A Changeling Tradegy

Chapters

The Second Hive
Princess Prominence
Sacred Lie
Manipulation
Counter-Ambush
Raspberry Creek
Birth of a Revolution
Madness
Queening
In Prominence's Shadow
Prelude to Darkness
High Queen
The Hiveless
Epilogue: Rising Flame
First Blood

The Second Hive

Author's Note

Foreword!

This is my NaNoWriMo story, although I failed to complete the required wordcount with this story. I'm still publishing this to give myself catharsis.

A Note on Hives: Thankfully, Thorax was nice enough to say that Chrysalis's hive was "A" changeling hive. Not the hive, a hive. That one (letter) word was actually very significant writing-- It simultaneously leaves it ambiguous as to whether all hives are like Chrysalis's hive, and directly states that there are other changeling hives.
All that said, I loved writing this story I hope you enjoy this story much more than I enjoyed writing it.

The Second Hive

Under the earth, the entire world was alight with melodic buzzing. Under archways and out from tunnels creatures wearing their chitin garb darted to and fro around grand pillars and wide, expansive caverns. The entire underground was lit up with the soft but not dim lighting from green or blue liquid lamps. Layers of thicker and lighter liquid oozed within their containers, painting different glorious shades on nearby surfaces that were primarily a black jade colour, broken only by shards of rock that reflected any colour imaginable.

This was Hive Lalartu, currently the home of Queen Lalartu and formerly home of Queen Chrysalis before she had gone on to found her own hive and fortune, far from the territories in the distant Southern Territories of Equestria. There remained a few in the hive that knew of their Hivemother's relation to Chrysalis, despite the former's desires to erase her daughter from memory. Those few that knew were generally the much older members of the Hive-- the Hivemother herself and her oldest of advisers who had not yet withered away. Still, this knowledge had been shared with a few of her most accomplished drones, always on a need to know basis with those specialized for certain tasks.

Some of these specialized Changelings-- Infiltrator type drones-- were tasked with scouting, intelligence gathering, and keeping tabs on any other Changeling hives. Over the years the Hivemother had many daughters who rose to prominence, and quite recently some of them had suffered rather spectacular defeats-- such as Chrysalis in Equestria. A single Infiltrator type drone had been around to see the ordeal in Equestria, and had escaped with every other Changeling when things went south. But that was then, and this is now:

Lazni, as the Infiltrator type drone had christened herself, had just finished reporting the happenings in Equestria to her Hivemother. Lazni stood tall and beamed up at her Hivemother, taking the same pride in serving the hive as every other drone. Lalartu gave a tired nod and smiled down at her successful servant as she looked away from a few Changeling drones that were pressed against her side or under her hooves to present affectionate nuzzles. Although the story had left her wanting for details, all of the core points had been intact-- both the Changeling attack and their defeat.

"Very well done, and this information sheds some light on recent developments that we have seen locally." Lalartu's voice was slow, like every word was considered thoughtfully and spoke with age-old wisdom.

"Recent developments?" Lazni asked, leaning forward and buzzing her wings with interest. While hive life was wonderful and she felt she could not trade it for anything, it's close second was the news on happenings in the world for her.

The Hivemother nodded, smiling thoughtfully and continuing, "We have noticed a score of drones with a young queen moving close by, and they have recently stopped in a cave and have been resting for the better part of the day. I think they will move when night falls again, but I wish to contact them and invite them here before they leave."

"Invite-- foreign Changelings, here?" Lazni let out a squawk of disbelief.

"Indeed, Lazni. I would like you to go meet with them." The Hivemother lifted one of her gnarled hooves and pointed to Lazni, who watched as the two of them made their way over.

"These two will show you the way. I know you must be very exhausted, but I feel that with your knowledge of Equestria you are the best equipped to talk with them. They journeyed from the north, and I believe they came from Equestria." The Hivemother remarked. Lazni shuffled uncomfortably at being singled out so much, but nodded agreeably with her mother's wishes.

"Hivemother, why do you believe they are from Equestria? Or that my knowledge would be useful?" Lazni cocked her head to the side, confused.

"Although it has been many years, the Queen holds a striking resemblance to Chrysalis. But I cannot tell for myself without seeing her. I would very much like to see Chrysalis one more time." Lalartu looked thoughtfully down at a drone that had rushed to her hoof, rubbing themselves dotingly against it.

"Understood, and-- what should be done if they do not desire to accept the hive's invitation?" Lazni asked.

"They will accept." the Hivemother said grimly. "You will understand when you meet them. Drones, escort Lazni to the cave where the foreigners are."

Still slightly confused, Lazni stole herself as she turned, letting the two drones guide her out of the Queen's chambers and into the main cavern of the hive. This area was a glorious cylinder, with seven stories of circular paths that clung to the walls. In the middle was a space for drones to fly from story to story, going from here to there freely and with but one obstruction. In the middle of the hive was a great beacon that was segmented on each floor, alternating in colours of soft blues or soft greens. If it had but a few more colours, Lazni might have mistaken her Hivehome for one of the Equestrian raves their musicians were occasionally fond of.

The drones flew upwards, and Lazni followed them, heading for the top level and then through a very narrow tunnel, which was only wide enough for them to fly single file to the surface. Forgoing disguises for the moment, the drones took Lazni and turned north, making for some hills that were visible poking out in the distance-- In fact, Lazni had passed the same hills earlier when she had been returning home.

The distance to the cave seemed to take but minutes to overcome, and still wearing their Changeling chitin, the two drones landed before Lazni, testing the ground with their hooves. Lazni rubbed her hooves together before descending, giving her wings a little buzz after she had touched down. She knew better than to try to convince some Changeling to show themselves with words-- after all, what sort of mad drone would do such a thing? No, Changelings had a different way of communicating greetings-- a light wing buzzing, one that was universal among all drones. Of course, none of them could be sure where it came from, but it had existed as a common rule in every other Hive Lazni had ever spied on or encountered, including Chrysalis's hive.

A few short moments passed, and then a weak buzzing returned. Lazni saw a drone poke their head out, lime green eyes darting around the world before it eyed the three visitors. The intricacies of beautiful Changeling eyes eluded ponies, but to their own kind they were quite clear. Around the edges there was grey lining, indicating tiredness and perhaps, hunger. The full eye of the drone itself was rather dim, as though they were fading away-- a sign often attributed to not having fed on emotions, most specifically love, for quite some time. Lazni's face curved back in shock as she took a few steps forward, alarmed at the state of this poor drone.

"You-- oh sky and stars, you look terrible!" Lazni exclaimed, blinking a few times as she peered over the drone to get a better look at his figure. His chitin was rough and mud covered, not smooth or shiny as drones normally kept their carapaces.

"Thanks." The drone's response was riddled with sarcasm, but before they could say anymore they ducked down, pulling their head back inside as a larger Changeling came into view.

She stood quite tall, but not nearly as tall as Chrysalis. Her hair had become a brilliant lime green, and her eyes sparkled from behind the gossamer curtains like sunburst emeralds. As she spoke her teeth glittered like white topaz, marking her delicate as jewelry to be treasured and admired.

"Hello-- changeling, drones." The Queen said with a smooth, musical tone, singling Lazni out from the other two. "You are not of my hive, and are encroaching on our cave."

"This isn't a cave, it's a hole," Lazni laid her ears down, eyeing the excuse for a cave with faux-distaste. In all reality it looked as comfortable to her as any burrow, but she didn't want the foreign queen to know that. "You are encroaching on a-- hole, that belongs to Hive Lalartu." The foreign queen simply raised and eyebrow, glancing at Lazni and her drones and daring any of them to step forward and enforce the claim. Letting out a distressed sigh, Lazni shook her head and puffed her chest out.

"Uh-- our Hivemother, Queen Lalartu, would like to humbly invite you to join us at our hive? You could rest in comfort and we can spare food. You seem to be tired from your travels, and we can offer you safety and necessities." As soon as Lazni had mentioned dining, she knew she had this in the bag. Half a dozen starved looking drones poked their heads out of the hole, looking at the visitors with hungry eyes. The last sentence had simply been icing on the cake.

"How long have you known we were here?" The queen asked.

"Awhile. We have tracked your movements for a great distance." Lazni retorted. She was not at all worried however, as many drones were now exiting around the Queen, squeezing to the surface and eyeing the three that had joined them. The queen's face cut into a grin, showcasing her smaller sharp teeth in full detail now.

"Well, it is about time you reached out to us. Very well, my hive shall accompany you." The queen nodded to her drones, and they began taking on disguises-- all of them becoming pegasi of different shades but all with the same, lime green eyes. Lazni watched as they took off into the sky, hovering and waiting to be joined by their queen. Lazni had to do all she could to not shake her head in disgust at the condition of some of the drones.

She only had a moment to eye them before they shimmered in fire and took on a disguise, but that was more than enough for Lazni to pass judgement on this foreign hive. Many of them looked as bad as the first Changeling she had seen, and some seemed to be worse off. While regular Changelings had shiny plates that interlocked over each other and shone like polished jade when wet, most of these drones lacked any polish on their plates, with dirt trapped between their plates and rough patches where cavities in their chitin were forming weaknesses in the shell. Their condition was inexcusably horrid, and Lazni could feel her blood heating up inside her carapace as she imagined what sort of neglect must have caused all of this.

Turning away from the drones, Lazni eyed the queen in front of her, who took on the form of a much larger Pegasus. Even as a pony, she was still graceful and pretty, although it was not beauty of the same caliber that only Changelings could possess.

"Forgive me, but my Hivemother is expecting Queen Chrysalis and her hive-- and, that is clearly not who you are. Could we know the name of the Hive that will join Hive Lalartu for food?" Lazni asked, peering up at the Queen.

The queen looked away at this question, and even under the disguise Lazni could see that she had struck something deep inside the queen. Lazni took a step back, bowing her head carefully and looking up, waiting for a reply. When it finally came, she felt her jaw drop slightly.

"After Canterlot, She did not return. A few of her drones wandered home and said she had been-- defeated. Hunted down-- I."

"--Apologies." Lazni choked, "That is-- that is terrible." If Lazni could have had a do over, she would have held her breath for a few more seconds while the queen put out her last few words.

The queen put a hoof on her chest, holding it there wistfully and looking over her shoulder, northward. "I- have sworn to make sure these drones are not hunted down. I am the daughter of Queen Chrysalis, Princess-- no, Queen Pupae."

Silence fell over the cavefront. Lazni took a deep breath and gave a nod, turning and taking off with the two drones next to her. She made sure to stay at the front of the group-- not only so she could lead the hive in tow, but also to hide her own tears. She had no idea that things had gone so far after the Changelings were defeated in Canterlot, and wished she had not found out, either. Ponies were horrible and barbaric, and without the help of Changelings to guide them on a good path in life, they were unable to avoid psychosis. Lazni had no doubt they were all biting back curses for these ponies as they flew back to Hive Lalartu, the sun just finishing it's set in the distance and painting the sky with purples and teals.

Lazni hovered outside of a tunnel exit and nodded to the drones to stay behind and bring up the rear. Taking point, Lazni headed down first, following the dark sloping tunnel into the earth. For half a minute the world was dark, but slowly colour from the Hive's lamps began to pain the world once more. As the drones from Pupae's hive streamed in behind her, she could hear them gasping and gazing over the place in amazement. A few stuck their snouts close to the ground and inspected the glittering floor while others buzzed nearer to the lamps, their eyes dazzled by the blend of blues and greens.

Pupae herself stopped dead once she was inside, watching as the colours of the lamps shone across the smooth black floors and ceilings. her mouth was slightly agape, she herself no less struck by the beauty of the Hivehome. After a few moments Pupae gathered herself and approached the middle of the great cylinder, looking down at the multiple levels of the hive. By now some drones had taken notice of the foreign Changelings among them, and several were approaching and cautiously watching their visitors.

"It is-- This is like nothing I have ever seen before," Pupae murmured. "It's like being underwater and looking up."

Lazni beamed at the visitors, her mouth stretched back wide enough that even her little fangs were visible. "Oh, It's wonderful that you like it! You need to remember to tell our Hivemother how much you absolutely love it, we don't normally have visitors to compliment all of our hard work--" Lazni stopped herself, running a hoof over her chin. "Actually, we never have visitors here to compliment anything. Well, until now!"

Giving herself a little shake, Lazni dropped altitude and turned to face multiple drones, gesturing upwards at the visiting hive. "These poor drones are starving, hurt, and dirty. Have a cavern prepared for them with food and treatment for their wounds." Lazni gave a little nod to encourage the drones, and several of them shot off in different directions, heading down tunnels.

Lazni turned back to face Pupae and her hive in time to see their group collectively dropping to eyelevel with her, Pupae at their front. Pupae gave a nod, showing she was prepared to go. Nodding back, Lazni shot off towards the lower levels, stopping just short of a sloping tunnel that led towards the Hivemother's chambers. Pupae landed smartly behind Lazni, several drones landing less than graciously around her.

"I am curious, before I meet your Hivemother-- what should I expect?" Pupae asked, putting on a brave face and preparing to soldier forward.

"Oh, she is very kind! She is the best Hivemother that has ever lived." Lazni grinned, leading Pupae forward.

"I would also ask what your rank is in this hive before we meet her." Pupae trotted slowly, as if she was suddenly not so eager to meet Queen Lalartu.

Lazni stopped, pointing at herself uneasily. "Infiltrator."

A few moments of uneasy silence lasted, and then the group slowly began to move forward. Lazni could feel Pupae's eyes staring her over, studying her with unusual interest.

"You don't look like an infiltrator." Pupae said. "At least not like the others I've seen. Do you serve any other roles?"

Lazni flattened her ears, biting her tongue and trying to think of a way to courteously redirect the conversation. This was not a talk she liked having and certainly least of all one she would tolerate with someone she had just met.

"The little Changelings must be taken care of, and it must by those who have free time." Lazni murmured, picking up her pace.

""A nurturer?" Pupae suggested.

"Yes that!" Lazni latched onto the word.

Pupae raised her brow a bit, but let the topic go as the chambers of Queen Lalartu began to open up. Lazni could hear Pupae gulp as she looked across the room at Queen Lalartu. The Hivemother had what was really more of a lounging chair than a throne, and many drones still surrounded her, some of them playfully tugging or braiding her mane while others simply rubbed against her side or hooves.

"Hello." Lalartu said, staring down at Pupae. Lazni looked between the two of them and then stepped forward, bowing to her mother.

"Hivemother, I present Queen Pupae of Hive Pupae, Daughter of Queen Chrysalis." Lazni stayed bowed, peeking one eye between her four legs to look back at Pupae. Pupae seemed to have gained some courage, but not nearly what she had before entering the hive. Lazni could understand being fearful-- after all, the Hivemother could surely be as terrible as she was great if there was a threat to the hive.

Not that Pupae would need to worry about that. After all, she wasn't the threat in the room.

Princess Prominence

Queen Pupae took center stage, striding past Lazni and approaching Queen Lalartu. Lazni smiled between the pair as they exchanged neutral glances at each other, both queens trying to size up the other. Queen Pupae was short, her legs and hooves having a thinness that made each potmark more pronounced. She resembled a teenager that had grown an extraordinary amount in a short period of time and had not been able to afford clothes to keep up with the spurts. This was in stark contrast to Queen Lalartu, who was comparable in size to that of Princess Celestia, if not greater. Her legs were free of potmarks above her shins, and her horn had only one halfcircle missing near the base.

"Queen Chrysalis's daughter." Lalartu said quietly, carefully and wisely considering her next words. "You are a long way from home, nymph." There was a stirring among Pupae's drones as they heard Lalartu speak. A few let out low, guttural hisses. Lazni closed her eyes, crossing one forehoof over the other as she stood up. Changeling queens typically did not coexist together, Lazni had repressed her fears that this meeting between the queens was going to be less than cordial. Every Changeling could feel emotions of the other like the scents in the air-- and uneasiness would have filled the entire hive with thick miasma.

"Excuse me, Mother," Lazni stepped forward, glancing uneasily at Pupae. The foreign queen had her mouth open for a retort, one that was no doubt unproductive. "This Hive is in a very poor-- condition. Queen Pupae, you should stick to pleasantries. We are thankful you are here."

Silence fell over the room as the group stared between each other. Lazni could feel emotions swirling within Pupae-- ones of apprehension and anger intensified by the slight against her.

Lalartu mused, looking down at the queen in front of her. "Yes, very well. They are weary from their journey." Lalartu nodded to the drones doting on her, letting them make their way down from her throne towards Pupae. Tense glances were exchanged between the drones of the different hives as they turned, making their way out of room. Lazni was halfway out with the rest of the drones when--

"Lazni." Lalartu's voice cut across the room like a knife. Lazni froze in place, slowly pivoting around and smiling at her Hivemother. Lalartu gestured for her to come closer, and Lazni did so-- each step causing a raisin feeling of apprehension to grip at her. Lalartu was the only changeling in the room to feel these emotions, but that only increased Lazni's worries-- she didn't like being away from the rest of the hive for long, even when it was required.

For a moment, both were silent-- merely letting their emotions speak. It was an empathetic link, and Lazni winced as she felt something twist at her insides. Yes, Lalartu seemed to be sugary, lovely, everything she wanted in a Hivemother, and underneath that was ice. The old queen had become very good at hiding the ice over the decades, but Lazni knew it was there. She knew that there was this tundra that went on forever inside her Hivemother, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

"You should not interrupt two queens when they are talking. You forget your place." Lalartu finally broke the silence. "Please tell me you didn't forget your manners in Equestria."

"No-- of course not, Hivemother." Lazni said quietly, leaning forward in a submissive kneel.

"You won't be punished-- you know you are far too important to me for that, but I want you to limit contact that you have with this Queen Pupae. I don't want her filling your head up with ideas." Lalartu, lowered her head lethargically, her eyes glaring out at Lazni.

"Yes... of course, Hivemother." Lazni's voice was only a whisper now.

"Go to the second floor, spend some time with the newest members of our family. See if any are suitable for specialization." Lalartu nodded for Lazni to leave, and she turned and ran from the room, eager to escape the leer of her mother.

Lazni did not immediately report to the second floor of the hive, and took her time composing herself before she went in. Young drones were often curious of the world around them-- the new sights, smells, and feelings that they'd be experiencing could be easily contaminated and cause irreparable damage. Many years ago, it had been the duty of Queen Lalartu to take a few weeks and rear the drones, but she was far to "busy" and far too old for this now.

Lazni tilted her head as she went down a wide hallway, stepping under curtains of very thin gossamer material. The wide hallway had opened up into a spacious cavern that had walls, a ceiling, and much of it's floor covered in a thick green goo. It was thinner than mucus, but not by much. In the center of the room was some rough furniture that had been created from the same material as the goo, but had been hardened to a crystalline kind of structure. There were a three lounging chairs and a table, and standing behind these was a tired looking young Changeling. She stood taller than most Changelings, with long, wavy golden orange and red hair that was complimented with golden highlights. She looked up as Lazni entered and smiled, her tired expression relaxing.

"Lazni." she said simply, moving forward and offering a hug. Lazni quickly accepted, snuggling herself against the neck of her friend.

"Princess Prominence." Lazni said warmly, patting her on the back before pulling away and looking around. There was another hallway leading deeper and sloping downward. Lazni pointed over at it and Prominence nodded.

"We have four this time, but they're all mostly well behaved." Prominence whispered.

"Only four?" Lazni's ears drooped. "Prominence, we're going to lose far more than four drones this year at least. We need more than four new drones a year."

"It's noted, Lazni. We know that." Both of them tightened their jaws at the same moment and nodded, proceeding on the downward slope together.

"Why did Hivemother not request more?" Lazni kept her voice cool and controlled, breathing slowly and trying to hide the tension this was causing her.

"We can talk about it later. Compose yourself." Prominence ordered. Lazni took a deep breath and nodded, looking straight ahead as the slope leveled out and the two of them entered into a large cavern. Long expired bio-lamps hung from the ceilings, failing to illuminate a floor covered with scars from a century of playing and dancing as young drones learned about their world. That had been before Lazni's time however, and she had no firsthand recollection of the cavern's glory days. Tall ceilings caked with hardened residue from long neglected liquid lamps lay on the floor, the strong resins that once attached them to walls or ceilings having lost their elasticity. In the far corner however there was light and warmth. Lazni could make out the shadows of the new drones sitting together, still dwarfed by the discarded cocoons attached to the walls that once contained them.

When the two had drawn close, Prominence cleared her throat, pulling herself up to her full height. The drones apparently had not heard them approaching, and quickly jumped to their hooves. They were still unsteady when upright, and Lazni could see some soft spots on their shells around the bellies and joints where their chitin had not fully formed. All four were unmistakably common drones, the kind that would be doing all of the day to day labor for the hive. Their eyes were bright but very washed out, having only faint purple hues like all of Lalartu's drones did. Three were short, barely more than larva, while the other was taller and lankier.

Prominence gave them a nod, turning and patting Lazni on the shoulder. "Take it easy for a few days, Hivemother is running you ragged." Prominence turned back to the drones and gave them an approving nod before heading back into the gloom of the cavern.

Lazni gave the drones a smile, brushing the back of her head. Normally she worked with drones from the moment they came out of their cocoons, with formal introductions to common drones being a process she was used to. Nodding to them, she stepped forward and let the light of the few lamps illuminate her fully so she could speak.

"Who are you?" One of the small drones asked innocently, a musical tone in their voice. Lazni gave a little laugh and grinned, lowering herself so that she was on eye level with the drone.

"Lazni, and we will be working on integrating into our hive over the next few days. If any of you have special talents in some area, then we'll spend a lot of time together. We all know where you are, right?" The drones all exchanged nods mechanically.

"Right well, could you tell me everything that Princess Prominence has taught?" Lazni asked. "It will help speed up the process if I know what has been taught so far!" The largest of the changelings shifted uncomfortably, sitting down on his bottom and looking at the smaller drones to see if they would speak. Lazni took a mental note of this behaviour, in case this particular drone continued to be uneasy.

"We learned about what to eat, grooming habits for our chitin, and-- to not poke each other in the eye." The drone looked a little downcast at the last bit, pointedly looking away from another sore drone.

"Princess Prominence told us some of the jobs we'll be performing, and mostly just helped us feel better while our-- this, grew. That's mostly it." The largest of the drones tapped his chest, which made a soft thunking noise from chitin smacking chitin.

Lazni nodded sagely, closing her eyes. She knew it was rare that they were informed of what would happen before they ascended, and breaking this news was never easy to them. Still Prominence had always had a charm about her that seemed to make it easier for new drones to accept their new life. "This-- this may be a traumatic experience, but the trauma will pass and you will find the greatest happiness and joy in this role."

"How do I find that joy? What do I do to find it?" Asked one of the small drones.

Lazni blinked in confusion, for this was such an obvious question to her that she never really thought about it. "Why-- well, that word is not used. That is part of how you will find your joy. Changelings, we don't say the word I or me to refer to ourselves. We are a collective, a family! We are always we."

The drones exchanged glances, then the same small one asked, "Why?"

Lazni was ready for this question, as she had answered it many times before. "It all goes back to the legend of why we exist. The story of the first Changeling."

None of the drones spoke, all of them leaning forward eagerly, waiting. Lazni grinned and cleared her throat. She had them right where she wanted them.

Long ago, there was a beautiful Princess. Her coat was ebony like the night sky, and her features immaculate. Despite her beauty, however, her lover turned her down. She was shunned by all of her hive. In the dead of the night, she ran away and blended in with the night. Above her, a comet passed by, and she heard a voice ask her why she was so sad.

The Princess explained that she was without friends or family, and wished that others were not chosen over her. She had always been passed over by others for some pony they deemed to be better than her. The comet then gave her a blessing-- the power to remove this pain from the world. The first Queen rose, and her eyes glowed bright in the night as she returned to her home. One by one, she converted every member of her hive to this new way of thinking.

With the great queen at the top-- the most beautiful, the most wise, and the most stunning, she created the happiest time in the world.

Lazni smiled as she finished her story, losing herself in the dreaminess of the short story's glory. Princess Prominence had taught her the full tale, and the romance of it was both invigorating and relaxing.

"Then what?" one of the drones asked.

Lazni backed up a little, having not anticipated this question. "Why-- the happiest time in the world lasted for as long as the queen reigned."

"Then what?" another drone gave Lazni a quizzical look.

"Then-- then..." Lazni trailed off, standing up. "Well, I think it might be easier to show you. Would you like to take a walk and get out of this old cavern?"

Lazni breathed a sigh of relief as the little drones let out a cheer of approval.

Prominence felt her knees nearly buckle when she was clear of the room with the young changelings. In truth she admired the strength and endurance of Lazni, something that she knew was far greater than her own. The Hivemother had been running both of them ragged with errands. Although Prominence had nearly had her fill, she kept her mind shielded and guarded, not daring to let other changelings pick up on her dissent. She knew well that the drones could not read her mind, but all changelings-- even those who do not share a hive, have a certain unbreakable empathetic link.

This link as of late had become more and more troublesome for the Princess. She stopped and sat down, resting in the central most cylinder and looking at the lava-lamp like biolamps. Several of her kindred buzzed past her, but she stayed distant, not meeting their bug eyes or any stares.

"Princess?" A voice chimed musically in her ear. Prominence barely was able to hold back a groan as she turned her head, rising from the floor to tower over a drone that had stopped next to her.

"Speak." She sighed, blinking her eyes a few times to wipe away some weariness.

"There is an-- issue with the guest hive." The drone squeaked.

"...Guest hive?" Prominence stared down at the changeling, bemused.

"The others who arrived earlier. They are requesting better quarters."

"Slow down," Prominence hushed the drone. "The guest hive, that's the hive that was approaching from the north? When did they arrive here? This is the first I am hearing of this."

"Only but two hours ago, Princess. Hivemother asked that we show them to quarters, but they are displeased." The drone looked earnestly upset, and Prominence gave a sigh, rubbing her head against his in a nuzzle.

"Shhh. I will go talk to them and handle this. Don't be concerned anymore. Can you lead me to their quarters?" Prominence asked. The drone gave a swift nod and hopped off one of the ledges that lined the main cylinder, Prominence following gracefully behind him. Rumors were not exactly something that spread slowly in a hive where every changeling knew each other, and once more Prominence found herself guarding her emotions.

The quarters for the Guest hive were going to be less than the best in the hive. Prominence couldn't deny that perhaps the worst parts of the hive had been given to them based on the empty biolamps, the rough walls that lacked any fine polish, and a floor that generally seemed to be covered in dust. It was not unlike entering the home of a recently deceased-- everything seemed to be still in it's proper place, but the spirit had departed.

When light glanced the faces of the Changelings once more, Prominence looked across a sloped cavern.at the far end were some abused looking drones who had huddled into a pile. Some of the worst were sleeping, but a few stayed alert, their eyes restless and drained. Near all her subjects was their queen, Pupae, who seemed to have finally let weariness overwhelm her.

"I don't believe we've met." Prominence said, strutting downwards and keeping her head held high. "You are the 'guest hive'?"

Pupae rose from the ground, letting out a sigh and nodding. "I am Queen Pupae, daughter of Queen Chrysalis."

"And I am Princess Prominence." Prominence announced, her eyes tracing over the squalor that the guest hive was living in. "You look pathetic. What happened to you?" Pupae gave a snort of disgust, but proceeded to explain how Queen Chrysalis did not return after the attack on Canterlot, and how she had fled to protect her small hive. Prominence stayed silent, asking for more information about what attack had been perpetrated. Pupae was quite forthcoming, telling the entire tale of the Canterlot Wedding and the events that had transpired afterwards. How Night Guard had been sent by Princess Luna to hunt down Changelings that might have escaped the blast that repelled them. How Chrysalis had tricked the Night Guard and managed to lead a counteroffensive before Equestria struck back-- and how she had, subsequently, never returned as she said she would. Realizing the worst, Pupae fled, and had found her way into the company of Lazni, who brought her to Hive Lalartu.

Prominence sniffed, a little irked that Lazni had not thought to share any of this with her earlier, but put the thought out of her mind for now. "A bit of a far fetched tale to say the least. I don't question it, but I question what you will do now."

"My drones need to recover their strength." Pupae said. "Which is why I am displeased by the quarters your Hivemother has given us. We will not be able to rest on rough floors without food or water. We would be better off leaving."

"Unfortunately we can't risk that. Your hive is in no state to travel and might be caught by ponies." Prominence said. "Drone, take this hive up to my quarters. See that they get some attention. You, Pupae, walk with me." Prominence pointed to the queen, trotting over to her and giving a jerk of her head towards the door. The two of them took the lead, the other changelings following from behind by either carrying or dragging themselves and fellows upwards.

"At least until Hivemother approves it, you will not be able to leave. You are not prisoners, but changelings cannot freely come and go from these lands.

"If we are going to be thrown into forgotten caverns and never be allowed to leave, how are we not prisoners?" Pupae demanded indignantly.

"I will see to it that you have food and water, and you will have my accommodations. For now, until you can be trusted to disguise yourselves and not leave behind traces that you exist, you will not leave. The locals ponies could react unpredictably to your appearance. "

"...How so?" Pupae queried.

Prominence sighed, entering back into the darkness of the hall that led to the sloped cavern. "The locals here worship Changelings as gods. They give us whatever we need, and in turn, they believe they are blessed. The foolishness of ponies never ceases to amaze me, but nevertheless it is our way of life here."

"You use them like cattle?" Pupae almost laughed. "Such Changelings powerful enough to enslave a population were considered a myth in my old hive.."

"They aren't slaves. They're worshipers cut off from the rest of the world by their remoteness. " Prominence said. "Almost every drone in this hive used to be one of those worshipers. As foals-- some are offered up every year to... as they would put it, ascend."

"You transform members of their youth to become Changelings?" Pupae shook her head. "Why? That is-- I understand it can be done, but it is unnatural, a last resort. Can this hive not do nothing in a traditional way?"

"No, we cannot." Prominence's voice was dark, telling Pupae she did not wish to continue this line of questioning. The two fell silent as they entered into the main cylinder, the motley few Changelings of Pupae's hive barely following along as Prominence led the way towards her quarters. The other denizens of the hive watched the parade with mixtures of disdain, hostility, and curiosity.Prominence was sure if she was picking up on this, then Pupae probably...

"Have we done something wrong?" Pupae asked finally, turning a corner into a tunnel that led towards Prominence's chambers. Prominence bit her lip for a few moments, trying to consider what she should say. It was the truth that so far as she knew, Pupae had done nothing wrong. However, it would be a lie if Prominence did not admit that she was caught of guard by the hostility the drones in her hive had shown towards wounded, sick changelings.

"I can seek an audience with the Hivemother, and then you will have your answer," Prominence said bluntly. "I cannot imagine that you have committed any serious crime, otherwise you would not be talking to me. Even if you have, we won't throw you away in some dungeon like those feral ponies in the north would."

Pupae was halfway to forming an answer when she gasped. They had finally reached Prominence's chambers, something that seemed almost out of place in a Changeling hive. Changelings were ones to keep objects for practical uses, and never be beholden to creature comforts. Prominence clearly was an exception to this rule, as rich rugs, fine silk banners, and even a full sized bed that looked as though it had been lifted from some noble's home and transplanted into this chamber marked a stark contrast to the rest of the hive.

"Do not allow your drones to chew up the rugs to banners, they took a lot of work to have done," Prominence mused, grabbing the corner of the center-most rug and pulling it back to create a bare space in the center of the room. She pointed to the drone that had followed her since the slopped cavern, waving them towards the door. "See to it that proper provisions are laid out for them. I must go speak with the Hivemother."

Sacred Lie

Princess Prominence strode though the tunnels of the hive, trying to ignore any drones buzzing past her. The drones was extra alert with the presence of another hive visiting, and Princess Prominence did not want to add to the slight disorder surrounding her. The soldiers with Queen Lalartu stood aside as Princess Prominence approached, allowing her to grace through the throne room and stop short of her mother, bowing before rising. Lalartu had her eyes half closed as a few drones played with her hair offering her everything from mane massages to constant nuzzles.

"Speak." Lalartu ordered quietly.

"Hivemother, I've just met with Hive Pupae, and I discovered them living in an abandoned part of our hive. They had no provisions whatsoever."

"And?" Lalartu asked.

"Why is this?" Princess Prominence asked. "I've never seen drones treated so poorly."

"Provisions will be taken to them later." Lalartu did not seem particularly concerned by any off this.

"...Hivemother, with all due respect, they are our guests. We owe them nothing but if they have been invited in, we can surely show them reasonable accommodation?"

"I have shown that nymph all the accommodation she deserves." Lalartu was pointed and obviously annoyed now. the drones around her had ceased their grooming, their eyes turning to look rather coldly upon Princess Prominence. "We have no reason to welcome the daughter of a runaway."

"Hivemother..." Prominence raised her brow as she was cut off.

"This is my final decision." Lalartu said. "They will stay in the abandoned caverns, and while they are here, they will work for everything we give them.

Lazni watched gleefully as the little drones before her gazed at the giant core of the entire hive. the large lava-lamp like bio-lamp cast glorious shades across the all of their young faces. giving them a nudge with her hoof, Lazni began to guide the drones up the path, leading them towards the dining chambers. The chittering of other drones could be heard echoing down the tunnel leading to the caverns, which would have been eerie for any non changeling with the mixture of light darkness.

Lazni had the little drones in front of her headed down the tunnel before she became aware of a presence behind her. She felt a sharp pang in her empathetic link-- one of unhappiness and-- anger. Lazni turned around, backing up at the sight of Princess Prominence standing in front of her. Her face looked fierce and angry, but she gave a nod for Lazni to continue. Lazni turned-- a tight squeeze inside the tunnel-- and hurried the younger drones along.

The eatery of the hive was a bit of a cluttered place. Green goo covered every wall, the substance being very gluelike and versatile. Lazni stopped the young drones before some of the green goo and ordered them to eat. turning away from the room, Lazni looked for Princess Prominence, who was sulking in the hallway. Lazni happily trotted over, trying to put on a smile and make it seem like everything was normal.

"Prominence, what's wrong?" Lazni asked.

"It's Hivemother." Prominence's voice leaked with scorn. "--The hive that came here. You didn't tell me about them. Do you know where they went after they got here and you came to see me?"

Lazni thought about this for a moment before shrugging. Prominence's face darkened. Lazni felt something sting her from the inside out-- Prominence had a deadly serious anger around her, one that caught Lazni very off guard. While Prominence had always been rather fiery, this deep anger in her eyes was an emotion Lazni associated with ponies-- not with her fellow Changelings.

"Princess Prominence... What's wrong?" Lazni asked.

"Lazni... I need to think." Prominence nodded over Lazni's shoulder. "Please, feed the new drones. I would like you to join me with them later. I must rest and think, join me in my chambers in a few hours."

Lazni raised her brow a bit. Prominence bit her lip and then quickly added, "Be prepared to go on a mission." Lazni turned away, nodding to her Princess an uneasily returning to the drones-- one of whom was already looking up curiously.

"What was that about?" The drone asked hesitatingly.

Lazni hushed the drone, shaking her head. "Unsure... but do not worry about it. We will find out soon enough. Come, let us go have a meal and then a short nap. After that we shall go see Princess Prominence together." Despite Lazni's words of a food and nap, she found little solace in eating or waking sleep as she stood sentinel next to the young drones. Something was very wrong with how Prominence when she had spoken earlier, and Lazni could not put herself at ease.

It was several hours later-- nighttime, as Lazni knew it-- when she arrived at Princess Prominence's chambers. Much of the rich decor that usually decorated the place was in tatters now. Bedsheets and rugs had been torn up into strips, most of which were being used as makeshift bandages by Pupae's drones that stocked the entire room. A single banner had been left untouched, and Prominence was in the process of carefully rolling it up and stowing it into a saddlebag.

"Prominence-- what is this?" Lazni asked, stopping dead at the entrance to the room and causing the drones behind her to bump into her hind legs. Prominence did not immediately look up from her work, but instead finished rolling up the banner and tucking it away before climbing onto her bed, nodding at Lazni to enter the room proper. Lazni did not budge, nervously scooting the drones behind her to the wayside in case she needed to run. This all seemed very odd...

"I have made the decision to leave Hive Lalartu." Prominence announced. Lazni let out a horrified shock, the only one from the crowd of changelings, all the rest of whom seemed unphased.

"Princess-- no, you cannot!" Lazni protested.

"I must and I will." Princess Prominence declared, jumping down from her bed and approaching Lazni. "Lazni, I would have you join me. I am leaving tonight with Pupae and her drones."

"But why!?" Lazni demanded, tears starting to soak into her eyes. She could feel ripples of fear from the drones behind her as confusion and panic swept across the room like waves, overwhelming the empathetic link they all shared. These feelings were met with equal responses of anger from Prominence-- not the kind that was white hot and burning out of control, but rather the smoldering of coals in a furnace, ready to burst to life anew at the slightest provocation. Lazni gulped, standing up straighter and doing her best to try and show some semblance of composure, hard as it was. She needed to be a source of comfort for the drones behind her, and not be a catalyst for Prominence's fury.

"Because this is a hive built on lies, and I can no longer abide by them. Lalartu would have let Pupae and her drones die before she would care for them. Look at them, they've shredded my bed for bandages." Prominence motioned to her destroyed quarters, a lick of fire spiking into her voice as she gave a hiss of displeasure. Lazni had observed this behaviour before in ponies who had their things taken or destroyed, but she found it odd that Prominence placed any real value on these material goods.

"Princess, how can you be sure? Hivemother promised us that she would take care of Hive Pupae." Lazni pleaded, hoping for some return to sanity in her superior.

"Hivemother lied," Prominence said shortly, advancing to Lazni with frightening haste. "Hivemother lies all the time. Lazni-- please listen to me. I know that you don't like this, I know you are having a hard time understanding-- but I need your skills. hive Pupae and Hive Prominence will both need your specialization to survive. Please help us."

Lazni took a step back, feeling the fiery eyes of Prominence burn past her chitin and into her soul. She glanced towards the drones laying on the ground, doing their best to mend their wounds and take care of their bodies for what was no doubt a long march ahead. A third emotion now washed over the room as Lazni focused on Hive Pupae, feeling them as she felt her own hive and Prominence. The first feeling was weariness, but even more deeprooted than this was hopelessness. they were all resigned to see, in their minds, the inevitable end of their queen and hive.

"Prominence, the skills you require are yours." Lazni nodded. "Changelings must look after their own.

"Indeed."

The hivemother's voice cut like a knife through the air. Lazni flipped around with a start as Prominence gave a hiss, sinking into an attack position like she was some manner of cat. The hall leading to Prominence's quarters was now blocked by countless soldiers, all of them sanding in front of the Hivemother, who gave a disapointed shake of her head towards Lazni and Prominence.

"I had hoped for so much more.: Lalartu looked down at her soldiers and gave a curt nod, stepping backwards and disappearing down the hallway as the guards advanced , fangs bared and mad hisses echoing from their jaws. Before any changeling could react, Prominence had lept past Lazni and the younger drones, her horn letting out a burst of brilliant flames in the face of the soldiers. Sparks flew from Prominence horn as she held a living flame in front of the doorway, impeding any advance by the soldiers, at least for the moment. Changeling chitin was a hardened shell, one that could allow those with thicker bodies to step through the fire. No sooner had one soldier bravely decided to test his luck than he let out a loud screech of pain.

Lazni's eyes snapped over to Pupae, who was now on her feet with what looked like a small spear of light held above her head. A similar weapon had just flown from in front of her, impaling the invading soldier and causing him to collapse into the flames, the fire licking at it's fuel hungrily. Lazni had to bite back bile rising up from her stomach as the urge to puke almost overtook her. She couldn't understand how things had gone bad so quickly. She wasn't even sure what Lalartu's order had been.

"Don't just stand there, dig!" Prominence yelled. "Dig a hole out of the hive!"

Lazni spun, watching as Pupae's drones tackled the far wall of the room, their gnarled hooves tackling the wall and ripping it down, their bloodied limbs beating on hard stone as they tried to carve a path out. Lazni lit her horn, giving herself light as she threw herself into the fray of hooves frantically trying to beat their way out of the hive. it was only seconds before she felt pain echoing through her carapace, jolts of pain rocking her head.Meanwhile, she could hear the sounds of fighting behind her. Prominence was hissing and snarling in ways that Lazni wasn't aware changelings could, a chorus of yells and screams from soldiers that tried to fight back echoing around her battle cry.

Minutes seemed to tick by, and Lazni turned, letting her hooves rest as she felt pain wrack her body. She wasn't built for this, not like the worker drones next to her. Prominence was now beginning to fade, and her living flames were now little more than a circle on the ground, enough to discourage the advance, but not enough to hold them forever. The air was thin, leaving Pupae, Prominence, and the younger drones gasping for air. Lazni hurried over to the young drones, trying to coach them up and towards the tunnel that had been created by Pupae's drones, but to her shock she felt fang greet her hoof. One of the drones had reached out and bit her, offering only a snarl. As little time as they had spent in the hive, they were already loyal to Lalartu.

Lazni wrenched herself away, feeling tears wash into her eyes as Prominence's flames failed. Several drones pulled themselves away from the tunnel and rushed to the front line, clashing with the soldiers as Prominence, Pupae, and Lazni withdrew into the tunnel together. the drones were now scratching and breaking up dirt-- they were close to the surface, but they weren't in the clear yet. Pupae's drones were butter before the soldiers' who had quickly pushed them back to the entrance of the tunnel. Lazni had stopped as she watched the horrible carnage, being able to see around the corner as the soldiers bore down on what she knew to be loyal young drones, destroying them without remorse.

"Cry later, dig now!" Prominence said, Grabbing a screaming Lazni and throwing her face into the dirt. Lazni tackled the dirt and mud with a broken heart, feeling Prominence slice into the soil right next to her. As the last of the drones failed, the feeling of mud and the sound of rain burst into the tunnel. the drones at the front scrambled to get out, Pupae stepping over several of them to hoist herself free of the mud sliding down the tunnel. Lazni could feel the ground filling her mouth as she stared up at a cloudy night, faint light appearing from Pupae's horn. Struggling to get any traction, Lazni reached for the light, trying to get free of the darkness below-- the dark soldiers of Lalartu, the sliding mud streaming in from all angles, and the blackness that was aching at the edges of her eyes. Lazni had never felt like this in her life-- the feeling of drowning while not underwater. the harder she reached to get out of the mud, the deeper she seemeld to slide under with the other Changelings.

Through the cracks that were her vision, Lazni saw a burst of light, and then a hoof reach down and grab hers, pulling her free. She still could not see very well, but a pair of hooves hoisted her out of the mud, tossing her aside onto a boulder located against the hill. Thunder filled the air once more, and then another great flash echoed through the world, showing the changeling soldiers and drones alike drowning in the landslide left behind. Ahead, a scant few drones lead by Pupae were striking out down the hill, trying to shake themselves free of mud as they made a break for nearby trees. Lazni gasped as she felt Prominence breathe in one of her ears, and the breath of a drone in her other ear echo past her. Lazni pulled free of both of them as she separated herself from the landslide, sticking close by the other two changelings as the slide down rocks towards the trees, very close behind the remnants of Pupae's hive.

The only sound louder than the death and rumble of thunder was the ceaseless licking of the rain as it stabbed the earth and anything in it's path towards joining the massive mudslide.

There was another rumble of thunder overhead as the group finally stopped to catch their breath, Prominence and Pupae both using their horns to check who was still with them. Lazni coughed, motioning angrily at Pupae and Prominence. "Ex-extinguish them!"

"Excuse me?" Pupae asked with hostility, her spirits clearly as low as everyone else's mood.

"Turn off the lights!" Lazni sputtered, gesturing at their horns. "There are many exits to the hive, if they follow-- they will see the lights!" Prominence and Pupae exchanged nods, dimming out their horns and letting darkness overtake the forest. Lazni felt her legs give out as she curled up against an inch of mud that made up the earth. She was freezing and not totally aware of her surroundings, but she knew that she and Prominence were in danger. All of them were in danger.

"Up, Lazni." Prominence said, her own legs buckling as she tried to pick Lazni up off the ground. "We can't stay here. They might find us. "

'In this weather? How do you-- know that? Without light they're as blind as we are." Lazni gasped, using her blurry vision to look at her surroundings. She was, in her heart of hearts, an infiltrator. She always told herself she had escaped from worse, but this time she really doubted that normally comforting thought. Grabbing at some leaves and a discarded branch, Lazni pulled Prominence against herself. Although Prominence was much larger and much stronger in almost every regard compared to Lazni, all of her energy had been spent on magic. her body gave out as she fell into the mud with Lazni, the latter using the branch to cover them up.

"Pupae!" Lazni called out, gesturing to the queen with a gnarled hoof to join them under the foliage. Pupae bit her lip, obviously turn. Lightning cracked as she turned to her drones, shouting some order that Lazni could see by the light, but not make out as the storm made her deaf. Pupae's drones turned and ran from the forest, leaving their queen to slide under the branches and leaves, sandwiching Lazni between herself and Prominence.

"I have sent my drones to get help. They will find some ponies and manipulate them." Pupae hissed over the screaming rain. "They'll say ponies were caught in the mudslide, ponies will assist us! Ponies fools like that!"

Prominence let out a cough as she grasped at her words, leaning close to Pupae and grabbing her so she could not pull away. Lazni only listened as she stared at the Princess and the Queen in front of her, both staring at each other with horrible venom. Prominence let out a shallow breath on berating her, "You are the fool, Hive Lalartu controls all the towns close by-- they'll be caught! You've sent them to their deaths!"

Manipulation

As bitter as it was for Lazni to think about it and equally bitter as it was for Pupae to accept it, Prominence had been right. Dawn was breaking when only two drones crawled back the forest, both worse for the wear and looking exhausted. They were barely holding together their pony disguises, which seemed to be all the strength they'd be able to muster. Lazni had estimated that at least a half a dozen drones had escaped the landslide, and yet now there stood only two of them, for a total of five changelings.

Lazni helped both of the drones settle down to rest for a moment, hugging them closely as they pointed in the direction of a settlement of ponies. Despite their work, both Lazni and Prominence had told them that they would have to go further south. All settlements were beholden to Hive Lalartu as gods, and the changelings from Lalartu would instantly pick them out in their current condition. Pupae did not seem happy about accepting this, but she would not have any measure of a hive if she took any more risks.

"Why must you shoot down every plan of action?" Pupae hissed, still cleaning mud and leaves off herself from the night sleeping next to Lazni.

"Perhaps it was your snoring that put me in a bad mood, I didn't sleep at all!" Prominence sniped back. "We can't rely on established settlements because they are all beholden to Hive Lalartu. Our best hope is to find some traders and pose as mares, get them to take us in and then rob them for all they can give.

"Oh yes, a robbery on the highway, I'm sure that won't draw any attention." Pupae rolled her eyes, leaving Lazni to groan as she listened to the two bicker their guts out. Pupae was busy fussing over her mane, trying to get it clean despite being unable to cleanse dried mud from the locks of hair. Prominence meanwhile looked like some veteran of trench warfare, wearing her mud and leaves proudly over her chitin.

"By the time Lalartu will have heard about the robbery via a settlement, we can be ten leagues away. They will not be able to simply pursue us in the open, they will not risk revealing themselves as less than gods to their subjects. You can stay here and wait to be found, and try taking your chances with Lalartu after half her soldiers drowned in a mudslide, with most of your hive I might add, or you can accept my plan and we can escape.

Both changelings narrowed their eyes, Pupae scoffing and giving a short nod. "I will assist you in this manipulation, but do not assume that I like this, or that we are partners in any way. We have a bargain for the moment and nothing more."

"I wouldn't have this any other way." Prominence turned, beckoning for Lazni to follow her. Lazni pulled herself free of the mud and leaves, sticking close to Prominence's side as she led the way, keeping low to the ground and creeping through the treeline and brush as the five slowly made their way forward, leaving Hive Lalartu behind them and encroaching on one of the many roadways that littered the territories south of Equestria.

Before any of them left the brush, Pupae, Prominence, and Lazni all took on separate pony forms. Pupae largely resembled her mother in a pony body, although one head shorter and with a fairer coat. Prominence had a long mane that shifted into being a full and thick pony mane, complimenting her amber body and making her seem like she was the heart of a newborn fire. Lazni simply adopted a white coat and kept her other features the same, save for making them look like a pony's body parts would. Each of them kept their own eyecolours-- Pupae and her drones were green, Prominence had flaming yellow-red eyes, and Lazni 's eyes had become a glassed-over purple.

While they would have all been quite pretty fillies, being covered from tail to mane in mud and sticks somewhat ruined the charm. Despite the concerns with being spotted, none of them protested against dipping into a stream by the roadside. Lazni was fairly sure that none of them could fly with the mud caked onto them, so at least if it became necessary to run, they'd have the ability to do so after a bath.

From the moment that Lazni stepped in the water, she suddenly felt very off. Pupae and her drones waded off in the stream, both of them washing each other and their queen clean. Bathing was very much a communal thing among drones that Lazni had observed both in other hives and participated with in her own. It was rare that a drone bathed alone, and if ever given the chance, would jump at the opportunity to clean their Hivemother. The sudden distance of the life Lanzi had known seemed to crash into her shell with every pulse of the stream, sending her consciously swirling away with the water. She did not recover from this sense of loss until she felt Prominence pull on her mane, peeking around to look her in the eyes.

"Lazni, what's wrong?" Prominence asked. Lazni gave a little shake of her head, blinking at the Princess and giving an uneasy shrug.

"I guess I'm still shocked about-- everything. Everything that happened last night. I just..." Lazni felt herself sit down in the riverbed, Prominence swiftly sitting by her side and reaching for one of Lazni's hooves. Prominence's hooves were gentle and surprisingly smooth now that the water had washed mud off of them. She had the ability to be quite tender with her hooves, contrary to her otherwise fiery personality.

"I know, it's a lot to deal with, isn't it?" Prominence asked rhetorically, petting Lazni's mane and side while she began to use water to wash away the grime. Rather than fight for the right words, Lazni gave Prominence a nod of thanks, keeping her head low as she watched the water. Although the sky was quickly becoming overcast and threatening another storm, the water still produced a shimmering reflection of Pupae and her drones. Both drones were carefully working to remove twigs and grime from Pupae, most of her chitin already shining again like she had never slept in the mud. Although the other two tireless drones were not as muddy as their queen, Lazni could vaguely sense strands of misery from the two through the empathetic link. Their energy was long sense spent, and it was merely the will to survive and love their Queen until the end that kept them standing. As muck from Lazni's body clouded the stream and blocked out the picture, she continued to worry about it in her mind, trying her best to paint a positive picture of Pupae. Surely she could sense their sadness and it troubled her? But even if she could, perhaps she wasn't sure what she could do about it.

"There." Prominence announced, gesturing to the stream. "Swim a little bit and rinse out the last bits and you should be clean, Lazni. I'm going to ... fight with my own mane now."

"Oh, no, Princess-- please, let me help you with your mane." Lazni protested, shaking out of her mental worries in alarm. she had totally neglected Prominence while she was trying to figure out the machinations inside Pupae's head.

"No, I can do this myself." Prominence said, already ducking into the stream and wading away from Lazni, "There will be other chances for you to wash my mane."

Lanzi gave Prominence a smile with a slight shake of her own head. She knew Prominence was so much more fun when she was relaxing, not that any of them had possessed much time to relax lately. Lazni accepted that she wasn't going to be able to sway Prominence once her mind was made up, and instead ducked into the water, moving slowly through the opaque stream towards Pupae and her two drones. Pupae looked up curiously, watching Lazni join them. Lazni felt a wave of apprehension splash on her as she emerged, sitting up and facing the other three from deeper in the water. She wasn't exactly sure what her relationship to Pupae was. Certainly they had needed each other to survive the other night, but now it was the next day.

"Pupae, how long do you think we will be traveling together?" It was a measured question on Lazni's behalf. Pupae was still a foreign entity, and while all of them had no choice except to trust one another at the moment, There was no telling how long that moment would last.

"As long as we need each other." Pupae remarked, brushing her chin. "Once we are safe enough from Hive Lalartu's immediate reach, I intend to begin construction off my own hive. My drones who died by her orders will be avenged. It is my hope that we will remain together for some time." Pupae interrupted herself with a giggle, glancing snidely over at Prominence. "Perhaps in time you and your Princess will call me 'Hivemother,' after Lalartu has paid for her tricks, of course."

"You are overplaying your hand, Pupae." Prominence said from under her mane as sh worked out a nasty twig. "I do agree we will find safety and then have revenge, but you will never be leader of a hive in this land."

"Oh, and why is that?" Pupae's teeth sparkled as she gave a luring smile to Prominence.

Prominence's eyes flickered under her mane as she drew it back, looking a little unhinged due to her wet mane and the grime still running down her face. "Because I am going to become known as Queen Prominence, and this land is not big enough for two hives!"

Lazni let out a groan, sinking further into the water and regretting ever starting this line of conversation. Unfortunately, Pupae took notice of this and decided to capitalize on the situation.

"While I love the mental picture of you laying eggs and hatching drones, Prominence, the real power here is actually with Lazni."

"What!?" Lazni and Prominence said.

"Lazni-- you are exceptional, no doubt, and we do need your skills and knowledge--" Prominence said, trailing off by the end.

"And it is because of this that you will be very valuable in training new drones. Queens are experts at nurture, but rarely in subterfuge of your aptitude." Pupae had turned her eyes from Prominence to Lazni during this talk. Lazni could feel the world closing in around her, the stream suddenly claustrophobic as her mind frothed from the use of bigger and bigger words mixed with fresh stress. Why couldn't these two just get along? Or...

Lazni stopped as a thought occurred to her. She could make them work together.

"Neither of you will get help unless you stop fighting!" Lazni cried out, splashing in the water and glancing between Prominence and Pupae. Both Pupae and Prominence leaned back a little, surprised by the sudden cry that accompanied Lazni's flailing. "I will help both of you as best I can, but only if you stop fighting and work together. R-Remember, you need my aptitude."

"Yes, your 'aptitude,' we will call it." Prominence flicked at the water with her own hoof before turning and laying down, letting her hair float around her head as the last clumps of dirt began to wash away. Pupae only gave a nod to Lazni, marking her begrudging agreement.

After being freshly cleaned, the Changelings set their course southbound on the nearby road, leading away from Hive Lalartu. The sun overhead was barely able to show it's face, which suited everyone fine. It was a cool and crisp day, more akin to a fall rain than a summer storm. Lazni had been soaking up her favorite kind of weather when Pupae's voice drew her out of the moment.

"So, we still haven't found any traders to rob, as you plan to do." Pupae stated, keeping a disgruntled gaze on the sky for any pegasus ponies or changelings that might be flying.

"Afraid of something?" Prominence asked, quickly adding, "and I don't mean you looking at the sky, I mean the lack of any intelligent life. Trust me, this is normal. Most towns like to keep to themselves, and the hills and mountains are so isolating that nopony else attempts to make them do otherwise." Prominence made a wide gesture towards the landscape, a great earthen bowl swallowing many smaller bowls.

"That will serve as an advantage to us, then." Pupae noted. "If we can make it over some of these mountains, we will at least be clear of Lalartu's immediate wrath."

"But not too far away to strike back." Prominence's voice smoldered as her gaze drifted from Pupae over to Lazni, who had been silently listening to their conversation, but averting her eyes to avoid being drawn in. She feared that perhaps their talk would turn into another fight, and she didn't want to play peacekeeper all day.

"Lazni," Prominence said, hesitating for a second, then pointed eastward. "What would be the closest settlement over those mountains?"

"Ah, so that's the true reason why you are so insistent that she survive." Pupae mocked. "Did your mother not teach you geography?"

"She did actually." Prominence glowered at Pupae darkly, turning away from her and facing Lazni, awaiting a response.

Lazni had to think about this for a moment. In all honesty she wasn't sure the name of the settlement close by, but she knew there was a small town at the base of the mountains, however... "The nearest settlement that I am aware of is on this side of the range, right at the base of the mountains. I'm not sure about the other side."

Prominence gave a tsk, but nodded in acceptance.

"Perhaps we can procure a map and supplies in that town before we try to cross some mountains?" Pupae suggested, her voice simply waiting for Prominence's inevitable negativity.

"It's out of the questi-" Prominence started, but Lazni cut her off.

"We'll blend right in." Lazni said. "If we just stop in and buy a map to the other side of the mountain, we'll look like tourists. Even better, I bet we can find a map with trade routes or paths over the mountain. We could watch those routes and easily find some ponies to take supplies from."

Pupae held her head up smugly, challenging Prominence to defy the group's logic. Prominence gave a controlled nod, obviously displeased about being overruled. "I don't like it, but I don't have a better plan. How do you intend to pay for this map?"

Pupae opened her mouth, and then closed it, a curious expression on her face. "Why would we buy the map? We can just take it."

"And then the town's guards are going to be called, and we'll definitely cause a scene escaping. Just wait until one of Lalartu's drones hears about this. She'll send the swarm to scour the countryside."

Pupae waved her hoof at Prominence's argument. "I believe I can handle this. Follow my lead, Princess, and I will show you that you don't need to set everything on fire to get your way."

Still in full disguises, Lazni and Prominence followed Pupae into the pony settlement, which they had learned was called Three Hooves. Lazni judged that based on the bronze statues erected near major streets, this name might have come about from the town's founder-- for whom his amputated limb was certainly among his better features. Lazni came to a stop right beside one of the statues as a pony jumped out in front of Pupae, an array of gadgets and trinkets showing under his oversized coat.

"May I interest you in some charms? Something to make your luck stay with you?" The pony asked. Pupae lit her horn and effortlessly pushed the pony back into the alley they had appeared from, her face twisting in annoyance. there was a thump as the pony tumbled into some dirt and mud, the air filling with his cursing. Lazni put some extra speed in her hoofsteps, following after Pupae before the pony could recover and vent his spleen.

"That was unnecessary." Pupae told herself. Lazni was fairly sure that pupae was referring more to the pony approaching her rather than her aggression towards him, but she wasn't about to test Pupae in the middle of a street.

The group wound up and down the streets until they finally came across a store that fit Pupae's desires. Although they had passed many general stores, Pupae had waited to decide on one until she had found the highest costing and most deserted of them all.

"Drones," Pupae hissed, starting towards the door. "There are curtains tied back by the windows. Use these and obscure the windows. Lazni, once we are all inside please lock the door."

Lazni raised her brow at this, but nodded to Pupae as she pushed open the front door and stepped inside. Although Lazni was not fluent in the mathematics or written languages of ponies, the shop Pupae had picked was clearly an oddity. Every shelf was crammed with objects that had been painted gold and encrusted with crystals or fake gemstones. there was a large section for maps, but it was roped off with long numbers on every price tag. Lazni caught Prominence's gaze and found that they both had the same expression on their face-- fascination at how such a store was able to stay open in this town.

With a little click, Lazni magically locked the door behind her, looking for the storekeeper. The curtains in front fell, darkening the room . Pupae's ear twitched as she heard a floorboard upstairs creak. Pupae was already on this however, and strode across the store towards a set of stairs that would lead up to a loft above the storefront. Prominence magically slid away the rope on the map section, grabbing the least sparkly satchel she could find from a nearby shelf. Lazni glided to the Princess's side, beginning to pour over the maps and look for one a local one. While there were not too many options to choose from, they both had no way of knowing how long Pupae would keep the shopkeeper distracted.

"This one." Prominence said, holding up a map that looked like it belonged to some general. It had a lot more detail than was truly needed, and seemed beyond just the territory that Lazni had known as home.

"It's a little big, don't you think?" Lazni asked. Prominence already had an oaken tube out, using her magic to tightly roll up the map and stuff it in.

"We're going to need it." Prominence assured her, fixing a lid to the top of the tube and then burying it in her new satchel. "Go fetch Pupae, and then we leave this town. I cannot stand it here, the smell is unbearable." Lazni wrinkled her nose, sniffing at the air. She had spent so much time close to ponies to observe before reporting back to the hive that she had mostly gone deaf to the smell of ponies, a luxury she had forgotten the others likely did not have.

"Right, of course." Lazni nodded, turning away from the maps and following in Pupae's hoofsteps. Pupae could make out odd flashes of light from the hallway at the top of the stairs, and carefully crept up, glancing over the floor level to see what was going on. Pupae was sitting on the ground, her changeling from revealed in all it's glory. the shopkeeper, a rather sleezy looking fat stallion, had his eyes locked into Pupae's eyes. Pupae coyly rubbed the stallion's chin, patting his flabby cheek.

"Time to leave, Lazni?" Pupae asked without turning around or breaking eye contact with the pony.

"Uh, yeah." Lazni mumbled, more enthralled with the pony than why she had come up here in the first place. "What exactly are you doing to it?"

"My mother taught me lots of tricks. This is mind control." Pupae gave a loud clap of her hooves, causing Lazni to jump slightly. The storekeeper fell to the floor, appearing to be asleep.

"Hypnosis? That's..." It was pretty incredible, is what Lazni had planned on saying, but Pupae shook a hoof at her.

"No, no. Hypnosis only works with voluntary targets. Mind Control has no such requirement." There was a flash of green fire, and once more Pupae stood before Lazni in her disguise, her hooves regally descending the stairs. Lazni followed behind her, her mind wandering about what other powers Pupae might possess that she had not shared yet.

Counter-Ambush

Lazni, Pupae, and Prominence quickly stepped out of the back door, trotting through the sputtering of rain. The storm above did not look ready to break, but some of the heavier clouds were beginning to dampen the pavement. This was not, however, enough to say any of the Changelings from their course. the drones closed the back door behind them, following their queen like lost ducklings as Pupae lead the way back to the main roads. None of them broke the silence between their group until they were well outside of Three Hooves. Prominence summoned up the map she had stuffed away and looked it over with glee, pointing out the name of the town they were headed to, which was labeled "Raspberry Creek". Pupae slowed her pace to gaze at the map as well, although it was with a more somber expression.

"This is useful, but it doesn't appear to have trade routes on it." She remarked coolly.

"It does, they're just really small." Prominence pointed to barely legible lines on the paper. before too many drops of rain could threaten he map, Prominence rolled it up and tucked it away again.

The group started up a hill as Pupae gave a huff, looking ahead on the path with narrowed eyes. "Where do we set up our ambush, Prominence? I'm certain you are fine with your canteen, but myself and my drones must drink." Lazni pulled her eyes away and gazed at Prominence and the drones. Prominence had the top of her canteen open, allowing it to collect little bits of rainwater. The drones had a similar idea, except they had their heads tilted back and were trying to gather what few drops of water would land in their maws.

"Oh they'll get their water. Shame they aren't hardier like myself or Lazni though." Porminence said.

Pupae turned from Prominence, cocking her head at Lazni. "Speaking of. Why are you not thirsty or hungry in some manner, Lazni?"

Lazni was prepared to answer this question, as it was not the first time she had been addressed about her abilities. "infiltrator type drones are better optimized to retain water and food, kind of like the camels across the ocean. We can go for days before we need to fill up again."

"What-- what is a camel?" Pupae asked. Prominence looked equally puzzled.

"Uh, perhaps the next town will have an almanac. Then we can look for a picture of one." Pupae and Prominence exchanged a confused glance but dropped the subject, pushing on up the hill.

"The matter of camels aside," Pupae announced, "You still haven't told me where we'll set up this ambush, Prominence."

"Look for a ridge. These paths become treacherous the higher up we go. We'll look for a weak caravan and then surround them on both sides. Unless the ponies pulling the wagon want to jump to their deaths, we'll be able to take what we please." Prominence gestured to the mountains ahead, where vague paths appeared on bald patches in the forest. "Lazni and the drones will wait for the group to pass them, and then we will appear in the front. Most wagons in these areas do not have more than three or four ponies, so as long as we pick a secluded trader we will succeed."

Lazni turned her nose up at a leaf tickling her cheek. On either side of her were Pupae's drones, ready to jump out as soon as she did. Further up the road Prominence and pupae were sitting in a delicate silence. Lazni had laid the branches and leaves down so that they would all be covered, yet still have a view of the road. Although it was more likely that they would hear the ponies before they saw them, Lazni was not content with jumping blindly out of the bushes.

The sun was setting by the time Lazni finally heard noise. She had nearly fallen asleep waiting, but her ears perked up with concern at the noise of wagon wheels. Two ponies were trotting up the path, and could not be more than a minute or two from the ambush. Patting the drones next to her, Lazni gave them nods to make sure they were ready. Both drones had somewhat dim eyes, but nodded, showinjg they were ready to follow Lazni's lead.

The forest was not silent-- the wagon wheels made a great deal of noise whenever they smacked into rocks in the trail, and the misting from earlier had turned into a spitting drizzle of rain-- enough to keep the ground wet but not turn it to mud. Lazni could do nothing more than blink and breathe in as quietly as possible, waiting for the right moment.

The wagon passed in front of Lazni and the drones, An earth stallion and a unicorn stallion pulling the wagon, while a pegasus and another unicorn rested in the coach. All three of the Changelings held their breath as the wagon went past...

The world moved very quickly for the next few seconds. The wagon stopped as if it had been expecting to be halted the moment that Pupae and Prominence emerged from the scrubs. Lazni and the two drones scrambled out from their hiding place in the brush, blocking any retreat that the caravan might try to consider. All five Changeling were camouflaged as grass green ponies with dark manes.

"Get off the wagon!" Pupae demanded of the ponies.

"We want your things not your lives." Prominence decreed, stepping forward towards the ponies, who still looked unphased. Lazni felt apprehension grow inside her as she looked over the wagon and the lack of responses from the ponies. Even if they weren't scared of banditry, surely they would have produced weapons by now. Something was off, but lazni couldn't pick out what it was.

"As you wish." One of the pegasi said, hopping down from her spot in the coach. There was a flash as Pupae aimed her mind control spell at the pony, but strangely, it just seemed to bounce away, falling harmlessly into the surrounding air and disappearing. Pupae's look of shock was more than enough for Lazni to figure out what was wrong.

"Trap!" Lazni yelled out, taking a step back as the curtains on the back of the wagon were flung open. The inhabitants of the wagon quickly dropped their guises, their flesh melting away in fire to reveal their real form. there was a burst of light as Prominence summed a fiery whip, striking out towards the wagon and the ambushers it contained.

"Don't set the thing on fire, you witch!" Pupae screamed, locking hooves with what had formerly been the second pegasus in the coach. No less than 8 Changelings had revealed themselves now, and while two of them were trying to work their way out of harnesses, the other six were throwing themselves their would be attackers. Each of Pupae's drones was fighting two soldiers drones who had rushed from the wagon, while Prominence began shooting fire at her assailant-- who unlike the other drones, was a lesser Princess. Lazni was certain she recognized her, but she couldn't remember her name.

Lazni, for her part, was unsure what to do. She had no problem attacking ponies, but now she was going to fight her own kind? No, she couldn't. She wouldn't. Lazni felt her hooves back her up, retreating her from the combat as the soldiers began to overwhelm Pupae's drones, pushing the latter into the ground and beginning to pummel their chitin, just waiting for it to grow weak enough that it would snap open.

"Lazni, get down!" Prominence's cry came from above the wagon and Lazni obeyed, ducking and rolling backwards down the ridge. There was a burst of light as Prominence landed between the struggling drones, sending two waves of flame directly into their attackers. The two attackers on the inside took the full force of the blast, their lives flashing away as Prominence roasted them alive. This sudden loss coupled with Prominence joining the fight was enough to allow Pupae's drones to regain their footing, fighting evenly now with the singed soldier drones still left alive.

Looking out from between her hooves, Lazni could see Pupae kick a changeling down the ridge, loud crunching noises echoing after the fallen combatant. However, the two soldier drones that had been in harnesses were now free, and were it not for Prominence rejoining the fight, Pupae looked nearly overwhelmed by her three foes. There was a crack of fire as Prominence fell like a demon, her whip wrapping around one o the soldier's legs and pulling them into the ground. Her hooves and horn were now coated in living flame, each one repeatedly slamming into any nearby targets she could reach.

Lazni had no idea where Prominence had learned to fight like this, but she was certainly glad that she had. The struggled seemed to end no sooner than it had begun, All of the soldiers laying dead from cracked chitin, smashed bodies, and Prominence's flames. Only the lesser Princess was conscious now, laying on her side and breathing heavily as Prominence presided over her.

"Let us be done with this." Pupae panted, stepping over towards the defeated princess. Prominence however, raised a hoof, motioning for Pupae to back away.

"How many more were with you?" Prominence demanded, grabbing the changeling and pushing her up against the wagon.

"sshk... Just us." The changeling coughed. "The others will find you, Princess Prominence."

"That remains to be seen." Prominence released the changeling, allowing her to slide to the ground. "Lazni, check the wagon for supplies."

Lazni sprung to her hooves, happy to have something to look at that wasn't the ground or the carnage.Poking her head inside, Lazni appraised the belongings. Whomever this wagon had belonged to before, they seemed to have not had a chance to collect any of their belongings. Along with supplies for a several days trip, there were various personal items like photographs, brushes, clothes for colder weather. The necessities aside, There were many boxes that contained fabrics and dyes-- the goods that the merchants were planning to peddle.

"There are some spare canteens and pony food in here, along with cloth and dyes!" Lazni called out. She heard a thud as Prominence lifted the Princess again, slamming her into the side of the wagon.

Lazni could not make out what Prominence said, but the next moment she heard the sound of Prominence dragging the Princess against the wagon. Lazni turned around to see the changeling deposited onto the floor at her feet, scorch marks covering her chitin and the entire creature looking simply worse for the wear.

"Throw out a box of cloth, any will do." Prominence panted. Lazni pushed one of the boxes past the changeling on the floor, letting it fall off the wagon and onto the ground.

"Pupae-- can your drones pull this wagon?" Prominence asked. "They can have water and then we move."

"They are not yours to abuse, Prominence." Pupae scoffed, looking curiously at the cloth. "They can pull it for a time, but not all the way to the next town."

"I guess we'll be taking turns with them then. Wrap some cloth around your hooves too." Prominence began pulling out rolls of cloth and handing them to the drones and Pupae. "Lazni, get us that water and then tend to our prisoner here. We need to get moving as fast as we can."

Lazni hurried the supplies forward, passing out canteens to the others as they began to drink up like they'd never had water in their lives. It was not more than a few minutes before they had consumed all of the water, the empty canteens tossed back into the wagon for refilling whenever they found clean water again. Lazni stayed inside of the wagon, not wanting to look at the remains of the battle outside. Following urging from Prominence, she and Pupae hooked up the wagon to the drones and began to go on their way, slowly lugging along the ridge. The changelings in the coach and pulling hte wagon disguised themselves again, posing as simple traders.

Once they were safely moving along, Prominence ducked into the wagon, looking over what was inside and looking conflicted.

"What's wrong, Prominence?" Lazni asked.

"We'd move a lot faster if we dump everything in this wagon that we don't need. I'm sure these merchants have some money hidden in these boxes somewhere, but other than that, we don't have anything. We may need to buy things from ponies in order to survive."

Lazni nodded, already aware of where Prominence was going with this. "But if we don't dump this stuff, then we might get found by Changelings who see... the battlefield."

"That was hardly a battlefield." Prominence murmured, inspecting the boxes with conflict ion. "Whatever qualms you have, you need to move past them. There will be far worse battles to come, with many more causalities." Prominence grew quiet, then knelt down, holding up the face of the defeated looking prisoner.

"Do you have a name?" Prominence asked them.

"--No. No name." The changeling whispered.

"A nymph without a name. Well, you are lucky that you were the one who found us, nymph. You can be of use to me."

The nymph shook her head, backing away. "No-- traitors to the Hivemother will be destroyed."

"She's hardly your Hivemother." Prominence mused. "Rest. We will not hurt you further if you don't resist. I have plans for you, so take care of yourself." Prominence dropped the changeling's chin, letting her drop back to the floor. "Keep an eye on her Lazni. I will speak with her later."

Raspberry Creek

The travel over the mountains had thankfully gone without incident. Prominence and Pupae had taken turns with the drones in pulling the wagon over the mountains. however, in the two days it had taken to cross from Three Hooves towards the new town, Lazni had been watching the shift in the weather. Although fresh water was available and dehydration was no longer a primary concern, a new force of nature had emerged to threaten them. The skies were no longer threatening storms, but the beginning of winter snow.

Lazni was quite sure that when they reached the next town, which was little more than an outline on the horizon, that they could easily replace a family living in the town in order to have a place to stay warm. Prominence and Pupae were breathing easy for now, but Lazni knew that the spies of Hive Lalartu would eventually discover them in this new town. Lazni had been one of these spies before, and it was never a question of if they could find something; only when they would find that something.

When the group reached the outlaying farmland Prominence called for a full stop. Everyone gathered inside of the wagon, cramming inside with the boxes. Lazni was already here, resting with the nymph, who had opted to have no name, by her side. It had been Prominence and Pupae's turn to pull the cart, and both of them had heavy breathing as they nodded heads, Pupae addressing the group at large.

"Soon we will be in the town, and while we are going in disguised as traders, Prominence and I are planning to take control of the town by whatever means necessary." Pupae announced.

Although Lazni was happy to see the two of them working together for a change, her jaw dropped at the statement. "Doesn't that seem a little unnecessary and-- well, difficult for just the six of us to pull off?"

"Not with you at our side." Prominence said, pointing at Lazni with one of her disguised hooves.

"Prominence is right. I can trick a pony or two with my mind tricks, and she can set things on fire, but you're the spy. You're the master of subterfuge. I've convinced Prominence that we should try to do a quiet takeover. Even if these ponies do worship changelings, I don't believe they'd just throw everything at us we ask for."

"I'm confident that they would, but I'd rather not pull this wagon all the way to the next town if that isn't the case." Prominence reasoned.

Lazni gulped, trying not to say anything. She wasn't comfortable with the idea that others were relaying totally on her performance for survival. At least before if she had failed, then Lalartu would have just sent another spy in order to ensure the hive was cared for. There was no such safety net this time. Either they all survived or they all failed, and the pressure was absolutely crushing down on every inch of Lazni's chitin.

"We need to get some more information about the town first." Pupae said. "Once we find good targets to replace, then we'll capture them in the night. Oh, and Prominence's little 'plans' for the townsponies--"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pupae." Prominence said. "We can talk about that later. We will talk about it, but not now." Her fiery eyes turned to Lazni, giving her a firm nod, turning her eyes between lazni and the nymph. "My plans cannot succeed with you, and you."

"Why me?" The nymph asked, looking up solemnly.

Prominence gave a grin, showing off her smaller and more refined changeling princess fangs. "Because together we are going to make these lands greater than they have ever been, and you happened to be lucky and get caught. Don't worry yourself, you'll be well taken care of."

Prominence stepped out of the wagon, followed by Puape as they prepared to pull the wagon the rest of the way into the small town. Lazni felt the nymph's arms tighten around her waist, hugging her close like young drones held their caretakers.

"Lazni?" the nymph asked quietly.

"Yes?"

there was silence for a few moment,s only the sound of the drones sleeping breaths being broken up by scared gasps from the nymph. "Hivemother always said that you were one of the bravest of her lieutenants. We could trust you and you'd protect us. You'll protect me, right?"

Lazni was not sure how to reply right away, only lifting her hoof and stroking the mane of the undisguised nymph. Lazni decided that right now the Nymph needed comfort, and it'd be important for her to at least be disguised when they arrived in town. "Of course I'll protect you." The words felt almost as good for Lazni to say as the relief breathed out by the nymph.

"Prominence scares me." the Nymph said, slipping into a doze. Lazni dared not respond that many times, she felt the same way when dealing with the Princess.

Once the changelings had made their way inside of the town, Lazni had taken the helm of the coach and was directing the others on how to move about the city. Although it felt weird to be commanding a queen and a princess, Both of them were awkward around ponies at best. Lazni, however, was an expert at dealing with them, her extensive travels having contributed to her abilities. The group wandered around the streets for a time until they finally stopped outside of an Inn that was ajoined to a sleepy looking tavern, collectively known as Spinning Copper Inn and Bar.

Lazni could take a good guess as to why the inn had come to this name, but made a note to ask later and sate her curiosity-- a town full of drunk ponies was a town of loose lips. Lazni asked Pupae to accompany her, giving an order to the drones and Prominence to take the wagon around back and secure it in a stall behind the inn. This was such a place that most of the streets and buildings were accommodating for travelers and traders, which seemed to be the lifeblood of the town's commerce. Lazni entered inside, disguised as a white unicorn and took a look around the lobby.

The inn had a fire pit with massive stones around it reflecting heat, the entire inner lobby overly warm. Lazni winced as she stepped inside, glancing across the lobby at the innkeeper. Even though the sun was not down yet. Lazni could smell the scent of alcohol from across the room. An open bottle laid slightly aside on the desk, away from the inn's ledger and the innkeeper's untouched dinner.

"Pupae..." Lazni hissed under her breath. "Let's make him show us to our room, and then work your magic." Pupae gave an ever so slight nod to show she understood, letting Lazni take the lead as they approached the front desk.

"A room for six ponies, please." Lazni chimed, looking at the drunk pony and trying not to gag. The innkeeper looked at her with tired eyes, then gave a grunt and pulled a key out from under the desk.

"On' night, siks silvers." The innkeeper blabbered. Lazni motioned for the innkeeper to lead the way, not worrying about what a sick silver was. As long as they were careful and gave Pupae time with the innkeeper, they wouldn't be paying anyway.

"Yes, of course!" Lazni smiled, trying to look like a pretty young mare for the innkeeper. "Can we be lead to our room?"

"Aye, ah'm goin'." The Innkeeper mumbled, taking a swig from his bottle before starting off up some stairs. Lazni waited for the innkeeper to reach the top before following, not wanting to be crushed by drunken falling ponies.

At the top of the stairs the Innkeeper hung a left, positioning them in an area that seemed to be over the tavern below. Lazni gave him a happy nod as he opened the door to their room, showing them inside and motioning to the six hay mattresses.

"Perfect!" Lazni remarked, "Just one more thing..."

Now it was pupae's turn to work her magic, Lazni closed the door leading to the hallway and watched as a burst of magic shot from Pupae's horn, slamming into the face of the innkeeper. the pony stumbled, barely hanging to his balance by using a bedpost. There were two more bursts, and then his tired eyes were wide open, staring deeply into the glowing green of Pupae's eyes.

"He needs to fill out the ledger correctly, but collect no money from us for the stall or room. He mustn't tell anypony of this." Lazni whispered.

"You will do as you are told. By me, for me." Pupae whispered, her voice a silken song. "You will fill out the inn's ledger as if the room you are currently in and it's rented stall are paid for, but you will collect no money from the inhabitants. Believe me, you will tell nopony that you are doing this. You will do as you are told."

The innkeeper gave no visual or audio response, but with a wave of her hoof, Pupae ended the glowing in her eyes, letting the spell apparently fade from the innkeeper. For a few seconds he looked confused, then dropped the key to the room on a bed, turning and trotting from the room.

"Queen Pupae, that was amazing!" Lazni could feel her voice cheering ever so slightly as she looked admiringly at Pupae.

"Naturally." Pupae said dismissively. Lazni grabbed the key to the room in her mouth and turned, Pupae following her as they exited the room and went down to the lobby to meet Prominence and the others. Sure enough, they had already managed to park the wagon and were waiting across the room, away from the smell of the drunken pony. The drones, Prominence, and the nymph all had disguises up and waved to Lazni as she descended the stairs. the two groups approached wordlessly and headed up the stairs in pairs. When they were safely back in their room with the door locked and the curtains drawn darkly over the window, they all let their disguises die.

"So all is well, Lazni?" Prominence asked, opening her satchel and approaching the only desk in the room. She laid out the map here, using faint light that slipped passed the side of the curtain to illuminate the paper.

"Yes, we should have the room and stall free of charge for as long as we need it. Pupae did all of the real work though, Prominence." Lazni said.

"Yes, I'm sure," Prominence said dismissively, continuing, "One of the stallkeepers told me that there is a mayor in this town, she's known for her eccentric ways, matched only by her ability to know what is best for the town. I'm planning to replace her."

"..Don't you think that's moving things a little fast?" Lazni asked.

Prominence gave a shrug, "No faster than Lalartu will move once she finds out where we are. Our best defense right now is hoping for an early winter. Soldier drones would freeze to death before they arrived with any haste. I'm certain that Lalartu will recuperate her soldier numbers, perhaps we should do the same."

"We don't have the space for that." Lazni pointed out simply. the room was a little crowded already with the six of them, and there was no way they'd be able to fit cocoons or any sort of hatchery and rearing grounds for young changelings.

"We will after we replace the mayor." Prominence said. "I'd like for you to set up a meeting with her, Lazni. Pupae, yourself, and myself will go and... well, do what we changelings do best."

both of Pupae's drones gave a slight giggle at this, Pupae herself looking rather enthused at the prospect of taking over a small pony town for their desires and needs. Lazni didn't dare voice her concern, but she felt extremely uneasy about this. Ponies were animals that did not react well to sudden changes, and if their mayor began making crazy decisions then there was a chance questions would be asked. Lazni assured herself that Prominence probably already had a plan for this though, and it wasn't worth worrying her with undue concern.

"Of course. We can say it is some sort of trade meeting." Lazni suggested.

"Excellent," said prominence, waving her hoof. "Go now. Try to set up the meeting for tonight. The sooner we get started, the better." Lazni raised her brow slightly, but in a flash of light and flame she had her disguise on again, giving a firm nod and turning towards the door.

Lazni did not immediately make her way to the mayor's home, mostly as she had no idea where exactly to look. After asking for directions several times from friendly ponies, she had found herself at the center of town, where a large stone house was to a courthouse and a flower park. Four gates of wrought iron stood open, and on the side of each gate was a plaque that read "Raspberry Creek Mayor's Residence." Lazni stepped forward, making note of the old architecture that made up the stone house, as well as the landscaping done for the gardens, tress, and shrubs. She was far from an expert on houses, but Lazni could tell by looking around that this house was very old, perhaps almost as old as the town itself. Despite the buildings apparent age, tireless care had been used to maintain every inch of the grounds, keeping the stone smooth and the cobwebs away.

The front doors were open when Lazni approached them. The courthouse and the Mayor's Residence met at a cross section, with a ramp leading out the way Lazni had come in, and on the opposite side a ramp leading down to the flower garden. The connecting hallway expanded out in the middle in the form of a square, creating a place for an indoor fire pit much like the inn between the two buildings. Lazni slowed to a stop here, looking around at a few old ponies gazing into the fire, clearly enjoying the silence of each other's company. They looked up at the young mare joining them, the majority quizzically raising glasses in order to make out who they were looking at.

"Uh, beg pardon." Lazni was a little sheepish with all of these ponies staring directly at her. "I am a merchant's assistant, and she has asked to meet with the mayor, tonight if possible."

"Mmmh, a merchant?" One of the ponies, who had the look of a clerk, said as they pulled out a ledger book and opening it slowly. The pony possessed giant eyes that were magnified by her massively thick glasses, giving her a bug-eye'd appearance. "The last of the merchants for the fall left last week, it must be important for you to risk being caught up in the winter snow!"

"Uh, yes, very important." Lazni said, feeling her gut sink slightly. Assuming that there had been ponies on the caravan before Lalartu's soldiers hijacked it, what important message might they have that wasn't going to reach the town now? "She would like to meet with the mayor as soon as possible."

A mare sitting next to the clerk raised a hoof, waving it mildly. "I will be in my chambers. Tell your mistress that I am awaiting her news."

Lazni needed to hear no more. She quickly turned and galloped away, down the twisting and turning streets and not stopping until she had reached the inn as a panting mess. She had to take a minute to breathe before she could explain the situation to Pupae and Prominence back at their room in the inn.

"These ponies are too easy." Prominence smirked. "I'm curious what the news might be, but I think we'll find out in due time. Let's go steal ourselves a town. Pupae, Lazni, with me. The rest of you stay here and allow no one entry inside until we return."

"And why are you in charge? I'm the queen here, after all." Pupae snorted, nonetheless letting Prominence have her way.

"For now." Prominence grinned visibly, motioning for Lazni to lead the way back to the Mayor's Residence.

Birth of a Revolution

Lazni was glad that they did not have to wait in the Mayor's residence before meeting her. The entire place smelled strongly of generations of ponies, a stench that was bad enough that it bothered her. She could only imagine how Pupae and Prominence must feel, as Lazni was never bothered by pony smell until now. They had been invited into a dining hall which had been furnished with crackers and tea, despite the late hour. The sun had gone down by the time the three were inside and seated, which fit them just fine. The stone fence surrounding the Mayor's residence allowed for a view of the flower garden from the dining room, but was limiting enough that no passerbys would see what was going to happen.

A grand table set with shining dishes reflected light form a magically lit chandler onto the tall glass windows that lined the east and northern walls of the room. Perhaps if this had been built on a coast the windows would have been more fulfilling, but Lazni couldn't see how it was fun to stare at a dead garden for a fourth of the year.

"So, your assistant has told me that you have brought news!" The mayor said jovially, seating herself carefully and picking up a cracker. Prominence gave Lazni a glance, and the nodded, standing up and approaching the other side of the table with Pupae, both of them looking down with a sense of purpose at the mayor.

"I will handle this, Prominence." Pupae said. "Lower the curtains and ensure that we are alone."

"Do not delegate these menial tasks to me, Pupae." Prominence responded harshly.

"W-What are you doing? What's going on?" the mayor suddenly was no longer jovial, her demeanor changing to one of fear. Rather than allow her a chance to scream for help, Prominence struck the mare sharply across the face with magical force, sending her tumbling onto the floor in a heap.

"Smooth." Pupae remarked, checking the crumpled elderly pony. "I wonder how many of her bones you broke."

"That hardly matters. Lazni! the curtains. Pupae, check the courthouse. Lazni and I shall check this building." Prominence commanded. Pupae begrudgingly turned and set off in the general direction of the courthouse, weaving her way through the unfamiliar home. Lazni used telekinesis to drop the curtains in the dining room, staring at the crumpled heap of pony on the floor. With two flashes of flame, Prominence and Lazni dropped their disguises. They needed to only give each other firm nods to understand each other, setting off over the rest of the house and securing the windows and doors, ensuring that no pony from outside would disturb them without their knowing.

As Lazni and Prominence were securing the upstairs bedrooms, Lazni felt her ears perk up. There had been a squeaking on the floorboards, as if somepony was going down the stairs.

"Prominence!" Lazni said hushedly. "I heard something going down the stairs."

Prominence narrowed her eyes, and then motioned for Lazni to follow behind her. They slowly crept down the stairs, staying in the shadows of the house. they did not need to get to close to hear somepony sobbing from the dining room-- although it was not befitting the mayor. Prominence stood up straight, not bothering to disguise herself as she rounded the corner. Lazni followed in her hoofsteps, breaking off once she was inside to block the other exit.

The chandler was still lit, and by it's light every detail of the scene before the two changelings was visible. A young filly who appeared to be barely of school age was cradling the mayor, who was breathing faintly. Lazni knew that Prominence had struck the elderly pony hard, but not hard enough to cause this much damage. Prominence stood completely still, her jaw hanging open slightly as she stared forward in horror. The filly paid no attention to the two visitors, and instead tried shaking their relative, calling them a mother of mothers as Lazni understood it, the filly begging for them to say something.

The entire scene was frozen in time, nothing daring to change. Prominence was slowly trying to slide herself away, her eyes wide and staring. There was no fire in her personality, something about what she was witnessing had doused her entire demeanor. Prominence's jaw shook as she tried to withdraw faster, staring at the broken body of one pony, and that of the younger one cradling it. Lazni knew that she had to take some action, she would have to act because Prominence could not.

With a burst of fire, Lazni disguised herself so as to not alarm the foal. she knew how to tend to Changelings, but it was a much easier matter to help a changeling grow new chitin than to fix the complex and fragile biology of a pony. "We need her to lay down." Lazni said, magically wrapping the mayor in energy and lifting her up, the Filly let out a gasp of protest, her eyes filled with tears as she charged at Lazni, tackling into her leg.

"Put her down!" the foal yelled, slamming her hooves and head against Lazni, biting and punching any inch of her she could. Lazni knew that she had her chitin to protect her, even if it was disguised at the moment, and ignored the slight trauma to her thin outer shell. She carried the mayor out of the room, heading up the stairs, the foal biting and gripping onto her leg.Prominence fell backwards, her face aghast as she watched the tireless foal attack Lazni without remorse or rationality. Lazni continued up the stairs, laying the mayor in the first bed she found and then wrapping a cover over her with magic.

"Stay with her. We must locate a healer. Is there a doctor in this town?" Lazni asked.

The foal let out a snort, followed by an angry neigh as they hugged their relative. Despite their sadness and fury, they were able to spit out one phrase, enough for Lazni to work with.

"Horseshoe street, Ol' Doc Whitebark." Lazni repeated. The filly nodded, her eyes burning with fire as she stared forward with a sentinel's gaze. Lazni nodded back to the filly, turning and entering into the hallway. Prominence was standing here, still with no disguise, looking on at the picture with emotion that had now changed to terror.

"Prominence. Princess Prominence!" Lazni said, tapping her on the shoulder with urgency.

"I-- yes?" Prominence asked, looking adrift in her own little world.

"I am going to locate a healer. We are not here to hurt ponies." Lazni said fiercely, continuing after she took a deep breath, "Please watch her and make sure she does not alert the guards?"

"I-- yes, of course." Prominence said, her voice drifting off into the night. Lazni sighed, hurrying down the stairs and coming face to face with Pupae as she returned from the courthouse.

"Ah, Lazni!" Pupae started. "The courthouse is cleared-- where is Princess Prominence?"

"Upstairs keeping watch on the ponies." Lazni said hurriedly, pushing past her. "Please do not disturb them, the smaller one enjoys a scrap."

"Ponies? As in more than one? Lazni!" Pupae called after Lazni as she galloped for the door. Pupae fluttered her wings and landed in front of her, blocking the door. "Why is she a concern? Did Prominence not simply subdue the other pony as well?"

"Because Prominence is too violent for her own good!" Lazni half closed her eyes and lit her horn up, feeling magic flow through it and throw Pupae to the side, freeing the path to the door. "Don't hurt her, just don't let her leave. and put on disguises!"

"Lazni, what is wrong with you? It's just a pony?" Pupae took a step back as soon as the words had left her maw. Lazni felt her face tighten as she leered at the queen before exiting the residence and magically slamming the door in her staring face.

The air outside was bitter and freezing, filled with the thickness of pre-winter chill that would make the faint of heart shudder in their chest as the first cold wave crashed upon them and washed away any memories of summer. Lazni was disguised as a pony, this much was true, but it did nothing to keep her warm. She could feel the cold biting into her eyes, ears, and nostrils, chilling her past the chitin and into her very soul.

Despite the cold, Lazni pushed herself through the streets, eventually reaching horseshoe street. She scanned the signs before finding one with "Doctor" in it's title. slamming her hoof on the door, Lazni waited outside.

and waited.

and knocked again...

Finally, a tired looking older pony answered the door, a much younger mare standing behind him. "The doctor was sleeping, and the sun is down. We're closed, come back tomorrow!" Lazni blinked at the pony referring to himself in third person, opening her mouth to protest.

"The mayor has collapsed! She needs help!" Lazni blurted out, putting her hoof in the doorway so that the pony could not close it.

"Get off my property before I call the guards!" The doctor said, shoving Lazni backwards. She found no balance and felt her backside crash into the cobblestone as she looked up at the slamming door. Lazni did her best to worm her way up, feeling pain shoot through her hindquarters in protest. Before she was fully up, the younger pony stepped outside, a bag in her mouth and an overly large red coat wrapped around her body and a smaller brown coat on her back.

"L-let's go-- and please, put this on. You'll catch cold." She said solemnly, nodding to Lazni before she set off down the road. Lazni did not argue with the mare, needing only to glance at the medical cross on the bag before complying. Although she had no doubt that Prominence and Pupae would poke fun at her, she didn't particularly care at the moment. She was very angry with Prominence's methods, Pupae being no better as she behaved with impunity.

The mayor's house was still dark when they stepped inside, and Lazni lit her horn for the pony, leading her up the stairs to where the mayor was resting. The mare set down her bag and opened it, pulling back the covers and reaching out to check for breathing and pulse in her patient. Prominence and Pupae, disguised, were standing next to the window, talking in hushed whispers and looking at the filly and now, the young mare that had joined their company.

"What happened?" The mare asked the gaggle of 'ponies.'

"We were having dinner with her and she suddenly collapsed." Pupae said, speaking for Prominence. Prominence still did not seem to have recovered herself completely, and the terror in her face was still plain for anyone close by to see. Lazni gave Pupae a glare at this, but didn't protest.

"You're not the doctor." The filly hissed at the mare, looking like she was considering having a go at the mare treating the mayor.

"His assistant and niece. I probably do a better job than he does." She said, replacing the covers over the mayor. "She needs rest, I'm not sure what is wrong with her. When she wakes up, I can do more. I'll stay here until that happens."

"Not like she has much choice." Pupae said, barely audible on the other side of the room. "Lazni, join us in the hallway." Pupae said. Lazni nodded, stepping into the hallway with the other two and staring up at both of them.

"What are you wearing?" Pupae asked. "Take that off and lets drop these disguises, I can't take this conversation seriously when we look like this."

Lazni nodded, assuming her normal form as Prominence and Pupae did the same. Now they stood in their true forms, Pupae giving a victorious smile.

"I believe that we will be able to seal off plenty of rooms in this manor and the courthouse, at least to begin things. In a week or two, we'll have this place looking like a proper hive, although on the surface everything will look normal."

"That's going to be a lot of work, and we don't have the numbers to get that work done. We're all exhausted from the trip..."

Pupae let out a mirthful giggle at Lazni's statement. "Lazni, Lazni. In that room there are two ponies ready to serve under Prominence. It's not the way I'd like to do this, but I won't lie that it's very effective." Lazni rounded on Prominence, who looked like she was about to puke her insides out onto the hardwood floors.

"Go on, Prominence. Go in there and subdue those other two ponies. Become the Queen we both know you want to be." Pupae was possessed with fervor, relishing the chance to finally dish out abuse rather than be Prominence's verbal punching bag.

Prominence sank to her knees, laying down in the hallway and staring at the door. Pupae gave a snort, opening the door and stepping inside as she said, "I knew you couldn't do it, coward." The door shut, leaving Lazni out in the hallway with the deteriorating Prominence.

"Prominence..." Lazni said, leaning down to her side and giving her a hug.

"I'm a monster." Prominence coughed.

"No you're not," Lazni said, brushing her side. "Overzealous, but not a monster. I understand-- we're going to need changelings and ponies to survive. There is strength in numbers." Prominence looked like she was about to start crying, and Lazni hurriedly tried her best to salvage the situation. "Prominence! They won't be ponies anymore, they'll be changelings. Better, improved, happy! they'll be free from the absurdity of their existence!"

"Is that how you truly see it?" Prominence asked, her voice a faint whisper. Lazni nodded to her. "I knew that would happen when we arrived here. We'd convert others. We'd grow as a new hive. Not a--- not like Hive Lalartu, but a better hive. One ruled by you and Pupae!"

Prominence was silent for a few minutes, leaning against Lazni. finally she looked up, her eyes resigned. "This town shall have two Hives. I will not bow to another queen again." A little strength returned to Prominence's voice, and she found the strength to rise to her hooves.

"Lazni, please fetch the nymph and the drones." Prominence whispered, stepping towards the door. It seemed to take an eternity for Prominence to twist open the door and step inside. Lazni made sure she was gone before Prominence began, knowing the filly and the doctor mare would be the first of many bound to the Changeling army.

Lazni shook her head. No, they weren't an army, they were a new hive. Armies existed to cause violence, and she didn't want to see anymore changelings or ponies getting hurt.

All six of the changeling spent the night in the Mayor's residence, Prominence taking on the role of the mayor and announcing that she was very busy with the news she had received and would not be taking any appointments. Lazni and Pupae helped the disguised Prominence close off the mayor's residence, leaving the courthouse mostly open to continue it's functions. By the time ponies were breaking for lunch Prominence was confident that the two was fooled, at least for the immediate future. She had invited Lazni to come and see the preparations for what would eventually become her hive, and Lazni complied. Pupae's drones had been hard at work, tirelessly trying to contribute not only to the future hive, but also to their survival.

Lazni learned that the more important reason that she had been invited to observe these preparations was to observe an upstairs room that had it's windows boarded up. There was a bathroom attached to the room, but other than the aminities of having running water all of the furniture had been removed or broken down.

"It turns out pony furniture breaks down well, I never knew that." Prominence said, showing the room to Lazni. the corners were now occupied by an oozing green substance that Lazni knew was sticky to the touch. Although changelings could slide through it in their chitin, any other creature would become hopelessly entangled.

"That's very good, because we're going to need a lot of it to insulate the hive walls, as well as all of it's general uses." Lazni said, her eyes turning away from the piles of ooze breaking down wooden and fabric remains of blankets, a mattress, and what she assumed was the bed frame, towards the far end of the room. here there were too cocoons, one much larger than the other but both having the same composition.

Prominence pointedly looked away from the cocoons as Lazni gazed inside, observing the ponies. Both the mare from the doctor's office and the small filly that had assaulted Lazni last night were curled up around themselves, sleeping warmly in their safe cocoons. Lazni felt oddly happy about this, as she knew the end result.

"We did the right thing for them, Prominence. They are very lucky that they are going to be able to evolve, rather than just being part of the herd."

"Yeah." Prominence's tone was emotionless and unreadable, but Lazni felt a throb from her... one of regret?

Lazni cocked her head at Prominence, asking, "Are you alright Prominence?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine." Prominence said absently. "Please uh-- keep an eye on these ponies. that is my task to you. You've always been better at rearing new drones than I have-- and I don't particularly care for the job."

"Of course, Prominence. Um..." Lazni trailed off at the last bit.

"Yes?" Prominence asked, pausing at the door of the room as she prepared to resume her disguise.

"Is it Princess Prominence, or Queen Prominence now?" Lazni asked.

Prominence's expression softened. "Princess Prominence, please. I like the ring it has, and I'm planning on taking up a far better title than merely 'queen.'" Lazni looked on after Prominence as she assumed the form of the mayor pony, heading down the stairs. Lazni ducked out and poked her head int other room where the mayor pony was sleepig, just confirming she was still alive before heading down the stairs, taking on the guise of a nondescript mayor's assistant.

==============

Underneath the earth, behind magical barriers designed to protect them and obscure them from those who would seek them out, a group of ponies gathered together in a living room setting. They had comfy sofas and chairs that possessed moth-eaten chew marks in unlikely places, but were otherwise grander than what any other residence in Raspberry Creek possessed. Five figures paused, none of them desiring to speak the obvious.

"They've finally arrived. that disappearance last night of the young mare coupled with the odd behaviour of our mayor is the trademark modus operandi of changelings." The youngest of the group said.

"There is no proof that the mare didn't simply run off on her own, she is at that age. Our mayor has also always been an eccentric one, perhaps she reacted poorly to whatever news she received?" said the next oldest.

"It matters not, there is no fault in caution. We should keep our guard up and be prepared to fight them if they have indeed visited our town." The second oldest said.

All of them nodded, the oldest of the five speaking out finally, "We have weathered this Changeling Empire for centuries, unable to spur our distant relatives into travelling this far to destroy them. We shall defeat these Changelings, if they are indeed Changelings, as we have always done." Once more, the group nodded solemnly, some of them secretly hoping that the incidents stopped. The younger ponies almost bouncing in their seats at the chance confront and destroy changelings, a spirit only matched by the hubris in their elders.

Madness

Lazni spent the next few days reflecting to herself as she watched over the still comatose mayor and the slowly evolving ponies in their cocoons. Prominence was busy at work assessing all of the town's supplies all day, and then would generally spend all night arguing with Pupae.

Prominence and Pupae had both tried to invite Lazni to oversee more efforts in the hive-- namely Prominence ordering Pupae's drones around and making them dig under the city, but Lazni simply had not had the heart to face Prominence recently. It was almost a week since they had arrived in town and Lazni had done little more than consume some of the goo for subsistence while watching the ponies change.

The transformation cycle, at least as changelings from Hive Lalartu practiced it, was not at all unsettling for those inside the cocoon. In a normal cycle, Changeling queens would lay eggs that mainly produced drones, who could then be specialized later for specific purposes. Soldier drones and Infiltrator type drones all began as normal drones, but could enter a kind of coma inside of cocoons in order to change. This resulted in the shedding of an outer layer of shell and the regrowth of a newer, more specialized body. Lazni was not sure if Princesses were made this way, but she could recall when she had been selected to become an infiltrator, as well as what it felt like inside of a cocoon. It was a comforting experience for a changeling that felt like being surrounded and compounded by lukewarm velvet.

Ponies entering cocoons was a much different story. It was enough to keep them in a stasis, asleep and mostly unaware, but nothing more. However, ponies that were bitten and injected with specialized venom from Queens or Princesses often became extremely ill. Lazni had witnessed this a few times before, and the results that followed always had tragic ends if the wounds were not treated with a cocoon. Ponies were mostly left in vegetative states, with their brain capacity diminished to where it could barely keep what the mind read as a foreign body. these neurotoxins could be counteracted by using a cocoon with special pheromones and chemicals excreted by queens in order to initiate the process of changing a pony into a changeling drone. It was a complicated process that Lazni had noted to view later so she would know how to do it, but at the same time had no desire to actually witness.

Lazni approached one of the cocoons and brushed it's clear shell, looking in at the sleeping medical pony who now had no hair and was beginning to form a soft shell over her body. She looked not unlike a pony that had it's body flipped inside out, so that the skeleton was on the outside, followed by muscles, and then skin and organs underneath this. Although it had only been a week, the pony now looked more like a convincing softshelled crab crossed with a horse.

Lazni turned away from the cocoon and then doubled back, recoiling in surprise. Prominence had silently glided up to stand by Lazni, her own eyes looking at the small filly inside of the other cocoon.

"Prominence! -- you startled me." Lazni said, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"That was not my intention." Prominence said, looking lost as she stared at the filly. "How old were you when you joined the swarm?"

Lazni was very taken aback by this question. One of the first things that Hive Lalartu taught new changelings to do was to forget their old life. It helped them find their way in the hive, and generally improved attitudes in drones that otherwise might have not adapted well to their new role. "It is hard to recall ever being a pony, Prominence. Not that it would matter."

"I wish I could have that outlook." Prominence said quietly. "I was a child protege."

"Ah, uhm, a what?" Lazni asked, clicking her head to the side.

"I had natural talent with magic." Prominence clarified. "I can't even remember my family anymore, but I know who I was. I remember seeing my family struck down, and then I was asleep. It feels like years later, I woke up as a young nymph in Hive Lalartu."

Lazni watched as Prominence got lost in her own moment, holding up a gnarled hoof and lighting it on fire. She let it dance in front of her as she spoke, caring not for how edgy she was being. Prominence spoke slowly and deliberately, her eyes flickering twice, once from the flame and once from inside of her as she said, "But I've always known that there is fire inside every living creature, you just have to reach out and take it. It's how I became a Princess in Hive Lalartu, and it's how I am going to become High Queen."

"The High Queen of Changelings is an old story though. It's a fantasy we tell to young drones about glory days." Lazni said softly. "There's no truth in it."

"That remains to be seen." Prominence extinguished the flame by stomping it into the ground, showering sparks and smoke around her hoof. "The ponies in Raspberry Creek are done with harvesting and are now preparing to retire to their farms before the first snow. Although it will be cold outside, we are going to begin kidnapping individuals suitable for the hive."

"We are?" Lazni asked, looking at the two cocoons. "Don't you think ponies are going to start noticing if a half dozen more go missing overnight?"

"A half dozen?" Prominence stopped, eyeing Lazni with what was almost suspicion. "Dozens Lazni. I don't know how to lay eggs and I don't care much for learning how to either. Pupae is developed and specialized enough that she can create as many drones as we need, and we will need many of them. We are building an army Lazni, the first of many."

"...This is madness, Prominence." Lazni was stunned. She had always suspected that Prominence's ambitions were too great for her own good, but she had never expected them to be as white hot as her flames.

Prominence paused for a moment, then gave a low clicking, as if a chuckle died in her throat, "Then it is a good madness. You will join me tonight, we are going to a local tavern to scout and seize subjects. The worthy will join the superior race, and rule over these ponies with an iron hoof, just as it was always meant to be."

Lazni just stared at Prominence as she left, magically closing the door behind her. Lazni wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she knew this wasn't right. It was true to her that being a Changeling was natural evolution, but forced evolution of ponies at such a massive rate in a short period of time...

Lazni stood up, setting off for the stairs to find Pupae. What Prominence had in mind was not right, and she had to at least express her concerns, even if she wouldn't stop her...

...because deep down, Lazni knew that Prominence might be right. Maybe this was their only way to survive. Because when the snow thawed, Hive Lalartu would be waiting for them if they didn't remain hidden. Which was perhaps what Lazni couldn't understand most of all. Why didn't they just stay together, the six of them, not as a hive but as a family of sorts and rule the ponies as the mayor mare. They could live perfectly fine and never be discovered if they kept their heads down. Lazni was convinced now that Prominence's will was turning to madness, and she had to stop it before it was too late.

Lazni lounged around in the courthouse, keeping a disguise up as she watched the disguised Pupae close up curtains and lock up shop for the early afternoon. Being that winter was fast approaching the only issues to speak of among the ponies were tavern brawls.

"Lazni. We haven't spoken in almost a week. I thought you'd forgotten about me." Pupae's voice dripped with sarcasm. "All is well, yes?"

"All is not well, Pupae." Lazni said, leaving Pupae blinking at how blunt the response was. "I think we should tell Prominence to stop her plan to create more Changelings. We're going to end up with a town that hates us for stealing their family members AND we'll only cause violence with Hive Lalartu."

"These things, I believe they are unavoidable." Pupae said, straightening up to her proper form as she dropped the last curtain. Lazni also dropped her disguise, moving forward and feeling the pleading rise in her voice.

"Queen Pupae, Prominence is evolving these ponies into drones just so they can die for her. Can't you see the problem with that?"

Pupae narrowed her eyes, turning away from Lazni after a few moments to muse at what had been said to her. "I'm not sure how you were taught in your Hive, or if you have simply forgotten your manners as an infiltrator not close to their queen enough, but all work together for the benefit of the hive. Every single drone, soldier, Princess, and even the Queen are bound to care for one another."

"And that's exactly why Prominence can't do this!" Lazni protested.

"It is because she, and I for that matter, care for them that we must!" Pupae put her hoof down, raising her head. Lazni cowered backwards, a feeling of overwhelming stress washing over her. Who could she turn to if not Pupae or Prominence? Pupae paused for a few moments, regaining a regal composure and offering a hoof to Lazni, motioning for her to sit on a bench with her. Lazni complied, although she kept a guarded distance between herself and Pupae.

"Lazni, I don't wish to see the bloodshed Prominence has predicted any more than you do. But if we do not prepare ourselves for this, then we will certainly be destroyed when Lalartu catches up with us. Do you understand?: Pupae's voice was sincere, but Lazni reminded herself that wasn't the problem. Prominence and Pupae were doing exactly what they thought had to be done so they could create a new hive and survive. Lazni found the thread of her argument, standing up and beginning to pace.

"The six of us could have hid away here and never been discovered. But now we have two more drones and Prominence wants dozens. Maybe hundreds, her mind seems to think on a bigger scale constantly. But it's all of these preparations to fight to survive that Prominence is making that are going to lead to us being forced to fight." Lazni turned to Pupae, hoping she would see her point.

"You're saying that you think Prominence has made a self-fulling prophecy?" Pupae reflected on this, Lazni feeling a slight ebbing as Pupae withdrew into her own thoughts. Minutes ticked by as Lazni waited for Pupae to make her decision on the argument.

Outside, soft snow was beginning to fall, the first snowfal barely visible to Lazni's eyes as mere shapes outside floating over the curtain as midafternoon shadows. Finally, Pupae raised her head and nodded,"...I agree with you, Lazni. However, the die has already been cast. Prominence will make this war, and I do not believe that we can stop it. I do not like it, but it is a battle we must fight. When the danger has passed, we can confront Prominence. She will be leading the charge against Hive Lalartu, but all of these drones will still be a part of my hive, and loyal to me.

Lazni felt her chest heave sadly as she watched the ground. there was a clicking on the stone floor and then the feeling of Pupae wrapping herself around Lazni in a hug. Lazni looked up, feeling herself instantly lost inside of Pupae's beautiful green eyes. She wasn't sure why, but she'd never quite appreciated how beautiful her eyes were.

"I am sorry for your part in this, Lazni. But it is a part you must play, as we all will tonight and going forward." Pupae's voice was musical and soft, gentle enough on Lazni's ears for her to relax and hug Pupae back.

After the sun had set, Prominence and Lazni attended a local tavern that was titled the "Great Breaded Dragon Tavern." Lazni had actually heard of something called a bearded dragon once in her travels, but decided that perhaps it was best to not dwell on the tragic lack of intelligence in this small town.

"That one." Prominence whispered. giving a little nod to an innocent looking mare that looked like she was having a little too much to drink at the bar. Prominence and Lazni had taken normal disguises and hidden themselves in a dark corner of the bar. Lazni couldn't help but shiver a little at how callous Prominence was with her scouting. Lazni fully believed that everypony would be better off as a changeling, but it had to be something they wanted. the pony had to want to better themselves so they could evolve. Prominence saw them as mere tools to achieve an end. Lazni raised her mug, watching the room and feeling her eyes scan across every pony, stopping at the other side of the bar.

In an equally dark corner of the room were three ponies sitting side by side around a keg of raspberry lambic. Although Lazni had noticed them repeatedly filling up their mugs, none of them seemed the least bit intoxicated. However, it was not this feeling that alarmed Lazni the most, it was their eyes. they all seemed to be watching Prominence and Lazni, keeping their faces averted from them but their eyes locked.

"Prominence, we're being watched." Lazni whispered, nodding in the general direction of the ponies around the keg. Prominence didn't turn her head immediately, keeping her voice low.

"How do you know? Are they Hive Lalartu spies?"

Lazni wasn't sure she knew they were being watched definitively, but she knew that the ponies weren't Hive lalartu spies-- their eye colours did not match Lalartu. This made Lazni feel even more uncomfortable, as the feeling of a pony watching you was not a pleasant one for any changeling, especially when they seemed to be staring right through one's disguise. Lazni had obeyed this feeling inside her when it arose however, and it had become a cornerstone of her ability to escape situations before others became aware of her presence.

"We need to go." Lazni said, standing up. Prominence stood up too, following Lazni for the back door of the tavern while keeping her voice at barely a whisper.

"Lazni! Stop it, this-- this is madness. They can't know about us!" Prominence said. Lazni let her mind wander in fantasy for a second about how ponies they passed by might construe that statement, but then brought her mind back into focus when the cold air greeted herself and Prominence outside. Lazni pressed herself against Prominence, enjoying one very significant perk the Princess had. She was always very warm, even when the air outside was bitingly cold.

"Prominence we're the only two 'mares' that aren't locals. We'll have other nights to look, and we can still grab that one mare. But can we please get off the streets for now?" Lazni jerked her head back as she finished her sentence, glancing behind her at the back door. She had not heard it shut behind the two of them, and sure enough three more ponies had followed them out into the dark and abandoned street. The back door of the tavern slammed shut as the wind blew, leaving the three ponies outside with Lazni and Prominence.

Neither party spoke, the ponies staring down the Changelings and the Changelings staring down the ponies. Lazni felt tension layer itself over the street as the youngest of the group stepped forward, a visible smirk on his face. However, when the pony spoke his voice was surprisingly meek, like he was unsure that he wanted to be speaking at all.

"I've been waiting my whole life for you monsters to appear." he said, his voice staying low. Lazni felt her jaw drop slightly as she stared at the ponies. Their disguises were completely useless.

"What are you?" Prominence asked, her voice rising with inner fire. The ponies backed up, like they were debating if they should say anything or not.

"Not what we appear, like you." said one of the others, who had an equally meek voice. "We did not come out here to fight you, we came out here to destroy you." Lazni and Prominence exchanged glances, unsure if they should take these ponies seriously or not. They were obviously not drunk, but the entire ordeal seemed absolutely absurd to the two of them.

"Well, maybe you should get started then." Prominence said. The ponies nodded, although the youngest stepped forward, motioning over Prominence's shoulder.

"I think we'd both rather keep our identities a secret. Maybe we can settle this on the edge of town?" The pony asked meekly, a smug smile on his face.

"No." Lazni and Prominence said at the same time, which was much to the surprise of the pony. They looked shocked that their request had been turned down, like it was impossible. Prominence let out a burst of flame around herself as she dropped her disguise. Prominence advanced on the ponies, letting a little fire stay in trace amounts around her hooves, casting dark shadows around the abandoned street. Prominence continued her advance while addressing these ponies, "It seems you three have identities to protect, but unlike you I don't share that need. I can become anypony I want to. Look at me!"

Lazni trotted forward, putting a hoof on Prominence's leg and trying to pull her back. "Prominence! This-- no, what are you doing!"

Prominence leaned closer to the ponies, still keeping a few yards between them and herself as they backed up. "You are ponies, members of a lesser race. You are of no threat to me."

The third pony, who so far has remained silent, nudged the youngest, motioning to Prominence as he said, "C'mon, we can take her. It isn't difficult, and nopony else will see."

"See? See what?" Prominence was almost gloating as she towered over the ponies. Prominence did not have to wait long for the ponies-- or rather, the creatures, to show her. There was a sort of unhinging effect as a glamour fell away from the creatures, one more like water running over their disguise and washing it away rather than Changeling fire consuming the facade. the creatures wore a fluffy scarf around their necks, prickly fluff rather than fur covered their bodies, and their eyes were hexagonal, not unlike those of crystal ponies. Two antennae extended from each their heads, making them look like some of features of moths had been ridiculously grafted onto a pony's body.

Lazni had no idea why, but upon seeing these creatures in their true form she felt something stir deep inside her. A feeling of hatred, and of the need to destroy what was in front of her. As meek and shy as these creatures seemed to be, Lazni knew that right under their deceptive guise was the same hatred. These creatures and changelings were made to destroy each other.

Prominence let out a wicked yell, one that died in the in the loose snowflakes and a gust of wind. She spewed fire forward from her hooves, allowing it to wash towards the moth ponies. All three of them sidestepped the flames, not even bothering to watch them die behind them before advancing, each of them giving their bodies a little shake. Prominence beat her wings and retreated, but Lazni was already starting to feel something in her throat and chest. A pony might have thought it the side effect of a bad cold, but for Lazni it was as if her entire insides were being stuffed up and inflamed with mucus. Prominence let out a few more bursts of fire as Lazni clashed with one of the moth ponies, already feeling her strength fade. Her movements were slow and heavy, allowing the moth to simply step aside. each kick seemed to bring Lazni closer to the ground until she finally collided face first with it, her entire insides feeling like they had been stuffed with sludge and then flash frozen. It was not altogether something she would call painful, but it was very concerning and stressful.

"Lazni!" Prominence's voice seemed like a distant echo as something hard impacted Lazni's side. She could feel something smacking into her, sending shockwaves of pain along her belly. After several blows from different angles, she finally realized what the weapon was-- a rock. One of the moth ponies, the savages she now knew them to be, was trying to break her chitin open with a rock. Unfortunately Lazni knew that her chitin was not thick enough to take much punishment from even rocks-- no, she was going to shatter under this force, still completely unable to move.

There was a fluttering of wings as the moth beating Lazni's shell in appeared to back off, the world flashing with different colours of fire as Prominence battled all three of the moths, trying to keep them and whatever invisible weapon they had at bay. For a moment, it seemed the trauma had stopped, and Lazni found some small peace in this. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but at least she wasn't having her belly beaten in.

Above, the echo of more hisses sounded. Lazni flicked her eyes to look up and was able to make out one of Pupae's drones tackling the moth pony, sending both o them hurtling into the ground. Lazni watched as the moth pony dropped their rock, leaving it fall earward down towards Lazni's backside.

The first crunch was the sickening noise of the drone ending one of the moth ponies.

The second crunch, so far as Lazni could tell, was her back legs. The world flashed white as snow, and then filled with blackness.

Prominence's fury exploded as the sound of crunching bugs filled the air. Drawing her head in, lazni charged at the remaining two moth ponies, firing repeated shots of fire at them, no longer caring what she hit. She had previously been aiming for the street and trying to avoid setting buildings on fire, but no longer. Before the moths could do little more than scream they were drawn into the bright lights of the flame, half distracted by the bright flashes of light, half drawn to the heat, and entirely consumed.

Lazni could still feel the throbbing of her empathetic link in her head, despite otherwise being unaware of the world around her. She could sense Prominence extinguishing her attackers, followed by concern from Pupae's drone, Prominence, and Pupae herself. The whole world felt like floating, with warmth licking the edges of everything.

The changelings were fortunate in regard to the warmth. Rather than be focused on the bodies left behind the tavern or the fleeing changelings, they were all focused on the living flame currently intent on devouring everything flammable in it's wake.

Queening

"Oh Lazni, what will I do if I have to go without you... I can't go on."

Prominence's words were the first thing that Lazni could remember about waking up. She felt far less sludge filled and chilled from the inside, but there was a painful throbbing in her hind legs. Lazni forced her eyes open, still not comprehending exactly what was going on. Prominence let out a chitter as she leaned forward, her face pressed against the side of a cocoon that encased Lazni's body. Lazni could see around the room other cocoons like hers, although they housed ponies rather than Changelings like her.

Lazni looked down at her own body and felt her insides-- which really, was her whole body so to speak-- metaphorically turn over. Lazni's outer chitin had been completely removed, leaving her with only a simple formkeeping membrane binding her together. Her back legs were bound in extra layers of opaque goo, which given the last memories Lazni could recall before passing out was probably for the better.

"Pupae, Pupae!" Prominence called over her shoulder. "Lazni is awake!"

Lazni could make out the shifting of the world as another form drew closer, that of Pupae. Pupae looked surprised that Lazni had survived, and yet, there was some other emotion, something that Pupae did not want Prominence to feel. Pride? Yes, Pupae felt pride, although why, Lazni was unsure. This was a department she normally felt was left to Prominence.

"It's all coming together, Pupae." Prominence said happily, standing back so that Lazni could get a slightly better view of the room at large. Her insides turned over, once more metaphorically, as she saw what had invoked Prominence's glee. A dozen new cocoons had been added seemingly overnight, each with a pony resting peacefully inside.

"Pupae?" Lazni tried to say from inside her cocoon. "Those things that attacked us-- were they?"

Pupae, seeming to understand, gave a nod, putting a hoof on Prominence's shoulder, a motion for her to sit down. Pupae cleared her throat as she sat, saying, "I think that now that the three of us are together and alive, we should discuss this threat."

"Moth Ponies, that's what you called them." Prominence said. "What are they?"

Pupae closed her eyes, as if reciting a story that seemed painful for her to recall. "The Moth Ponies are the first ponies that walked the world, according to changeling legend. As a princess, I'd have thought you might have learned this story, or at least heard of them. They once ruled with world with massive kingdoms, celebrating their culture of decadence as they abused the ponies under their rule, using earth, unicorn, and pegasi as slave labor."

"Their society was one that lived in the past, unchanging and afraid of social progress. Technologically they may have even exceeded that of ponies today, but their civilization was destroyed when the first changelings appeared."

"I know this part." Prominence interrupted. "It's the story of the first High Queen, the Asteroid, the High Queen, or the High Queen of Asteroid. I prefer the latter where Asteroid is an adjective."

"That's not..." Pupae let out a chitter, abandoning that line of speaking as she chose a wiser battle. "The first High Queen, in any case, was blessed with powers by a fallen star that heard her cries of unrequitted love. She had escaped the moth ponies, but instead of returning a mere slave, she returned powerful and beautiful. First she took the love of the one she had wanted after, bringing more and more ponies one by one under her thrall. Eventually, when the stage was set, there was a great uprising. The Changelings destroyed the great city of the moth ponies. More and more ponies joined the swarm, the High Queen creating Queens and Princesses under her to govern the land. They created a rightous world, one where ponies were allowed to grow fat and happy, changelings stealing the love of ponies and treating them not as slaves, but as subjects. Ponies now had a purpose in the world, rather than simply existing before having purpose."

"It seemed that all of the world would be under the rule of changelings, and when the last light seemed to have gone out for the moth ponies, the antithesis to Changelings appeared. A different kind of Moth Pony was born, and she had the power to drive drones to madness. Simply by being present, she could turn Changeling ranks on themselves. the moth ponies began to fight back, unleashing deadly attacks that were completely invisible. There were so few moth ponies left, but those few that remained fought changelings to the bitter end."

Prominence cleared her throat, raising her head high. "The moth ponies scattered to the winds, their race all but destroyed, but at great cost to the Changelings. The High Queen fell to the Moth Pony menace, and the changelings crawled into the world to await the coronation of the next High Queen."

"I don't remember that last part." Pupae said begrudgingly. "That story is the extent of Changeling knowledge I have on these creatures. They stay together in very small hives and do not have the ability to reproduce at the rate Changelings can. We cannot allow our guard to be let down though."

"Perhaps we should attempt to draw out more of these creatures, they must have a hive somewhere nearby." Prominence said. "If we could, perhaps, find the source of their power, it would be a deadly weapon."

"I won't allow that, Prominence." Pupae said quickly. "If we find the source of their power we will remember it and then destroy it."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Prominence whispered. "When we confront Lalartu, we could potentially end the entire conflict by using the power o the moth ponies to destroy her. We could solve everything with almost no bloodshed. I'm sure Lazni would like that."

Pupae bit her lip, glancing at Lazni, who had been encased inside the cocoon to simply observe and listen.

"Let's focus on keeping the town calm regarding that fire you caused last night and the streak of Lazni's blood they found splattered all over the street. They seem to think the wrath of gods are on them."

"If they don't stop rattling the gates outside, then the wrath of a god will soon be upon them." Prominence stood up, giving Lazni a nod. "Do not be concerned, you are safe here. Pupae will stay with you, while I try and quell these senseless pheasants.

Pupae waited for a few minutes to make sure Prominence was gone before she leaned close to Lazni, her face pressed against the cocoon as she spoke quietly to Lazni, her voice reeking of what almost seemed to be regret.

"Lazni, when you emerge from that cocoon-- you will be, different." Pupae said slowly. Lazni didn't understand and cocked her head as best she could at Pupae. Pupae clicked her hooves together, her face a picture of resolve. Lazni tried to ask what Pupae meant, but her word either could not reach her or Pupae ignored them. Lazni tried to push on her empathetic link to reach out to Pupae, but suddenly found that she could not, as if the link had been severed. Lazni tried to reach out for Prominence, the drones, the nymph, or any of the other ponies slowly turning into changelings in the room.

It was the same story all around. Pupae had done something to sever Lazni's link with all the other changelings around her. this was the worst part of all the insides turning, because now Lazni knew that there was no one there to know how scared she was or how alone she felt. there was no comfort from other changelings or a hive, no sense of unity. There was only her, alone.

Days seemed to pass by without any meaning to Lazni as she felt herself reform inside of her prison. After about a week she had regrown much of her chitin, although it was much thicker now. Lazni felt taller, and judged she could now stand at eyelevel with Prominence. This had been much to Prominence's surprise and concern, but Lazni had not been able to overhear any arguments between Pupae and Prominence.

After what Lazni judged as the sixth day, she finally felt strong enough to reach out and break open her cocoon. her longer and slightly more gnarled hooves struck out at the cocoon, ripping it open and she pulled herself free of the goo. Truthfully it was quite the mess, and normally Changelings were washed clean quickly after they emerged from their cocoons.

It was after Lazni was free of the cocoon and she could feel the goo dripping off her form that she became aware of new sensations. Inside of her a familiar but long lost gnawing was starting to devour at her, pulling and ripping at her heart. As an infiltrator Lazni was built to go for months without needing to harvest love from a pony and return it to her queen, but now there was a feeling ebbing inside of her, similar and yet something new at the same moment.

Lazni felt the need to be given love, and give love back-- to changelings. And these Changelings should serve...

"Lazni," Pupae's voice came from the door. Lazni rose up, standing taller than Pupae now as she looked down at the grinning Queen. Pupae continued, keeping the smile on her face, "Or should I say, Queen Lazni. You should get used to using pronouns befitting a queen. Yourself, I, me. It's more-- appropriate."

Lazni simply blinked at Pupae, not sure if she wanted to hug her friend or punch the smug look off the queen's face.

"This is not meant to be. Pupae, please-- fix this." Lazni said, still feeling the ooze leak off her body, not unlike sewage dripping off wet clothes.

"Oh, I'm afraid I cannot do that." Pupae seemed absolutely chipper at this. "You see, you have the potential to be just as powerful as Prominence or myself now, Lazni. More importantly, you can't be apart of either of our hives."

"So that's why-- the link--"

"Yes," Pupae affirmed, "Your link naturally severed, I would have kept it intact if I could have done so. for now though, rest. I will fetch you a bucket of water so you can bathe, I am sure you are still weak. Your new drones are eager to meet their queen, and we cannot have you looking... well, we need to wash you up first."

"My drones?" Lazni asked dumbly. Pupae had already turned to fetch water, leaving Lazni to stare around the room. counting her own, four cocoons were ripped open, no changeling or pony inside to speak of. Lazni wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she knew she had to try and find a way to get out of her current state. She had to become an infiltrator again and serve her purpose.

It was only moments before Pupae returned with water and a few washcloths. Pupae offered Lazni one while she began helping the queen wash of the goo from the cocoon.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, Lazni. but I knew that if I had told you, you would have said no." Pupae whispered, running her washcloth down Lazni's back and cleaning off her wings with exceedingly gentle strokes.

"This is not right, Pupae, you must--"

"Shh..." Pupae said, running washcloth over Lazni's chitin again. Lazni could not tell if it was hot or cold water, but she supposed it did not matter much. She used her wash cloth the clean off her face and frontside, wiping herself clean. She now had a shiny carapace, one just as grand as any other queens-- and yet she felt like she had done nothing to deserve this, certainly she had done nothing to earn it.

"Lazni, if you truly believe that Prominence's has lost her mind-- indeed, I think she is too proud and vain for her own good, you and I now have the strength to stop her." Lazni looked over her shoulder, feeling wisdom dawn on her. Of course, this was not something Pupae meant to be permanent, she was using Lazni as a tool so that they could stop Prominence from doing something truly terrible. Although Lazni still felt violated by Pupae changing her without any regard for her wishes in the matter, she understood the need for it. It was a matter of evolving out of necessity to make the world a better place. Which, Lazni could not help but remind herself, was the exact same argument she liked to use with ponies who became changeling drones.

When Lazni's body was cleaned, she laid back and dipped the back of her head into the bucket of water. Pupae looked down on her the whole time, washing out the goo from Lazni's mane. Both of them were mostly silent, Pupae seeming rather pleased with her work and Lazni simply lost in herself, still trying to come to terms with everything.

"Your mane is clean. Now I need your tail." Pupae said. Lazni rolled over, offering up her tail as she watched the doorway. She was doing this for Prominence, and as long as she kept telling her that in her head, she'd remember it and believe it. When her tail was rinsed of the goo, Lazni rose up, towering over Pupae as she did her best to look regal.

"Puff your chest out." Pupae said. "You're a queen now, act like it. and don't forget to refer to yourself as I. Give it a try, tell me how you feel, Lazni." Lazni held her breath for a bit, trying to force the words out. it wasn't an easy exerience, and when the words left her maw they truly did not feel like they were her own.

"I feel Like I'm wandering. I'm wandering with the rest of you and now I am lost." Lazni blurted out. Pupae raised her brow a bit, giving Lazni a knowing nod.

"I too once felt that way, after my mother left me her old hive. I was told once that not all who wander are lost-- but i certainly am, so who cares about the others?" Pupae's poor attempt at a joke barely made Lazni grumble in response. The two of them slowly crept down the hallway, Lazni leading Pupae down the stairs and into a back room of the mayor's residence. The floor had been torn out here, and what resembled an entrance tunnel to a hive now replaced the room.

"What happened to the mayor?" Lazni asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer. They were both started down the tunnel before Pupae gave an answer.

"Never woke up," Pupae said, as if she was dismissing a speck of dirt off of her hoof. "Maybe that's for the best. Can you imagine how she'd be acting if she had woken up and seen what's been done to her house? Ponies don't respond to change very well."

"That's horrible!" Lazni said while Pupae dismissed the Raspberry Creeks' mayor. "is she still sleeping or did she--"

"Put it out of your mind, Lazni." Pupae groaned. "You sometimes need to break a few stones to build a hive. Now get yourself under control, you don't want your drone's first memory of you to be one of... whatever you're feeling. It should be a happy moment.

"How can you say that?" Lazni gasped. Pupae put a hoof on Lazni's shoulder, which required a lot of stretching on the former's part.

"Because this is your role in the hive now, and you need to fulfill it. To your drones and to yourself." Pupae stopped a a small cavern, which branched off to three more tunnels.

"It's the left tunnel , all the way to the back. It's just one cavern room right now, because we don't have enough diggers. Hopefully with your drones, we'll be able to start expanding more and move future ponies below ground. the ground hasn't frozen yet, but from what Prominence says we need to get the digging we want done before that happens. I wouldn't know, I've never experienced winter."

Lazni did not even have the spirit to look at Pupae as the latter gave her a pat on the back, urging her onward in her task. Even as Pupae turned to leave, Lazni could not muster up the courage to face those ponies-- now changelings, waiting for her at the end of the tunnel. They were not like drones she had reared before. Before they had always accepted that they were ascending to be with the gods, the changelings. These ponies were forcibly taken from their lives by Prominence and transformed against their will. Would they hate changelings for this? Lazni wondered if perhaps, they might hate her for this?

Putting up mental guards, Lazni strode forward, hoping to not express any worry to the young drones. Willing or not, they were still very easily influenced by new experiences on their empathetic link, and it was not something Lazni wanted to damage.

the room had a single biolamp in fiery colours hanging from the ceiling like a chandler. Based on the lackluster design and colour choices, Lazni guessed that this was the equivalent of a housewarming gift from Prominence. It was a little touch of Hive Lalartu, something from home that brought back a flood of memories to Lazni. memories of an old life as Lalartu's infiltrator. Memories of useful to a powerful queen.

Lazni gave her head a little shake as she glanced around the room. In the room sat three changeling drones with opaque, milky grey-white eyes. Lazni knew this look, although it was not something she had seen often. This was the mark of a hiveless drone, a lonely existence that Lazni could sympathize with all too well.

For once, Lazni wasn't sure how to approach the drones. She had never had this problem before, but now everything as more personal, more different. Everything seemed foreign and new now.

"W-Who are you?" One of the drones asked, standing up and shielding the other two. She was by far the larger of the other two, and seemed to be the most willing to stand up. Lazni wasn't sure if she would get her guess right, but she hoped that maybe she could make the drone ease up by showing that she at least knew them.

"You used to be a medical pony, right? But you're not anymore? I'm not here to hurt you." Lazni felt like she had to puke out the start of her statement, but she knew she could get it down with practice. She had no choice.

"You-- You know who I am?" The changeling said, their eyes widening. "My name is Shade Soft, --You, you're different from those other two. Who are you?"

Lazni took a deep breath, saying, "My name is Lazni. I'm here to help you."

The changeling breathed a huge sigh of relief. The two drones under her seemed equally relieved, the group standing and trotting to Lazni.

"So you can help us? You can make us ponies again?" asked Shade Soft.

It was at this moment that Lazni stopped herself. She very well could teach them to assume any shape they saw-- and Lazni herself had seen at least two of these drones and possibly the third as ponies. Lazni let out a burst of fire, the flames covering her as she took on the appearance of the white medical mare who had rushed to aid the mayor of Raspberry Creek. The drone took a few steps back, clearly alarmed at seeing a simulacrum of what was once their reflection.

"You are changelings now. What has been done cannot be undone-- but you can learn to take the forms that you once held." Lazni frowned, feeling that perhaps she had made a misstep based on the reaction from the drone. "What have the others told you three?"

"That you're certainly not gods, and to stop calling ourselves ponies. They made us eat this-- this weird green stuff, and we've just been down here for a day or so. I guess the 'queen' of you 'gods' is supposed to visit us?" Lazni had a feeling based on the tone that this other drone was the mare from the bar, but it didn't really matter. She wasn't that mare anymore.

"That would be me," Lazni said, a little shyness creeping over her. "Changelings live in hives with drones and a queen. The three of you are going to be living with me from on, I guess you could say."

"There's no way we're doing that." Shade Soft said. "Look, I'm not a jerk like most of this town, and-- and as far as I know you didn't have anything to do with... what happened to us, but..."

"But?" Lazni queried.

"I'm not a jerk!" said the former barpony.

"But this isn't our life! We have families, they're probably... well, nopony is probably worried about me, but that isn't the point!" Shade Soft stomped a hoof on the ground.

"And it was not right of Prominence or Pupae to take you away from that life. Nothing can be done about it now. Would you like to see your families again, to walk out onto the streets and see them as you are now?"

The drones stopped, their eyes reflecting Lazni's own visage-- one of exasperation. Lazni simply could not believe that Prominence and Pupae thought this was going to be okay or that something like this wouldn't happen. Lazni let out a sigh, trying to think of something she could do to show them that things would be alright, that everything would be okay, just very, very different.

"Lay with me." Lazni said, an idea popping into her head that instantly became a plan.

"Excuse me?" Shade Soft asked.

Lazni ignored her, trotting to the wall near the exit and laying down on her side. "You've all been out of your cocoons for awhie now, so I know that you have to be suffering--"

"Obviously! Quite obviously we are suffering!" Shade Soft bemoaned.

"Then at least lay down with me so you aren't hungry."

"Hungry?" Shade Soft said dumbly. "Why would we be hungry?"

Lazni tapped her own chest, right where she could feel the biting, painful sensation of not having harvested love inside of her. It was not a horrible pain yet, but it was one that Lazni knew would only grow over time to become something horrible and painful. Something that could consume a changeling's whole being.

"I know that deep inside you, there is a hole. Something that you cannot fill up no matter how much you eat or how much you drink. It might not hurt very much yet, but each moment that goes by you can feeling it getting worse and worse in your heart. Can you feel it?" Lazni looked at the drones with need in her eyes, watching as they slowly nodded to each other, unable to deny such an obvious pain that they all knew they had.

"That hole can only be filled with love harvested from ponies." Lazni said. Lazni was actually well educated in this process, but it wasn't one she was sure she wanted to explain to the drones just yet. When drones collect love, they were able to give it back to their queen. their queen, in turn, would release pheromones that would cause a large release of dopamine inside of drones, as well as returning the love to them in a more powerful form. "Love is the energy we changelings use to power all of our magics. It's how we are able to take the form of other ponies and even use powerful spells."

"We have wings and we can use magic?" Shade Soft asked. "Like alicorns?"

"...Yes, I suppose so." Lazni commented. "Only we are not ponies. We are evolved from ponies, better than ponies." Lazni watched as the youngest of the drones broke away, trotting over and curling up by Lazni's side. Lazni was just happy that this time she was not being viciously bitten by the small former pony.

"Let's say I believe this. What makes us superior?" Shade Soft and the other drone laid down on either side of Lazni, sandwiching her between themselves.

"Changelings have harmony unmatched by ponies, and like you've said, we can fly and use magic." Lazni replied smartly. "Additionally, we don't have to have cutie marks or special talents."

"I feel like there's a story about that somewhere..." Shade Soft said uneasily.

"We don't shun special talents." Lazni said hastily. "Instead we share them. they become part of the collective swarm in a hive. Every single drone is special and unique, even if it's impossible to tell one from the other. All of our skills and talents work together in harmony and love for one another. One large, happy family. We work hard to keep ponies happy, and in turn, ponies give us love. Nobody loses in a world where Changelings are the masters."

"But--" Shade Soft sighed. "But I want to be me again."

"You are you, drone." Lazni said, petting Shade Soft's head. "But if you ever feel like looking like your old self again... Do you have an image of what you looked like in your head/"

"Yes, I know what I look like." Shade Soft sounded almost insulted at the question. Lazni lowered her horn to that of the drone, touching their horns together and creating a spark. There was a burst of flame as Shade Soft caught on fine, green flames consuming her body before she lay next to her family, once more appearing to be a pony. Shade Soft was only able to hold this disguise long enough to feel her hooves and admire her body before it once more melted away, leaving her as nothing but a drone.

"You always have to keep a mental image of what you look like in your mind to use that spell. You also need love magic in order to keep the disguise up." Lazni stroked the drone's head before continuing, "It is my guess that you have neither."

Shade Soft had no response. There was a stunned look on her face, as if she had suddenly seem something she had never seen before. Lazni smirked at the dazed drone, turning back to the other two and holding them close to herself.

"What if we choose to just use this power to return to our old lives?" The former barpony asked. "Couldn't we do that?"

"Oh, very much so." Lazni said. "But doing so will just make the other two here kidnap more ponies. And they will force them to go through exactly what you are going through now. If I could stop them, I would. But their ambition doesn't know any limits, despite my best attempts. I will let you make your own choice though. I am merely offering to be your queen. I am offering you a lifetime of love and affection and harmony. But the choice is yours. No one should have ever done anything to you against your will, least of all this."

Lazni bowed her head. She was getting a little more used to this "I" word, but it still felt like she was puking every time she said it. Still, the statements seemed to evoke a sense of comfort in the drones, and the small former filly curled up in Lazni's arms, raising one of her hooves and wiping it across Lazni's cheek.

"Please don't cry." The small drone said. "You're the nice one. You shouldn't be crying." Despite any inner strength Lazni could draw on, this was too much for her. She began to cry at that moment, hugging the small drone to her. The barpony and Shade Soft seemed completely unable to figure out what they should do.

In Prominence's Shadow

The movement to war was best described as sluggish at first. Although the townsponies were too terrified to even look out their boarded up windows as their wagons were stolen and repurposed for war, moving enough food into the wagons and barrels of water to support the war effort was still a time consuming task for all drones involved. Once it was complete, it still took four drones to pull each wagon, all of them disguised as ponies. Prominence's drones flew overhead, disguised as pegasi covering the flanks of the caravan. Prominence, Pupae, and Lazni each had their own wagon reserved to them, one that looked just like all of the others so that they could blend in with the supplies and not stand out for the enemy to spot.

The trip was made in silence from evening to night, night to day, and day back to evening again. So far as Lazni knew, she and Prominence were spending their days furnishing both their own drones and Prominence's drones with love to keep their magical stores topped off. Lazni didn't bother to think about what was at the end of the road until the wagons stopped on the other side of the mountain.

"Hivemother Lazni?" Lazni glanced up at one of her drones calling her name, their head poking into the stopped wagon. Outside it was completely dark, a moonless night .

"Yes drone?" Lazni asked.

"Princess Prominence requests to see you before... before the battle tomorrow. Sooner rather than later." Lazni raised an eyebrow at her drones, but then nodded.

"Tell her I am on my way." the drone saluted before disappearing into the night, leaving Lazni to stretch her chitin before stepping out into the night, looking behind her at the still hungry drones and saying, "Worry not, I will return soon."

Lazni followed her drone through the night, staying close to him as they approached Prominence's wagon. While on the outside the wagon was just a normal travel wagon like all the rest commandeered from Raspberry Creek, on the inside Prominence had a miniature recreation of her hall. Currently she had her map folded up in a corner and head poking into the coach area of the wagon. Behind Prominence were glasses of mulled wine. Between the two glasses of wine was a pretty living flame, part of it purple and lively, and the other fiery red with wispy and erratic behaviour. Lazni winced in surprise, taken aback by situation.

"What's all this, Prominence?" Lazni asked, sitting down on some cushions laid out for her.

"Ah, Lazni. I'm glad you could come. I wanted to talk to you." Prominence said, turning around and taking a seat on considerably less cushions than she had provided for Lazni.

"We can talk now." Lazni said, lounging into the pillows but not touching the wine.

"It's not poisoned. We can switch glasses if you'd like. It's best if you don't wait for it to be lukewarm." Prominence said, noticing Lazni not reaching for the warm drink.

"Ah-- yes, very well." Lazni said, lifting the glass with her magic and taking a sip. Normally pony drink was not something Changelings engaged in-- not for lack of desire but typically due to lack of supply. Lazni wasn't even sure if Changelings could become intoxicated, it wasn't something she'd ever had to experiment with.

"How did we become so distant, Lazni?" Prominence asked. "We were the best of friends at Hive Lalartu. Do you think that we could be like that again?"

"Like what again, Prominence?" Lazni said guardedly. "I was an infiltrator and you were my Princess. I was loyal to you and the hive."

"But in the end you were most loyal to me." Prominence said. "You made the choice to follow me into the unknown. You've always been so loyal to me, and so good to me, even before this ordeal."

"... It was just what felt natural." Lazni mumbled.

"I couldn't agree more." Prominence said with a smile, finishing off her heated wine and then sliding herself towards Lazni looked down at Prominence, who was laying on the floor of the wagon and looking up expectantly at her. Lazni was dead silent for a full minute before Prominence sat up, a smile on her face. "Think about it Lazni. We'll have Hive Lalartu. You and me. Tomorrow we will meet Lalartu in battle, and after that, we shall take her hive. With you under me, I'll have your loyalty and my power. I will be High Queen."

"Yeah, right." Lazni said mutely. "High Queen Prominence." Prominence pulled her map out, showing off all the territories south of Equestria and beyond.

"Everything on this map will be ours Lazni. You will rule right at my side while we subjugate other hives. Hives in every other land, from the wastes to the oceans."

"And how do you intend to have the armies to do this?" Lazni asked. "Convert more ponies against their will and then brainwash them so they fight in your wars?"

Prominence flattened her ears at this, deflating noticeably at this. "Lazni-- you're the one that thinks it's such a good idea to help ponies evolve."

"Not like this. Not the way you're doing this!" Lazni yelled. "They are my family! I love each and every one of them, and you don't seem to feel anything for any of them! All that you care about is using them as tools, not what they mean to you. Why is that? How can you be so callous?"

Prominence was silent for a few minutes. She pulled out her mulled wine and poured herself another cup, drinking it at room temperature. The living flame that had been keeping the glasses heated had now almost all but died, casting shifting shadows around the inside of the wagon.

"Lazni, do you remember when I told you that I was a very powerful child, before I joined the swarm and how I cannot remember my family?" Prominence asked quietly, looking seriously into Lazni's eyes.

"Yes, I do." Lazni said. "It was the first time where I realized how unhinged you've become. It seems to me like you've lost your mind, Prominence."

"I suppose it would when you don't know what I know." Prominence said quietly. "What I tell you here, please, never tell it to anyone else. I wish it to be so."

"There are no lies between us, Prominence." Lazni said quietly.

"Yes, let us keep it that way." Prominence mumbled. "After I attacked the mayor and saw that filly find her body, I was struck with a strange sense of deja vu. I had seen the seen before because I had lived the scene before. You see, I was not volunteered to be apart of Hive Lalartu. Changeling drones killed my mother and father, and then took me away. Lalartu forced me to become one of her Princesses. I always knew that I was more of a crown jewel to her than anything else. Something quaint and entertaining that she could call her own, and nothing more."

Lazni remained silent, her mouth dropping. In all the years she had been close to Prominence, she had never been told this. Lazni watched as Prominence crumpled, laying against the wagon floor and reminiscing. Prominence cleared her throat and then continued, "I know. Trust me, I know that I'm doing a lot of things wrong. But I'm doing them because I swore to myself that I would destroy Lalartu for what she did to me. I swore that... when I destroyed her, that would never have to happen to anypony ever again. Perhaps I'm the only one who feels that way. Or maybe half of my drones want to kill me. What do you think, Lazni?"

Lazni was silent for a few moments before she found her words, mumbling very quietly to Prominence, "Don't you think that, in your quest for revenge... you've become the second Lalartu?"

"Excuse me?" Prominence said, sitting up. This clearly had not been what she was expecting to hear."

"You set out to stop Lalartu forcibly changing ponies. You wanted to make sure that what happened to you never happened to anypony ever again. But you're a hundred times worse, Prominence. You've done it hundreds of times to countless ponies that make up our hives."

It was Prominence's turn to be in shock. Only it was more shock mixed with a gut punch. Prominence looked as if Lazni had just stabbed her in the chest, her face a picture of horror.

"Prominence, it is too late to reverse what you've done, but you can stop making it worse. If you turn these wagons around and we go back to Raspberry Creek, things won't be okay, but they'll be better." Lazni assured her, reaching out and hugging Prominence. Prominence leaned idly into the hug. She was stiff and very hard to hold onto in her current position, but Lazni still managed to pull the smaller changeling to her chest.

"It is Lalartu who drove me to do this. I will not stop until I have destroyed her." Prominence said, pulling away from Lazni and standing up. "This is my destiny. I always knew that it was."

"What's your destiny, Prominence? You know nothing is written in stone, right?" Lazni said, her voice pleading for her friend to see reason.

"I predicted a long time ago that I would someday become like Lalartu. When she was too old and she died, I would take her place. I'd be every bit as horrible as she was and rule with an iron fist. and in my quest to make sure that I never became her, the things I've done-- I've become just like her. Worse than her." Lazni reached out a hoof to Prominence, but Prominence magically stopped her, grabbing Lazni with full telekinetic force and pushing her towards the door of the wagon.

"Leave me." Prominence said. "I don't deserve your company." Lazni paused before leaving, not sure what she should say. She could already hear Prominence beginning to cry and knew she had to say something, even if it wasn't much.

"Then prove to me you deserve my company." Lazni said, "Prove to me that you're good, as I know you are deep inside, Prominence. Please, make the right decisions. Do the right thing, and we'll rule together happily. As friends."

Prominence let out a gurgling noise, which sounded like she was choking on her own tears. Lazni turned from the wagon, feeling her own tears well up inside of her as she stepped out into the cold night. Lazni did not leave though, and instead she waited. She waited because she had never seen her friend like this before. Prominence was the fiery one, and while she was as unpredictable as flames, that did not mean she deserved to be alone. Even if Prominence thought she was alone, Lazni knew that she wasn't. This was, at least to Lazni, some small solace for her heart.

"Oh Lazni." Prominence said from inside the wagon, her words wet with tears. "All I wanted was to see a great Empire where I am the queen, and you rule right by my side. I don't care about my hive, or any of those other Changelings. But you Lazni, you'e always been good to me. How can I get you back? Have I gone too far? No. No, I have to stay the course. You'll see. You'll see that I am right. I'll show you."

Lazni quickly pulled away, silently sneaking off before she heard too much that she was not comfortable with hearing.

Prelude to Darkness

The next morning Lazni, Pupae, and Prominence were all gathered at the center of their war circle. As soon as the sun had come across the horizon Prominence had torn herself into action, moving the wagons into one wide circle and one smaller inner circle. All of the outer wagons were turned so as to create a perfectly circular wall. Prominence had then ordered that all important supplies be condensed into the inner wagons, cramming them full to the point where they could barely be moved even with eight drones pulling them. Next, Prominence had used Pupae's and Lazni's drones to fill the outer layer with any spare wood they could find, stuffing them all as full as possible.

"And here we find ourselves at the edge of a battle. I have waited for this day." Prominence had recovered herself from the mess she had been the night before, and now seemed to only care about the oncoming day. "We are surrounded on three sides. Lalartu will attack us from hills in the south, from the mountains behind us in the east, and from the forests in the west. The weather is quite favorable. Dry. No rain for at least two days."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing, Prominence?" Pupae asked. Prominence gave her a firm nod, smirking. "I will charge the forces in the forest and burn them alive there with a token force of my drones. The rest of my force will guard our flanks. If it becomes necessary, we can set the outer wagons on fire to create a wall between your drones and any danger. Lalartu soldiers are not aerodynamic enough to fly over the flames without being lit by my drones. Any of her drones that attack will not be strong enough to overcome my soldiers inside the ring. But I do not think that it will be necessary to use that. It is a precaution only."

Prominence stole into one of the wagons, and in a flurry of motion from two drones helping her and her magical poweress she had donned a long red and black cloak. It allowed her to cover up all of her body except for her head, and bore the symbol of her blood red raven across her back. Lazni had to admit to herself that Prominence cut an intimidating figure despite her lack of fashion sense.

"I am off to lead the charge on the Changelings in the forest. When you see the smoke, you know what to do. Stay put and keep down, because the other attackers are going to charge." Prominence turned and with a flourish of her cloak was off into the sky with a dozen of her warriors.

"There's no way she can know that they'll do that." Pupae said mildly, grooming one of her hooves that had a little dirt on it. "Whatever the case, I don't trust that Prominence knows what she's doing. I just hope her fire makes up for that."

"We've trusted her this far and nothing bad has happened." Lazni said. "Why would she do something to us now?"

"Hmm, still..." Pupae mused, clicking her hooves and summoning a half dozen of her drones. "Drones, I would like for you to dig a trench around the inner circle of wagons. Make it three drones from one side to the other so that it cannot be jumped."

"Uh, Pupae." Lazni said. "Isn't that going to trap us in here with these wagons?" From the look on Pupae's face, Lazni sensed that this was exactly what Pupae planned to be doing. Lazni beckoned for Pupae to come sit with her, and the two of them laid down in the middle of the inner wagon circle, relaxing as the sounds of digging filled the air. They had both barely laid down before multiple drones were fawning over them, doting happily on their lovely queens.

"Lazni, I expect that soon there will be a shift in our group." Pupae said. Lazni nodded. She had been waiting for this conversation. Pupae continued, "When we reach Hive Lalartu, I will take the throne, and with your support, Prominence will bend at the knee to us. However, I suspect that Prominence may be on to me-- or worse, perhaps she simply is thinking along the same lines as me and trying to get me out of the way."

"It's impossible for you two to not be at each other's throats, isn't it?" Lazni asked. "Did you spend all Winter plotting ways to kill her? Do you think she spent all Winter plotting ways to kill you?"

"Yes and yes, uh, and yes." Pupae said, nodding to affirm all these positives. "I bet that even if we aren't in any danger, Prominence will set those wagons on fire and let the fire creep through the grass towards the inner wagons. We'll be trapped and die horribly, of course."

"Prominence wouldn't do that." Lazni said. "Prominence--- I think Prominence loves me."

"Then you really are a fool." Pupae said. "Prominence has used the two of us and now we are no longer of any use to her. She is ready to dispose of us and the weaker of the drones while she has the best for combat ready to take over her new hive. We are nothing to her Lazni, Nothing. Friendship is for ponies and words are for lying."

"You're so wrong." Lazni said, not believing any of this for a second.

"Lazni! I am your only hope for survival." Pupae snapped. "Please promise me that when the time comes, you will take my side."

"Words are for lying, so I won't say anything." Lazni said. Pupae looked furious for a moment, and then her expression softened.

"I know you'll make the right choice. Especially after Prominence tries to kill us soon.

The day was eerily peaceful as the drones finished the digging the trench. Pupae left the inner circle to tend to the ditch and make sure it was adequate, leaving Lazni alone with her drones. The smallest of the drones was pressed to Lazni's chest, and had become a favorite of hers while she was travelling-- mostly due to how easy it was to carry her around.

It was easy for Lazni to remember who this drone was, as she was the only child that had been changed. Despite her harsh outside as a filly when they had first met, Lazni had actually found that turning this pony into a changeling had greatly improved the filly's demeanour. She seemed very happy now, and without the stress of remembering much or any of her old life, the trauma's that Prominence had created seemed to have faded from her mind. Lazni gave a little kiss to the forehead of the drone, hugging her close as they both giggled, one aware but not understanding the danger they were in, and Lazni hoping that they would all make it through the day alive.

As Lazni found herself lost in the beautiful moment of her drones surrounding and loving her, she felt a heat drift past her face. Standing up, Lazni put the drone on her back and flew into the air, looking around her. Pupae was standing at the edge of the inner circle, right above the ditch line. In the distance Lazni could see wildfire leaping from wagon to wagon, forming a circle of flames. Overhead were Prominence's drones, all of them standing ready to blow fire down at the center. Lazni felt her eyes go wide as she waited for the inevitable death, but it never came.

The outer wagons all burned to a crisp, taking any nearby grass with it. Indeed, the worst part about it all was the smoke. All of the drones, Pupae, and Lazni had laid down close to the ground, doing their best to avoid breathing in the fumes of burning wagon around them.

"Pupae!" Lazni called from under a wagon. "Pupae, what happened!?"

"Prominence's braindead drones started a fire, probably thinking it would jump over the ditch. What they have in power they lack in brains!" Pupae called back.

Lazni stopped, looking at the flames as the scents of flame drifted into her nostrils. Something was very off about this flame. It burned with a life as it consumed everything around it, this was true, but it did not truly seem to be living in the way that Prominence's fires lived. Prominence's fire had some order to their destruction, selectively consuming and burning for maximum effect. These fires were wild and untamed, doing as they pleased but without any logic. Lazni did not have to think long about the answer to this. These flames were not those of Prominence, nor of her drones. Something... or someone, else had started this fire.

Lazni did not share her suspicious with Pupae however. She had a creeping feeling that Pupae might have been involved somehow, and if she just let Pupae think that she had won her over, then maybe she wouldn't try any more dangerous attempts to frame Prominence for horrible acts. Lazni shook her head at that thought. She had grown to see Pupae as a friend and trusted ally, but now she saw her for what she was-- all that Pupae had cared about and ever would care about was her own power and safety. She was not so different from Prominence.

Lazni felt a beat of wings overhead pass through her ears and turned to look up. Prominence looked aghast at the situation below, and had averted course down into the flames, which she was trying to redirect away from the inner wagons. Unfortunately, she had little time to try this, as the sound of heavy buzzing filled the air. Lazni ducked her head down, holding her drones close to her as Hive Lalartu and Princess Prominence clashed above. Fallen soldiers fell away from the sky, falling towards a funeral pyre below them.

Lazni could not bring herself to look at the fighting, but true to her word, Prominence never let a single one of Lalartu's drones through to the inner wagons. By the time the flames around the base had died down, so to had the fighting overhead. Lazni's drones were now capturing fire and redirected it into the air, putting it out almost immediately. There was a soft buzzing and Lazni looked up at the sound of it. Prominence's cloak had holes in several places from changelings attempting to stab her with their horns, and the ends of her cloak looked singed and partially burned away in a few places.

Prominence's view focused on Pupae, who was standing with her drones looking quite pleased with herself.

"I had no intention of actually using that fire, but even if it had started it would have been a trivial task to fly upwards and away from the flames. There was no need to dig a ditch around the center." Prominence said.

"And just burn all of our supplies!?" Pupae demanded, clearing hoping she had Prominence in a trap.

"Supplies be damned. The army of Hive Lalartu is defeated and there will be plenty of spoils. Judging by how many fell today, I think we can expect only a token resistance when I challenge her for her throne."

"Challenge her?" Pupae scoffed. "That's what you're focused on while you tried to kill myself and Lazni?" Both Prominence and Pupae looked to Lazni, hoping for some sort of answer. Lazni averted her eyes, saying nothing and deciding she didn't want either of them to benefit from her input.

"Unlike you, nymph, I was fighting a battle." It was Prominence's turn to scoff. Prominence lept down from her perch on top of one of the wagons and motioned for Pupae and Lazni to join her.

"Come, we can reach Hive Lalartu by the end of the day if we hurry. I would like to make haste to this place before Lalartu decides to flee. I will not allow her to escape me."

"Oh, yes, I'm so glad we have you to protect us, Princess Prominence. I feel so safe with you leading the charge. I remember the last time and I swear I still find mud in my mane at times." Pupae's voice was nasty and unhinged as she glared at Prominence with hatred. Prominence simply gave a whistle, two dozen of her soldiers joining her.

"It's foolish to go alone, obviously I'm taking my army with me." Prominence said. "Gather your drones, a half dozen of my force will guard the supplies.

"Drones, with me." Pupae said. Scores of drones flopped upwards, ready to fly with her. Lazni gave a nod to her crowd, another four score jumping up to serve. Lazni picked up the youngest changeling and put her on her back, turning to Prominence and nodding that they were ready.

"Hang on tightly. We're going to go to my home." Lazni told the drone, giving her a gentle smile as they prepared to take off.

Prominence and Pupae bickered the entire trip, nearly coming to blows as Lazni watched the move towards Hive Lalartu. Flying was much faster than walking, and what had been a full day for them before was now but an hour's flight to Lazni's old home. The arrival could not have come soon enough, as she was sure if Pupae and Prominence spent another moment together that they would come to blows. Lazni was sure she could end these problems, though. Pupae could keep the old Hive Lalartu, and Prominence and Lazni would return to rebuild Raspberry Creek.

The daunting doorway of Hive Lalartu stood before them, a black tunnel that led down to the uppermost levels of the hive. Prominence ordered six her drones to go first, followed by Pupae and six of Pupae's drones, Lazni, and then finally herself. The rest of the army held steady, keeping a clearing open in case their leaders would need to make a quick exit back to the rank and file. Lazni took a deep breath as she followed Pupae, not sure if she was really ready for the final confrontation with Queen Lalartu.

High Queen

Lazni gazed around her old home as she entered into the main cylinder. The hallways and tunnels were obviously less well kept since Prominence and Lazni had left, sort of like an old pony's house when they have no younger relatives to help them clean the dust off of everything. The brilliant bio lamps kept everything faintly illuminated, a magical world hidden away all for the changelings of Hive Lalartu.

"We waste no time!" Prominence yelled, strutting forward to the center of the hive. "I have a throne to ascend!" Lazni and Pupae stood back as Prominence called down to the hive, her voice as fierce and fiery as it had ever been. "Your armies are defeated! I have come to challenge Queen Lalartu for her throne. Step forward those who would serve me, and be spared the rising flame!" Prominence gave a cough as she pulled back, motioning for Lazni and Pupae to follow her to Lalartu's chambers.

Everything felt incredibly eerie as Lazni heard the clicking of three dozen hooves echo around her. Prominence had her head held high, looking absolutely gleeful as she prepared to finally fulfill her desires. Lazni hated Prominence for what she had done to get here, but she could still appreciate the emotions that were coursing through the Princess noticeably. Excited fire escaped from Prominence's hooves as she stepped forward, moving past all the best bio lamps before stopping front of Lalartu's throne. Lalartu was not attended by any drones, and was sitting upright on her throne, looking as if she had fallen asleep while lounging.

"Lalartu!" Prominence yelled up to her. "I have come to challenge you for this hive, it is mine by right of conquest."

Lazni waited with baited breath for Lalartu's response. What powerful magics and secrets did Lalartu know? Had they already stepped into her trap? What would she think seeing Lazni now as a queen?

All of these questions were questions that would never be answered for Lazni, nor any of the other changelings standing before Lalartu. Minutes ticked by as Prominence's patience broke. She ascended the throne, grabbing lalartu with a hoof and then recoiling, tripping over her singled cloak and falling down the stairs. She landed with a soft crunch at the bottom, still holding her hoof in shock and terror.

"Prominence!" Lazni yelled, running forward and cradling her. "Prominence, what's wrong?"

Prominence did not speak immediately. She just stared up at Lalartu, who was still unmoving, not noticing any of the world around her.

"She's dead." Prominence whispered. "She's already dead."

"Is that so? The decay of time has claimed our enemy before you could?" Pupae's voice leaked out from behind Prominence and Lazni. Prominence sat rooted in place, unable to tear her gaze away from the apparently sleeping for of Lalartu. "Drones, remove the old queen from MY throne! As the only true remaining queen here, I claim this hive as mine, by right of inheritance."

"Inheritance?" Prominence breathed, watching as Pupae began to ascend the stairs to the throne. Lalartu's body was torn from view by Pupae's drones, who unceremoniously deposited it behind the throne so their queen could seat herself.

"Prominence, snap out of it." Lazni said, nudging her and trying to rouse her from her state of shock. Prominence only seemed to recover when Lalartu was shoved from her thrown and removed by Pupae's drones. Pupae seated herself on the throne, a giant smile on her face as she looked down at her world.

"Lazni, join me on my throne." Pupae said, motioning for Lazni to sit with her on the throne. Lazni glanced up at Pupae, who had her drones flocking around her. She seemed so secure in her victory.

"Lazni, come now, leave the filth where it is." Pupae smiled at Prominence, who was growing warmer by the minute as her inner fire rose. "Princess Prominence will obey us. I think you are right, she does indeed love you. And she will love having you as one of her Queens."

Pupae shifted her gaze to Prominence, beginning to take a mocking tone now as she looked down at her. "Poor, Poor Prominence." What began as a fake sweetness lost it's mocking tone as Pupae's voice turned ugly, months of hatred and venom dripping in her words, "You dumb nymph, you thought you were so special. You kill eight changelings but spare one to try and impress Lazni with your kindheartedness? To pretend you aren't evil?" Pupae grinned at Lazni briefly. "I bet you were wondering why she did that and why she didn't care about it later. It was a ruse to make you see her as something better than she is."

Pupae continued her taunting of Prominence, speaking now in a grander tone, "Look at you Prominence, you disgust me. You told me one that you wanted revenge on Lalartu for being evil, for all the horrible things she's done. I cannot imagine what evils she has wrought upon you, but surely, you are far worse than she ever was already. Hundreds have lost their lives and-- it is true-- found a new life in the hive.." Pupae petted the chin of one of her drones, looking down ferociously. "You didn't care who got hurt on your war path to this throne, but not for yourself. This throne is for me Prominence, not for you. Surrender yourself to me, serve me, save what little shred of self worth you could possibly have. Submit to Hive Pupae, fight for me and force other hives to submit. If there is going to be a new High Queen, then it is going to be High Queen Pupae!"

"Never in your life." Prominence whispered. In one moment, all of Prominence's memories seemed to be visible in her eyes, flashing to the forefront for Prominence to recall, and Lazni to painfully remember. There she was, Prominence was a happy little foal, playing gleefully with her brothers and sisters. Her parents gave her whatever she wanted, living in a huge house south of Equestria. One day, Prominence was practicing her fire magic while they were travelling southward. There was a huge explosion from the hills, followed by more explosions closer to the family caravan. Prominence stayed hidden until after the moon came up and darkness fell over the world, hiding from the explosions and fire. Some creatures approached, scary monsters that she could only assume had caused the explosions-- how right she would have been if she had been part of the hive already. Lalartu picked up the young pony and took her into her hive, assimilating her to Hive Lalartu. Lalartu was openly cruel, always pushing Prominence to the limit, pushing Prominence to become the best. This life was not lackluster, however. Lazni saw a reflection of herself meeting Prominence for the first time. Long afternoons and nights spent together, doing everything from playing pranks to simply enjoying each other's company. Days fading away into history as Prominence hugged Lazni close-- perhaps at times, too close. So close that Lalartu began sending Lazni away for long periods of time. Without this distraction, Prominence's individuality and loneliness in a crowd fed the fires of treason.

The scene came full circle as Lazni saw all the recent events. All of Prominence's fear that she would lose Lazni, her best friend. The fear that Prominence might have to face and destroy Pupae, either in death or a worse fate. The last thing that Lazni could make out in her best friend was the knowing that she could never turn back after this. Lazni tried to reach out and hold back Prominence, but it was already too late. She could not stop her friend from sealing her fate. Pupae had time only to widen her eyes before Prominence's hoof connected with her face.

"I shall be the High Queen! And you, you shall have your throne!" Prominence's voice shook like fire in rain as she pulled herself back and then unleashed a burst of magical energy, sending a wave of liquid flame down upon Pupae and her drones. The sound of screaming was second only to it being drowned out by Prominence's mad laughter. Lazni turned away, already feeling the tears in her eyes well up as she witnessed her friends finally turn, irreversibly, on each other. Lazni flew into the air, tackling Prominence and sending them both towards the ground. Prominence barely broke their fall as she hugged Lazni close, laughing uproariously at her victory.

"Prominence! You didn't have to kill her!" Lazni yelled.

"Oh Lazni, I know you have a good heart, but trust me that it has to be this way. Pupae never would have stopped trying to kill us!" Prominence's hoof was stroking Lazni's mane as she looked up at her with loving eyes of fire.

"What are you talking about!" Lazni yelled, holding Prominence down against the floor. "Pupae knew that you were going to kill her. That's why she was so guarded with you. You never liked her from the moment you met her, you just saw her as a useful opportunity! Is that what I am to you, Prominence? An opportunity?"

"Lazni-- Lazni, no, what are you saying?" Prominence asked, the hubris in her voice vanishing. Lazni pulled herself off of Prominence, tearing her eyes away from the burning death to her right and galloping from the room. She wasn't sure where she was going in this hive, but she wasn't going to be around Prominence.

"Lazni!" Prominence screamed. Lazni heard her drones break off from Prominence's and follow her as she ran. She just had to keep running and not look back at Prominence or Pupae. Maybe if she ran long enough, she wouldn't have to ever remember those last, horrible moments that Pupae was forced to endure.

"Lazni!" Prominence was perusing her. "Argh-- Drones, make this room Pupae's crypt!" Prominence ordered them, pausing her pursuit of Lazni for only a short moment to order one final act of malice towards her hated partner. Lazni used this chance to get her drones started up the single file tunnel towards the surface. Unfortunately, this gave Prominence the time she needed to catch Lazni.

"Lazni, say something to me!" Prominence demanded.

"You'e a monster." Lazni said, tears staining her voice as she finally rounded on Prominence, using her body to shield all of her drones. "How could you think that I would be okay with this? You -- You didn't have to kill her!"

"She would have killed us when she had no more use for us. This is the way things are." Prominence said. "It's how changelings work. But we can change that. We already are."

"No, shut up!" Lazni yelled, advancing towards Prominence, who took a step back towards the edge. "Prominence, you're-- you're insane! You thought that doing all of this, everything, everything you've ever done, would just be okay?"

"Lazni-- I don't understand." Prominence said. "...The world is ours. Please, stay here with me. Let's just lay down, like we used to.

"Never!" Lazni yelled. "These drones did not choose their lives, you forced them into a war that they did not ask for! You have committed horrible sins of nature by anyone's standards. And you expect me to be your best friend after all of this?"

"Well someone had to do it!" Prominence yelled back, her temper flaring. "I did what I had to do because no one else was going to have the power or the drive to do it. Not you, Not Pupae. I had to do this, I had to cleanse Hive Lalartu. I will do it for other hives too. I and I alone will reign as High Queen. Lazni, please, I can't do this without you. Help me rule the world."

"I don't want to rule the world." Lazni said, her voice dying. "I'm not an egomaniac like you or Pupae. I hate you, Prominence. Let me leave in peace."

There was a crash as the tunnel leading to what was now Pupae's crypt gave way, sealing the remains away possibly forever. Prominence's face was a mask of grief as she crumpled, laying near the edge and peering down as if she was thinking about casting herself off into the abyss below. Prominence's drones arrived, gathering around her protectively in case she should fall.

"Lazni, you cannot mean this." Prominence said. "Please, please take it all back. Take me back."

"Throw yourself off that cliff, Prominence." Lazni said, turning away.

"Throw myself into the abyss?" Prominence asked.

"If you need a little push, don't look to me for help. I'm not going to stain my hooves with this mess. I want to leave, please, let me gather my hive and leave. You will never see us again."

"I'll never see you again?" Prominence asked, her voice more of a whisper to herself than a question to Lazni. She gave herself a little shake, her decision made. "Lazni, I am not letting you leave. You will stay here with me and rule by my side, whether that is because you are chained to my throne or by your own will, it does not matter." Prominence turned her gaze to her drones. "Drones, prove my point. Bathe all of Lazni's drones in fire. Bring the survivors and Pupae's drones inside. they shall slave away to provide for us."

"Prominence, no! What the hell!" Lazni screeched, trying to block the exit. Prominence's much stronger drones simply pushed Lazni aside, causing her to fall onto the floor and her smallest drone to fall off her back, sliding backwards away from the scene.

"Show no mercy. Send a dozen of yourselves to Raspberry Creek, and burn it to the ground." Lazni looked up at Prominence, and saw no trace of the Princess she had once known. The fire inside her eyes had died, leaving behind a haunting coldness. Prominence rounded on Lazni, all sense of grief wiped from her face.

"I'll always remember when I look at you, Lazni, that it was you who sent me over the edge." Prominence's voice was merely a rasp, a shell of who she had once been. "I've thrown myself off the cliff. But now? Now I will burn this world for what it has done. I will bring all changelings under my dominion. And then, when I have every queen in the world obeying me? I will smite them. This will be my manifesto, and it will be written in the halls of Changeling history as I bring their time crashing down."

"P-Prominence?" Lazni whispered, tears filling her eyes as she gaped at the Princess staring over the edge. Prominence did not respond, she did not seem able to. The darkness that had always threatened to overwhelm her volatile spirit had engulfed Prominence-- yes, Lazni knew that It had finally been let free, and she could never bottle it away again. Lazni heard a scream from above as the sound of fighting echoed downward. It was so hard to accept, and yet Lazni knew by the echos and Prominence's empty gaze turning to the tunnel to watch the massacre that this die was cast. She felt no remorse for what her drones were doing, not a shred of repent in any fiber of her being.

It was in this moment, when Lazni realized that she had failed all of her drones. Their happy lives were going to be cut short, and even if she caught up with Prominence's drones, she would be powerless to stop them all. Some would die, and the rest would be enslaved. Lazni now felt the same feeling that Prominence had moments before. Looking down into the abyss, Lazni wondered if she could give up and throw herself over the side. It would be one final act against Prominence, denying her the ability to ever hold Lazni to her side. Lazni realized too, in this same moment, that this would fix nothing. She could not undo Prominence's actions, but she could change the future with her own actions. She could stop this madness before it consumed anyone else in Prominence's blazing pyre.

Lazni jerked herself off from the ground, feeling fresh tears in her eyes as she broke a promise she had made only minutes ago to not dirty her hooves. Wrapping her forelegs around Prominence in a hug, Lazni saw her turn with a joyful expression. In that one moment, the old Prominence was back. In that one moment, Lazni realized the old Prominence had never really left. Her friend was the sum of all her actions, and for the great hero that she almost was, Prominence had fallen victim to the trappings of time-- she had lived long enough to become the next Queen Lalartu.

Prominence's expression changed to one of surprise as Lazni pulled her back, heaving Prominence with all her might over the edge of the cliff. Prominence tripped and stumbled backwards, slamming full force into the giant biolamp. There was a massive surge of heat and light as the unchecked chemicals inside rushed over Princess Prominence, the blues and greens of the lamp mixing with her own to create a brilliant, fiery red. Prominence was quickly swallowed up, disappearing in the chaos as glass shattered and gallons of chemicals surged down into the earth.

Lazni looked away from the cliff, her entire body heaving against her exoskeleton. The small drone had crawled back to Lazni, hugging her leg as they both stared at the remains of Lazni's home. The great cylinder was slowly searing the lower layers of the hive, drowning away Prominence. It was a foreign and scary place now, no longer the place any changeling had once known. Lazni did not even bother to try and wipe away her tears as she turned and gallopped away from everything she had ever known. Away from her friends, away from her mother, away from her hive. The tale of Hive Lalartu was over, and Lazni hoped that it's miserable history would die there with Pupae and Prominence.

Lazni had no idea what she was going to be smacking into when she arrived outside, but she had to try and stop the fighting. She would save as many as possible with the best tool she'd been taught. Words might be for lying, but sometimes a good lie is the best option.

The Hiveless

The horizon was a bloody tapestry as Lazni ripped through the sky, beating her wings to cut the air as she left the tunnel entrance. Much to Lazni's surprise, this was not an all out battle between her drones and Prominence's drones, but rather Prominence's drones were defending Lazni's drones from attacking forces on almost every front. As if they had sprung from the hillside itself, Lalartu drones were attacking any changeling they could reach.

Lazni quickly looked around, glancing down for somewhere she could speak from. finding a large jutting rock, she flew down and perched herself at the edge, overlooking the entire battle below. Truth be told, Lazni felt it looked more like a series of squabbles than actual battle. Prominence's drones were subduing the last of Lalartu's drones when Lazni cleared her throat, calling out to every drone below her.

"Hive Prominence, Hive Pupae, Hive Lalartu, Hive Lazni, hear me!" Lazni screamed over the edge of the rock. All of her hive snapped their eyes upward, and several more of the other hives turned their heads, wondering who was screaming at them. Lazni gulped as nearly four hundred eyes from every hive combined turned to look at her.

"Hivemother-- Queen Lalartu, is dead!" Lazni proclaimed. "Queen Pupae and Queen Prominence have fallen! They are all dead, and this hive is their tomb!"

"Liar!" One of Prominence's drones screamed. Lazni hoofwaved them, shaking it to the side and bringing it back in a circular motion to point at the offender.

"I killed Prominence myself. Her will had turned to madness!" There was a massive roar from below as echos of pain and anger erupted from all hives except for Lazni's. a few drones tried to charge her, but Lazni's own drones swiftly cut them off, piling onto whomever would dare to try and close the gap between the crowd and their queen.

"Changelings, listen to my words, I must share a terrible truth with you that many of you have forgotten or were never taught." Lazni breathed deeply, staring down at the hundreds of eyes. "You were all ponies once-- many of you related to one another. But you were not selected to ascend. You were deceived and cheated out of lives that were rightfully yours. You did not willingly choose this life. Even now, you are not fighting because it is your will, but because it was your queen's will."

Lazni stomped her hoof, staring down at the drones as they all tried to lock eyes with her. "You have been lied too and forsaken since the moment I first met any of you. Whether you are part of Hive Lalartu or one of the three hives of Raspberry Creek, I have met each and every one of you-- and I have, by Prominence and Pupae's will, lied to each and every one of you. I lied to you that this was right. That there was no other choice for you."

"But there is another choice!" Lazni stomped her hoof again. "You can never return to being ponies- this is true, but you can return to your old lives. For all of you who would rather not return or have no life to return to, I will help you. I will be your guiding light. To all of you who have lost families, you can go home to them. I will make sure of it. Surrender the madness of the other queens and listen to me! You do not have to endure a lie any longer. You do not have to endure war or strife. We can have happiness, but we must stop fighting."

Lazni stared over the scores of black carapaces, some now beginning to turn to one another and talking among themselves.

"She could not have defeated our queen!" Screamed one of Prominence's drones, breaking free of three drones on top of them and charging Lazni. Lazni jumped backwards as they landed on the rock, heat cracking the stone under them as they gave a hiss of fury. Before they could gain any more ground though, several more changelings grabbed the soldier, holding the drone back.

"If you need proof, you may go inside and see for yourself. Prominence, Pupae, Lalartu, they are not there. Prominence is drowning in the ruin of the great light inside, and Pupae and Lalartu are sharing a tomb created for them by Prominence."

"It was Queen Prominence that murdered our queen then!" Quipped one of Pupae's drones, horrifying hisses escaping from the sea of green eyes as they turned on their red eye'd brethren. Ducking past the restrained dron,e Lazni dove between the two groups, holding out a hoof towards both crowds.

"Stop, you are family! Townsfolk from the same blood! Try to remember your time in Raspberry Creek!" Lazni pleaded. Silence fell over the two parties, but it was so thick that Lazni was sure she could cut it like butter.

"I was a tailor." One of the red eyed drones said. "Before I threw living fire on that forest and-- and fought those drones-- I made dresses. White dresses."

"... I married somepony in a white dress." one of the green eye'd drones said. "We had a-- family?" The concept seemed almost foreign and disturbing to them.

"I was a raspberry farmer!" Another drone in the crowd called out. Several more echoed this sentiment, drones of every hive sudeningly finding themselves connected by memories that they had been forced to repress. Lazni, confident that the tension was melting, turned her attention to the subdued Lalartu drones, who were still being held down by Prominence's hive. Several of them looked up at her, a few with expressions of total shock.

"Lazni." One of them said. "You've returned to us-- Hivemother said you-- you are a traitor."

"A traitor to her will, but loyal to my heart." Lazni leaned down and offered a hoof to the drone that had spoken to her. she nodded to the drone subduing him, and an instant later the drone was released, latching onto Lazni and hugging her.

"You didn't want to leave then, is it true? It was Prominence? I heard rumors that it was all Prominence's fault!" The drone asked.

"Prominence-- Prominence thought she was doing the right thing. But she was becoming just as monstrous as our Hivemother was before she passed away. tell me, when did she pass?" Lazni asked the drone. The drone looked up with tear filled eyes, still hugging Lazni tightly.

"It has been such a horrible day. She passed away right after the army left to kill Prominence-- and the army-- the army never returned."

"Shhh." Lazni hushed the drone, hugging their head into her chest as she looked down at the remnant of Lalartu's hive. two score drones were shoved belly down into dirt, preventing them from doing much more than buzzing their wings.

"You are welcome in my hive if you desire it." Lazni told them all, motioning towards her own purple eye'd drones. "Otherwise, your will is your own. But you must all move on."

Lazni turned away, flying back towards her rock with the drone that had been hugging her following only mere feet behind. Lazni landed on her rock again, standing with no fear next to the drone that had attempted to rush her.

"Those of you that would join me and make the world a better place, follow me. Those of you who would return to your lives, follow me to Raspberry Creek. Those of you who would do neither-- you are released. We will help you however we can, but you must find your own path."

Epilogue: Rising Flame

Prominence felt liquid fire cover her as the image of the changeling mare standing on the edge of the cliff seared itself into her mind. Lazni, forever Prominence's sweetheart, had been the one to defeat her. Not Lalartu, not the swarm, not Pupae. In all of her own hubris, Prominence had never suspected that the one changeling she thought was incapable of hurting others would betray her. There were no other queens, no other princesses. Only Lazni. Queen Lazni, ruler of four hives.

Prominence felt her rage bubble over as this thought inflamed her from the inside out. She closed her eyes to protect them, feeling the heat from the chemicals in the lamp searing her chitin and threatening to burn her insides through her nostrils and ears. Prominence had to get out. She had to survive. She would survive.

Feeling under her, Prominence felt her chitin tap the bottom of biolamp glass. She hardly had time to think of the consequences as she let out a burst of magical energy, shattering the glass around her.

A great cascade of glass was drowned out by a torrent of chemical light and heat flooding the lower levels of the hive. All of the glass above Prominence shattered as the crown jewel of Lalartu's hive was undone. Prominence crawled free from the liquid death, heaving herself onto a ledge as it washed by, no doubt destroying any remnant Lalartu changelings that were unlucky enough to be in the lower parts of the hive. Prominence felt her chest heave as she willed herself to live. She could feel chemicals eating at the outer layers of muscle in her head. The worst part of it all was not that Prominence felt like she was dying, but that she knew she would force herself to live. She knew she would survive this pain for but one reason:

She would have her vengeance-- On changelings, on Lazni, on the world. Her chitin could be replaced. Her back, now devoid of wings from the burning chemicals, would grow back-- she'd done it many times before and it honestly wasn't painful at all. It happened every time she molted from her chitin.

These were small comforts to Prominence as she opened her eyes, gazing up at the darkness above her. There were no lights to let her see her old home. It was not unlike the night sky she had seen before her battle with the Lalartu army.

It was that night that she had alone with Lazni as friends for the last time. There were so many things she had wanted to say, that she still wanted to say, to Lazni. But she would never be able to say these things. Lazni, that beautiful infiltrator drone that she had grown to love was queened by Pupae. If it had not been for Pupae, Prominence reasoned, none of this ever would have happened.

No. Deep down Prominence knew that was a lie. It was nothing more than mental gymnastics to make her avoid facing the obvious. She had driven away Lazni, she had destroyed hundreds of families, and all of it for what? For the title of High Queen? The high queen of what?

Prominence dragged herself over to the ledge, watching the liquid heat settle into place. It would be very easy to throw herself back into it and drown herself in the dregs of the great cylinder-- a release from all of her suffering, self inflicted or otherwise, that she had endured all of her life. The alternative was a great climb out of the hive until she could locate an exit-- a journey that Prominence knew she did not have the strength for.

Coughing violently and expelling some of the liquid heat, Prominence rolled over and resigned herself to lay still. She would not climb, but she would not reduce herself to suicide. She would wait here for her body to begin regenerating, or for the end to take her. Princess Prominence would never climb out of this hole, although her body would. Princess Prominence would find her in remembering Lazni. These were moot thoughts for the Prominence that was dreaming of leaving this hole; dwelling on all the things that could have and should have been, and now never were and never could be. Despite this, all her mind could hope for was to dwell on this betrayal as she slipped into sleep. Whether she lived or died here, Prominence was determined to be stubborn to the end. Stubborn against the world, and every creature in it.

Prominence was not sure for how long she rested. She could hear the echo of some hooves, some figure approaching her from the steps above. Prominence considered calling out for help-- perhaps her drones had come to rescue her. However, when Prominence opened her mouth, she found that she had no ability to speak. Try as she might, this ability had been lost in the flames. Prominence opened her eyes, glad to see that she could still make out the world around her, at least for the moment. The hoofsteps grew closer, and Prominence felt her heart stop when she saw the figure.

Long blue-green hair that rushed like a algae filled cascade fell over the queen's shoulders. her body had a green carapace over the black chitin, with a blue underbelly. The eyes were absolutely stunning emeralds, the brightest that Prominence had ever seen. Prominence could do nothing but cower in fear as she watched this tall, dark queen approach her. She was extraordinarily thin, and a smirk covered her face as she leaned down and lifted up Prominence's chin with a hoof.

Pupae please forgive me. Pupae please forgive me. Pupae please forgive me. Prominence could feel herself starting to cry, sure judgement was upon her at last. The smirk on the queen's face grew, and to Prominence's surprise she laid down next to her, offering her shoulder for Prominence to climb onto her back.

"Given your acquaintance with Pupae and your current condition, you must be Princess Prominence." Prominence blinked at the splitting image of Pupae. Now that they were closer, it was much easier for her to make out the features of this queen. She was much too tall and thin to be Pupae.

"Do not try to speak. We will leave this place and treat your wounds. I've been told all about your abilities, and I am ecstatic to find that you are still alive." Queen Chrysalis reached forward, picking Prominence off of the ground and looking upwards as they began to ascend the pathway.

First Blood

Winter was very much the same story every week. The week started with a few token fearful townponies protesting to the mayor to do something to save them from the 'wrath of the gods.' Prominence, disguised as the mayor, would go out and persuade the ponies to go home and that all was fine. A dozen ponies would go missing every week, typically those who had useful skills for hive building-- the town's masons, cobblers, and carpenters. Prominence and Pupae would always go out at night to grab the ponies, Lazni staying behind not only in protest but to tend to the drones that did not go out. Lazni would then help Prominence and Pupae nurture the new drones and assimilate them to their hives.

The first snow came and went, bringing in it's wake more and more snows. Still, Pupae and Prominence continued their raids, the mayor's residence becoming dirtier and dirtier due to lack of cleaning or care. The hive underneath the residence had expanded past the earthen caverns below the surface, the digging deep enough that mining had to be be done to remove the rock. Wagons were arranged and then loaded with small amounts of rocks, which were then carried out of town by Prominence's drones. This left Pupae's drones to do all of the digging, allowing for Pupae to execute her knowledge of hive building-- Lazni and Prominence had been concerned about possible cave ins, but under Pupae's guidance they had avoided any major incidents. Lazni's hive was left to be tasked with managing cocoons, collecting love from the populace-- quite a challenge, given the current state of panic gripping more citizens as the disappearances grew-- and the growing of food, a diet which was primarily composed of nutritious if unappetizing goo. Lazni had to often stop herself when watching drones eat this goop with disgust. She could understand their protest, eating something with the consistency of thick glue was not a comofrting thought for ponies, and until they learned to accept their new role, these feelings would remain.

Something that Princess Prominence and Queens Lazni and Pupae could agree on was when their drones finally moved past caring about the goop they were eating or the life they were living. they found happiness in no longer having to worry about their pony lives, forgetting their names but always keeping some memories. Or so Lazni had thought at first. Prominence had become very distant since Lazni was queened, and they only met to talk business when Prominence's schedule allowed. It was through these meetings that Lazni gleamed that Prominence seemed upset about how things were going. She was going stir crazy in the town, and frequently talked about her military plans once the snow melted.

Lazni had met with Prominence once in what was now the latter's throne room. Prominence had a makeshift throne that was made out of seared stone just like the rest of the hive, but decorated with red and black dyed pillows. At Prominence's request, Pupae had hypnotized one of the town's weavers to create six banners, three hanging on either side of her hall between support pillars. The banners had a completely black background with golden trim around the edges. In the center was a blood red raven with a yellow belly, an animal Prominence had named her "Inferior Phoenix." While Lazni and Pupae kept their hives simple, if slightly reminiscent of Hive Lalartu and Pupae's old hive, which had once been called Hive Chrysalis, Prominence refused to stay the course with any of these traditions; mastercrafted rugs lined her floors, carvings of every changeling story of old lined her walls like an Egyptian stronghold, and anywhere she could embroider or position her symbol of the fiery raven, she did so.

When the last snow had fallen and the ground began to thaw, Hive construction was at least complete. Prominence had placed the townsponies under martial law, forbidding anypony to be out after dark, setting up long patrols that reached into the mountains and surrounding countryside of the valley. Drones not patrolling the town or surroundings were beginning to train for combat. All of Prominence's drones had thicker shells than those who were in Hive Pupae or Hive Lazni, making even the weakest among them look like fierce soldier drones. Pupae and Lazni spoke privately when they could, doing their best to make sure their drones did not pick up their dislike for everything Prominence was becoming.

Lazni took a deep breath next to Pupae as they entered into Prominence's hall, which was more lavishly decorated each time they entered it. Lazni was sure that she knew why Prominence had summoned both of them, but she didn't want to think about it as she took a seat on cushions that had been laid out for visitors. A total of six drones, three from each hive, trailed Lazni and Pupae. Prominence had decided to keep her privacy, never allowing her drones to constantly be around her. Lazni thought about how that worked just fine as Prominence stepped down from her throne, living flame lighting up in beacons as she approached Lazni and Pupae. In front of all three of them was the map that they had stolen four months ago, several carved stone pieces representing the three hives in Raspberry creek, and on the other side of the mountains--

"It would seem that we did not fully exterminate our problem with moth ponies. We also have failed to learn the secret of their power so far." Prominence hissed, glaring down darkly at the map. "Two more moths were killed by one of my patrols, but not before they were returning from Three Hooves.The snow is melted enough for traders to start going over the mountains, and that means that it's melted enough for Hive Lalartu to advance. I believe that those monsters have alerted Hive Lalartu to our presence here. They, like me, are hoping for a war."

"How do you know that, and why do we have to go to war?" Lazni asked.

Prominence magically moved more stones onto the map from the shadows, placing them in various positions around Three Hooves."My patrols have spotted movement on the other side of the mountains. Lalartu has laid out supply chains. My intelligence says they are not yet fortified however. We should attack now while the enemy is unprepared."

"And we are going to fight them why?" Lazni repeated her second question.

"Because they are the enemy Lazni. They wouldn't mobilize supplies like this is if they didn't mean to fight us. Because they have done this, they are our enemy and we must defeat our enemies." Prominence began moving pieces representing the three hives to different locations while Lazni tried to wrap her head around Prominence's circular logic.

"I have been to Hive Lalartu. Even if they replaced all of the soldiers they lost when we escaped, they still wouldn't have enough to oppose us." Pupae said, using her own magic to push the pieces of her hive back. "If they are truly a concern, we should fortify our position here. We are immensely more powerful than they are."

"Hive Lalartu will have armor and weapons that exceed ours. The limited magic of my drones and my own power with flames will not be enough to defeat her swarm. Since your drones probably couldn't defend themselves against a farmpony, the only fighters we possess are those in my hive." Prominence pushed the stones representing Pupae's hive forward on the map again. "You and Lazni are welcome to join me at the front lines, but your role in this battle will be supply lines and support." Prominence focused her pieces around the town of Three Hooves.

Lazni sighed, speaking up with venom and disgust in her voice, her drones reflecting her sentiment with a chorus of low hisses. "Prominence, Why shouldn't we just wait here? Not only can we fortify ourselves but we can force Lalartu to fight us in the open. If-- if this map is accurate, then Lalartu has carefully stayed just outside of towns, where her soldiers could fight us openly without risk of being exposed to ponies. We should take advantage of this and force her to fight where she doesn't want to."

"We cannot simply fortify forever." Prominence said. "That is a short term solution that will eventually be the death of us. What will you do when trade caravans are turned away and no supplies the ponies in this town need to survive arrive? Desperation will begin, the ponies will turn on us. Lalartu will walk into the town unopposed and destroy us with the townsponies, labeling us as rogue gods and defining herself as their savior."

"That is an insane conclusion." Pupae protested. "You have absolutely no proof that any of this will happen."

"It will not happen, because we are going to attack first." Prominence decreed.

"I won't do it. I will not order my hive to take part in this." Pupae said, standing up. Prominence stood slightly taller than Pupae, who met her gaze with wicked fire in her eyes. Lazni too arose, placing a hoof between the two of them.

"Prominence, I do not like this plan and I do not want to be apart of it. My hive will help you if you go about this however, because if you fail there is nothing protecting us from Lalartu. I'm begging you not to do this. Let us at least try to make peace with Lalartu first, we do not need to escalate things."

Prominence continued to glare at Pupae, smirking in satisfaction. "You are overruled, Pupae. My mind is made up, Lazni. Our three Hives are going to war, and we will crush Hive Lalartu. You two are dismissed, The march begins tonight. Lazni, your drones will take over town order and patrol. I will send some drones by later with instructions on how to perform these duties."

"Prominence, you are not in charge of our hives." Pupae said. "Do not order Lazni around."

"No-- no, Pupae, it's fine." Lazni said hurriedly. "I will be waiting for them in my chambers, Prominence." Lazni put a hoof on Pupae's shoulder, almost dragging her away from the hall. Prominence took her place back on the throne, watching the ordeal as the drones hissed at Prominence while the two queens exited.

"Let go of me!" Pupae pulled herself free of Lazni once they were out of earshot of Prominence. "You were right about her, and now you're defending her! Why!?"

"Because we can't stop her, Pupae." Lazni tightened her jaw as she stared down at Pupae. "But maybe if we play along, we can make this entire ordeal less horrible. She wants Lalartu's hive and throne, I'm sure. That hive is much larger and once was much grander than any other hive. Prominence wants it? Well let her have it!" Pupae stopped, dumbfounded by Lazni.

"Let her have it? What right does she have to rule? If anyone is going to have that throne, it will be me. I'm the true queen among us." Pupae backed off slightly as Lazni's drones let out feral hisses at her statement.

"Let Prominence have it, Pupae. Our hives can stay here and nurture Raspberry Creek. A third of the ponies in the town are now changelings, and everypony else was either too young or too old to be of use in the hive. The town has lost an entire generation, it will need our guidance to survive."

"Lazni, I admire your philanthropy, but I don't particularly care what happens outside of the wellbeing of my hive. I'll help the ponies if I can, but I have no problem not helping them either. if I am going to be forced to take part in this war, then I will be the one sitting on that throne, not Princess Prominence."

Lazni let out a loud sigh, motioning for her drones to follow her as she began trotting away from Pupae. Lazni knew that once Pupae or Prominence set their minds to something, there were not enough hours in a lifetime to convince them otherwise. It had been foolish of her to even consider trying in the first place.

Lazni decided that she was never going to be able to fully understand the tricks of keeping ponies in line. She had surrendered nearly a a third of her hive to doing patrolling while Prominence waged her war. The lives of these patrol drones was so boring that Lazni repeatedly felt herself falling asleep during their explanation of routes and procedure to her drones. Lazni had a few cushions that were handmedowns from Prominence to lay on, and with a half dozen of her drones around her cuddling her sides, braiding her mane, and offering their loving comfort, she simply couldn't care less about all of Prominence's madness.

At least, that's what Lazni had thought to herself before the hissing and screaming started. Acoustics is a curious thing in a changeling hive, because it can echo in some places and not in others. Lazni's chambers were positioned in such a way that she could walk straight out a tunnel and reach a center room of the hive. From here she could directly go to Pupae's chambers or Prominence's hall. This also meant that anything louder than general talking was going to carry to the other rooms. As a rule this only mattered when Pupae was having a bad day and yelling at her drones, which made Lazni all the more alarmed when it came not from Pupae's chambers, but from Prominence's hall.

"Drone, please go find out what is wrong with Princess Prominence." Lazni said, urging one of her cuddlebugs forward. The drone gave a swift nod, their bright purple eyes bouncing once before they disappeared into the tunnel leading away from the chambers, the only visible marking of them in the relative darkness being the purple on the back of their carapace. Lazni relaxed back into her resting position, rubbing her hoof against the back of the closest drone she could locate. Lazni heard the yelling die down before the drone returned, but when they did there was nothing reassuring written on it's face.

"--What's wrong? What's happened?" Lazni stood up, feeling her heart skip a beat as she began imaging what possibly could have happened. Had Pupae and Prominence finally come to blows? No, it couldn't be. Lazni would have recognized Pupae's voice, and she hadn't heard hers among the screaming and hissing.

"Hivemother Lazni, you must visit Prominence quickly. There has been an attack." It said. Lazni instantly took a step back, not entirely caught off guard but still shocked all the same.

"Attacked? By what? Who?" Lazni stopped, staring at the drone in front of her. They were visibly shaking, looking shocked to their core. Lazni raised a hoof to her other drones, signally for them to stay while she approached the other drone and magically lifted them onto her back, position them around her wings. "The rest of you stay here. I will return."

Lazni immediately set off for Prominence's chambers. As she strode forward, she could hear the drone on her back mumbling and crying to her, "Not back in there. Please, I don't want to go back in there. Please, Hivemother?"

"Close your eyes." Lazni ordered, laying the drone down at the entrance to Prominence's tunnel. Lazni then straightened up, giving the drone a, "Wait here." order before continuing into the hall proper.

The carnage was surprisingly orderly, with most of the fallen drones already swept to the side while Prominence sat on her throne, overseeing the operation before her. Many changelings with dull purple eyes lay on the ground, a force of twenty soldiers standing between them and Princess Prominence. Although several things in the room were currently on fire, Prominence's map and her banners she was fond of were somehow totally unharmed.

Lazni might have thought these drones to be hers for a moment, but then she remembered that there was another queen who's drones had the same eye colour as hers, although it was a duller purple.

"How?" Lazni asked, motioning to the fallen Lalartu drones in front of her.

"An assassination attempt!" Prominence decreed, motioning to the scene. "Thank goodness they came for me first, If they had tried to attack either you or Pupae I doubt we'd be talking!"

Lazni was extremely struck by just how calm Prominence was after an apparently failed assassination attempt. It was true that Prominence was the bravest and most powerful of the changelings in the three hives, but surely even she'd still be rattled by this. Lazni turned as she heard the sound of galloping behind her, Pupae appearing with several drones behind her. She instantly pulled her head back in disgust at the sight of the battle.

"Ah good, you're both here." Prominence mused from on top of her throne, leaning forward and looking down upon her friends. "Surely you girls won't have any objection to putting our everything into this war, and crushing Queen Lalartu after they tried to assassinate me?"

"How did they get past the guards at the entrance?" Lazni asked. Prominence waved this aside with her hoof.

"That matters not Lazni. The enemy has drawn first blood, as I said they would if we waited." Prominence hopped down from her throne, looking almost giddy. "We march tonight! Leave me, these corpses must be disposed of and you two will need your rest for the journey." Lazni and Pupae both took steps back as Prominence's drones advanced, stepping through fire without any regard for their own safety.

"Lazni..." Pupae said, backing up with her as the drones advanced and forced them into the tunnel. Lazni turned and motioned for pupae to walk with her as they got out of earshot of Prominence. Lazni quickly picked up her drone, heading back for her chambers.

"Pupae, I don't think that was an assassination attempt." Lazni said pointedly.

"Yes-- actually, that's what I was going to say." Pupae said, stopping. Lazni turned to face her as they both glanced back at Prominence's hall.

"It was too clean. Too simple. and she didn't explain anything. I have more doubts about this than ever now." Lazni could feel outrage rising in her voice.

"Well, I don't have any doubts. This war is wrong, but we don't have a choice now. I bet Prominence kidnapped those drones to stage that act. Even at best Lalartu will be furious at such a heinous act.

"There must be something we can do." Lazni said. "Maybe Lalartu will only be mad at Prominence?"

"Ah yes, and then we two queens just surrender ourselves to her overwhelming generosity she showed me before?" Pupae said. "We need Prominence, and now she's forced us into a fight that I don't know how we can get out of Lazni. and I hate it." Pupae shook her head, standing back and then starting to head for her chambers. "I'm going to prepare to move out tonight. Most of the hive will be emptied because of this, all of Prominence's and my own drones, anyway."

Lazni sighed, watching Pupae go off to her chambers. Of all the changeling queens to meet and all the princess to befriend, she had to meet Pupae and befriend Prominence. Lazni turned towards her hive, preparing to tell them the news and then prepare for battle.

"We-- we aren't actually going to war, are we?" The drone asked fearfully.

"We won't see any combat." Lazni assured them. "Prominence's drones will do the fighting, we'll just be pulling wagons with supplies." The drone let out a sigh of relief, hugging Lazni's back in a loving embrace.