A disgraced Chrysalis has traveled to request refuge from Queen Gytha of the Greneclyf Hives after her defeat dealt by the traitors back home. Gytha knows of her atrocious reputation, and though there might be some value in this strange Queen from abroad, she must keep her guard, lest she allows this foreign Changeling do upon to Gytha as others had done to her...

Written for the Equestria at War contest and won second place. Special thanks to FadFreaky and many others for editing and proofreading.

Days prior to the planned march on Rome, Benito Mussolini is anxious.

Oh yes, he has been given the go-ahead from the American ambassador and has thousands of blackshirts and some of the most avant-garde fascists behind him. However, this strength is deceptive, just like the confidence he made sure to wear in front of his fellow fascists; his own blackshirt commander told Il Duce that he would not act against the king if he resisted, and there is still the army loyal to the crown that is ready to fight on his word.

Doubt plaguing him, Benito is now at a crossroad: should he continue as planned or perhaps flee Italy altogether? He decides to take a night stroll to iron out his thoughts.

That is, until a freak earthquake hits Naples and changes history forever.

Proofreading done by NoMoreSanity, Demon Eyes Laharl, and Starman Ghost.

Also featured on Equestria Daily.

A changeling hive is a living being composed of countless of organisms—the pinnacle of eusociality. Every member plays a key role in the well-being of the hive, though almost all of them can be replaced if needed.

But what happens when the heart of the hive, the Queen, dies?

This is the story of the Badlands Hive.

Twilight Sparkle is on top of the world: she's the newest addition to the Equestrian Principality, and everypony admires her success story.

Everypony? Well, yes, but somebody disagrees...

My name is Richard Pretorius.

I am 23 years old, born in Johannesburg, raised and living in Cape Town by my parents, Gwendalyn and Pieter Pretorius.

I have an older sister, Helen Pretorius, she is 27 years old and is currently working at Oxford England.

My parents sadly passed away in a car crash four years ago ago I have been living by myself here while my sister helped me with whatever money she could spare.

I am suffering from strange memory lapses and I may be losing important memories.

These are important memories. Whatever happens I must not forget these ones.

Oh God...

Someone, please help me.

“History is written by the victors.” ~ Winston Churchill

Welcome to the new Equestria: Several decades ago it spanned a continent, now it encompasses an entire world due to an unknown phenomenon that occurred many years ago. Equestriani towns and cities now dot the planet. What many of its inhabitants try to forget though is that many of these cities were built over older cities that belonged to a now-extinct race: humans.

Crystal Clear, a fledgling researcher with a fascination of these beings, intends to publish a book; a comprehensive take on their race. His task is not an easy one as the event all those years ago has ensured that nothing tangible of their era remained. The only way for him to gain any information on mankind is via old unofficial accounts and interviewing the 'newfoals' and anypony who lived with humans back then. But the latter are far and few... and those who had agreed before are now mysteriously refusing to comment. Why?

In the midst of this, Crystal's grandmother passes away, leaving him several memory orbs of her times with humans. Is this the break that he has been searching for? Will he finally come to an understanding of this elusive species or will he learn of something that he wasn't meant to know?

This story has been reviewed by The Equestrians Critics Society. See the full review here.