(Shining Armour)

I shifted nervously in place outside the cave mouth that led to the Changeling hive that the Princesses allowed to exist in the Badlands, just half a day’s walk from the Equestrian border. I still couldn’t believe that Celestia had signed the treaty allowing them to stay so close, she knew what these things had done, she knew what they would do given half a chance, she knew what they had done to Cadance and I; she had to know, didn’t she?

Hearing a grinding sound, I looked around before I realised it had been my teeth.

One of the two armoured and armed Changelings standing by the cave leaned over to the other and whispered something as it stared at me, the other one sniggering as it met my eyes with its own, flat, blue eyes, the emotionless orbs glittering menacingly in the dark cave mouth, staring at me, not blinking, just waiting for a moment of weakness.

I heard the grinding sound again and flinched, a pain shot through my mouth as I bit my tongue. The two Changelings sniggered again before looking away, either glancing down the dank tunnel where the rest of their hive lay, or at each other, whispering comments between themselves as they looked back at me.

Anything would be better than this waiting; I looked around, not wanting to stare at that wretched abyss or its twisted little guardians any longer.

This area of the Badlands had changed since my last visit, what had been an arid, stony wasteland, had somehow started to show signs of life, vines grew over boulders, trees sprouted from cliff faces, and grass grew over the surrounding landscape tall stalks whispering in the wind, the vegetation growing thinner the further away from the cave mouth it got, somewhere in the distance I could hear the sound of water rushing over stone.

When did they do all of this? The monthly patrols never reported this sort of growth? We’ve had Earth Ponies out here struggle to grow the most resilient of plants and they’ve done this?

I heard the quiet rustling of feathers behind me, as I turned one of the Pegasi guards behind me turned to gesture at the tunnel, as he attempted to stand even straighter, his wings now pressed firmly to his sides, his expression solemn, his spear held at a perfect right angle to the ground.

Sighing softly to myself, drew myself to attention, legs straight, back straight, head held up high without looking arrogant, the Changeling guards still slouched, but something about their intentions changed, their loosely held sickles oozing a malign purpose.

I could hear noises coming from the tunnel, the striking sound of hoof against stone, the sharp buzzing of insectoid wings, I could even make out blue glow of Changeling eyes as the welcoming committee approached my guards and I, there was a faint rattle of metal and an armoured Changeling stepped out of the gloom, his armour green and silver, he had a helmet tucked under one wing, and the other was buzzing lightly in place.

I stood there watching him, or her, or it, I couldn’t tell if the Changeling was male or female and to be honest I didn’t really care.

“Captain Shining Armour, Stallions and Mares of the royal guard, to what do we owe your unpleasant and unasked for presence in our Paradise?” The changeling spoke, his tone mocking, as the guards behind me bristled, rustling feathers and stamping hooves.

“You openly insult us before you introduce yourself, I always thought Princess Celestia was too kind to you Changelings” I shot back, the insult stinging, if these bugs wouldn’t even pretend to have any good graces, I saw no reason I should.

“You say I insulted you, but you have come to our Paradise with nothing but disgust and hatred in your heart Captain” the Changeling yawned rudely before continuing “I could feel it before I could see you and your troops, you could have at least tried to mask it but it’s just left there sitting out in the open, tastes like rotting apples”

“Already you feed on our emotions?” I yelled back at him

“You could not stop your gorge from rising if you walked past an open cesspool?” the Changeling responded, his tone still mocking as he wrinkled his nose, like he was stuck in the middle of a refuse pit.

“Captain” one of the Pegasi behind me whispered worriedly “We’re not here to start a fight”, as the two Changeling guards twisted slightly, gripping their sickles a little more tightly, their eyes flashing with wicked intent as they looked at each other and the armoured Changeling.

“Very well” I cleared my throat, before pulling a scroll of parchment out from under my armour “We are here on order of Princess Celestia herself, to aid Queen Chrysalis and her guards secure this location for the upcoming Diplomatic Summit, the Princess feels this would be an excellent chance for Chrysalis’ swarm to demonstrate that our continued allowance of its existence was not misplaced hope” I stated as I hovered the scroll over to the Changeling, who proceeded to carefully break the wax seal with his horn before reading it.

The Changeling yawned again as his eyes flicked back and forth over the Princesses densely packed cursive script, before he rolled the scroll up and stuffed it into his armour “seems about right” he said before looking back at me. “I am Barbed Retort, Captain of Queen Chrysalis’ Praetorian Guard, head of security, and unofficial general liaison to out Pony residents, I’m going to need you to submit to a small magical scan before I lead you into the hive” the Changeling sounded contemptuous as he listed off his titles, his eyes never leaving mine as the two Changeling guards horns started to glow casting a thin green barrier over the tunnel entrance.

“Don’t worry, this will only sting a bit” Barbed Retort smirked as he waited calmly on the other side of the barrier, his eyes glinting with twisted glee.

<~~***~~>

(Chrysalis)

I stood there, the perfect picture of royal serenity and good grace, while my mind raced, thoughts running around in circles as I tried to plan around the sudden intrusion, what was Celestia doing? Why had she sent Shining Armour here? Did he still hold a grudge over the invasion? What did this mean for my Swarm?

Slowly I could feel the faint aura of disgust approach, before even the soft sound of hooves on the magically treated sandstone floors of the hive, the emotion causing my advisors’ wings to buzz in discomfort, as I remained outwardly serene, now was not the time to appear nervous, this was a chance, I could mend so many burned bridges here if I played my cards right.

I felt a brief burst of sympathy for Barbed Retort, we were all tired, and my advisors were already suffering from the growing negative emotions coming towards us, he was stuck there with the source; considering what he had confided in me during the months after the treaty signing I hoped he would at least be diplomatic, but held no true expectations for it. He loathed Shining Armour and sending him was the worst decision at the time, but if the Royal Guard intended any violence, and I prayed they didn’t, then sending one of the others would have been a murderous order on my part.

The soft jangle of metal could be heard in the entry tunnel, and I could see a pale green glow approaching as Barbed Retort illuminated the entrance, the soft light illuminating several figures following him, their hooves striking the floor in lockstep as they approached.

I remained outwardly calm as Barbed Retort led the group of Royals Guards from the entrance tunnel, before coming to my side, his expression a curious mixture of relief and distance.

“Prince Shining Armour, this is a pleasant surprise” I spoke quietly, my voice not wavering noticeably “To what do we owe your presence in the hive?” I asked in my best diplomatic voice, before noticing him glare at me.

“Shouldn’t you already know” he snorted “We already told your little drone there, your hive mind should have told you everything”

I signed internally, while keeping my external façade going, the disgust and hatred pouring from Shining Armour was visibly upsetting my advisors, the guards he had brought with him, kept their weapons ready, and above all, this repeated issue had come up again.

“My changeling swarm doesn’t have a hive mind, at least as you understand the term, Prince Shining Armour” I said, my voice remaining diplomatic, while I internally cringed “I can send messages to my Swarm and they can communicate with me; but it does not allow me permanent access to their thoughts, or control of their actions, I do not dominate my changelings as the other Queens do”

He snorted in derision, a cloud of disbelief exiting alongside the warm air; I could feel Barbed Retort bristling at my side, his own hatred warming my sides uncomfortably, as my stomach churned.

“We are here on the direct orders of Princess Celestia herself, to aid you and your swarm in securing this location” he gestured around the hive with one of his hooves “for the upcoming diplomatic summit, Princess Celestia thinks that this is an excellent chance to demonstrate that her faith in you and your swarm was not misplaced, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight Sparkle are in agreement” Shining Armour practically spat his sister’s name, the disgust pouring from becoming overwhelming for a second, my advisors taking a step back out of fear, as my wings buzzed for a brief second, even the guards behind him shuffled nervously.

Feeling a hoof press against my leg I looked down at Barbed Retort, his wings fluttering slightly before he spoke up himself, his voice steady if slightly muffled by a roll of parchment in his mouth.

“Besides Captain Shining Armour and his Guards, the Princess also sent you this my Queen” I pulled the letter from his lips with my telekinesis, shaking it slightly which made the wax seal fall off, the scarlet wax and ribbon landing loosely across Barbed’s muzzle, before I stared at him.

“I believe this message was addressed to ‘Queen’ Chrysalis” I directed a raised eyebrow at him as he removed the ribbon from his snout, before the entire thing disappeared into some hidden pocket in his armour, he didn’t have the decency to look ashamed but his ears quivered slightly.

“Princess Celestia is a Pony of her word; however my Queen, her assistant might not be, her couriers might not be, Shining Armour has skill and hates us enough to attempt to inscribe the scroll with explosive glyphs before resealing it.” Barbed’s voice was entirely dry, his eyes never leaving Shining Armour.

“You think I would attempt to assassinate your Queen!” He shouted in response, anger billowing from him, replacing the rotten scent of hatred and disgust with fire.

“Yes, yes I do” Barbed Retort replied, I couldn’t see his face but I could hear the smirk on his face and the faint contempt in his words “It is my place in the hive to think that, just as it is your place to think that when you receive a letter from someone who once declared their intent to capture and starve your Princess, I mean it’s only paranoia when we’re wrong, when we’re right it becomes something else entirely, a noble sacrifice for our rulers” he spat the last few words before continuing. I thought of the several attempts that had been made on my life ever since I had brought my swarm through the desert, Barbed Retort’s predecessor hadn’t thought anything of such a letter and had opened it freely in my presence; the ensuing fireball had engulfed him in a split-second, before Barbed had contained the explosion, and the unfortunate Changeling in his shield.

Breaking from my unpleasant reverie I fixed Barbed with a look, his dry diatribe dying on his lips, before he had the decency to look abashed as he shut his lips and started to stare at a point somewhere above Shining Armours head, while I unfurled the scroll and read it aloud.

Queen Chrysalis,

Given your current choice of location I hope that this letter and its carriers reach you in one piece, and in good spirits.

While we in Equestria are convinced of your attempts to secure a lasting peace with us, the other nations of the world feel that they need an additional level of precautions to be present during the upcoming Diplomatic Summit of Nations.

To this end I have assigned Prince Shining Armour and several of my own Royal guards to aid you in maintaining the security of your “Lover’s Paradise” Hive Resort, and will be sending an additional Platoon of 30 once they have been made ready for the journey and I hope you can find accommodation for them on such short notice.

It is my sincere hope that the leniency I showed you five years previously has not been a misplaced hope and that we can come closer together as nations and friends, for the mutual benefit of our little Ponies and the changeling swarm.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria, Raiser of the Sun

Furling the scroll, before giving it to Harsh Words to carry, I turned to look at my advisors, each of them with various expressions of disbelief, discomfort, and some small measure of hope, while I tried to keep my own expression positive as I digested this information. Princess Celestia was finally willing to give my swarm a chance; I could finally attempt to give the stability and safety I had promised them so long ago, this could be our chance to fix the bridges I had burned 6 years ago.

Nervousness and exuberance ran through my head in equal amount, chasing each other in a never ending loop as I tried to plan what to do next, before Alluring Mystique’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“Vell then,” she started her sharp voice uncharacteristically nervous “Shall ve get started vith a tour?”

<~~***~~>

(Chrysalis)

I stood by the group of Royal guards as we walked through the Resort area of the hive, the guards looked around in amazement as Alluring Mystique led them through the comparatively large area, the almost tropical atmosphere lifted my spirits as a ‘sea’ breeze swirled around all of us, the sound of the artificial tide in the background.

I could feel the fur of my Alicorn disguise ripple in the soft breeze, the shimmering black hairs of my false pelt and crystalline feathers of my wings reflecting the light of the fake ‘sun’ that slowly moved across the ceiling of the massive chamber in time with the real sun separated from us by tens of metres of reinforced mountainside.

The vacationing ponies stared at us as the Royal guard followed Alluring Mystique, herself wearing a disguise that gave her the appearance of a Earth Pony mare, her fur the colour of the tropical sea, her mane and tail the colours of the setting sun, and a cutie-mark that took the form of a high-power photography lamp. The disguised Changeling was giving a lecture I had heard a thousand times before on the complex magic behind the chamber in response to one guard’s muffled question of “how in…?”, a lecture I was more than happy to ignore as we walked along the short promenade, while I studied the reactions of Shining Armour and his guards.

Continuing along, I watched the surrounding ponies out the corner of my eyes, I could see a changeling on the beach, I thought his name might be Secret Shame, teaching a small group of adoring foals how to use a body board in the light surf, his pale blue eyes were glittering with happiness and I could feel the exuberance of the foals from here, the giddy emotion feeling like I had a mouth full of fizzy sherbet.

“What’s that building over there?” I heard one of the Royal guards ask, his question seemingly innocent as he pointed at a low-slung building that had been built into the wall on a slight incline at the edge of the cavern, its muted colours and heavy curtains setting it apart from the open restaurants, bars, and hotels of the resort.

Alluring Mystique paused for a moment, trying to choose her words before Barbed Retort, the only Changeling who had not disguised himself, turned his head from a conversation he’d been having with a disguised Changeling guard.

“That would be the Fantasy Chamber” he stated as Alluring Mystique shot him a glare.

“The what?” Shining Armour asked, as several of the guards blushed or looked away.

“Well, how did your Princesses find us originally?” Barbed stated, the rhetorical question completely innocent, as one of the guards coughed, and Shining Armour blushed, I didn’t remember him being part of the original raid, but he had no doubt read the report from the bright pink that spread over his cheeks as he shifted around on his hooves, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

“The services of the original Love Hotel never stopped” Barbed continued, his smile growing wicked “we just expanded on our original plot” I winced at the exceptionally poor pun as he continued “After all, we only had the dong chance to make this twerk before…” the Changeling guard next to him started to snigger at the shocked expression of the royal guards as much as the bad puns, even as Shining and Alluring glared at him.

“Barbed Retort” my voice crossed the line between tired and icy as I interrupted him, while staring straight ahead.

“Yes my Queen?”

“Stop”

“Yes my…” before he could say anything more I shoved my hoof into his mouth

“No words Barbed, just stop, we are trying to be diplomatic here, so unless you intend to be diplomatic or provide an honest insight into how Shining Armour and his guards may aid you in your role, then, for the love of the swarm, please do not say anything else” I removed my hoof from his mouth, before looking him directly in the eyes “Am I understood?”

“Yes Chrysalis” he responded, almost petulantly, before biting his upper lip and turning away, and continuing his conversation with the disguised guard.

“Vell, now that that has happened and soured everylings mood, vhy don’t ve move on to the farms?” Alluring asked as she started to lead us towards a tunnel that led out of the resort area, the royal guards still blushing faintly as Shining Armour glared at me.

<~~***~~>

(Barbed Retort)

Muttering to myself, I walked along the hallway leading to my ‘office’, one of my Changeling guards and one of the Royal guards, a Pegasus, following behind me, both of their heads held low, slumped like mischievous grubs that had been caught in the act of lifting truffles from the jar.

It had only been two days, two bucking days, and already we had had an incident between Shining’s guards, and my own guards, and neither of them wanted to admit fault.

Hopefully the messenger I had sent to Shining had found him by now; he had taken to exploring the residential district where the ponies that had come to the hive lived, talking to the residents, trying to figure out why they would live here. I had felt his disgust give way to curiosity and, oddly enough, sadness when we first showed the guards the district where they would be staying for the duration, and the ponies in the district had come out to greet them, save for a few who had good reason to avoid the guard.

Feeling a rush of heat on my side I turned my head as Shining Armour and the Changeling messenger I had sent stepped through a portal outlined by a ring of green wispfire, Shining’s expression which had been unhappy enough for the last two days, was thunderous as he turned to glare at the Pegasus behind me, before keeping pace with me as we approached my office.

Pushing the curtain that separated the room from the hallway aside, I gestured for the others to go in before taking a deep breath and following them in, letting the heavy, green fabric fall shut over the doorway behind me.

Sloping behind my desk I sat down in the cramped corner, my desk had been shifted over to give Shining Armour enough space to set up his own desk, leaving the room cramped but functional, it might have been worse if I had a greater emphasis on keeping paperwork, but beyond a single set of filing cabinets set up on the wall opposite the door the room remained unblemished by the threat of organisation, Shining Armour’s desk was uncomfortably tidy though.

Sliding himself behind his desk Shining Armour shot the Pegasus a glare that had almost all the vitriol he normally saved for me behind it, as the Pegasus cowed beneath his eyes, before I turned to the Changeling myself, trying to keep my expression neutral, although judging by the way she shrunk back from me I had failed.

Shining was the first to break the silence.

“So Swift Strike, why am I being called to this office after hearing that one of my guards has threatened one of the residents of this hive with unlawful violence?” Shining Armour’s voice was tight; his patience, of which I doubted he had much to begin with, was running painfully short by the sounds of it.

“I didn’t threaten anypony” the guard responded, his voice almost petulant.

“So this witness report that says, and I’m going to delight in quoting this, you yelled at Chrysanthemum ‘We should’ve exterminated all you bugs, and I’ve half a mind to start with you if you don’t get out of my way now’ while brandishing your spear at her in a decidedly threatening manner, has the wrong Pegasus?” I asked him my voice completely level.

“She … she threatened me first” the guard stammered out, apparently caught off balance by Chrysanthemum’s gender, or trying to lie, poorly, I was going to go with gender, I felt like being diplomatic.

“Chrysanthemum?” I asked “Is this true?”

Chrysanthemum tried to look away for a second, her eyes seeking some form of escape before speaking up in a subdued voice.

“Y-yes Captain” she stammered out, fear streaming from her words.

“What!” Shining Armour shouted from behind his desk, anger mixed with a sense of self-satisfaction in his exclamation.

“Why did you threaten him Chrysanthemum?” I asked my voice still level, although I could feel frustration starting to build up behind my eyeballs.

“H-h-he was s-s-scaring Soft T-touch, he wouldn’t l-l-leave her alone, I could feel h-h-her fear, and h-his anger, a-a-and I th-th-though he w-w-was going to h-h-hurt her.” She managed to finish her sentence, cowering away from Swift Strike as the Pegasus glared at her.

“Swift Strike” I asked “Did you read the contents of the folder I gave you yesterday?” The Pegasus bridled at the question, before I saw Shining Armour give him an imperceptible nod.

“Yes”

“So then, do you remember why Soft Touch is here?” I asked, knowing full well that the Pegasus hadn’t bothered to read the folder, the contempt behind his words obvious.

“Because she wanted to live with bugs” it wasn’t even a question, just a flat statement.

“Soft Touch, as I explained when I gave you and your fellow guards your folders, is here because she has suffered extremely painful situations concerning her fellow ponies, like many of our more permanent pony residents” I kept my voice level, even as I felt the bile rise in my throat, this bucking Pegasus didn’t care about anyling or anypony here. “In Soft Touch’s case she was raped by a group of Royal Guard cadets almost four years ago” Shining Armour’s head snapped round to look at me, a look of sudden understanding on his face. The rape case had been highly publicised due to the fact that Soft Touch had been a filly at the time and her father had brought the case to Celestia herself in order to secure some form of justice, though the perpetrators hadn’t been found.

The guard was looking shocked, fear and apprehension were pouring from him as I continued.

“She suffered from extreme social anxiety to say the least, and attempted to take her own life several times during her six month long stay in the Canterlot medical system, which led to her being heavily sedated and placed under constant supervision in the Broadhoof Medical Sanatorium for an additional eighteen months.”

“How did she get here then?”

“Just getting to that Shining Armour” I looked at him for a second, before turning back to the Pegasus guard “Due to several other external factors that inhibited her full recovery, Princess Celestia asked Queen Chrysalis to take her in; other Ponies were the source of her problems and we had already demonstrated our ability to care for victims of extreme psychological and emotional scarring with Kick-Back, Clockwork and Gilded Gears, and Wind Dancer, just to name a few, we have been looking after her for the last two years, and while I won’t say that her progress has been astonishing or any such thing, she has finally started to voluntarily interact with other ponies in the last six months” I looked directly at the Pegasus guard who was now trying to avoid meeting my eyes, before he started to speak.

“You bugs are just using her for her love” he spat back at me “You don’t care for her well-being at all”

“Using her for her love?” I replied, cocking one of my eyebrows upwards “Are you implying that we feed upon thirteen year old fillies with no thoughts to the consequences? Are you implying that we do not want her to be better because we are monsters?”

The Pegasus just glared at me, his hate flowing out.

“Of course we have ulterior motives for helping her, if we can help her then maybe one day she’ll feel love that can help to sustain the hive, maybe she’ll be thankful and help the hive in return, maybe it’ll help prove to your princesses that we can be trusted and they’ll allow us to live with ponies again, but you are implying that we don’t care about a little filly that was hurt in the worst possible way!” Suddenly I was shouting all of my level-headed façade gone “She is not just a means to an end!” I snarled these last few words “She was given to us because she was failed by the Ponies who were supposed to protect her, and we have been failed by our protectors enough to know just how that feels.”

I looked over at Shining Armour who looked taken aback by my snarled tirade; either by the honesty, or the sheer amount of feeling I had put into it; I didn’t know I didn’t care either.

“Now Shining Armour, I don’t have the authority to punish your Guards, they answer to you, and you are helping us because you answer to Princess Celestia, how would you punish a guard that caused psychological scarring through neglect?” he looked at me for a second, before sighing heavily.

“Our rules apply only to Equestrian citizens, and you have made it abundantly clear that Soft Touch is not an Equestrian citizen” I blinked at this comment “I’ll go tell my guards to read the folders, deal with Swift Strike yourself rather than making me do your dirty work” Shining Armour made to stand up from his desk before I gestured for him to sit down.

“At least listen to his punishment so he doesn’t neglect that while under your watch” I said as he settled back down, glaring at me himself.

“Swift Strike, for neglect of duty that led to the potential harm of a citizen of the Hive, I am issuing you two weeks of confinement to the building we have assigned you as your barracks, during which I expect you to make it sparkle, Chrysanthemum for overreacting and causing potential harm to a citizen of the Hive, and your charge Soft Touch, you are assigned to the Fungal Pits for the next two weeks, I still expect to see both of you on Parade for the Diplomatic Summit, regardless of other duties.” I sighed heavily as Shining Armour stood up from behind his desk “I want both of you to know that this was entirely avoidable if either of you had bothered to take the effort to think for a second, both of you are dismissed to your punishments”

Watching as the Pegasus followed the nervous Changeling from my office, I sighed again, before squeezing out from behind my desk, we still had another 12 days of this, and another thirty guards coming on the next train according to Shining Armour’s letter. Brushing aside the curtain that covered the doorway to my office I wondered what would break first; my patience, or Shining Armour’s restraint.

Author's Note

well, that happened.

A trained changeling would make a good psychologist, emotion sensing, control emotions spell, the ability to take a non-threatening shape, and a non-altrusitic motivation to help others get well for positive emotions to feed on. The altruism can follow later.

Chrysalis' Hive mind can be considered a large, multi-target, permanent, whisper spell, anyone connected can communicate with others, and if a connection is severed the spell will 'ping', but it doesn't allow for domination.

Anyone spot any typos?