standing there besides her on the deserted street.
After a moment of silence, she gave a small nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I haven't had the best couple of days."
The stallion nodded too. "I can see."
Silence filled the air once more, the two of them just standing there in silence. Feather Duster watched the stallion glance at the puddle, then at her maid uniform. He wasn't judging she thought, just... curious?
"I lost my job." The words spilled from her mouth before she could stop them. "I was a maid. For a noble. They... they didn't need my services anymore."
The stallion tilted his head at her. "Just like that?"
For some reason, that prompted a chuckle out of Feather Duster. "Just like that." She confirmed.
For a second, neither of them said anything. Then, the stallion took a look around the street, confirming that it was empty except for the two of them. No lights shone through windows, and the guards seldom patrolled this area of Canterlot.
It was a lonely night.
"I know an employer. She won't... she never dismissed anyone from her service without reason." The stallion's eyes locked onto hers. "She can pay with food and board, for now."
Feather Duster blinked at the fortunate offer. Any other time she would have laughed the offer off as the highway robbery that it was.
Work for the 'privilege' of working another day? It was ridiculous!
But... right then? At that very moment? It sounded like perfection. Like exactly what she needed.
Feather Duster gave another nod, more resolute this time. "That sounds entirely acceptable. Is there anything I need to know, before I decide if I take your... employer up on her offer or not?"
The stallion stood motionless for a moment, simply staring into her eyes, before he erupted into green flames.
What remained after the flames died down was a monstrous sight that every pony in Canterlot knew well. A cruel caricature, abomination, of the pony form. A monster draped in chitin black as the darkest nightmare, its own form seemingly withered away, horrific holes littered throughout its body. Feather Duster stared into those alien, blue orbs that the faux stallion had for eyes.
A Changeling.
Feather Duster was standing before a Chabgeling. One of the creatures that launched the attack on Canterlot just under two weeks prior... and it was offering her a job?
Was this technically treason on her part?
Was she insane?
She watched as the monster moved, lifting an atrophied hoof off the floor and upwards. Towards her. As if it was offering a hoofshake.
Its voice was shrill, with a rasping quality. It almost sounded like two creatures were speaking at once.
"You just have to be fine with this, and the fact that we will take a small bit of Love from you, every day." The creature wiggled its hoof. "Its a long, long way to go, if you accept."
Feather Duster was going to die. She knew it. A certified monster stood before her, offering a deal, just like in all those foal's stories her mother used to read her.
And just like in those stories... she was tempted as Tartarus to take it.
She did.
Her own cream hoof reached up and intertwined with the monstrous one. Her soft fur rubbing against the hard chitin. The empty spaces within the Changeling's hoof noticable in her grip.
Feather Duster managed a crooked smile as a sudden wave of excitement flooded through her at the prospect of the deal she just made.
"Well? Where are we gonna go?"
The chair he used as a makeshift shield shattered into splinters as the sickly green beam tore through it, scorching the stallion behind it in the process.
Stalwart dropped the now useless remains of the chair and fell back with a pained yelp, clutching at his shoulder.
"The Queen is going to be disappointed."
The voice of one of the monsters assaulting him echoed over itself. Soon, the voice of its fellow abomination joined in.
"Nah. We did exactly as she asked. Not our fault that this pony is an idiot."
Stalwart gritted his teeth to stifle a retort. Now was not the time for defending his honour, he was beaten and his attackers were distracted.
Slowly, he reached out with his hoof, sending pulses of pain up his shoulder and as he did so.
He just had to reach his spear. He had the training. He was a Royal Gua- he was a Guard.
He had a duty to do.
"Yeah, no." The spear Stalwart was desperately reaching for suddenly became enveloped in that sickly green glow and floated up, out of his sight. "Seriously, pony, we aren't the grunts you had to deal with in Canterlot."
"We're properly fed, for one."
"And we've been doing this a lot longer that you've been playing soldier, so kindly stop squirming!"
Stalwart gasped as he felt the heard chitin dig into his burnt shoulder, grunting as he was forcefully turned over to face the home invaders.
A pair of Changelings. He thought the things back when he was still stationed in Canterlot.
These ones were different.
His eyes bore into them with the most fierce glare he could give... but the two creatures were barely paying attention. One of them was fiddling with some kind of pot and the other was twirling the spear around their head.
"Are you sure that the Queen gave the okay? She ordered us to be 'nice' to the ponies." The one in with the pot said.
Stalwart could hardly believe his eyes. Was this delirium? Had he already passed out from the pain, and this was all a dream?
"The Queen decreed that we are to be nice to HER ponies." The one with the spear threw a hoof in Stalwart's direction. "This one got thrown away by his 'Princess', and he still worships the ground she walks on. What has you being such a grub, anyway?"
The one with the pot looked at Stalwart for a moment before turning its attention to the other Changeling. "Phantasm told me about the Queen's latest outburst. She took a wall off the Hive, this time."
Both the Changelings shuddered in unison. Stalwart once more tried to crawl away, but the one with the spear roughly hit him in his bruised shoulder with the spear's shaft.
Finally, the Changing managed to get the pot open. The other Changeling's wings buzzed once it saw.
"What do you think?" It chittered monstrously. "Full drain? We've got the pots for it!"
Stalwart didn't like the sound of that.
Thankfully, the pot Changeling shook its head. "No. We're supposed to make it look like an accident." It glanced at Stalwart. "Quarter drain, I say."
The other Changeling slumped. "Oh fine."
Both the monsters suddenly turned to face Stalwart, and the last thing that the demoted guard saw was a blinding green glow.
Tarnished Silver lead a good life. He had a distant but loving family with a little cousin he adored, he had a decent apartment in the well-off-but-not-rich part of Baltimare, and he had a powerful job.
Had.
Something happened to have the guards suddenly put far more effort into their jobs than they had any right to, and the small empire he built with his own two hooves all but collapsed over the past week.
More thorough searches. Questioning. Mage support. What even happened for the police to have such support?
Now he was stuck in some jailhouse in a no-name desert town, caught by a guard patrol that wanted to prove themselves.
He'd go to Canterlot for trial, they said.
He'd go to prison for a very long time, basically.
His mind thought back to his associates, the ones that helped him build his empire. Lavender, that corrupt police detective that helped him stay a step ahead - she had gone missing, disappeared into thin air, probably the first to be nabbed. Squeaky Clean, that trusted businesspony of his, getting off scott free after she promised to testify against him in court. The countless underlings and consumers of his...
Well, all in all, he had a good run.
In this run down small town jailhouse, it wasn't like anypony could break him out was still free anyw-
*BOOM*
Tarnished instantly leapt to the floor as an explosion rocked the entire building.
His ears rang with white noise as he stumbled upright, bracing himself against the bars of his cell. He stumbled forward to get a better look but whatever was going on, it was out of his sight.
He stood there blankly, like a confused foal, until suddenly his hearing returned to him.
Screams. The clash of steel against steel. The arcane sound of magic being fired.
A local deputy suddenly appeared within his vision, running like her life depended on it, only for a blast of green to suddenly hit her in the back and seemingly sap all the strength from her legs.
Tarnished watches as the deputy tripped and crashed muzzle-first into the wall, standing there for half a second until the mare crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Whatever magic hit her, it was incendiary. Green flames slowly spread over the deputy's jacket.
Tarnished Silver took a wise step back further into his cell.
The battle was over quickly, the screams of ponies and metal dying down to only leave the soft crackling if fire. And the steady hoofsteps approaching his cell.
Tarnished tensed in anticipation, eyes flicking around his cell for any sort of weapon. He found it lacking, likely due to the fact that it was a jail cell.
The hoofsteps reached his cell, and then their owner his vision, and Tarnished couldn't help but release a startled laugh as that familiar trenchcoat and detective hat came into view.
"Sweet stars above, Lavender!?"
The mare in question smiled a smile so wide it may as well have been Celestia's sun itself.
"I'm gone for two weeks and everything falls apart? Why aren't I surprised, Tarnished?"
Tarnished could only laugh. "You did- the deputies, the explosion- how?"
"Baltimare, Equestria, is a bit too hot for your right now, old friend. How I know a place in need of your connections." Lavender's smile grew into a smirk. "There's bits to be made, down the road. What do you say?"
He shook his head in disbelief.
"Lav, I'd follow you to Tartarus after the stunt you just pulled. I'm in!"
Lavender made a gesture, and the door to the cell slid open without issue. The mare suddenly erupted into green flames, revealing a Changeling - still dressed in detective's garb and sporting that familiar smirk of hers.
The throne room was brimming, and it wasn't just with food.
Certainly, there was a large amount of canned goods stacked from floor to ceiling in a decently thick pile over in the corner. Canned carrots, canned beats, canned soup, canned whatever-a-pony-needs.
The infiltrators had returned with the food some time ago, and any moment now they would return once more, this time with my ponies in tow.
The first step of the Grand Economic Plan (plan pending) and its foundation was almost complete. Food, temporarily done. Water, done. Housing, done. The ponies would come soon, and though there wasn't much... actual economy for them to partake in, the plenty food and virtually free stay would have to be enough for now.
Now the only thing to do was to bring my subjects on board.
They were what the rest of the throne room was brimming with. A swarm of black chitin, shoved into every level and nook and cranny within the throne room at my command to gather. There were more, many more, outside in the corridors or even buzzing around outside my window, ready to listen to what their Queen had to say.
Loyal, terrified drones that they were, they carried out my orders without hesitation - give or take that one question from proboscis and the shenanigans that the first infiltrators I met with tried - and that alone was worth bringing them into my plan with my cards face up on the table, little misdirection, honest and pure transparency.
The mood was anxious, the smell of fear mixed in with one I came to associate with anticipation.
My subjects stood before me, chittering and whispering to each other as I watched them from my throne.
All sound stooped when I got up to stand on the stony seat.
The smell of anticipation got stronger
This was it. Time to be a proper Queen.
"My subjects! Your Queen has an announcement to make. You have all worked tirelessly for the majority of this month, and it is time to let all of you in on my Grand Plan to revitalise our Hive, to make hunger and rationing a distant memory!"
The crowd ruffled at that. Some heads nodded absently, others flicked or buzzed their wings, some even made quiet noises of approval.
"I may have acted strange over this time. Weird. Impulsive. I assure all of you that I have only our best interests at heart as I do what I must! Now, my dear subjects, I will come clean: ponies will soon settle our lands with my blessing and encouragement."
A sharp smell that must have been shock quickly overtook the room as Changelings turned to their neighbours and whispers started. I pushed on regardless.
"The houses I ordered constructed are for them. The food you see gathered in the corner is for them. The infiltrators sent out will, any moment now, return with them in tow. My subjects, the old ways and traditions are dragging the Hive downwards to its death like an anchor! Abductions and drainings are no longer sufficient!"
The noise grew louder, but it quietened down the instant I slammed my hoof on the throne. I had to keep the momentum going before any of them dared to heckle their Queen.
"The attack on Canterlot proved the failure of the old ways! The ponies have grown strong! They repelled our invasion and sent us limping back home! I promise you this, my subjects, never again!"
Rile them up. Gotta rile them up a little so they don't question things. Get angry. Get mad! Get compliant...
"Make no mistake, Equestria is the enemy! Their false Princesses will fall under our might one day, and their faux 'nation' will crumble, insignificant compared to our glory! Their ponies will join us of their own will and give us their Love! Their knowledge will be assimiliated into ours! They will be mine!All will serve the Hive and its Queen!"
Some Changelings perked up at this, mostly the guards and the infiltrators present, but it seemed to resonate with their more civilian kin as well.
I lowered my voice from the imperious tone it reached, into something softer. Almost affectionate. I had to close the speech on a high note, hopefully reassure those still skeptical.
"Treat the ponies that arrive kindly, my subjects. Care for them like you would for each other. This is the beginning of a new era for the Hive, and I need every single one of you to help shepherd it into being. Your Queen... asks this of you."
That said, I quietened down and looked over the crowd. It was all up to them now. I really did NEED their cooperation with the plan going forwards. They were to be my heralds. The example to follow for the new pony subjects. The bulk of my support.
My subjects were... quiet. Scant whispers barely reached the throne and the smell in the room was a nauseating mix of emotions that I didn't even know where to start with deciphering. Slowly, I could see their reactions crystallising. A majority looked unsure, most likely willing to go with what I said simply because I'm the Queen, but frowns started spreading across the room as the whispers grew louder. First from some of the infiltrators in the back, and then to some of my guards, and slowly, to some of the more menial Changelings. I could only watch as the apparent dissatisfaction spread through my subjects like a vile cancer.
Then, in the opposite corner, a drone started clapping.
All eyes turned to the drone; a runt. Even from the distance I could tell that he was ever so slightly smaller than the other Changelings, the difference made all the more noticeable by the fact that he was standing near one of the guards, the Queen's Guard - my Captain, if I recalled correctly. 'Larynx' or something. It definitely ended in an 'X'.
The runt drone pounded his hooves together at a varying pace, whether in excitement or deficiency or sychopanthy I did not known, but it brought a smile to my face nonetheless.
Eventually Captain name-ends-in-x joined in with the clapping, and that soon spread through the crowd. First to the other Queen's Guard, and then to the other Changelings. The rising tide of frowns and disapproval was steadily replaced by wild clapping and even some cheers. That runt had all but saved my speech and standing as Queen and possibly secured me a majority, loud, approval.