"Come on, Chrissi! What's taking you so long?" asked a black pony-like creature.
"Zyklon, I swear if you keep running ahead, I will personally gut you with my horn!" responded the other.
The two changelings made their way through their maze-like home.
"Just because YOU'RE slow doesn't mean that I am," said Zyklon as he looked back and smiled at Chrysalis. He looked like a changeling royal, except for his two-tone mane and the fact that he was only as tall as a drone.
"Jagyce," muttered Chrysalis. She was small for her age of 19, being only about a head taller than the average drone. Still, her brothers and sisters knew better than to try her patience too often. Even Zyklon, as annoying as he could be, knew when she was about to explode in rage. "Zyklon, you know I have to save my energy for Mother. If you want to be out of breath when we finally get to her, there's nothing I can do."
"Hmph." Zyklon frowned and crossed his forehooves. "You know as well as I do that what we're doing is going to be monumental." He smiled again and his wings buzzed excitedly. "I just can't wait!"
Chrysalis sighed. "Udesii, Zyklon. Don't get so overworked up that you can't help anymore."
"Heh, nu'lise. I can't stop!"
"Let's just get to Mother's throne room so that we can get this over with. We've already wasted too much time."
"Fine. Ke slana!"
"Yes, let's."
***
A common misconception ponies have about changelings is that all of them are the same, barring the queen. In fact, there are four types of changelings in any given hive: Queens, who lay eggs, find food sources for the hive, and generally make sure that the hive's needs are met; Royals - also known as Pre-Queens - who assist the Queen in finding food, take care of the Queen's eggs, and plot to overthrow the Queen; Drones that lack all but a basic personality and are controlled by the Queen via the hive-mind; and Males, who are used primarily for breeding purposes, but otherwise act as Drone overseers to shield the Queen's mind from most of the Drones' feedback through the hive-mind.
The aforementioned hive-mind is vital to the hive's survival. Queens use it for command, Royals and Males use it for communication, and Drones go feral without one. The Queen is the center of the hive-mind. If she dies without transferring control of it to her successor, the Drones will attack anything and everything indiscriminately. When this happens, the hive inevitably dies out.
***
As they approached the throne room, Zyklon was nearly bouncing off the walls, much to Chrysalis's dismay. "Calm the buck down, Zyklon! We're almost there!" she said.
"Nayc! I can't! It's too much!"
Chrysalis sighed for the thirty-twelfth time. "You're never going to make General if you keep disobeying orders like that," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that, Chrissi?" Zyklon stopped and tilted his head. "I'm helping you commit regicide. I should at least get a promotion from that!"
"Shut up and quit bouncing around, and maybe you actually will get something for this!"
"Okay, okay. I'm just too excited right now."
They finally reached the large wooden doors that separated the throne room from the hallway. Two Drones stood guard on either side.
"Zyklon, you know what your job is, right?" asked Chrysalis.
"Yup. Keep any drones and Mother off your back while you run around the room screaming like a little filly!"
"Once this is over, I swear..."
The doors suddenly swung open, revealing another guard.
"Queen Arthropoda will see you now," said the Drone.
"This is it," whsipered Chrysalis as they walked inside.
The throne room was large and had an irritated Queen sitting on an elaborately crafted silver throne, but those were the only differences between it and the rest of the hive. No stained glass windows, no carpet, no decorations of any kind. Just the door, the throne, and the dozens of Drones sleeping in niches in the walls.
"Well, well, if it isn't Chrissi and Zyklon," Queen Arthropoda said. "Let me guess - Zyklon is after a promotion, and you - " she pointed at Chrysalis, " - are after my job."
"Always astute as ever, Mother," Chrysalis said. "Shall we begin?"
"Gladly." The Queen wasted no time in assaulting her daughter. She leaped forward, horn charged with green energy. Had Chrysalis not been expecting this, she would have been subdued in less than a second. Instead, her head collided with Chrysalis' shield, causing both spells to lose their power. Chrysalis countered with multiple blasts of green fire, but each bolt either missed or was blocked by the Queen's own magic.
Meanwhile, Zyklon noticed the Drones in the walls starting to wake up. He cursed and threw up shields to block each alcove, but there were too many for him to handle alone. Drones poured out of the walls, flocking to defend their Queen.
"Haar'chak!" Zyklon swore. He switched his focus to the swarm of drones surrounding Arthropoda and immediately sent his own green lances into the mass of buzzing wings and chitin.
Chrysalis was having no luck in landing a single blow on the Queen, and the battle was taking its toll on her. Either her spells went wide, Arthropoda had a shield ready, or one of her Drones took the hit for her. Zyklon's bolts took down some of the Drones, but it wasn't enough. Arthropoda charged up her horn and fired at the exhausted Chrysalis. She screamed as the spell hit her with its full force, melting the outside of her chitinous exoskeleton and burning the flesh underneath.
Zyklon threw up from Chrysalis's scream and the stench of melted chitin. The Queen's attention immediately turned to the Male. Her Drones quickly swarmed him and pinned him against the ground.
"I expected more," Arthropoda said, "especially from you two." She turned to Chrysalis, who lay in a heap on the ground. "Nice try, Chrysalis. Maybe next time you'll think about who's really in charge here."
Chrysalis could do no more than to whimper in agony.
"And you!" The Queen spun to face Zyklon. "You should have tried to defend me, but instead you sided with her? You're a traitor. Aruetii. You're not fit to live here anymore, much less command my forces."
The words hit Zyklon like a five-ton Ursa Major. Beneath his exoskeleton, his face went white.
Author's Note
You get bonus points for guessing which language the changelings use (besides English [duh]).
Also, please please PLEASE leave me some feedback in the comments. This is only my first draft, after all!
Everybody's a pre-reader! (For the first chapter, at least.)
Zyklon dejectedly trudged through the harsh terrain of the Badlands. He cursed his luck, his stupidity, his blissful obliviousness, and, most of all, Chrysalis for getting him into this mess in the first place. "Royals," he muttered. "They promise you everything , but they lack the means to deliver. Ni ru cuyi utreekov. You play along with their little power games, then BAM! You end up in a certain-death situation, while they get slapped on the fetlock and left to do it again!" He reared up and stamped the ground with his forehooves and let out a scream of frustration that echoed across the barren canyon.
He froze when he realized the mistake he had made. Red eyes were now peering at him from the shadows, the normally nocturnal creatures woken by his outburst. Time stood still.
An eternity later, a piercing cry came from the creatures.
"Haar'chak!" he swore as he turned and ran. The shadows swiftly followed, and the chase began.
***
It is a little-known fact that changelings are a very timid species. Many would-be infiltrators have dropped everything and turned tail at the sight of their unsuspecting prey. Only soldiers with intense conditioning can suppress their fears long enough to assess the situation before fleeing from the threat in blind terror. As such, changelings tend to be very reclusive.
This changes when fighting their own kind, however. Despite being absolutely terrified of other species, changeling hives will frequently attack each other for feeding ground and other resources. Drones fight at the command of their Male officers, who are directed by the Royals who answer to the Queen. The farther up the chain of command, the more powerful the 'ling.
***
"Well, look who decided to wake up."
Chrysalis glared at her sister. She looked like the exact duplicate of Chrysalis, save for her pinkish eyes, mane, and carapace.
"Shut up, Larva. Don't you have nymphs to attend to?" Chrysalis said.
"Not after your stupid little power play with Arthropoda. I've been reassigned to take care of you until you molt," Larva said.
Chrysalis sighed and looked down at herself. She was lying in a sideways cocoon suspended from the ceiling by multiple strands of webbing. Through the translucent skin of the cocoon she saw her half-melted exoskeleton. Chrysalis quickly looked away.
Larva laughed derisively. "Better get used to it. You're going to be here for quite a while, Chrissi."
"Oh, really?" Chrysalis replied.
"Yes, really. When Mother burns you, she burns you. You do know about her thing with fire, right?"
"I could do with a little less sarcasm," Chrysalis grumbled.
Larva laughed again. "Like Tartarus I will! I'm just here to take care of you physically. Your psychological scars are a completely different matter." Larva suddenly took on a dark tone. "And I will make sure that every. Single. One. Hurts!" Then she turned and trotted away like nothing had happened.
"Haar'chak!" Chrysalis swore.
