Pupa’s mood seemed to greatly improve after visiting her mother’s ashes. She was now standing next to Twilight and Athena as the two of them chatted while heading towards the exit to the museum. Twilight wasn’t exactly sure how important seeing her mother was to her, but was glad to see her mood improve.

After Pupa waved farewell to the desk staff, the group of three walked out of the building. After they descended the staircase, Pupa stopped the two and spoke up. “So, Sparkle, how did you enjoy a look through our Hive’s illustrious history?”

Twilight thought over what she had seen inside the museum before responding. “It was a lot different from what I imagined.”

“Thought we’d be all about war, huh?” Pupa asked, jokingly.

“Well… I didn’t think that was all there was to your Hive,” Twilight replied as she rubbed the back of her head. “I was a bit surprised by the amount of Equestrian history in there though.”

“We have been a close ally to Equestria for many millennia, it would be far more surprising if we weren’t closely tied to them.” Pupa pointed out, chuckling slightly.

Twilight blushed slightly in embarrassment of stating the obvious. “Even though it was similar, it was interesting to see a different perspective on certain events, I just wish I had more time to look at all of it closer.”

“If you’re still alive when the hives fully open up you can take as long a look as you want.” Pupa replied with a wink.

Twilight and Athena let out a sigh at Pupa’s response. Both of them not quite as optimistic as the queen. Athena looked over at the doors to the museum, seeing the desk staff locking the door and taking to the air, flying off towards home. “My Queen, perhaps it would be best for us to head towards the castle, there’s only a few hours before the big event is set to start.”

Pupa nodded. “Hivemind is buzzing about it.” Pupa looked at Athena, “Don’t you want to go and prepare for the festivities, Athena?”

Athena’s ears perked up and her eyes widened a little in surprise. “W-well my Queen, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have something I wanted to do.”

“Does it involve checking on your students?” Pupa asked with a small smirk.

“W-well… We did have a plan to take the nymphs to today’s event. But you asked me to accompany you for the day and…” Athena’s voice slowly petered off as she spoke, her ears pressing against the back of her head, not wanting to make it seem like she was putting blame on Pupa.

“And you have done wonderfully,” Pupa reassured, “But I think I can handle the rest from here, and I’d rather you go and enjoy today’s festivities. Besides, it’d be a shame for all those students to go to the event without their favorite teacher, wouldn’t it?” Pupa said, tapping her chin with a smirk as she glanced back at Athena.

Athena’s ears perked up as she smiled. “You mean it, your Majesty?”

Pupa nodded. “You’ll be paid for your services today, now you go and enjoy yourself while I take care of Miss Sparkle here.”

Athena nodded and began walking away, but stopped to turn back to Pupa. “Are you planning to be at the event, Pupa?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Pupa replied. “See you around, Athena.”

Athena began galloping off, stopping and waving back at Twilight and Pupa before running off. After she had left earshot, Pupa turned to Twilight. “So, Sparkle, got anything you want to ask me. Must have been dying to start the interview process with me.”

Twilight looked up at Pupa, a sea of questions that had been swirling in her mind all day finally being allowed to be asked. “Yes, I have, one moment please.” Twilight said as she began to look through her saddlebag for a fresh notebook to use. Pupa shook her head at the studious Unicorn, taking the time to peek into the Hivemind for a moment.

“Ah, here it is.” Twilight pulled out a notebook marked ‘Hive Queens’ she flipped through a few pages until she came to a free one. Hearing Twilight, Pupa put the Hivemind connection to the back of her mind and turned to her. “I suppose it would be best to start with the simple one. How old are you?”

“Haven’t you been told about asking a girl her age, Sparkle?” Pupa asked with a smirk. “I’m four-hundred and fifteen.” Pupa stated, beginning to walk down the streets of the Hive. “Come on, if you want to see the big event, we should get the little tour over with too.”

Twilight attempted to keep pace with the measured, almost practiced steps of Pupa, necessitating her to power-trot slightly.

“And how long have you been in charge of your Hive?”

“I’ve been Queen for about…” She looked up and let out a low breath, almost as though she had to calculate how long she had actually been running the Hive. “Three hundred something years?” She replied uncertainly.

“You don’t seem super sure.” Twilight replied to Pupa’s uncertain tone.

Pupa shrugged “It’s easy to lose track after the first few decades. I’ve never really been one to keep on top of that kind of stuff, never really interested me.”

“I… Suppose that makes sense.” Twilight replied. “You are fairly young compared to the other Queens aren’t you?”

Pupa nodded. “Youngest of the Equestrian Queens, right here.” She said, with an exaggerated bow “Granted, I’ll also be the oldest Queen for a while too.” She said with a wink.

“I know that your hive is quite prominent in the military, but what does your Hive do aside from that?”

Pupa smiled. “Getting right to the crux of the issue, there.” She replied, jovially. “See, that question is a bit more complicated to answer then for some other Hives.”

“Why is that?”

“Tell me, Sparkle, have you thought about exactly why we stay in a military capacity, even after so many millennia? There are much easier ways to get emotions to feed on, and could lead to less possible casualties for our Hive.”

Twilight thought over it for a moment, trying to piece together a possible answer to the queen’s question but coming up with nothing of any real certainty. “I’m… not sure.”

“I don’t blame you, it’s something deeply ingrained into our Hive, ever since we first joined hooves with the other Equestrian Hives.” Pupa looked down at Twilight, trying to think of the simplest way to explain something so ingrained into their culture it was almost second nature. “We of the Warrior Hive are not just soldiers fighting for the thrill of it, or to get our chosen emotions. We see ourselves as the first line of defense in protecting this nation and the ponies we love.” Pupa explained. “Ever since the beginning of Equestria, ponies have been largely averse to conflict, that’s where we come in.”

“We are the first to offer ourselves up in the defense of Equestria and Pony-kind. Whether it be charging on the field of battle in defense of Equestria or helping save ponies from burning buildings, we are willing to be the ones who sacrifice everything we have in order to ensure the safety of our comrades and the civilian populace.” Pupa noticed she was looking off into the distance as she said this and turned to Twilight. “Athena told you the importance of the shield in our banners at the Museum, but she only told you half of its meaning.”

Pupa’s horn light up as she conjured a circular shield in front of her. “The Shield is a defensive tool, yes, but it is not simply a symbol of our defensive resolve, it is a sign of our strength.” The shield in front of Pupa slowly dented, as though some invisible attacker was landing countless hits against its surface. “The shield, when properly wielded, will take blow after blow from any attacker, and though it may dent and chip, it will never shatter. No matter what damage you do to the shield, it will stand resolute to attacks.” Pupa explained, the shield now badly broken and bent out of shape, but still held up.

“We want to exemplify the best that Pony-Kind can display, ‘so long as we live, Equestria will never fall!’ That is our promise to Celestia and the other Queens. That is why we stand, ever ready, to defend our home.” Pupa looked down at the ground for a moment, realizing that she had begun standing with a straighter back as she explained the spiritual cornerstone of their Hive. Unconsciously taking on a more militaristic stance as she remembered the days when her mother would explain these very concepts to her. She looked down at Twilight before letting out a sigh. The Unicorn looking up at Pupa with a mixture of uncertainty and understanding

“Sorry for making the atmosphere a bit tense.” Pupa stated, dissipating the shield in front of her and slackening her posture. “This was something that my mom made sure I understood.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, glad that the tension in the air dissipated. “It’s something very close to your culture, I’d be more surprised if you weren’t passionate about it.”

“Even so, it’s not something that I ever thought I’d actually get asked about.” Pupa admitted. “Everyone around here knows it like second nature, don’t often get a chance to explain it.”

“It’s alright, it was very helpful to understand your Hive’s philosophy.”

Pupa chuckled. “Glad I could be of assistance.”

Twilight giggled slightly before finishing her abbreviated notes of Pupa’s explanation. “So what emotions do you usually feed on?”

“We can feed on a lot, but generally it’s trust, passion, courage and pride, but we can feed on a good amount of emotions outside of that, those are just the easiest to get with our chosen professions.”

“What are those, if you don’t mind telling me?”

“Well, aside from the obvious, we generally try to take roles in Police or firefighting, but just about any job where you work closely with a team will do just fine.”

Twilight made note of that in her notebook. “Does the Warrior Hive have any kind of ritual or requirements to be Queen?”

“Not sure I’d call it a ritual, but generally speaking we travel to each of the other military hive queens and study under them for at least ten years.”

“Other military hives?” Twilight asked curious.

“Oh, sure.” Pupa responded casually. “Adoration, Enchantment, Pride, Security; each one focuses on their own individual doctrine when it comes to combat. Understanding all of them is what makes us Warrior Queens the best of the best.” She said with a prideful smile on her face.

“And you’re sure that you are the best of the best?” Twilight joked, getting a giggle from Pupa.

“Every few years we have a good old tournament between us queens; a little brawl to see who is the best Queen out there right now.”

“And who has that title right now?” Twilight asked, curious.

“Harbris of the Minotaur Republic. She’s got a haymaker that’ll knock your head off if you aren’t ready for it.” Pupa said, almost as though talking from experience.

“Meaning you aren’t the best military Queen right now?” Twilight joked.

“Hey!” Pupa replied with an annoyed tone in her voice. “She just got a few good hits on me, that’s all. I’ll beat her next time.” She said, mumbling something under her breath. The only thing Twilight could hear was ‘Cow Strength.’

“Moving on,” Twilight began, checking her notebook, “have any Warrior Hive Changelings been High Queen before?”

Pupa let out a light raspberry. “Probably a few? Never really bothered to care much about that kind of stuff. Being High Queen isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be for us, at least I don’t think it is.”

“Really?” Twilight replied in surprise. “Given how important a position it seems to be, I thought you’d be interested.”

“Yeah, it sounds fun for a bit, but High Queens have to give up a lot for the power they have. All work, no play. I don’t even think Apath knows the meaning of the word ‘Play’ given how she never seems to enjoy herself. Then again might just be part of being High Queen.” Pupa gave a small shrug. “Just seems like too much hassle to me.”

“Do you know any by name?” Twilight asked.

“Nope.” Pupa replied simply. “Even then, High Queens change out so infrequently that it’s nearly impossible to keep track.”

Twilight’s ears fell slightly, saddened that her attempt to understand more about the High Queens wasn’t going anywhere. “So how closely do you work with Celestia?”

“I work with Celestia on the regular.” Pupa replied. “I serve an important role in picking and choosing candidates for promotion into higher ranks of the Royal Guards.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked.

“I keep tabs on those that Celestia wants to promote to higher ranks, it’s my job to keep an eye on them and make sure they aren’t doing anything objectionable in the shadows.”

Twilight paused for a moment, thinking over the possible ramifications. “So you spy on them?”

“Spy is such a harsh term,” Pupa replied, her tone one that made it clear she understood the implications. “Think of it more as insurance that no one unsuited rises to a rank of authority.”

“And you choose who is suited?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pupa rolled her eyes. “My duty is simply to report our findings to Celestia, as well as my own internal test scores based on practical ability. If she promotes them is her decision.”

Twilight felt a little bad about accusing Pupa of what would amount to nepotism. “Out of curiosity, how did my brother do on those?” Twilight asked, trying to lighten the mood in case she hurt the Queen’s feelings.

Pupa, seemingly unaffected by Twilight’s prior comment, laughed at the question. “Sorry, Sparkle, but that’s between Celestia and I, complete confidentiality on that front. Though I will say that Shining Armor did quite well on both fronts.”

Twilight chuckled, knowing how hard her brother tried to get into the Royal Guards in the first place. Thinking back to how stressed Shining Armor would get when he had to take the various tests for becoming a Royal Guard. This thought made her cast her mind back towards Steel Coat.

“Umm, Pupa,” Twilight began, stammering a little bit as she struggled to find a way to phrase the question. “Have you um… seen Crimson Lance around at all?”

Pupa’s face changed to a knowing smirk at the question. “And what would Celestia’s prized pupil possibly need with the commanding officer of the Lancers?” she asked slyly, looking down at the Unicorn with a conspiratorial glance

Twilight smiled sheepishly at Pupa’s gaze. “I just had something to tell her,” She said nervously as Pupa’s gaze hardened slightly, “from Steel Coat.” She added after seeing Pupa’s raised eyebrow.

Pupa shook her head. “That stallion, I swear.” She let out a sigh.

“So, have you seen her?” Twilight asked, “Apparently she’s supposed to be visiting the Hive.”

“You could say that, in a manner of speaking, of course.” Pupa stated slyly. “Tell me, what did Steel Coat want to tell Commander Lance?”

Twilight looked away from Pupa for a moment, unsure if this was something she should tell Pupa, deciding that this was probably the best way for Crimson Lance to get Steel Coat’s message, she relented. “Well, he said it had been a long time since the two of them had time to just have a chat and catch up. He wanted to try and set something up.”

Pupa let out a sigh. “That stallion really hasn’t changed much, has he?” She asked rhetorically. “Well, I’ll be sure to let Crimson Lance know.”

Twilight smiled, glad she could have helped Steel Coat, though after a second, Pupa’s form was engulfed in a red flame and was replaced with the form of Crimson Lance. The bright red Unicorn mare flipped her short orange mane. “Well would you look at that, seems she already knows.” Lance said with a chuckle.

Twilight stopped walking for a second, stunned by the sudden revelation of Pupa’s disguise. “But…. You… the Lancers are…”

Crimson Lance nodded. “Bit shocking, I know.” Crimson Lance looked over her disguise. “To think the leader of one of Equestria’s premiere special forces units would be a Changeling this whole time?”

Twilight still wasn’t quite sure how to take this new revelation. “How long have you been leading the Lancers?”

Crimson lance smiled. “I’ve been leading them since they were originally founded some two hundred and fifty years ago. Though, mind you, for the first few years we were nothing more than a squadron. Took me decades to get Celestia to approve of increasing recruitment.”

“But… I just don’t understand. Shining Armor used to talk about you, I mean, Lance, I mean…”

“Remember when I told you about our Hive’s philosophy?” Lance began. “Originally the idea of the Lancers was to put that ideology into practice. As Lancers we would be one of the first to engage in combat, generally as shock troops. Over time I wanted to expand the Lancers to see if there were ponies who shared our beliefs. I am proud to say that we found plenty of ponies to join our ranks.” Lance said, puffing her chest out.

“And have you been running the Lancers that whole time?” Twilight asked, trying to think about any information she could about the Lancers.

“For the most part, yes.” Lance replied. “The real struggle is the constant need to change disguises.” Lance said with an eyeroll. “Apparently ponies will start asking questions when you can lead from the front when you are in your fifties. So I have to have a near constant cycle of disguises going.” Lance said with an annoyed tone, a few licks of flame covering her as she rapidly swapped between several different pony forms as she spoke, Twilight wasn’t able to get a good look at any of them in particular before Pupa returned to her Crimson Lance form. “It’s always such a headache.”

“So are you already working on your next disguise?” Twilight asked, unsure exactly how to phrase that question.

“Yeah, I’ve got someling on it already.” Lance replied, looking over her current form. “I’m thinking maybe a Pegasus this time. Thoughts?”

Twilight was momentarily stunned by the question unsure how to reply effectively, so instead she ended up stammering a bit before Lance interrupted.

“Nah, bit too stereotypical. We’ve got enough Pegasi in the Lancers as is. Could always just go with another Unicorn, I do like having magic.” Her horn lit up as she levitated a few rocks from the ground and spun them around in the air.

“But, Steel Coat seemed to know your moth- I mean Lance’s Mother, so was that you as well?” Twilight asked.

“Oh sure.” Lance replied, her form covered in red flame as she changed her form to a dusty red unicorn with a deep red mane and blue eyes, her cutie mark a magic circle with a shield in the center. “Ardent Shield was a good disguise. Bit more defensive then I usually go, but it was a good change of pace.”

“So umm… Are you going to meet up with Steel Coat later?” Twilight asked, wanting to perhaps let Steel Coat know if she saw him again later.

Pupa changed back to her regal appearance as she thought over Twilight’s question. “I guess there’d be no harm in meeting up with the old geezer. I’ll send him a letter or something once I get my ‘mother’ together as well.” Pupa replied with a light wink. “Hell, might just go visit him myself.”

“Speaking of children,” Twilight began, “You wouldn’t happen to have a daughter yet would you?”

“Nah, I’m far too young to be thinking about having a kid. Even if I did, our Hive has something of a” Pupa twirled her hoof in front of her, trying to find the correct word, “tradition, of sorts, when it comes to that.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked, curious about what this tradition might entail.

“And ruin the surprise?” Pupa said in mock shock. “Why I could never.” Pupa said with an exaggerated flip of her hair. “I’ll let you know if it happens to come up.” She replied in her normal tone, “besides, we still have to finish this little tour of ours.” Pupa stated as she began walking slightly faster.

“Lead the way.” Twilight replied with a smile, matching the Queen’s pace.

Despite the size of Pupa’s castle, the tour seemed to go quite quickly. Pupa led Twilight around the various rooms of importance, a large dining hall with many Warrior changelings sitting around and talking casually while eating food of various types. Twilight could see more local foods, some from the Griffin Kingdom and even a couple Yak dishes. None of the changelings seemed too surprised by Twilight’s appearance, even the guards placed throughout the castle simply saluted their Queen and guest as though nothing bad could happen.

Twilight got an answer to the more casual atmosphere when they visited the barracks, a Warrior Changeling casually stating that, should Twilight attempt anything, Pupa would have been the first to react and because of that, the atmosphere was somewhat more relaxed than usual. That paired with Twilight’s prior visits didn’t leave many of them too worried. Even so, the Changeling emphasized that they were ready to act at a moment’s notice.

The tour of the Castle continued on, Pupa showed Twilight the various rooms from a war room with several maps of Equestria, the Griffin Kingdom and the Minotaur republic spread around the room, some looking rather ancient. While Twilight wanted to look through the various maps to see if anything had changed, Pupa insisted to Twilight that the maps were more detailed than those available to the public. While she did not explain further, Twilight understood that they more than likely had information Changelings would rather remain secret.

“And finally we have the Throne Room.” Pupa stated as she motioned to the two large doors in front of them, a pair of Guards standing to either side of the door, attached to their saddle armor, Twilight could see a blade hanging in its sheathe, as though they were ready to fight at a moment’s notice. The door itself was made of a light brown wood with engravings of various weapons upon its surface, all centered around a circular shield with six gems, one for each of the Equestrian Hives. Twilight was impressed by the craftsmanship on the door, it looked as though it had just been carved recently, clearly the Changelings took good care of it.

Pupa walked up to the door and began to leisurely push open the large double doors, moving them aside without any form of magical assistance. Twilight looked at Pupa in surprise for a few seconds before Pupa called to her. “You coming in or just going to stand there all day?”

Twilight quickly followed Pupa into the chamber. Beyond the double doors, Twilight could see the almost spartan throne room. On all accounts, the throne room seemed fairly simplistic, no grand designs or large amounts of flair were visible aside from the throne itself; carved from some red-tinted wood, a red gemstone at the top of the throne and several weapons jutting out from behind it. Even the ceiling was simplistic, several gems embedded into it to cast light around the chamber, but otherwise a simplistic stone. Off to the side was another wooden door, a small light visible from under it.

Twilight looked around the room, not seeing any guards for what should be the most important room in the castle. “Where are your guards?”

Pupa looked back at Twilight and pointed to the still open doors. “Out there.”

“But shouldn’t you have some guards protecting your throne room?” Twilight asked, slightly concerned.

Pupa waved off Twilight’s concern. “And have them stand around this empty room all day? What would be the point?”

Twilight looked at Pupa in confusion. “But… Aren’t you usually here?”

Pupa shrugged. “I could never really get into the whole ‘sitting around’ thing other Queens do. Much rather be actually out there, doing something.” Pupa explained. “So most of the time, this room is empty. Only when we have meetings or something do I even bother sitting on the throne.”

“So you are a lot more active than the other Queens?” Twilight asked. “How do you get your work done?”

Pupa let out a long breath. “I’ll admit, I’m not the most diligent when it comes to the paperwork, a lot of the times I have a changeling do it instead. But keep that a secret will you.” She said conspiratorially, though Twilight couldn’t be sure how much of it was a joke or not, given how open Pupa was to her she assumed the other Queens already knew.

Twilight cast her eyes over to the side door. “So, what’s in there?” She asked, pointing at the door.

Pupa, turned to look at the door and smiled. “That’s my personal chamber.” Pupa said proudly. “It used to be something of a panic room, in case of an attack. Even had an armory in there, over time it’s become neglected and the Hive’s grown to the point we have entire sections of the Hive that serve the same purpose. So I just converted it into a bit of a meeting and work space for when the War Room isn’t needed.”

“Would you mind if I had a look inside?” Twilight asked, curious as to what might be inside.

Pupa let out a small shrug. “Sure, why not?” Pupa said walking up to the door and pushing it open. Pupa held the door open for Twilight, so that the Unicorn could get a look inside.

The room was fairly sizable, likely originally meant to hold armor for the Queen and her most trusted guards. However it now looked more like an office space. A simplistic desk sat near the back of the chamber, a matching chair behind it. To one side of the desk was a large stack of papers, likely work Pupa was attempting to avoid. In the far right corner sat a mannequin, it was about Alicorn sized and had a set of intricate red armor laying across it, silver highlights visible throughout the armor, even from this distance. Small bookcases covered the right side of the room, filled with various tomes and scrolls of a variety of ages, On top of the bookshelves and scattered inside of them were what Twilight assumed were a variety of war trophies; helmets designed to fit a variety of races, each one with a different insignia or color, broken weapons of a variety of sizes and a few photos.

The left of the room seemed slightly more organized, paintings hung on the wall with photos placed atop a variety of cabinets. In the center of the wall sat an intricately designed spear. Twilight walked closer towards it to get a better look, when she got closer, Twilight could see that the shaft of the spear had two swirling streaks of color that wound their way around the entire body. One was the red color she had grown used to seeing in the Warrior Hive, the second was a pale electrical green, straddling the border of being yellow. The two streaks of color spiraled around the spear until they converged at the neck of the spear before sprouting off two metallic wings of their corresponding color. The head of the spear was a polished and well maintained metal. Twilight cast her eyes down to see a plaque underneath the spear, oddly though, it seemed to be written not in Ancient Equestrian, but in Griffish, a language that Twilight knew very little about.

“May we forever soar the winds as one flock.” Pupa said as she walked up to Twilight. Catching the Unicorn, who was busy staring at the foreign language, off guard.

Seeing Twilight’s confusion, Pupa smirked and tapped the plaque.

“I didn’t know you could speak Griffish.” Twilight replied.

Pupa shrugged. “I spent a good portion of my life in the Griffin Kingdom. You pick up on a few things.”

“So where did this spear come from?” Twilight asked curiously. “It seems far better taken care of than your other… um… collection.” She continued as she looked at the various helmets that had different levels of indentation in them.

“Well of course!” Pupa replied. “It was a gift from one of my first, and closest, teachers.” Pupa said, igniting her horn as she picked the spear off of its stand and pulled it closer so that Twilight could get a better look. “Crafted by some of the best weaponsmiths in the whole Adoration Hive. It’s meant to symbolize our companionship and the closeness of our two Hives. Tempest had it made for my- I guess you could call it ‘Graduation party.’” Pupa chuckled. “It was meant to be a physical reminder of our promises to one another. She had one made for me, and I asked Eupha to make one for her.”

“If you don’t mind me asking. What were the promises you two made?” Twilight asked, unsure if this was a bit too personal of a question for even Pupa.

Pupa paused for a moment, thinking over the best way to phrase it. After a few moments of silence she spoke up again.

“During my first mission with my mother, a lot happened, and I mean a lot. It started as just a routine search for some missing ponies and ended with some crazy cult trying to rule the world. I’m sure you know how it goes.” Pupa joked with a chuckle. Taking a breath before returning to a more serious tone. “Long story short, I ended up taking lives, lives of Changelings that saw me as a villain.” Pupa shut off her magic, catching the spear in her hooves, Twilight could see Pupa’s hooves tensing as she clutched the spear. “I came out of there with a kind of darkness following me, taunting me in both my waking and sleeping hours. Taunting me that I would be nothing but a killer, that I could have prevented their deaths, that I could have-” Pupa’s hooves tightened on the spear further, clear that these memories still placed a heavy weight on her, even after so long. She released a sigh as she cleared her mind before continuing.

“My mother brought me to the Charity Hive, hoping that they may be of more help than our hive. It took me a long while to be able to sleep soundly once again, and even longer for me to be willing to hold my weapons without being reminded of the monster I wanted to avoid becoming.” Pupa stated seriously, turning the spear over in her hooves. “It was then that Queen Tempest heard about what I was going through.” Pupa’s grip relaxed on the spear as she smirked slightly. “She walked right up to where I was staying in the Charity Hive and practically dragged me to the local park, threw a training sword at my feet and told me to hit her.”

Twilight had sat down at this point, simply listening to Pupa’s story about her past.

“I’m not proud to admit that I couldn’t even hit her once, she was far more experienced than I was at the time. It took me a few years to realize why she even did that, she wanted me to forget about my worries and fears and clear my head. Nothing does that quite like a good fight to us Warriors.” She chuckled, looking back down at the spear in her hooves. “Tempest told me about how she too struggled with the same demon I did back then. Tempest often talked about it like a battle, a fight against some dark force trying to swallow everything you care about. Tempest says she lost that battle and she wasn’t going to allow me to fall into that pit with her.” Pupa smiled as her horn lit up and she put the spear back in its place.

“She came to see me practically every other day until I had ‘overcome’ that darkness, in her own words.” Pupa let out a sigh as she thought back to those days, thinking about how her mother had embraced her upon her return to the Hive. “After that, I spent a few years here before having to head out and start my official training with the other Queens.” Pupa looked back to Twilight, seeing that the Unicorn was intently listening. Pupa smiled before looking back at the spear.

“Sorry if this bored you, Twilight.” Pupa stated, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “I know that probably wasn’t the kind of thing you wanted to hear about.”

“As long as you are comfortable sharing I don’t mind hearing about your history.” Twilight replied.

“Would be a bit odd for you to mind now. You’ve only been doing it all day.” Pupa joked, causing Twilight to chuckle slightly.

“I am a little curious, though, Pupa, you said that Queen Tempest was a teacher to you, what was she like?”

“Tempest?” Pupa repeated, letting out a whistle. “Now that’s a complicated question, Sparkle. One, that I do not believe I am at liberty to discuss.”

“Oh, I understand.” Twilight replied, momentarily forgetting that the non-Equestrian Queens preferred to remain hidden.

“Sorry, Sparkle. Until the other Queens give a go-ahead I don’t think it’s right for me to discuss them at length. Anything else you wanted to ask?”

Twilight flipped through her notes, most of her usual questions had been answered by Athena or Pupa already, not to mention her notebook was full of historical information on the Warrior Hive. Her last substantial question relating to the entertainment of the Hive, something she figured would be answered by this ever mysterious “Event.”

Twilight flipped to a blank page and decided to ask something she was wondering about since they had left the mausoleum. “When we were about to leave the Mausoleum, you said the hardest part was saying goodbye. What did you mean by that?”

Pupa’s face dropped for a second before she caught herself. “And here I was thinking I was being slick about it.” Pupa shook her head before continuing. “The answer may be a little childish, honestly, but I was talking to them through the Hivemind.” She admitted.

Twilight paused for a moment, unsure how to take that. “As in actually talking with-”

Pupa chuckled and waved her hoof. “No. No. Not actually talking to them. Celestia knows how that would impact Hive leadership. No, it’s more like, talking to the deceased, hoping they can hear you.” Pupa finished. “I know that not every Queen does it and it makes me sound a little crazy, but a part of me hopes that one day I get a response.” Pupa said with a sigh.

“Is that why Athena didn’t want to get closer to you?” Twilight asked.

Pupa sighed again. “She very likely felt me talking through the Hivemind, if she was any closer she might have been able to hear what I was saying. Athena’s always been the sensitive type; it’s why she became a teacher in the first place.” Pupa looked up at one of the paintings.

Twilight followed her gaze to see a highly detailed painting of what Twilight assumed was Pupa’s coronation. Rows of Warrior changelings stood saluting as a crown was placed upon Pupa’s head by an ancient looking Queen, her mane starting to display hints of gray throughout her long red mane. To her right was an even older looking Changeling, a cart attached to his hind legs. Pupa was kneeling in front of what must have been Queen Battalia.

Pupa, having noticed Twilight’s gaze, spoke up again. “One of the last paintings made of our whole family before my mother and father passed. Hard to believe how old they look in that painting though.” Pupa stated, as silence filled the room for a moment before there was a sound of hooves hitting the stone outside the room, causing Pupa to turn towards it.

“My Queen, are you in here?” Came a voice from the doorway.

“In here, Sliver.” Pupa called back out of the room.

The sound of hooves got closer as Sliver walked to the door. “I was hoping to find you in here, My Queen, after Sergeant Scepter told me you were taking Twilight Sparkle on a tour I figured you’d come here.” The changeling said as it peeked into the room. He seemed to be smaller than most of the other Warrior changelings Twilight had seen throughout the day, assuming he must be one of the Queen’s caretakers. His red eyes quickly seemed to scan the room when he peeked in before walking in further. “I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you don’t run late.” Sliver said as he walked closer. As he did, Twilight could see that his left fang was broken.

“I’ve still got plenty of time, Sliver” Pupa reassured. “We’ve still got an hour, right?”

“My Queen the event starts in forty minutes.” Sliver replied, a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

“Yes and then we have to sit around for twenty minutes before anything actually happens.” Pupa retorted.

Sliver shook his head. “Yes, but YOU said that you would be there, on time, this time.” Sliver shot a glance at Twilight. “Not to mention she can’t fly.” Sliver pointed a hoof at Twilight.

Pupa rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware of that, Sliver, you don’t have to remind me about it.”

“Then you should also know that the streets are packed right now.” Sliver informed Pupa. “Not to mention that a lot of the warriors love seeing their Queen watching and cheering them on.”

“Alright, alright. Point taken.” Pupa replied, relenting to the caretaker, starting to walk to the entrance. “Come on, Twilight, we don’t want to have ol’ Snaggletooth here lose his temper.”

Sliver let out an annoyed sigh. “That’s not my nickname anymore, Pupa.”

Pupa smiled. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of your old nicknames, it is quite the story to tell.” Sliver ran his tongue along the broken fang, as though being reminded of that particular story.

“I remember the story slightly differently to the others.” Sliver replied.

“Regardless, we need to get going if we are to make it on time.” Pupa stated as Twilight followed her out of the room, getting a small bow from Sliver as she walked out of the room

Twilight sped up to catch up to Pupa’s long strides, seeing Sliver closing the door to the side room as she spoke up. “So where exactly are we going?”

Pupa looked down at Twilight with a small smirk. “We are heading to the Hive’s Arena, of course.” Twilight looked up at Pupa, momentarily stunned, her hoof falls stopping as she processed what the Queen had just said, “it is Fight Night, after all.” Pupa continued as she walked out of the Throne room.

“Fights?” Twilight repeated unsure that she had heard correctly. Before quickly picking up her pace to catch up to the Queen.

As Pupa escorted Twilight through the Hive, the streets slowly began to fill with warrior changelings, many of them excitedly talking with friends or family about today’s events, what little Twilight could overhear involved names and terms she had no context for, reminding her quite heavily of Spike and Hoofball teams. Twilight looked up towards the slowly growing form of the Circular structure she had seen from her initial overview of the Hive Proper.

Moving to Pupa’s side, Twilight decided to ask a few of the questions that had been floating around in her mind since Pupa announced where they were going. “So, these fights. They aren’t uhh…”

“To the death?” Pupa concluded, raising her eyebrow at the young unicorn, waving at a few changelings that called out to her. “Relax, Sparkle, we don’t do fights to the death here.” Pupa replied casually, seeing Twilight’s nervous expression.

The Lavender Unicorn let out a sigh at this confirmation. “I know it’s silly to ask something like that.”

“It’s fine, Sparkle.” Pupa replied. “It’s a whole new world for a pony like you. A good portion of the Hive was actually worried about the fact today was when you were going to visit.”

“Why is that?” Twilight asked, curiously.

“A lot of them were worried that we’d have to reschedule or even cancel today’s big event.” Pupa stated, gesturing over to a makeshift market stall on the side of the street.

Twilight looked over to see a warrior changeling selling various products ranging from small snack foods to shirts in support of different fighters. A few changelings stopping to look over the wares.

“Is there something special about today’s fights?” Twilight asked, uncertainly.

“We have a few high profile fighters in the hive going head to head with one another; and a couple fighters from outside of Equestria participating.” Pupa stated while waving at another vender. “Aside from that it’s mostly a monthly event. We have a few lesser fights on a weekly basis but the monthly event is usually much higher profile.”

Twilight looked around the street while they walked, seeing a steadily increasing number of stalls along the street, with more and more changelings stopping and taking a look at the wares. Looking up in the air, she saw a number of changelings getting above the hoof traffic by flying above it, though Twilight could see a number of armored changelings helping to keep air traffic moving. Looking towards the Arena, Twilight could see guards all around the top of the walls, probably to prevent changelings getting in without tickets.

That thought made Twilight pause for a second. “Pupa?”

Pupa looked back at Twilight, “What’s up, Sparkle?”

“How much is a ticket to one of these events?” Twilight asked nervously, knowing that she did not pack enough bits for more than a few meals at most.

Pupa shook her head. “Sparkle, you’re my guest, you don’t have to worry about that. Besides the Royal suite has more than enough room, I’m not married and don’t have a kid so it’s quite spacious.”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh. “So how much would tickets to one of these events go for usually?”

Pupa thought about it for a couple seconds before responding. “For one of these monthly events? About a hundred bits per changeling. The proceeds go to paying the contestants and repairing the arena.” Pupa explained. “The weekly fights are less expensive depending on who is participating in them.”

“About that,” Twilight began, “I assume you have on site medical staff in case the worst happens?”

“Oh, of course, we have the best medical experts on call, I’ll introduce you after the fights if they aren’t too busy.” Pupa stated.

“Are the fights usually that bad?” Twilight asked, slightly worried.

“Well, no, but you never know what can happen in the heat of battle. It’s better to be prepared than not.”

The two of them continued to make their way to the Arena, Pupa stopping at times to explain some of the stalls that Twilight was looking at. As well as to greet some of her subjects, who were ecstatic to see their Queen. While walking through the streets, Twilight was a bit surprised to see that, though many of the changelings noticed her, very few of them seemed to have worried or nervous looks on their faces, almost as though they expected her to stay for the proceeding events.

“Pupa, I can’t help but notice that not a lot of changelings seem… Worried about me participating.” Twilight mentioned to Pupa as the two of them continued to walk.

“Well, of course.” Pupa replied. “I’m sure most of them are just busy looking forward to the fights. Besides it’s not as though you Ponies don’t have similarly dangerous events. Think of it a bit like wrestling.” Pupa began, before pausing to think for a moment, “only with the hits being real, I guess.”

The two of them continued to make their way through the crowd, with the two of them stopping now and then to talk with the changeling vendors so Twilight could ask a few questions. For the most part the journey was fairly uneventful, many of the changelings choosing to give the Queen and her guest the right of way.

Before Twilight knew it, they were standing at the entrance of the Arena. The building was comprised of an ivory stone, the entire exterior structure composed of archways, with statues of what must have been Queens and previous combatants in each of the many archways In between the archways stood long banners, the faces of multiple Changelings on each one, Twilight assumed these were the current fighters. Closer to the top of the structure, the archways opened up again, allowing for easy flight into and out of the structure. Twilight could see multiple armored Changelings present at each of these openings, likely to ensure that anyling that tried to enter had paid for their ticket.

The lowest archways all seemed to lead further into the structure, looking to funnel the prospective spectators into the building without using flight or their innate ability to climb on walls. Even without entering the building, Twilight could hear the commotion from inside; hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of changelings talking amongst themselves, indistinct chants for their chosen fighter and noisemakers going off filled the air. Twilight had to admit, she was feeling a little nervous at the prospect.

“Bit noisier than Canterlot Library, huh?” Pupa said over the throng, sensing Twilights nervousness.

“It is a bit noisier than I’m used to, I’ll admit.” Twilight replied.

“Just you wait until we actually start!” Pupa replied with a hint of pride in her voice. “It’ll make this seem like the chattering of field mice.” Twilight hoped that this was an exaggeration.

“How old is this Arena?” Twilight asked Pupa, looking around the sculpted halls as the two of them walked through the Arena’s halls.

“This old place,” Pupa replied. “This place has been around for thousands of years. If you believe the historians, it was once just a humble fighting pit until the reign of Queen Xiphos.”

“Xiphos?” Twilight repeated, pulling out one of her older notepads and flipping through it briefly. “Isn’t that the name of your General?”

Pupa smiled and nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled that you remember him.” She joked. “But yes, he’s named after her. It’s not uncommon for high profile changelings to share the name of former royalty.”

“So why did Queen Xiphos see it fit to build this arena?” Twilight asked.

Pupa sighed. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to give you another long history lesson, Sparkle.” Pupa pointed out. “Thought you’d have gotten enough of that from Athena.”

Twilight blushed a little in embarrassment. “How about you give me a short version?”

Pupa sighed, relenting to the Unicorn. “Xiphos was responsible for a major reform in the mentality of the Hive, she helped to make the Hive’s populace more interested in self-improvement and constant honing of their capabilities. It took Queen Xiphos losing to one of her own citizens when she was still young before she began trying to implement this new change. This Arena was built so that changelings could truly test their abilities against one another and be ranked accordingly, including Xiphos herself.”

Twilight made a few quick notes in her notepad. “Does the Hive still track that?”

Pupa shook her head. “For most of the Hive that ranking would be redundant anyway. The only records we still keep in that regard are for our Gladiators, who choose to battle in the arena.”

“Out of curiosity, where do you think you fit into that list?” Twilight asked.

Pupa raised her eyebrow at Twilight, almost as though the answer should be obvious.

Twilight, seeing and feeling Pupa’s almost icy look, let out a slight chuckle in embarrassment. “Right, silly question.”

Pupa shook her head in what could be disbelief before helping to lead Twilight through the slowly filling Arena. When Twilight finally got a look at the interior of the Arena, the cacophony of sound was the first thing to hit her.

Changelings shouting in excitement and talking amongst themselves, various noise-making implements were being used to make the wall of sound that much louder.

Twilight followed behind Pupa, unable to hear her over the sounds of shouting as they came to an extravagant viewing platform made of the same stone as much of the arena, the roof of the viewing box was held up on four stone columns, wooden supports helping connect the pillars together with an extravagant red cloth casting a slight shadow over much of the platform. There were three seats visible. One, seemingly a replica of the throne Twilight had seen in the unused throne room, the other two, while slightly less extravagant, were no less fancy. Clearly this box was meant for the Queen and her family or guests.

Pupa’s horn glowed with a faint red as a bubble surrounded the box, keeping out much of the noise of the outside. “So, what do you think? Best seats in the house.” Pupa stated with a hint of pride in her voice as she walked to the edge of the viewing platform, and resting her front hooves on the stone railing separating them from the arena below, simply looking out at the changelings all waiting for the battles to begin.

Twilight looked around the box, noticing how it was designed to make the arena below the main thing the occupants could see. “Are there more platforms like this one?” Twilight asked, curiously.

Pupa looked back at the unicorn before replying. “There are a few further up.” Pupa pointed up across the arena, waiting for Twilight to walk up to her to see where Pupa was pointing. Across the open arena, Twilight could see a viewing platform, similar to theirs, up near the top of the Arena’s viewing section. A few changelings inside chatting with each other.

As Twilight looked out of the box, she could see changelings slowly flying into their seats from above, groups of changelings talking with each other, and quite a few changing forms to those of Minotaurs or Yaks and shouting. Twilight was quite glad to have Pupa’s barrier around the platform, though she felt it wouldn’t be active during the actual matches.

Twilight looked down at the fighting pit of the Arena, seeing a large, immaculate sand covered ground, there were two visible gates on either side of the Arena, presumably to allow the combatants to enter the Arena. The white sand being rather surprising to Twilight, as she thought it would have been stained by now, seeing the sand made Twilight curious. “What are the rules of these fights?”

Pupa smiled. “Well that there is a difficult question to answer.”

“How so?”

Pupa looked down towards the arena itself before turning to Twilight. “There are two common rulesets in the Hive.” Pupa began. “Bloodletting or Knockout. The first ruleset is the simplest, the first Changeling whose blood touches the sand of the arena loses the round. The second requires the opponent to be pinned down for a set amount of time or for them to be knocked completely unconscious. Within each of these is a plethora of restrictions; are weapons allowed? Duration of pins? Flying, Magic, transformations? So on and so forth.”

“And what’s the ruleset for the fights today?” Twilight asked.

“Knowing most of the fighters, they want it to be Knockout. Bloodletting is usually for the best of the best to show strategic thinking on top of combat prowess. Though I’m not quite sure as I haven’t gotten the-” Pupa paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Speak of the devil.” She murmured. “Sorry, Sparkle, a situation just came up. You don’t mind waiting here, do you?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, I don’t mind. I even know a sound cancellation spell!” She said with a smile.

Pupa smirked at the unicorn, pointing to one of the three chairs. “Feel free to make yourself at home, I’ll be back before the fights start.” Pupa stated, her horn glowing red again as she disbursed the barrier around the box and walked to the door.

Twilight lit her own horn and placed a noise cancellation bubble around her own head and took a seat beside the throne, pulling out her note pads and notebook, beginning to transcribe some of her notes into her master copy, enjoying the time to herself to collect some of her thoughts, her own anticipation of the coming fights rising as well, whether out of nervousness or out of worry for the fighters in it, she couldn’t be sure.

It had been about twenty minutes since Pupa had left Twilight alone in the royal suite, during which time she had gotten a good chunk of her notes organized before she saw a red shimmer surrounding the box again, causing her to look up as Pupa walked into the Royal Suite, two boxes of popcorn floating beside her.

Twilight dropped her own noise cancellation spell as Pupa spoke up. “Decided to stop for popcorn on the way back. Wanted to ask if you wanted some, but you aren’t in the Hivemind, so I figured I’d just get some for you in case.” She levitated one of the boxes of popcorn over to Twilight, who was putting many of her supplies away, her magical grip over her master copy being overtaken by a red grip as it was pulled towards Pupa.

“This where you keeping all of the other Queen’s Secrets?” Pupa asked as she opened up the notebook to a random page and began to read in a voice mimicking Twilight’s own. “I was made aware of a mixture within the Joyous Hive that can instantly rejuvenate a Changeling’s energy reserves and heal minor injuries after a worker was injured during a malfunction during my visit to the workshop under the Hive’s main complex.” Pupa looked back over at Twilight, her voice returning to normal. “How has Eupha been?” She asked, floating the notebook over to Twilight. “We haven’t had many meetings with everyling in attendance in a while,” Pupa explained. “Chrysi being locked in Canterlot and everyling worrying about the revelation of Changelings causes issues with our schedules.”

“Well, she’s doing well, she says her Hive’s been doing better since they moved to a new location.” Twilight explained as Pupa nodded.

“She’s always been good at bouncing back from setbacks like that. I just wish she had let us know before doing her little disappearing act.”

“I assume the other Hives all tried to locate her?” Twilight asked.

“Of course we did, we mobilized to try and find her, but another thing she’s always been good at is covering her tracks, you wouldn’t expect it from somepony like her, but she is probably one of the best Infiltrators in Equestria. Only thing that holds her back is Whoopie Cushions.” Pupa said with a chuckle. “One of those will make her crack up faster than Celestia at the sight of cake.”

Twilight giggled at that, knowing full-well Celestia’s weakness for cake. As they were talking, the door to the Royal Suite opened up as a Changeling dressed in decorative armor walked up to Pupa, a piece of parchment held beside him with a crimson glow.

“My Queen,” the changeling said as he walked up to his Queen and bowed, handing over the piece of paper. “All the combatants are ready.”

“Thank you, Shard, how’s Marteau holding up?” Pupa asked, reading over the parchment.

“His leg has a fracture from the collision, but I believe the biggest injury is to his pride.” Shard replied.

Pupa sighed. “I’d have told him this would have happened. Prench bastard should have seen it coming when he agreed to allow him to transform.” She replied in annoyance. “So much for proving himself in the Arena.”

“It is rather unfortunate.” Shard replied, glancing over at Twilight and giving her a small bow. “Apologies, I did not see you.”

“There’s no need to bow.” Twilight replied, waving off the apologies in a ‘It’s no big deal’ manner.

“You are a guest of the Queen’s, should you need anything during your stay at our Arena, please let me know.” Shard replied before turning to Pupa again. “Are you going to let the patrons know?”

Pupa let out a sigh. “I’ll have to, while he wasn’t a frontrunner, his fight was one of the more anticipated. Did we get an ETA on his recovery?”

Shard shook his head. “Even the best estimates give him a few weeks.”

Pupa let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’ll have to let Tettix know.” She said under her breath as she turned to Twilight. “Well, that aside, shall we get the main event started?” She asked.

Twilight nodded, having put many of her writing supplies away aside from a simple quill and notepad.

Pupa smiled as her horn lit up as the bubble around the box was disbursed and Shard walked out of the box. As the barrier fell, there was a sudden sweeping quiet that spread through the previously raucous crowd. Small pockets of cheering could still be heard, but much of the sound had been reduced as Pupa walked to the edge of the viewing platform and looked around the seated changelings, waiting for the final embers of sound to die down.

As the final embers died down, Pupa cleared her throat as her horn lit up, helping project her voice over the crowd. “Mares and Gentlelings, it is my distinguished pleasure to welcome all of you, whether my own subjects or those visiting from other hives to our humble arena. Here, the best of the best get the chance to test their mettle against equals or superiors in equal combat. Two changelings will enter into our esteemed battleground and only one will leave the victor! Surely I am not the only one excited to see which one will come out on top?” Pupa asked, rhetorically, pausing for a response.

There was a wave of shouts and cheers from the crowd as many of them took the chance to show their own excitement for the event. After a few seconds, Pupa raised her hoof as the sound died down.

“That’s what I like to see, you can practically taste the excitement in the air! We have an All-Star roster of combatants for your enjoyment today. However, before we begin, I have a few announcements to make.” Pupa paused and turned to Twilight, waving her closer.

Twilight took the hint and placed her writing supplies behind her as she stepped up to the Queen.

“First and foremost, let’s give a Warrior Hive welcome to the Prized student of Princess Celestia herself, Twilight Sparkle!” Pupa motioned at Twilight, who suddenly felt thousands of eyes looking at her as she tried to smile, probably coming off more nervously than she intended. Regardless she heard a range of shouting from the crowd.

“Now I know that many of you have reservations about Miss Sparkle joining us for this event, but let me be the first to inform you that though Twilight Sparkle is a pony, she has been nothing but gracious to us through her visit here. She has not once looked down on our practices, our history, or the changelings she interacted with in this or any Hive. She was even excited to see such a large event! Despite our differences, we should use this momentous occasion as a chance to show off just what we are capable of. If you agree, let me hear you shout!” Pupa said, her air of authority as both a queen and general coming through her voice as she spoke those words. The Arena rising to an uproarious applause. Hearing the cacophony, Pupa looked back at Twilight and winked, a prideful smile on her face.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Pupa said, addressing the crowd once again. “Now while I know many of you want me to get on to the fights as soon as we can, I do unfortunately have to bring some bad news.”

A silenced whispering spread through the crowd as they wondered what this bad news could have been. A few possibly wondering if it had anything to do with Twilight Sparkle or not. One of the more loud whispers thinking the fights wouldn’t be as they normally are.

Pupa’s voice spread through the Crowd. “I know this rumor has spread through the Hivemind since Twilight was seen entering the Arena and allow me to dissuade you of the notion. We have not asked the combatants to hold back in the slightest, you will still be getting the same Warrior Hive battles you expect from us, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Pupa said with a slight annoyance in her voice, the hushed whispers being silenced. “No, the bad news revolves around one of our combatants scheduled for today’s event. I know that many of you were looking forward to Prance’s very own Marteau De Fer's debut in one of our monthly events. However he has unfortunately suffered an injury earlier today that forced him to withdraw from the event.”

There was a series of booing and saddened calls, a grumbling spreading through the crowd.

“I know, I know.” Pupa said to the disgruntled patrons. “It is unfortunate, but these things can happen. I am told he will recover in a manner of weeks and return to the Arena as soon as he can. Any who wish to donate to his recovery can do so after the event.” Pupa stated to the sound of more talking spreading through the crowd.

“Now, with all the announcements out of the way, what say we get on with the main event?” Pupa asked the crowd, being greeted with a loud affirmative shout and stomping from the crowd. All of them excited to get on with the main events, Pupa pausing to let the crowd get the excitement out of their system a little before once again raising her hoof to silence them.

“Then without further delay, let us all welcome our first two combatants! In the Red corner, we have the rising star of Section C,” Twilight looked into the combat zone and watched as the gate on the right side of the arena was raised by a magical glow. “Everyling let me hear you stomp for Stulpe!”

The crowd began to stomp as a changeling walked into the arena, waving at the crowd as he walked into the middle of the arena.

“And in the Blue corner, we have an expert with the quarterstaff, trying her hooves at unarmed combat. Will she be able to handle this latest challenger? We’ll have to see, give a warm welcome to Vulpa!”

The crowd began to stomp again as another Changeling flew out of the other opened gate, cheering to the crowd as she did a small loop in the air before landing a few feet from Stulpe. As the two warriors were let into the arena, they both turned to Pupa and bowed.

“The rules of this duel are simple; no transformations, no weapons and no offensive magic. This battle will be using the rules of Bloodletting.” Pupa said as she lit her horn once more, the white sand of the arena shimmering with a light red hue for a moment before returning to its perfect white. “The first drop of blood on the sand will determine the winner. Stulpe, are you ready?”

Stuple stood up from his bowed position. “I am, my Queen.” He replied.

“Vulpa, are you ready?” Pupa asked the other changeling.

“Ready as I ever will be, my Queen.” Vulpa replied, standing up.

“Then let the battle, Begin!” The sound of a loud gong rang through the arena as the two changelings got a little distance between themselves, the two of them ducking down into a defensive pose and began to circle around each other, both of them looking for some kind of opening, the crowd having fallen silent to watch these critical moments of the duel.

Twilight, meanwhile, was trying to gauge Pupa’s own reactions to their movements, deciding to speak up. “Why aren’t they um… Brawling?”

Pupa, who was still mostly focusing on the duel below them, simply responded with a “Hm?” Keeping her eyes on the two fighters as they tried to search for a mistake or gap in their opponent’s focus.

Twilight, unsure of how to phrase her question, tried again. “Why are they just circling each other?”

Pupa turned to look at Twilight, keeping one eye on the fight below. “Bloodletting is simple, the first drop of blood determines the winner, as such, choosing when and where to engage will often determine the outcome. You have to be patient as well as precise to get the final blow off on your opponent.” As Pupa explained, the changeling that Twilight believed to be Stulpe quickly moved closer to Vulpa, stopping a mere half foot from her. Flaring out his wings and using them to quickly reposition himself to the side.

Vulpa, believing Stulpe would continue his advance, threw a quick punch in front of her, missing the now repositioned Changeling as he threw a punch at her underside, connecting behind her hoof and backing off after the hit, just as Vulpa tried to kick out at him with her hind hoof. The crowd gasping at the first hit, a few cheers could be heard as Vulpa increased the distance between the two, taking a quick breath as she winced from the hit.

The two returned to circling, Vulpa slightly slower at first after taking the first hit. Stulpe taking the opportunity to poke at her defenses, moving closer slowly and then quickly stomping with his front hooves to try and get Vulpa to flinch or react, but the changeling refused to show an opening. The two continued to circle until Stulpe once again tried to stomp to get Vulpa to react, in response, Vulpa’s horn lit up.

As Stulpe landed with the stomp, his left hoof was quickly slid apart from his right, causing him to lose balance for just a few seconds, enough time for Vulpa to rush up to him and land a solid hit directly on his snout. The male changeling, dazed from the hit for but a moment, ducked under Vulpa’s next swing, he spun around on the ground, using his right hoof to grab and pull Vulpa’s left. With her right foreleg still in the air, she found herself imbalanced, starting to fall to the ground, only to be bucked in her head by Stulpe, who had swung his hind legs into position to connect with her falling head, his hind hooves connecting with her jaw.

The Crowd began shouting in excitement as Vulpa stumbled a foot or two back, shaking her head as it rang from the impact. Unlike much of the crowd, Twilight couldn’t help but wince as Vulpa was hit with both of Stulpe’s hind legs. Before looking back up to see both combatants breathing heavily as they gathered themselves. She found herself wondering about how there had yet to be a drop of blood spilled.

Pupa, who had started watching closely, saw Twilight flinch at the impact. “Chitin helps to make us more resistant to damage, these types of fights, especially in our natural forms, can be rather tense, don’t you agree?” Pupa stated. As Stulpe collected himself and opened his wings, taking to the sky as Vulpa struggled to regain her senses. As she did, Stulpe began to fly around her, circling her as Vulpa got into a smaller stance, hoping to draw her opponent closer. “Though I’m not sure this fight will last much longer at this rate.”

Twilight was going to ask what she meant by that, until she heard the crowd around them, many of them shouting and cheering for their chosen fighter. Some shouting what their fighter should do in simplistic terms. As she looked back down at the fighters, she saw Stulpe’s horn begin to glow brighter and brighter. Wondering what he could possibly be doing, he suddenly began to fly directly towards Vulpa. A few feet from the ground, his horn released a bright burst of light, attempting to blind Vulpa, who threw up a small shield in front of her, trying to block whatever Stulpe was doing, only for her shield to amplify the light. She let out a loud shout as the light quickly began to hurt her eyes.

When the light faded around the arena, Vulpa was trying to locate Stulpe, who had landed and was creeping around Vulpa, waiting for his chance. The crowd beginning to shout Stulpe’s location to Vulpa, hoping to be heard by the now blinded warrior, though the excessive amount of voices causing her to only get more confused as she turned away from where Stulpe was, only to be tackled to the ground by Stulpe, who gave Vulpa a few quick punches. After the first few punches, the sand of the arena glowed blue as Stulpe stopped his hoof before it connected with Vulpa again.

There was a quiet pause as the sand changed color, only to be met by cheering from half of the arena as Stulpe stepped off of Vulpa. Both warrior’s breathing heavily after the fight, their adrenaline getting to them even as Stulpe lowered his hoof to help Vulpa stand up.

“And the winner is Stulpe!” Pupa proclaimed, her voice being met with loud applause and stomping.

Twilight looked around the arena, seeing many changelings excitedly talking amongst themselves and others looking disappointed, more than likely because their chosen fighter had failed. The sound of the Arena was put on a hold as Pupa stood up from her seat.

“It was an excellent fight,” Pupa stated to the crowd. “Though it would seem Stulpe’s familiarity with fighting hoof-to-hoof made him the victor in this bout. Still, that is no reason to think less of Vulpa. It takes no small amount of courage to accept a challenge that puts you at a disadvantage, and for that, let’s give a round of stomps to Vulpa.”

Vulpa, who had accepted Stulpe’s offered hoof, was using the victor as support as she wobbled slightly, her head still spinning. It was then that Twilight saw a trickle of red from her nose, likely the injury that lost her the fight. The arena erupted into stomps for both fighters, showing that, though she had lost, there was no less respect given to Vulpa.

Twilight could see the two warriors talking to each other in the Arena, though she could not hear what they were saying, though from what Twilight could tell it seemed jovial between the two.

Pupa addressed the two fighters in the arena. “A well fought battle, you two. Go and get some rest.”

The two Changelings bowed at their Queen, before walking towards the closest gate, both of the combatants limping slightly, Stulpe helping Vulpa to the gate.

Twilight watched the two of them walk off, surprised and a little glad to see that, despite having just been in a battle with each other, the two of them seemed to still be talking as friends.

Pupa, noticing Twilight’s emotions, turned to her. “They’ve been friendly rivals for years now.” She said to Twilight’s unspoken question. “Very rarely are there hard feelings after fighting in the arena.”

Twilight looked up at Pupa, then back to the arena, thinking over what she had just seen and how both of them had previously been fighting. “So it’s mostly like a friendly spar?”

Pupa smiled. “In those two’s case? Sure is. For others though it’s a bit more professional. Speaking of which.” Pupa’s horn lit up again.

“Now wasn’t that a thrilling first match, everyling? I hope you are ready for more!”

The Arena rose up in loud applause and shouts as Twilight wondered what the next few hours would possibly bring.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, last few weekends have been hectic.

I didn't want to make you guys all wait for me to give it a final read through, So I'm going to post this one now and give it a final read through later today.

Hope you all enjoyed this first look into the Warrior Hive's little "Entertainment." Feel free to tell me what you think of it.