(Chrysalis)

The soft dust of the Badlands whispered the holes in my hooves as I trudged along through the Badlands, back towards my home, my “hive”, if it could even be called that. The wings of my two remaining Praetorian Guards buzzing lightly as they kept just a few paces behind me, but all I could hear was that white mare’s words in my ears, the question repeating over and over.

“But you didn’t trust me to understand your Changeling’s needs, did you Chrysalis?”

I hadn’t trusted her, I hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time, I hadn’t trusted her to understand my hives needs, I hadn’t trusted my Infiltrators who could’ve done a much better job of imitating Cadance, done a much better job at taking just enough of her husband’s love to feed my swarm, and I hadn’t trusted in the Ponies of Equestria to understand what we were doing once we were discovered. It had been so long since I’d had the luxury of trusting anyone save myself I had forgotten it was even an option, and now rather than the distrust and paranoia protecting my swarm it was destroying them, once again my actions had condemned my children to the life of scavengers, barely above the carrion feeders and the vermin we had sought so hard to escape from.

Me: the great provider of the swarm, barely able to find us a home in the dirt and dust of the Badlands.

“My Queen, are you alright?” One of the guards asked, his voice cutting through the echoing question in my head as he stepped in front of me, meeting my downcast eyes with his own, his emotionless face somehow managing to radiate concern.

“I am fine, uhhh” I stuttered as I tried to remember his name, blinking back tears that had started to form in the corners of my eyes.

“It’s Barbed Retort, my Queen”

“What?”

“My name, it is Barbed Retort, my Queen” the guard said.

“I am fine Barbed Retort” I lied, my voice as firm as possibly could be, while he cocked his head at my answer.

“You don’t look fine” he answered.

“You dare question your Queen” I hissed back

“Well your eyes are all red and puffy, you hadn’t moved in almost a minute before I spoke, and you kept on muttering something about trust” he replied back cheerfully “also you are a terrible liar”

“You would speak to your Queen that way?” I yelled back at him, dust lifting from the ground around me as my wings began to buzz furiously

“Yes, for one very good reason.” He hadn’t moved an inch from where he had sat down in front of me.

“Well then seeing as this reason is enough to defy your Queen for why don’t you tell me before I have you working in the Fungal pits until your carapace rots.”

“Oh it’s a very simple reason.” He replied, his smile fading a little as I snorted at him.

“If it is so simple then you should be able to explain it to your Queen” I stated back at him, my voice evening out a little.

“I would speak my Queen that way for the good of the hive”

My eyes narrowed at him, my horn sparking in anger.

“Right now we have established that we won’t get wiped out by Equestria seeking restitution for our acts against them” Barbed Retort spoke his voice completely calm as my wings began to slow, their furious buzzing dying away “But what about tomorrow? What about other Hives? The Griffon Empire? The Minotaur Republic? The Zebra Council? All have reason enough to hate us simply because of what we are and they know where we are now, or near enough at the least”

My wings stopped, the harsh glow around my horn sputtered and died as his words set in.

“Right now we are in as much danger as we have ever been in, yes we mended our bridges with Equestria, but we mended it with the first carapace of a grub, and while I doubt Celestia would want us dead enough to break her word, I doubt equally she would shed tears for us once we are gone” Barbed Retort’s voice was serious now, sounding every bit like the teachers from my Mother’s hive.

I hung my head dejectedly again as the anger drained away with the weight of his words.

“Which is why, right now, the hive needs its Queen, we need you to lead us, we need you to have hope that things will get better, we need you to not give up and mope over what could have been.” He moved closer still looking me in the eyes as tears started to form again, the flat blue orbs tinged with honesty, concern, and something else I couldn’t identify.

“B-b-but, I failed, I had all the love we could ever need” I could feel my barrel shaking, as tears started to fall “I-I-I could have got enough love to keep us f-f-fed for years, I c-c-could have just sat back and t-t-trusted the infiltrators do their j-jobs, b-b-but I had to g-g-go and i-i-insist that I do it b-b-because I-I-I’m the Queen, and the Queen h-h-has to look out for h-h-her swarm, and now I-I-I’ve made everything s-s-so much w-w-worse”

I choked back another sob as I felt Barbed Retort hook his hoof over my neck as he held his chest against my foreleg.

“Don’t worry my Queen; we’ve dealt with much worse, I’m sure you remember how we all starved we had to cross the southern desert to reach this place, or how many of us are here because you went out and found us after the Love Bomb” his voice radiated calmness, but I couldn’t help but shudder in remembered pain “You brought us through those trials at a cost to yourself, and we stood by you, even without the hive-mind link that the old queens kept us under, because you were willing to sacrifice for us”

I couldn’t speak, my tongue wouldn’t cooperate; all I could do was cough and wheeze as I gave a half-hearted nod.

“You’ve carried us through times far worse than this, I was just a grub when we went through the desert and I remember those times, I remember the stories you told us, of the land of overflowing love, where we could just be ourselves and not have to hide, where we wouldn’t have to fight with other hives for scraps of fleeting emotions, you’ll carry us through this, and we’ll stay with you to carry you when you need it” I could feel pressure on my neck increase for just a second as Barbed Retort squeezed my neck the briefest flicker of love coming from the starved guard, giving his words weight as I felt the warm emotion seep into me, soothing the aches in what I felt remained of my heart, before his hoof lifted from my neck and I heard the dull thud of hard chitin against the desiccated dirt.

“Now come on, any longer and the rest of the swarm will worry that the Princesses decided to wipe us out” he said as he stood beside me, his serious demeanour spoiled by the faint smile on his lips.

“Very well” I stood up straight, using the back of one of my dusty hooves to wipe the tears from my eyes “Guards escort your Queen back to her hive” I stated, my voice firm again as I started to walk again.

“Yes my Queen” both Barbed Retort and the other guard snapped to attention before I could hear their hooves thudding against the ground as they hurried slightly to keep up with my longer strides, before I slowed down, just a little.

“Oh, and Barbed Retort” I smiled faintly with my face hidden from view.

“Yes my Queen”

“First thing tomorrow, report to the fungal pits for duty” I could hear a brief chuckle from the other guard as Bitter Retort’s hooves faltered slightly before he caught up again.

“Yes, my Queen” he sighed.

The sadness was still there, the feeling of loss, but somehow I knew my swarm would get through this, I could carry them through this, I could help my swarm flourish, our chance would come to make amends, and I could finally bring my Changelings to that land I had told them about so long ago.

These thoughts echoed in my head as I walked calmly back to the hive, Celestia’s thorny words still there, lurking in my mind, but the pain was dulled by a hope that someday I could trust her enough to ask for help, and that she could trust me enough to understand I wasn’t trying to conquer her little Ponies again.

<~~***~~>

(Chrysalis)

I blinked, my eyelids fluttering as I felt the warmth of sunlight on the back of my head, almost like the gentle hoof of the last Stallion I had shared a bed with, the small clock on my bedside table ticking away, its hands counting the seconds between each minute as I dozed contentedly under my thin blankets.

“My queen, are you awake?” a soft knock came at the door, loud enough to rouse me from my doze.

Murmuring my assent I pulled myself from the comfort of my bed, before the door swung open and a well cleaned Changeling mare stepped through, her hooves whispering against the polished stone floor, a mug of steaming coffee and a plate of green fungal toast held in the grip of her telekinesis.

I yawned as she set the mug and plate down on a small coffee table I kept in my chamber, the dark wood soaking up the heat from the sunlight as it started to release the soft fragrance of oranges.

“Thank you Harsh Words” I yawned again as I floated the coffee mug up to my mouth, gently sipping at the bitter liquid, before nibbling at the dry toast, letting the breakfast wake me up by inches, as Harsh Words sat and waited for me to finish.

As I delicately licked the crumbs of toast from my snout I looked over at my assistant before swallowing, and clearing my throat.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked, before sipping my coffee again as Harsh Words pulled a scroll from one of the saddlebags she had hanging from her.

“Well, you have your weekly morning inspection of the ‘weather’ team, after that I’ve scheduled a brief visit to the water farm, before the meeting with Little Secret, Hidden Facet, Poker Face, Barbed Retort and Alluring Mystique to discuss preparations for the upcoming diplomatic visitation,” The Changelings words were clipped as she ran through the list of my duties “after which there should be just enough time to preform hive court, there have been fewer supplicants lately after we finally managed to ‘fix’ the issue with the tidal pools” She put the scroll away before continuing “But firstly my Queen, you need to look presentable” she said as she hovered a heavy comb from her other saddlebag, my old sapphire topped crown following it as they orbited around my assistants head.

Signing I straightened up and held my head high as the comb began to work its way through my mane, gently easing out any sleep tangles and straightening any stray hairs.

“This is demeaning,” I pouted as the comb was slowly returned to the saddlebag, knowing better than to speak while the sharp metal was brushing against my chitinous neck. “Can’t I at least do this myself?”

“Now, now, my Queen, I have no little hatchlings to look after, we cannot support more mouths at the moment, and so I go without anyling to lavish my affections on” she replied as she angled the crown on my head, the sticky cantrip she placed on it helping it keep the rakish angle she eventually chose, before brushing my mane into place around the base of the crown.

“And so I choose to help you look the very best you can look,” she said as she stepped back, tilting her head to get a better look. “There, very regal looking my Queen” she said beaming at me as I narrowed my eyes at her, before I snorted.

“You do realise we are going to have to fly to the ‘weather’ team’s lodge, undoing all of this” I gestured at my mane with a hoof.

“All that matters is that I get to help my Queen”

“Very well” I sighed at the undaunted Changeling “We have a busy day ahead of us, let us be off.” I said as I magically locked the door behind me, Harsh Words following behind me, a smile on her face.

<~~***~~>

(Barbed Retort)

I yawned as I walked down the street, it was, judging by the “sun” above me, almost noon, my armour felt heavier than normal, sweat was gathering in my helmet before rolling down over my eyes, and I still had several more Ponies to visit, before the meeting with my Queen and the other hive managers.

“Mornin’ Barb’”, a call came from somewhere behind me. I pushed a smile on to my face before turning to look at the source of the voice, a ruddy coloured Earth Pony mare, her cutie mark a hanging basket full of flowers.

“Barb is a mare’s name” I replied, forcing a chuckle to my lips “How’re you doing Babylon?”

The Earth Pony tilted her head at me; I could feel the faint concern rolling off of her at my unusually tired response.

“I’m fine Babylon” I spoke quickly before she could ask the question on her tongue “Just tired, I’ve got so much to do before this big diplomatic shindig, I keep on expecting something bad to happen so I’ve been double checking, and triple checking the security” I yawned again, partly for emphasis, partly because I was dead tired “and it doesn’t help that I just accidentally walked in on Kick-Back and Severed Bonds ‘In Flagrante Delicto’,” I said making air quotes around the fancy words “He’s awfully spry for a sixty something year old stallion, and I did not need that to make my morning complete”.

The mare’s already red cheeks darkened a little at my words as she blushed, before she spoke again.

“I knew him before I came here, back in Manehatten, he’d been miserable since, well you know” I nodded at that, the old Stallion had turned up pretty much completely heart-broken, and the hive guards had almost turned him away due to his emotional state, before the truth had come out.

“We’re lucky to have him here” I responded, and the truth was we were lucky to have the old stallion, the love of an old pony had a depth to it that made it far stronger than anything we could gather from our usual young visitors, the old Pony made for an exceptionally good source of food which was why I made sure to check up on him at least daily, “and it’s best not to talk about his past, he’s told me he lost a lot of the time from before he found himself here, which quite frankly, worries me.”

Babylon sighed heavily as we shared a moment of misery, the stodgy emotion settling in my gut like a lead balloon, before I tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Soooooooo, how are the plants doing?” I attempted lifting my voice to a more cheerful tone.

“Hidden Facet’s been running me ragged for whatever you Changelings are preparing for, and he won’t say what it is other than ‘It’s diplomatic’, like that’s some kind of answer” she groused, but I could feel the happiness behind her words “but it’s been paying off and some of those plants you guys brought from down south are insane, when Hidden played that vine of Bell Peppers it was like gaining my Cutie Mark all over again”

“That ‘ling can do a lot with his fruits, gotta give him that” I responded with a saucy wink, before continuing as she giggled “I’ve gotta go and check on Clockworks and Gilded Gears, you wanna come with, and chat to them before I head off to my mysterious Changeling duties for mysterious Changelings?”

“Can’t, I need to make sure the Moon Orchids are going to bloom at the right time once I transplant them” she said.

“Fair enough, best of luck with your plants Babylon” I said before yawning again.

“Best of luck with your mysterious Changeling duties Barb’” she finished before walking past me, a faint trail of companionship floating in the air behind her, mingling with the sweet scent of flowers that seemed to follow her whenever she went.

Breathing deeply, I gratefully absorbed the emotion alongside the scent before setting off down the narrow street, towards the clock-tower that the two Pegasi mechanics called a home, a workshop, and their dream, it was a shame that everyling else called it a pigsty.

<~~***~~>

(Barbed Retort)

Twenty minutes, a cup of tea, some cloud scones, the odd sensation that my entire body had been filled with noise as the clock chimed the hour while the two Pegasi chatted happily through the din and a particularly interesting bit of news later I found myself outside the clock tower my head still buzzing with noise.

Tinnitus, in all my years as an infiltrator and a guard I had never heard of a Pegasus suffering from tinnitus, why was that?

I didn’t notice my hooves walking along the road to what was called the reception hall, my head in the clouds following this curious train of thought all the way to the station of madness, even as my hooves followed a far more logical road.

I’d met deaf Pegasi, I’d met Pegasi with incredibly bad earwax, I’d met far too many Pegasi who had suffered traumatic head injuries, I’d met depressed Pegasi, I’d met Pegasi with muscle tension that would kill any lesser being and several superior beings as well, but I had never met a Pegasus with tinnitus, I mused to myself not noticing where my hooves were carrying me.

I abandoned that train of thought, leaping from the engine as it sped away, as something black, hard, and decidedly cylindrical had decided that my forehead was a good place to land, heavily, and it was worth thinking about instead.

“Cap, Hive to Cap” I could hear a voice, a voice I recognised, did that have anything to do with the black thing that had just hit me?

“You alright Cap?”

“’mm fine” I muttered back to the voice “Why don’t Pegasi suffer from tinnitus?”

“Dunno Cap, you’d have to ask one” Faint Praise; that was the voice, Faint Praise was a guard like me, didn’t ask enough questions though, and he got slap happy when bored, one of his hooves was currently raised, he spotted me looking at it blearily, before putting it down on the ground again.

“Did, did you just hit me?” I asked, enough of my mind drifting back that I could classify as functional again.

“You’d been staring at the doors for 15 minutes Cap, I was worried” he stated.

“Huh”

He continued to stand there and smile, as I collected my thoughts.

“Was checking up on Ponies, worried about Kick-Back, Clockwork and Gilded Gears want to speak to Chrysalis, was stuck in clock tower when bell went off, meeting to discuss preparations for diplomatic visit, organise guard rota for said diplomatic visit, check storage cave for R.O.U.S’s, eat, sleep, those are my plans for today” I slowly listed off my itinerary before a realisation struck me.

“I’m not late for the meeting am I?”

“Is it five minutes ago?”

“Right, do me a favour Faint”

“What Cap?”

“Next Pegasus you meet, ask them if they’ve ever suffered from tinnitus”

“That sounds easy enough”

“Also, for striking a superior officer, you can organise the next guard rota, and get someling to check the storage cave”

“Sure thing”

“You agreed to that? I must look like manure”

“I didn’t want to say anything Cap”

“Right, wish me luck” I said, taking a deep breath before pushing the doubles doors open, the ivory white wood gliding softly on its hinges as I strode into the reception hall.

<~~***~~>

(Chrysalis)

I sat there nursing a cup of coffee between my forehooves, looking at my advisors as they sat around the square table, each of them nursing their own drink, each of them looked worn down, tired, and in the case of Little Secret, impatient, the mare kept on looking at the doors, looking away, before looking back at the doors again.

I could hear a hoof tapping against the floor with a nervous rhythm, tap-tap, tap-tap.

“He’s late, again” I could hear the icy tone of Alluring Mystique, her voice tinged with a Germane accent, a holdover from her years infiltrating the fashion business as a photographer “This is vhy I objected to him being”.

The sudden sound of the doors gliding open cut her off as Barbed Retort strode into the hall, the Captain of my Praetorian Guard looked bone tired, but he tried to hold himself up, his hooves echoing against the stone floor as he marched as smartly as he could before taking a seat next to Poker Face, blinking tiredly as he looked around the room.

“Sorry I’m late everyling, my Queen” He yawned, his fanged mouth splitting open as he didn’t bother to cover it with a hoof “Was speaking with Clockwork and Gilded Gears when the clock tower went off, kinda knocked me out of it for a bit” he blinked again before taking a mug full of coffee proffered to him by Hidden Facet “Speaking of those two, they said they wanted to talk to you privately Chrysalis my Queen” he took a sip of the coffee before shuddering “Pass the sugar please”

“Any other problems to report?” I asked him as he started to spoon sugar into his coffee.

“I need sleep, Kick-Back still worries me but that you already knew that, we haven’t found any more marsh Hydra eggs in the fungal pits since last week which is either very good because it means we’ve cleared out the infestation, or very bad as it means they were smart enough to hide their eggs extremely well, and I have this gut feeling that something is about to go very wrong, but I’m hoping it’s just nervousness” he sipped at his coffee again, before sighing in contentment and taking a much larger swig.

“What did Clockwork and his wife want?” I asked as Barbed Retort set his mug down and levitated a piece of shortbread over to himself, before dunking it in his coffee.

“They asked me to tell you that they needed to talk with you, privately, they said it was important, and to be honest, once they finally told me what it was I agreed, but it needs your immediate attention my Queen” Barbed Retort spoke around a mouthful of shortbread, before taking another swig of coffee before setting the empty mug back down on the table.

“Well, if that’s everything we can call this meeting to order” Hidden Facet’s soft voice cut through Alluring Mystique and Poker Face’s voices as they attempted to pry answers from Barber Retort, “Firstly is everyling here, Barbed Retort?”

“Only physically” came Barbed Retort’s immediate answer as he prepared himself another cup of coffee.

“Little Secret?”

“Yes” answered small Changeling mare, with the white markings of a healer.

“Alluring Mystique?”

“Ja” the icy tone followed by a pair of rolling eyes

“Poker Face?”

“Yes”

“Harsh Words?”

“Yes sir.” My assistants answer the only one not followed by a stifled yawn.

“My Queen”

“Yes” I answered, somewhat exasperatedly “We’re all here” I said openly, biting back the words, you overly bureaucratic buffoon.

“Harsh Words you have the minutes”

“Yes sir” my assistant replied as she put quill to paper.

“My Queen, you have the” once again the door slammed open, causing everyling to jump as it interrupted Hidden Facet, everyling but Barbed Retort as he continued to calmly spoon sugar into his coffee.

“Sorry for the interruption hive advisors, my Queen” the Changeling said, bowing hastily, its voice shaking as it panted “Captain, we have a problem”

“I knew something was going to happen” I heard Barbed Retort mutter to himself before turning to the panting guard.

“What’s happened Corporal?” He said his tired voice managing to sound calm and collected.

“It’s Shining Armour and the Royal Guard, they’re demanding access to the hive”

Author's Note

Welp, here we go down the Rabbit hole

Yes all those things that Barbed listed to go with Pegasi are cause's of Tinnitus.

Anybody spot any Typos, please comment