Darkness.
A Changeling hive is usually buried deep beneath the ground, all the better to hide from the prying eyes of ponies. This does present the problem of a lack of sustenance, seeing as we feed on the love of Ponies. But the hive safety is paramount, we must never jeopardize the hive. The Queen’s will is absolute.
Right?
***
I’m Klik, Seeker drone for the Equestrian swarm. Not the only one, not by far, but I was bred for a sole purpose.
As an extension of the Queen’s will.
The Hive is telepathically linked, information can be spread amongst every member of the swarm for any purpose, and any member can see through you. It wasn’t an invasion of privacy, there was only the hive. However, the link has a range limit, so each drone has to bounce the frequency to reach the recipient. Any drone outside the frequency range is essentially blind to the Hivemind.
This is why I was bred, to act as a lieutenant for the Queen, to lead other Seeker Drones to find sustenance the Hive so desperately needs. We find suitable ponies to be fed off of, detached enough from society to never be missed, and bring them underground. With the proper application of Changeling venom, they will believe us kin, lovers, friends, and we can feed.
That only lasts so long though, a pony will only last a few weeks before building an immunity to the venom, then they become biomass to breed more drones. Our duty is the lifeblood of the Hive.
***
The sky was blooming with the first hints of sunset, I was set to work tucking the leftover assortment of grapes and wines into my saddlebags to be preserved and sold the next day. A call disrupted my concentration.
“Sky Dancer! Hold up a minute!” The voice called. I craned my head to see the olive mare galloping past several kiosks whose owners were busy with a similar task to my own. “How can I help you?” I asked without a pause in my work. “Surely nothing so urgent as to come galloping down so fast?”
“It’s a message, I wanted to get it to you before you left for the barn.” She handed me a sealed envelope, the hardened wax bore the mark of a half moon, half sun diagram. The Equestrian Royalty? Don’t trust her, don’t trust them. The voice was strong, I glanced to the side, meeting the eyes of a strong maroon buck. His eye met mine for a second before he grunted and set off pulling his cart.
“Thank you for your expediency Glimmer. Care for a bundle of grapes?” The last wrapped bundle of the green fruit was balanced on my wing.
“No thank you, a job well done is it’s own reward!” She gushed, setting off again the direction she came at a canter. With a shrug, I broke the wax seal with a wing and lay it out on my stand to read.
Sky Dancer,
By invite of Equestrian Royalty, you are cordially invited to attend this year’s Gala as one of many providers of refreshment from all around Equestria. This offer is accompanied by full compensation of transportation fees and a substantial payment for your services. If you are unable to attend, please inform the Gala caters of your decision. Thank you for the services you provide to all of Equestria. More information will be included in the attached memo.
-The Equestrian Royal Family
I nearly fell over, my emotions slipped through the link, confusing the Changelings that received them. Why would I be invited to the Gala? I’ve only been a plant here for a few months! Is it possible I could have been tracked by the authorities? Could the Hive be in danger?
The thoughts lingered in my mind as I swept the letter into my saddlebags and started the long walk to the farm. It technically wasn’t mine, but the owners were “displaced” to the Hive under pretenses of retirement. The farm was purchased for a modest sum and my drones have worked the fields, using the business as a cover to mask our infiltration. It’s been one of the more lucrative harvest areas the Queen has authorized.
My concerns were sent through the link to the Changelings under my command. Any good leader values their follower’s insight. Thoughts buzzed back.
Ponies are always finding us.
Ponies Can’t know it’s us.
Our cover will be broken.
The opportunity for harvest would be great.
Each thought blitzed through my mind, with it a mix of emotions that leak through. Anger, suspicion, paranoia. But most of all, anticipation. A matter this grave would require the personal touch of the Queen.
***
I sent a few of my drones east to establish a chain to communicate with the Queen the next day under the pretence that they were visiting family. The link was established within a few hours of their departure.
“My Queen”
“I would assume the matter is most dire to risk your position so, Klik, I will not tolerate failure in MY swarm.”
“The news is most urgent, but so is the potential reward. I have been contacted and invited to the Gala, the largest gathering of ponies in the year. While I have my suspicions, with your word, my drones will feed the swarm for years to come.” My thoughts oozed with glee and I swelled with pride to offer this service to my Queen.
“This opportunity does not come without risk, you may jeopardize our position in Hollow Shades. I would not so carelessly throw away such a valuable tool” The pride I felt in the compliment overshadowed any feelings at the word ‘tool’ after all, there is only the swarm.
“My Queen, I ask for your blessing to continue on to the Gala. I fear our position may be suspected if I refuse, and if that comes to pass, we will be left with nothing”
“Very well, but we cannot risk stealing away ponies from such a large gathering. I will breed for this ‘Gala’ special drones to discreetly absorb the affection there and store it for use by the swarm. This may indeed prove a valuable opportunity. You will oversee this. Do not fail me” The threat was not lost on me. the connection was broken as the drones made their way back west.
I pulled the memo from the envelope. Details of location and time, amount and type of goods required, a list of prominent attendees- Celestia, Luna, the Bearers of Harmony, Prince Blueblood, Photo Finish, Octavia, among others -and in the envelope was a single golden disk no bigger than a clam. Etched into it were the words ‘Gala’ and ‘invitation’ in a silver filigree.
Retreating to my windowless bedroom, top floor of the small home near the farm, I shed my pegasus disguise of Sky Dancer. In the room was a body mirror, one that I used to practice that particular form. I stood in front of it and examined myself. The sleek black chitinous plates were fading from the sky blue of my previous form to a pitch black. along my sides were tucked in gossamer wings, a layer of ablative protection concealing them. My fangs shone in the light of the room and my curved black horn dripped a grisly green residue from the recent use of magic. my compound eyes lingered on the holes that adorned my legs, a hallmark of any changeling. Unique to myself, my plates were covered with thin Green lines where the plates were cracked and healed over from numerous fights that I couldn’t run from.
After several moments of adjusting back into my own body, my thoughts lingered back to the Gala. There would be a great deal of work in the next few months, but also work to keep the hive fed in the meantime. And above all, staying incognito, I won’t waste the lives of my drones to reckless abandon.
Checking the door a third time to make sure it’s locked I stepped over to bed. It’s a risk, but even the Queen couldn’t keep a disguise up overnight as well as day. My wings slid behind my armor, I tucked into the wooly mattress. I quickly sent out the order to wake me at dawn. There was a lot of work to do.
Author's Note
This is my very first fan fic so feedback is much, much, loved. If you guys notice any story discrepancies, let me know and I'll be sure to fix them. If this is any good, I will continue to update it. Thank you all so much.
By the way, I hope to include some darker content later, possibly the next chapter or something.
A mind of your own isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I discovered this the minute I was given the authority to lead the biggest operation the Hive had seen. The weight of decisions and the lives of others are a constant concern. As a drone, you trust the Queen, without her, they look to me.
The preparation to help cater to the Gala is no small task, the number of drones I had was not nearly sufficient. I needed external help, and the next Hive was on the other side of Equestria. With this in mind, and the farm ledger tucked in a saddlebag, my horn emit a sickly green shimmer. My plates softened and my wings melded with skin. Hair grew inches per second to form a tail and mane. My softened plates started to take a sky blue tinge. With a shake, the greenish residue that settled over my false coat was dispersed. Grabbing the saddlebags, I started the trek into town.
***
“Glimmer? I need your help” I stood in the post office of Hollow Shades. Letters were strewn about in a sort of organized chaos, each clearly labeled. The same could be said for the olive mare. She had a daisy shaped hair clip in a mane of teal that seemed to do little to keep the mess in one place. Despite the messy environment, the mail pony seemed absolutely chipper, but the same could be said for many ponies. They’re all the same.
She holds the communication center.
She is a Pony.
Don’t trust her!
Don’t let her find us!
The trickle of voices from various drones, a constant reminder to the risk I’m taking. But this is my task, I will succeed.
“Oh! Sky Dancer! Sorry, I didn’t expect a visit today, let me clean some of this up” She moved to sweep the clutter with a broom, but I stopped her with a shake of my head.
“No, I have a favor to ask.” I opened the saddlebags and dumped a bundle of fliers on the desk, straightening them with a wing. “Do you think you could spread these around town? I got a big order coming up and could use some short term help.”
“But you’ve had that farm for months and never needed the help. What’s happened?”
“Just got a big order is all. I won’t bore you with the details.” She seemed about to ask another question, but thought better of it. She took a closer look at the flier, it was something I drafted and had copied by a local unicorn. There was only a few dozen or so, Hollow Shades wasn’t as big as Manehatten.
“I think I should be able to pass these around with the mail tomorrow morning. Actually, I know a few ponies who were looking for a bit of work, I’ll send them your way tomorrow.”
“Thanks Glimmer, this is important to me.” Her eyes seemed to light up. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered during a harvest, it’s that ponies become malleable as clay when you touch their pride or love. Whether through compliment or threat.
***
The farm was full up the next day. All applicants and quite a few drones were present to size up the work force. There was about 8 ponies, all but one a stallion, and all were of different races. The mare in the group was a dark red Earth Pony. She didn’t particularly stick out among the bucks, just a worker like any drone.
“It’s good to see so many people looking to help.” Inside I was cringing at the prospect of so many ponies interact with the drones, “We have a lot of work to do for the next harvest, and every hoof counts.” I turned to one of my drones, this one wearing the skin of a mustard yellow Earth buck. I had to be careful not to alert anyone to the link. “This is Grazer, he will be your guide today. He’ll show you all the chores that need doing around the fields and pick out which ones are unsuited to the job. With luck, all of you will be hired,” I said, artificially edging hope in my voice.
“What about you?” The red mare asked, she never took her eyes of the drone I called Grazer. “What do you do?”
“I deal with logistical stuff, planning, organizing, that sort of thing. I also man the stand during most days.” I was beginning to sense a problem with this mare. She was far too curious. “But I find myself in need of an assistant.” My drone led the bucks to the field. “What’s your name?”
“Scarlet Apple,” she said, a hint of pride in her voice. “I descend from applebuckers from beyond Galloping Gorge, found myself here after my family moved to Ponyville.” I gestured for her to follow me with a wing, walking toward the farmhouse.
“I need some help with a special project, otherwise, my… Family would be enough to keep the farm going. It would be an ease off my mind if I had someone to help shoulder my own work.”
“What’s so big that you need a bunch of ponies to do?”
“Manehatten is having an opening of a new museum arcane science. Their prospective financers are holding a soiré and asked us to cater to it, being the closest vineyard.” Luckily, Lying came with the territory of harvesting. And I was really good at it.
“Oh, I see. Well, why me?”
“Your curiosity leads me to believe you have a bright mind, I could use that. If you’d rather not, that’s just fine.” She seemed to mull it over in her head.
“I think I could do that.”
“Great!-” We stepped into the house I have made my dwelling over the past few months. “- Why don’t you go grab a few bottles of wine from the cellar and we talk over the specifics? I need to get dinner on anyway.” She seemed a bit surprised at being asked to dinner. Her mouth opened, but closed again before she could vocalize her line of thought. “Alright, anything specific?” she asked. I shrugged, “pick your favorite, I like all types. Pinto Noir, Marelot, Chardonneigh, it comes with the business you know.” She seemed to appreciate the small jest. My back was turned as she started climbing down the stairs into the wine cellar. When I heard the footsteps leave the stairs, I turned and opened the door, closing it behind me and bolting it shut, in addition to the chain lock. The cellar doubled as a shelter and the door was sturdy.
Do not let me be disturbed The words echoed to my drones, each sending back a frequency of affirmation. Slowly descending the narrow steps, I could hear the clink of glass on glass as bottles were rearranged. As soon as I was in sight, the red mare turned to me, “Oh, I thought you were getting your supper ready?” she looked a bit suspicious- as she should be -of my presence. To her credit, she pretended nothing was wrong, but I could taste her fear, it wasn’t as tasty or nutritious as love. It tasted of black licorice and did nothing for a changeling’s health, but I could taste it.
I came to a stop a few feet behind her, not close enough to scare her, but close enough to alarm her. “Find anything to your taste, Scarlet?” My casual tone seemed to catch her off guard.
“Uhm, y-yeah. I’ve always had a t-taste for a good Marelot.” I advanced a step closer, she took a step back. I grinned, “Come now Scarlet, what’s wrong?” Her eyes darted to either side of the cellar, avoiding my baleful grin. “I-I’m just a bit… Nothing. Nothing is wrong.” She hadn’t had the experience in lying that I had. I had the scars to prove that experience.
When I took another step, she backed up into the rack of wines, rattling the bottles and herself. I drank her fear, her confusion, the sensation set my working drones abuzz. They wanted a taste for themselves.
I would give it to them.
I shed my disguise, the blue coat fading and skin hardening. Feathers fell from wings that were absorbed into the morphing plates and my curved black horn sprouted from my forehead, once again dripping with the green energy. What put a smile to my insectoid lips though wasn’t her reaction to the metamorphosis to the rest of my body, it was the absolute terror I felt from her when she saw my eyes. The diluted solid cyan, would put anypony on edge, but as I said, I’m no ordinary drone. She could see the intelligence behind them, I could tell.
The mare screamed, but the cellar just reflected the sound back inward. I didn’t bother advancing as she tried to scrabble around me, trying to run, trying to get away from the monster in the room with her. Before she got to the stairs, I let loose a bolt from my horn. The sickly greed enveloped her and she twitched, her skeleton visible for no more than a second before she fell in a heap in the middle of the room. She was tough though, and kept trying to crawl to the stairs, despite her nervous system being overloaded.
Turning her over, I looked into her terrified eyes, flexing my paper thin wings. She tried to hit me, but, weak as she is, he hooves just bounced off my scarred plates. “It’s too bad you picked up that flyer. You’re a risk to us.” My words were deep and raspy, like someone had taken a cheese grater to it. My original voice and it dripped with hatred, hatred that this mare dare endanger us. “You were dead the minute you woke up this morning. You just didn’t know it.” I sank my teeth into her neck, pumping venom into her bloodstream. She struggled, trying to escape the iron grip. Her eyes shrank to pinpricks, glazing over as the venom rewrote her mind. It took about thirty seconds, but stopped struggling and fell asleep.
With a throaty chuckle, I observed my handiwork. She was going to be asleep for a long time, I made her convinced that her family would save her, I made the memories of them stronger. It wasn’t hard, and it would feed us the extra energy we need for the project. I spit a glob of a dark yellow substance into my chitinous hoof, using my magic, I wove the ball of phlegm into a string. The string was sturdy, nothing short of a counter spell would undo it. I thread the string around the shallowly breathing mare. She looked like she was being trapped by a spider. With another spell, the lines of thread closed the gaps between each other, securing her in a yellowish green cocoon.
I drank some of the residual emotion wafting off of her, treating myself to a reward for my efforts. My drones will have their fill, and the potential threat was neutralized. With a sigh, I wrapped myself in the skin of Sky Dancer once more, but I couldn’t help a small smile as I closed the door. Today was a good day. I pushed a bookshelf in front of the door to conceal it before leaving the house once again.
Despite the thrill of her fear, I couldn’t help but feel that her submission was perhaps unnecessary. I could have simply turned her down for the job, gave her other recommendations. I shook my head stubbornly. No, it had to be done, it’s what the queen would have wanted.
I looked to the noontime sky, Celestia’s sun was just starting its descent from the roof of the world. The buzz sounded in my head.
They will do, Klik. We will use them, then the harvest begins.
The Gala wasn’t for months at least, and even though the wine could be magically fermented, it still took time to grow the crop. Until then, the Hive needed feeding. Drone, find a suitable subject. The Queen expects another good harvest before the Gala. The buzz of confirmation was all I needed. with a deep breath, I started the long trot to Hollow Shades proper.
It was time to pay another visit to Glimmer.
Author's Note
There it is, chapter 2. Unfortunately, I am inept at social situations and dialogue in my writing seems to have suffered from that. But I hope you guys enjoy it, feedback is much appreciated because I'd like to know how to make my writing better, or if I should keep writing at all. I hope this one wasn't too painful.
