The badlands are considered by most species to be uninhabitable. The ground is infertile and mostly barren, save for the toughest of shrubs or cacti and innumerable large rock formations that jut out of it as would rows of pointed teeth. The sun beats down relentlessly, causing most living beings to be nocturnal or subterranean. Sandstorms are more common than rainfall, and tornadoes are an ever-present threat.
Yet this wasteland was where one could find Queen Chrysalis’ hive, if they knew where to look. Nothing visibly identified it from any of the surrounding rock formations, and the entrance itself was beneath a nondescript rock shelf that looked as though it hid only a shallow crevice. Were somepony to look for it, they’d likely take months or years to find, assuming they didn’t simply miss it.
But these were changelings, and changelings didn’t rely as heavily on their eyes as did ponies or griffons in their daily life. Finding a changeling hive wasn’t about looking—it was about smelling.
Thus, when Chrysalis and her entourage of rescued drones caught their hive’s familiar scent—the soft smell of dew on a leaf blended with that of a tangy spice—they knew their travels were nearly over. A slight smile graced Chrysalis’ face as she contemplated resting after the day-long trek from Equestria.
At long last, we’re home.
Following their muzzles and picking up on their familiar surroundings, they quickly reached the hive and crawled in through the stony entrance. The cavity widened into a large stone tunnel that banked and angled downwards, much like a spiral staircase. Having enough room to take flight, Chrysalis and her changelings flew down the twirling plunge into stony darkness, the hive’s fragrance getting stronger as they went, before finally emerging into the Vestibule.
Carved straight out of the bedrock, the Vestibule was a massive ovoid chamber, the interior of which resembled an amphitheater. It featured two exits on opposite sides of the three-hundred-hoof-long room: one to the outside, through which Chrysalis had just entered, and another that led into the hive proper. Giant stone steps, carved out of the ground, radiated outwards from the former exit and rose a few dozen hooves to meet the latter. The steps’ faces bore muzzle-wide arrow slits evenly spaced from one another. Behind each of those embrasures was a small alcove that could house two changelings which could then fire ranged attacks through the slits. The exit into the hive, at the very top of the steps, was blocked by a large, intimidating stone door. Four changelings stood before it: two large ones in armour, that also flanked the door and carefully watched over the room, and two unarmoured ones, waiting patiently. The wall surrounding the door bore more embrasures. The ceiling was low, and both it and the walls were covered in lethal-looking stone spikes that were all mostly oriented towards the outside exit. Interspersed between the spikes were glowing gems that illuminated the entire chamber in soft amber light with jagged shadows. The room itself, in addition to the hive scent, gave off an odor of destroyed flora and charred metal—a smell all changelings readily associated with death—which served as a clear warning of danger.
Everything about the Vestibule was clearly built with the explicit purpose of keeping anything out. Even if an invading force got through the narrow entrance, were they to try and get past a mounted stand here, they’d be hard-pressed to reach the hive door before being cut down. The layout doubled as an excellent setup for briefings right before a mission out of the hive.
Chrysalis flew up through the Vestibule towards the entrance and alighted on the highest step. She inhaled deeply, savouring the aroma of her hive—everything she stood for, everything she cared and strove for, everything that defined her as Queen—and properly smiled. There really is no place like home. If nothing else, her hive always remained.
As she took a moment to enjoy her homecoming, the two unarmored changelings approached her. She recognized them on sniff as magnates of the administration sector of the hive. They were the highest-ranked changelings beneath her and they, along with the rest of the sector, ran the hive in her absence. Both drones bowed deeply before addressing her.
“Your highness! Welcome back.”
“We have a full report of the Hive’s ongoings ready for you to consume—and if need be, discuss—at your leisure.”
The Queen turned to look over her troops as they entered the Vestibule and landed in ordered rows on the steps, awaiting her command. Although they would certainly obey any directive she gave, she could tell at first whiff that some were hurt and all were exhausted, and therefore unlikely to get any task she assigned completed with even a modicum of speed or efficiency. She herself wasn’t in tiptop shape either. She was faring better than her fighters, but that was likely due to her nature as Queen: she had more stamina, greater strength, better resilience, superior magic, a sharper mind, and keener senses than any drone ever would.
Unfortunately, contemplating the state of her troops ruined her good mood. The only reason they, and she, were in such a state was because they hadn’t been able to gorge themselves on love. Which they would have… had the invasion succeeded. But it hadn’t. Because stupid love spell.
Chrysalis frowned. Now that she had returned, there was plenty that needed taking care of to compensate for the failure. But that could wait until she and her remaining troops had rested and recovered. Decision made, she turned to the two magnates.
“I’ll receive the report later. I need rest and these fighters are dead on their hooves. Adamag Alpha! Get these combat drones fully fed and recovered. Adamag Beta! Have my quarters readied; I’ll be spreading a message shortly before heading to sleep. Maintain the Hive’s status quo until I wake.”
The first drone, Adamag Alpha, exchanged a nervous glance with Adamag Beta before turning back to the queen. “Your highness, the Harvesting sector’s stockpile is stretched thin as it is and may not be able to completely nourish—”
“I’m well aware Harvesting is strained!” Chrysalis snapped back, her irritation boiling over. “But this won’t be a burden on our stockpile…” She turned to the fighters as the last of the combat drones entered and landed before finishing in a morose voice, “These are all we have to feed.”
Both changelings’ eyes widened in shock at the mere two-hundred-or-so drones in the Vestibule, before Adamag Alpha silently nodded and bowed.
“Secuviz!” Chrysalis called, turning to the armoured changelings, “This is all of our number. We were not followed. Allow our entrance.”
The two big changelings, viziers of the Security sector, nodded before simultaneously emitting three quick trills. Moments later, the giant stone door began to rise slowly, producing a thick grinding sound and opening up into a tunnel sparingly lit in amber that plunged deeper into the ground. Both magnates bowed before their queen and immediately took flight. Adamag Beta shot down the tunnel, while Adamag Alpha flew over to the rows of combat changelings, issued commands with a few chirps, and took off as well, followed by the weary, but living, combatants.
Once they’d all cleared from the Vestibule, Chrysalis heaved a long, discontented sigh. She couldn’t put it off any longer: she had to tell her changelings what had happened, no matter how awful the news was. They deserved the truth, and it was her duty as Queen to deliver it.
At the very least, this will be enjoyable.
“Secuviz Twelve.”
“Yes, my Queen?” The changeling on her left responded.
“Find a replacement and go deliver this command to your sector magnate: I want the Vestibule guard to be increased to twelve at all times, all armoured, with four in the firing alcoves and one security designate within the group.”
“Right away, your highness.”
The changeling bowed and promptly flew through the entrance
She focused, thinking clearly of her message and how she wanted it to be picked up by her subjects. As she did so, a layer of particularly porous skin just beneath her wings began warming up. A number of small bumps began forming below the skin—her secretion glands swelling. Her gossamer wings unfolded, fluttering excitedly, ready to fulfill one of their most important functions. The nerves along her sides, neck, muzzle, and all over her wings tingled with energy and anticipation, causing the rest of her body to twitch, wanting to move.
She trotted to the hive door, her body primed for her message delivery. As she passed both Secuvis, she noticed them catch her scent and watched their eyes widen slightly. Just at the cusp of the entrance, she stopped, inhaled deeply and let out a long, high-pitched warning shriek, punctuated by two loud chirps. She listened for the echoes of her call reverberating through the tunnels as she began quickly flapping her wings. They buzzed as she rose, hovering above the ground, preparing for her flight. Here I come, little ones.
Then, she tore down the tunnel at breakneck speed as the stone door ground shut behind her.
As she flew, the glands and porous skin on her sides released the odorous cocktail she’d carefully prepared, and her beating wings effectively spread it wherever she flew. Any changeling that caught scent of the aroma would be privy to a wealth of information before automatically replicating and spreading the fragrance themselves, ensuring the entire hive would be saturated with it before it dissolved in a few minutes.
The sensation Chrysalis felt as she flew and spread her message was beyond compare. The adrenaline from her speed and exertion, as well as the hormones her body produced to accomplish the task resulted in her feeling truly and utterly alive. But beyond the physical stimuli, spreading a scent message was profoundly satisfying on a fundamental level. She was directly communicating with her entire hive: each and every changeling to her name. As a Queen, the notion of such unity was pure bliss to Chrysalis.
She sped down the Vestibule tunnel before emerging into the Core Bi-Halo—a vast tunnel split into an upper and lower section that served as a highway between the many chambers and sections of the hive. The whole loop smelled of ground stone and vigorous exertion: progress and work. Much like the Vestibule and its tunnel, the Bi-Halo was dimly lit by glowing gems in the wall, but these were all green in hue, save for the ones surrounding tunnel entrances; those glowed whatever colour the tunnel’s interior was.
As she flew, Chrysalis saw hundreds of changelings on the flattened ground of the Bi-Halo and hundreds more clinging to the walls and ceiling. They all watched her as she passed and bowed briefly if they could. She noticed a number of them briefly bear looks of concern and even terror as they caught her perfume. The latter especially saddened her; distress was not something she wished upon her changelings, but it was necessary.
She circled the entire circumference of the Bi-Halo twice, ensuring her message was thoroughly spread, before locating a tunnel surrounded by white gems and flying into it. She gradually slowed, her glands slowly deflating, as she rose with the tunnel.
It was a shame that her message today was far from pleasant. Her wings and nostrils, still imbued with it, processed its contents and relayed them to her, just the way she’d intended.
Hive message from Queen.
My loyal changelings, the invasion of Canterlot has failed. The majority of the force allocated was lost, and we will not be receiving an increase to our stockpile.
You are likely to be concerned, and that is alright. We are in a difficult situation. We will need to make many changes to adapt. Some may be drastic. But as your Queen, I will see us through this hardship. It will be difficult, but we will survive and strive. This hive, our hive, will not fall.
Content in the knowledge that her subjects knew she would not give up on them, Chrysalis carried on to her Bedchamber. She finally emerged into a spacious dome-shaped room, in the center of which was the mouth of the tunnel to the Bi-Halo. This room bore two smells: her own—a strong blend of sharpened steel, fire, and ink— and that of the hive. The latter was very strong as it emanated from an enormous flower of gelatin, chitin, and bio-tissue that glowed a soft green as it rested against the wall. The Queensweet, as it was called, served as a place of rest and regeneration for a changeling Queen, and Chrysalis headed straight for hers.
She landed upon it, lay down, and folded her wings before turning to Adamag Beta, whom she’d smelled was in her quarters.
“Yes, Beta?”
The changeling was standing at attention, seeming nervous.
“My Queen… Without our offensive force, we are weak. As I’m certain you know, in the Badlands, that is a death sentence. You announced changes. I must ask: what will we do?”
What indeed. I wish I could say for certain that I knew.
“For now, we try to recover and we lay low. I’ll begin work on that the moment I wake. But we currently do not have a long-term plan.” she admitted, to Beta’s concern and dismay. “Yes, we are weak. I’d even wager that this hive may have just reached the most fragile point in its history. But as I said, I have no intention of letting it fall. You are all important, and as your Queen… and Mother… I will care for you, and see us through this.”
“Thank you, your highness.”
“Rest up; we’ve much to do.”
With that, Chrysalis lit her horn and began curling the large petals of her Queensweet around her, forming a manner of cocoon. As they sealed, she closed her eyes, lay down her head, and fell into her deep, mending slumber with one fiercely determined thought.
I will prevail, no matter what it takes.
Little did the changeling queen know, fate’s plans for her hive would seriously put that devotion to the test.
Author's Note
If you're wondering about what the Hive hierarchy is like, don't worry; I'll be going over that in the next chapter.
Several hours later, Chrysalis awoke.
Upon opening her eyes to the darkly glowing interior of her Queensweet, Chrysalis lit her horn and sent a small bolt of magic into the flower. The petals’ intricate webbed patterns glowed brightly and faded before the flowery appendages began unfolding, revealing to Chrysalis her room. As the flower unfurled, the many smooth vines that had woven their way through the Changeling Queen’s hoof and wing holes as she slept retreated, freeing her from their grasp. They folded back down into the flower’s many central petals which formed the soft, moist surface upon which Chrysalis rested.
As her bedding finished releasing her from its slumberous embrace, Chrysalis felt her body fully awaken and her blood warm up. She felt as one does after warming up before extensive exercise: limber, energized and ready to perform at her very best. Her mind felt sharp as could be, to the point of her almost wanting to test the mettle of her wit right then and there.
Such was the power of the Queensweet and why it was necessary for a Queen to have one and maintain it. Beyond restoring a Queen to their greatest functional capacity, the giant flower could even heal wounds and, in the most extreme cases, regenerate limbs if its charge rested in it for long enough.
Chrysalis’ rest had been unusually prolonged on account of her having been functionally conscious for quite some time. She could easily function at full capacity for two days without needing to give in to sleep, but beyond that, she knew her abilities diminished. She once tested her limit and found eight days to be the longest she could still passably run her hive for before sleep—that all-encompassing curse—fully impaired her judgment and forced her awake mind to retreat into oblivion. The four days she’d spent finding survivors of the invasion and the day-long journey back just meant her Queensweet recovery took that much longer to complete.
Despite her curiosity, she wasn’t in any hurry to discover how long it would take for her to recover a limb.
Certainly a few days, she mused. I’d be relying heavily on the Administration Sector while I was out.
She stretched, limbering up further, and looked about her bedchamber.
Directly across the room from her Queensweet, an enormous map of the surrounding lands, including the entirety of both the Badlands and Equestria, was carved into the wall. The highly detailed piece stretched to cover a third of the room’s circumference, and was illuminated by the white gems carefully spread around it. There were plenty of little blue, green, and orange gems scattered throughout the map, all serving to represent rival changeling settlements and hive activity.
Although an identical map could be found in the Intelligence Sector of the hive, Chrysalis enjoyed having this one in her personal quarters. The twinkling canvas served to remind her that an entire world existed for her to conquer, and only fueled her ambitions.
Her gaze then fell upon the half-dozen stone statues hugging the wall on the left side of the room. Each sculpture depicted the head of a Changeling Queen impaled from collar to crown upon a large, jagged horn—Chrysalis’ horn, in fact. Below the violent display, every statue’s front featured four giant fangs, positioned much like they would be in a changeling’s muzzle. Behind the fangs, a coiled stone tongue held a peculiar glowing orb.
A small grin wormed its way to the Queen’s muzzle as she beheld her conquest statues. Each frightening piece represented a rival changeling Queen that she had defeated and whose hive now lay in cavernous ruins, courtesy of her hoofwork. She was fairly certain that only a couple other hives could claim as many successful conquests as hers could, and this made her immeasurably proud.
Casting her gaze to the opposite side of the room, she beheld a full set of battle armour that lay on a stony likeness of herself, adjacent to which were a couple lethal-looking hoof weapons. Chrysalis’ personal war attire was impressive to look upon—only the finest of changeling armour design and metalworking had gone into its creation. Each piece was made specifically to protect the Queen while still allowing her full range of movement and offensive capabilities. Clearly favouring function, the set only bore slight ornamental flair, mostly to be easily distinguished on a battlefield.
Every battle to which she’d worn that armour, she’d emerged victorious. Such was its notoriety that seeing Chrysalis wear it either inspired or terrified changelings, depending on their allegiance.
She loved fighting in that armour.
Finally, against the right wall adjacent to her Queensweet, she spotted her nightstand. The small piece bore a few books—currently about pony history and culture—and a bowl in which sat another peculiar glowing orb.
Coming down from her bedding and nearing her nightstand, Chrysalis picked up the orb. The bottom half was covered in a perforated shell of strong chitinous webbing, through which a lime-green core glowed. The top half was a mix of chitin and biomatter in the shape of curled petals which glowed in a lime-to-pink gradient. Within the cavity they formed, there rested a bulbous mustard-yellow mass made up of a gelatinous core surrounded by several spongy spheres, each of which bore a stem that rose just above the petals.
This was a scent orb, an invaluable tool used for communication throughout her hive. The six scent orbs within each of her conquest statues all bore messages of their own, related to the conquests themselves and their spoils.
But the one she now held had been delivered by Adamag Beta; she could smell traces of his odor on it. This scent orb, she knew, held the report of the hive’s ongoings for the past few days. And, she smelled, Beta had come to update its contents during her rest, so it was still pertinent.
Let’s see how they’ve been managing in my absence…
Lighting up her horn and grabbing all the protruding stems in her magic, Chrysalis pulled up the spongy bulbs, unsticking them from the core with a sticky, squelchy slorp. When they were directly in front of her muzzle, she took a deep breath. Her olfactory receptors were completely overloaded by the rich mixture of aromas that emanated from the bulbs, temporarily cutting off her sense of smell. A few seconds after the odorous assault, she finally began processing the information and became privy to a wealth of logistical statistics.
Chrysalis’ hive was split into eleven sectors, each with their own functions and purposes. For each of these sectors, the report told her its current number of changelings, any deaths, any replacements of high-ranking changelings, any new additions or losses due to transfers, and all manner of data relevant to the sector—production quantity, capacity, operation progress updates… the list went on. It was a massive amount of information which Chrysalis dutifully memorized while making mental notes of the most important of sector updates.
Alright, let’s see here... Administration saw no changes, as usual... Breeding has six new hatchlings and has transferred fifteen nymphs to Formation… Formation assigned thirty-eight changelings to various sectors and Designate six was replaced… Medical now has a lot of changelings from Battle… Battle has—aahh!
She cringed when she reached that point in the report, as though the bitter data had caused her physical pain. The vast majority of her offensive strength was gone—less than a tenth remained. To make matters worse, nearly all the changelings that helped manage the sector were among the deceased, which meant it was going to take much time and effort before the sector was up and running as it was previously.
Beta couldn’t have said it better: this is a death sentence indeed. I’ll see how soon I can rectify that. Security has already implemented the Vestibule guard I wanted and they’ve gotten rid of a dozen-and-a-half enemy scouts… Intelligence has found the location of Queen Mirage’s hive—have they now?
Chrysalis swiftly looked to her room’s map. One of the emerald gems representing a settlement gems had been replaced with a sapphire one and had been moved slightly to the left of its original position, indicating an exact known location.
Ah! So that’s where you’re hiding. Hopefully the hive size estimate will come in soon; if Mirage’s hive is small, we can conquer it to increase our stockpile. Other updates from ‘Teli... Queen Instar is inactive—not a surprise, but certainly a relief; if she found out about us now, we’d be as good as dead. Queen Nocebo is mobilizing her forces for an attack on a nearby hive... some of my scouts were eliminated… no word from anyling in Equestria.
The odorous flow of information was cut as Chrysalis huffed, less than pleased with the lack of intel from Equestria.
I hope they’ve hidden themselves well; the last thing we need is the Equestrian military looking for us. Harvesting still has a month’s worth of love in its stockpile, but several harvesters have returned prematurely… gee, I wonder why.
The Queen scrunched her muzzle unhappily as she considered this information. The Harvesting Sector was going to have a lot more trouble now that Equestria was on the lookout for them. They were going to need extra resources just to make ends meet, much less expand.
Breeding is going to have to come to a near-complete standstill. Tunnelling made good progress on the expansions that we won’t need anymore… Production is nearly done with the high capacity storage… which we also won’t need. Damnit.
A frustrated growl tore its way past Chrysalis’ lips. After her very first invasion—that of Queen Aposema’s hive—she hadn’t been able to fully collect her just rewards due to lacking the necessary capacity and space in the hive for the great quantities of love she’d acquired and the mass breeding that had ensued. She’d learned that you have to prepare for the successful outcome of an invasion so as not to let your prizes spoil. Yet in this case, for the first time, her foreplanning had resulted in her being nearly as wasteful. The irony of it all was infuriating.
I need to deal with that shortly. Research and Development… no changes… and that’s it for the report. How dreadfully grim.
Unable to detect any additional minutiae in its fragrance, the Queen placed the scent orb back on her nightstand, shaking her head slowly. Now she knew exactly what the failed invasion had cost her, and it was as bad as expected.
At the very least, consuming the report had given Chrysalis her starting point towards fixing this mess: beefing up the Formation Sector. It was clear she needed to reallocate her resources, since there was no point in having hundreds of changelings in Medical if there weren’t many in need of healing or curing. Same went for Production, Tunnelling, and Breeding for their respective purposes. If so many changelings were going to be changing occupations, Formation needed to be able to make that happen, and fast.
Chrysalis’ wings began beating furiously, the low drone produced by their motion reverberating off the unyielding walls of her bedchamber. Hovering, she approached its center, and plunged into the glowing darkness of the passageway leading to the Bi-Halo. The thrumming whispers and echoes of the hive grew in strength as she dove, only slowing as she approached the end of the abyss, wary of fast-moving changelings beyond.
Unlike when she’d sent out a warning signal, the Bi-Halo was a flurry of activity. Countless changelings flew to and fro in the upper half, while dozens could be seen in the lower, hauling all manner of material and supplies on carts made of chitin and metal. Every so often, a pair of armored changelings would soar by, watching over everyling in the thick stream. An exotic symphony of chirps, tweets, and trills could be heard throughout the cavernous space, as the constant stream of sonic communication between the drones was crucial for high-speed, three-dimensional travel in such close quarters. Although not unheard of, collisions were rare in the Bi-Halo and utterly absent anywhere else in the hive—a testament to the systematic unity and teamwork of Chrysalis’ subjects.
The Queen spotted a gap in the flow of chitinous bodies and quickly joined it, sending out her own chirp to let her changelings know she occupied that space. Several chirped back, acknowledging her presence. She also noticed several move away from her, giving her a larger-than-necessary margin.
As befits your Queen.
She followed the gently curving walls of hive’s heart, her ears tuning in to the endless melody of squeaks and tweets and the deep thrumming of a thousand flitting wings. Soon, her destination was in sight: a branching conduit illuminated by surrounding gems glowing a vivid amethyst—the Formation Sector’s assigned colour. Chirping once more, Chrysalis left the flow of changelings and entered the stony artery before slowing to a hover just a few hooves in. She spun and let out a long, loud trill into the Bi-Halo, followed by a quick screech—calling her Adamags to her—then proceeded down the petrified vein. The perfumes of parchment, graphite, and changeling youth tickled her nostrils ever-increasingly as she approached and reached the first chamber of the Formation Sector’s Academy.
The Academy was a curious cluster of large dodecahedral caverns bespeckled with smaller groves. Within the geometric complex, nymphs and larvae were taught essential living skills and general changeling subject matter, while adult changelings were taught the multitudinous tasks and procedures of their new workplaces. Amethyst gems carefully spread throughout illuminated all with the exception of certain groves deliberately kept dark to aid the instruction of certain subjects. Also ever-present in the Academy were the babble of curious nymphs and the chatter of work instruction, both of which the Queen was keenly aware of as she flew within the studious area, casting a search spell to find a particular changeling.You better be nearby, Formamag; I do not want to be searching for the Magnate of this Sector for long.
All changelings were given a rank to identify their standing and role within a Sector. In descending order, the ranks were Magnate, Prime, Designate, Vizier, and Drone. Foremost, the system was made to allow for Sector self-management through task delegation, and its organization helped Chrysalis keep track of her hive’s ongoings. Thus, a Magnate was tasked with tracking, managing, and reporting everything that went on within their Sector to Administration or the Queen herself. The lesser ranks, Designates and Viziers, were responsible for managing smaller operations, and finally, Drones made up a Sector’s workforce itself.
Chrysalis was searching for the Formation Sector’s Magnate—Formamag—and had called the two Administration Sector’s Magnates—Adamag Alpha and Adamag Beta—because all three needed to be aware of the monumental change she intended to implement in order for them to properly manage the hive in response. Thus, why she intended to let them all know at once.
She knew her spell had found the Magnate when she felt a slight magical tug on her horn, nudging her upwards. As she rose, she caught the changeling’s scent, among several others, wafting from a grove near the ceiling. The space was currently occupied by a class of a little over a dozen nymphs, all of which were clinging to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the small multi-faceted room, listening intently to one of two adult changelings presenting. The class momentarily fell quiet as Chrysalis entered before erupting into excited juvenile chatter as the youth beheld their supreme ruler.
“It’s the Queen!”
“She’s so big!”
“Oooh, look at her wings!”
“Her hair is so pretty…”
“I hope she does cool magic!”
A quick screech from the teacher recaptured all the nymphs’ attention. “Settle down, now. And don’t forget to bow.” A look of fear crossed all the tiny ones’ faces as they promptly complied. “Better. Now I’m sure our Queen is very busy, so we must let her be. Is that clear?”
The nymphs reluctantly nodded, their disappointment at the Queen’s nearing departure both audible and etched in their features. But Chrysalis had another idea in mind. She understood they were curious; as a young queen, she’d been as well. Though it would take a little time, it would be a trifling matter to satisfy their curiosity. She was still waiting for her Adamags to arrive anyway, and this would likely prove worthwhile in the long run—sometimes, a little attention went a long way in developing lasting loyalty from her subjects. Discreetly sniffing the air to make sure she properly identified the teacher, she addressed them all.
“Formadro sixty-one is correct: I am busy, as much needs to be done, so my time is very precious.” She paused to let her words sink in. “However… you may each ask me one short question.”
A chorus of small high-pitched gasps hissed into existence as surprise and excitement lit up the nymphs’ expressions. Before the grubs’ rising burbling of questions could overwhelm the Queen, Formadro sixty-one spoke up again.
“Everyling, think carefully about your question. The Queen just gave you a very special opportunity—don’t waste it. We’ll be going one by one, starting with you.” The teacher pointed to the nearest diminutive changeling, whose sudden fidgeting betrayed her excitement.
The next few minutes saw the hive’s Queen play host to a light-hearted question-and-answer session. Of course, the nymphs were nymphs, so the majority of their questions were hardly difficult to answer or even that important in nature.
“Are you the strongest changeling ever?”
“Perhaps. In terms of brute strength, I’m certainly the strongest in this hive.”
“Do you sleep on a Begloomia too?”
“No. I do sleep on a padflower, but mine is different; it’s very special kind called a Queensweet.”
“Why is your hair so long and blue?”
“This is teal, little one. And beyond marking us as Queens, our hair has special properties that our Queensweets use to help improve our slumber.”
Nevertheless, the grubs reveled in their chance to address their Queen, and Chrysalis quietly let her spirits lift from the encounter, as she knew they would. She was quite surprised, however, when the last youth spoke up.
“Queen Chrysalis… what keeps you going?” At this, Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.
“Keeps me going?”
“I mean… what makes you want to do all the work you do?”
The Queen let a soft smile grace her visage as she beheld the young changeling. Such an insightful question from one so young… I’m curious to see what you’ll grow into. She took a few steps towards her tiny subject, positively looming over her, and looked nearly straight down into the youth’s wide eyes. Well little one, you’ve earned a special answer from your Queen. And she spoke, her voice starting as a murmur and growing in volume.
“I want to see this hive become the most powerful hive there is. I want us to rule over all: to show the world that changelings are the greatest of races and that we are the greatest of changelings. I want to be remembered as the Queen to have created and run a hive worthy of being judged as the most prolific hive there ever was! I, Queen Chrysalis, seek to leave a legacy worthy of legend!”
She stopped her emphatic response, taking in the overwhelmed faces of her subjects. Very deliberately, the Queen slowly lowered her head so that it was just in front of the awestruck youth’s, and spoke in a fervent undertone. “My ambition is what keeps me going. That need for superiority and recognition is my infinite driving force.” She raised her head, looking to all. “And to achieve this goal, I need each and every one of you to be the very best you can be to help me. Understood?”
Every single nymph nodded, the one she’d answered frantically so.
“Good.” She turned to other adult changeling who’d quietly watched everything unfold. “I would have words with you, Formamag.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
The two proceeded to the exit as the small changelings burst into thrilled conversation once more. They heard the teacher calling them to order just as they left.
“Quite inspiring, your Majesty.”
“Thank you. I am curious of what will become of that last nymph; she seems astute and inquisitive. I suspect she’ll be quite the achiever.”
“As do I. I’ve asked her teachers to observe her progress and report their findings to me, along with a couple other promising grubs. From their data and my own observations, we’ve concluded that Nymadva Two is particularly quick on the uptake and has demonstrated a proficiency for problem-solving and improvisation. These results tell me she’s likely to be very well suited to the Research and Development or Intelligence Sectors, and should she develop a fighting spirit, perhaps even Battle. I’m predicting further analysis will only confirm these results.”
Formamag: highly procedural, quite technical, but strictly relevant, Chrysalis mused. As per usual. You couldn’t be in a more fitting Sector.
Chrysalis nodded her acknowledgment. She was glad her progeny still showed such promise; it meant her changelings were still healthy and their rearing was going smoothly.
A buzzing of wings reached her ears, and she turned to see Adamag Alpha and Beta approach.
“Your Highness. You called for us?”
“Yes. It is time to begin change. Let’s find an empty grove.” she added, looking around.
“The nearest suitable area for conference is right this way, my Queen.” Formamag offered, and led the quartet to an empty cavity in the wall. The four settled in, the three underlings facing their Queen as she got straight to the point.
“Too many changelings are currently in newly unnecessary Sectors. We need to be focusing our forces on Harvesting, Intelligence, and Battle, while removing some from Medical, Tunnelling, Production and Breeding. I’m estimating around three-thousand changelings need reallocation.”
“Three-thousand!? That’s nearly half our hive!”
“That is a concerningly great number of drones.”
“I know.” Chrysalis met Beta’s and Formamag’s varying expressions of shock with a serious frown. “Which is why I came here first. We need to be on the defensive, and the best defense is adaptability. That will require the ability to swiftly shift power between the Sectors, and since this is Formation’s purpose, we need to enhance the Sector.”
“That’s not the worst part.” Everyling turned to Adamag Alpha. “This all needs to happen within a month’s time, likely less; failing to do so leaves us nearly starving at best, and dead at the hooves of a rival Queen at worst.” She looked up to her Queen with a grim expression, who nodded in return.
“Precisely. This is the single biggest change that needs to be made to the hive, and hopefully we won’t need to make another.” She turned to Formamag. “You have access to just about any resources you need to see this change through. By the end of the day, have a plan ready for me and the Adamags to review.”
Formamag nodded, then thought for a moment. “I estimate the management of a significantly larger Sector to be beyond my capabilities alone. Could one of our Designates be promoted to co-Magnate?”
“I don’t see why not, so long as the promotion and new assignment of duties goes smoothly and quickly.” Chrysalis replied.
“I’ll assign Adadez Four to you to help get that sorted out,” Beta pitched in. “They’ll also help with getting the Sector ready for the augmentation.”
“Thank you. A solution will be ready for you shortly, your Majesty.”
“Good.” Chrysalis turned to her Adamags. “Beta, go inform Adadez Four of her new task immediately. Following that, I need you to reduce Breeding’s output and get Production to cease making the high-capacity units. Alpha and I are going to the Tunnelling Headquarters, then Medical, then Harvesting. Meet up with us whenever you’re done.
“At once, your Highness.”
With that, the four changelings took to the air and left the grove, Formamag splitting off to find his subordinates as the remaining trio left the Academy. Beta left Alpha and the Queen at the ever-shifting Bi-Halo as the latter two headed towards the Tunnelling Sector, their route branching into a tunnel awash in lime light. The peculiar illumination had the effect of beautifully tinting their own fluttering wings and those of the changelings they passed the most captivating shade of green, while making the membranous structure that kept the gossamer organs together glow an ethereal yellow.
The occasional thunder of cracking stone echoed throughout the channel, along with a consistent sizzling whisper. Soon, soft muttering joined the sonic ensemble, at which Chrysalis turned to look at Adamag Alpha, floating along behind her. Her Magnate seemed to be deep in thought as she flew, a focused frown on her face and her muzzle moving ever-so-slightly as she mumbled plans to herself.
“Alpha.”
The changeling snapped out of her thoughts immediately and turned to look at the Queen, only to be met with an expectant stare. A moment of confusion passed before comprehension dawned on Alpha’s face, followed by her scrunching her muzzle in embarrassment and folding her ears back.
“I was doing it again, wasn’t I?”
“You were.”
“Shoot.”
Chrysalis smirked. Muttering to herself, often while deep in thought, was a habit Alpha viewed as improper and was trying to curb. Although Chrysalis didn’t care whether or not she thought aloud—so long as she kept performing her duties as needed—she knew her Magnate was trying to better herself and respected that. As such, she indulged the changeling by letting her know when she fell into her quiet ramblings.
Alpha sighed, annoyed. “Thank you, my Queen. You seem to be one of the only changelings who tell me when I’m talking to myself.”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Your colleagues in Admin don’t help? Or Beta?”
“Beta does, when he notices. But the Adadez seem to be a little reluctant in pointing their superior’s flaw out.”
“They shouldn’t be. Constructive criticism leads to improvement, and they know this. You’ve made them aware that you view it as a flaw?”
“Sort of. Well… maybe not properly.” Alpha admitted.
“You know as well as I do that communication is a two-way street. Don’t be so reluctant to tell them. They’d be willing to help if they knew it bothered you.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right; I’m the Queen.”
Their exchange was brought to an end as they reached the Tunnelling Sector’s Headquarters. The immense, two-hundred-hoof tall cylindrical chamber bore many wall ports leading to adjacent alcoves. Permeating the air was a smell similar to that of the Bi-Halo—ground stone blended with the stench of exercise—although more concentrated and tinged with the musk of changeling acid. Along with the smell, the constant sizzling sound of dissolving rock made for a peculiar background noise.
Dominating the large space was a grand stone replica of the hive’s interior, precisely carved with intricate detail to show each chamber, grove and passage. A plethora of tiny gems were sprinkled all over the monument, each glowing with one of the many colours used to identify the numerous areas and Sectors of the hive. The whole thing made for a beautiful and fascinating ensemble of branching geometric shapes and partitioned sparkling hues, all colourfully interconnected to form a complex whole.
The statue was used as a map by the Tunnelling workforce to help keep track of tunneling projects and to plan out new ones. There was an identical map in the Security Sector, used to plan out patrol routes, among other things.
A glance at the stony network revealed to the Queen the changes the hive had undergone in her absence. She could see a few more storage columns had been added in Harvesting, and a whole new octagonal cavern was being added to the Florocoon, the hive’s communal resting complex.
I never thought I’d see the day when my own hive’s expansion would bring me grief. Yet here I am.
Grimacing at the wastefulness of the extra space, she sighed and lit her horn to use her tracking spell.
“Yer Majesty! Good ta see ya.” A grinning, gruff-voiced changeling had approached her from the side while she’d been looking at the map. Like most changelings in Tunnelling, he was larger than the average drone—the extra size gave these changelings the strength needed to haul rocks and small boulders around. She recognized him immediately as exactly who she’d been about to look for.
“Tunnomag. Impeccable timing.” She landed, followed by Alpha and the Tunnelling Magnate.
“Thanks. Ah figured you’d be lookin’ fer me, what with them changes ya announced hours ago.”
A mild grin made its way to Chrysalis’ muzzle; Tunnomag’s antics and mannerisms never failed to amuse her. Before working in Tunneling, he’d been on Harvesting duty and had slipped in with a pony rock farming family. He’d discovered his passion for the craft, and after gathering plenty of love from his hard work—and accidentally terrifying the family when they saw him spit acid at rocks—he’d returned and transferred to Tunneling immediately, where he’d quickly shot up its ranks. For whatever reason, he chose to retain the speech quirks he’d picked up during his time on the rock farm.
Perhaps it reminds him of his time there. Or he was just heavily influenced by all the other oddball changelings in Harvesting. Regardless, it all turned out for the better. And killing that family had proven to be a fine addition to our love supply, too!
Extricating herself from her tangent thoughts, Chrysalis returned her attention to the Magnate.
“You deduce correctly. Unfortunately, you won’t like this news: progress on the new cavern in the Florocoon must cease immediately, as well as the additional storage rooms being made in Harvesting.”
Tunnomag sighed and frowned. “Ain’t that a shame.”
“Furthermore, about half your workforce must be removed and relegated to different Sectors. Namely, Battle, Harvesting, and Intelligence.”
“Ya ain’t gonna get any shortage o’ Battle changelings from here, milady. Ah’ll see what ah can do fer the others.”
Chrysalis expected as much. Battle and Tunnelling changelings were similar in build and attitude, which meant both groups’ drones usually fit well into the opposite Sector.
“OI! Tunnodro three-sixty-two an’ four-forty-one!” The nearby drones in question turned to Tunnomag, both with green, rock-splitting acid dripping from their maws—a common occurrence among Tunnelling drones. The Magnate pointed to each in turn. “You, head over ta Harvesting and get the crew workin’ down there to quit makin’ the extra rooms. And you, head ta the Florocoon an’ tell ‘em ta stop work there too.”
Both dones gave a single curt nod, flinging green goo all around, before shooting off towards the Headquarters’ exit. Their departure was punctuated by the floor sizzling loudly as their flecks of acid landed and dissolved some of the stone.
“That’ll do the trick,” Tunnomag affirmed with a nod, “Ah’m guessin’ an Adadez will be droppin’ by later ta help keep track of everyling that’ll be switchin’ stations.”
Alpha nodded, “Absolutely. Probably seven.”
“Right. Anything else, yer Majesty?”
“Sharpen up the Vestibule, be ready to help expand Formation, and allocate any leftovers to tunnel maintenance,” Chrysalis rattled off, before levelling a stern stare at Tunnomag “I do not want to hear so much as a rumour about a potential cave-in.”
“Gotcha. Ah’ll go take care ‘o that right away.” And with that the Magnate flew off to one of the adjacent chambers.
“We’re sharpening up the Vestibule?” Alpha asked Chrysalis as the two left rose to the ceiling of Headquarters, heading for a small opening surrounded by red gems.
“Yes. I’d like to keep our first line of defense in impeccable shape.”
Alpha nodded and fell into silence as the two made use of one of the dozens of capillary shortcuts that linked adjacent Sectors of the hive without needing to go through the Bi-Halo. Unlike the main arteries, a capillary tunnel’s size was determined based on its frequency of use: the one between the Medical and Battle Sectors, for example, had been considerably enlarged.
The path the Queen and Alpha were currently speeding though only measured a few wingspans in diameter and was utterly devoid of changelings, both consequences of its infrequent use. The eerie quiet was occasionally perforated by the reverberating crack of stone or an echoing changeling screech. The particularly dim lighting blended with the unique soundtrack to create an ominous atmosphere that betrayed life in the darkness.
A red light glowed at the corridor’ end, and their approach brought with it the reek of alcohol and changeling ichor. Soon, they emerged on the second floor of the Infirmary.
The wide pentagonal chamber reached about a two-hundred hooves up and featured many floors, all of which bore a large hole in the center, allowing for quick vertical travel between them. Scattered all over each floor were several large resting pads resembling big flowers, all made up of more glowing biomass and chitinous membrane. Each of these particular padflowers was a Laceranthus and, similar to Chrysalis’ own Queensweet, they helped heal changelings. The lower floors’ Laceranthus were all completely occupied by many changelings, but as one climbed their presence grew scarce, with all floors above the fourth nearly devoid of activity.
Several Medical changelings buzzed back and forth between those resting on the padflowers. Some of the wounded seemed to be in fairly good condition, and even as Chrysalis and Alpha briefly observed their surroundings, they saw patients leave their organic beds and exit Medical altogether, likely headed to Battle to resume training. However, most remaining changelings looked to be quite worse for wear, and several hisses and screeches of pain could be heard coming from patients as their caregivers tended to their wounds.
The Infirmary was only ever a comforting place when it was empty, and today was no such time. Seeing all her loyal subjects in such a pitiful state both distressed and frustrated Chrysalis, steeling her resolve to exact revenge on those responsible for her changelings’ misery.
You’ll face my wrath soon enough, ponies.
Spurred back into action by her thoughts, Chrysalis cast her locating spell and quickly determined Medimag’s whereabouts. If there was any changeling that could give her a detailed rundown of the state of her troops, it was her. She and Alpha were surprised when they finally found said changeling a floor up, as Medimag and two Medodez were currently heatedly conversing with the Research and Development Sector’s Magnate, as well as a few Devlodez—the latter Sector’s Designates.
“How is this even possible!?”
“That’s exactly what we’re wondering. We’re working in completely uncharted territory here, and I do not like it!”
“Indubitably. This is an incredible discovery—we must look into it further. The ramifications of this are astounding. This could change our way of life, our very understanding of what we are! Our ideals and steadfast ways utterly shattered by—”
“I don’t need an existential crisis right now! What I need is to find out what we can do to both fix and prevent this from happening to more changelings.”
“Excuse me.”
Everyling turned to the sound of Chrysalis’ voice and immediately bowed as she and Alpha made themselves known.
“This sounds like something we should be privy to.”
Especially if it’s got Devlomag this excited. The last time I saw him so jubilant, we’d just discovered a different body-morphing strain that engendered previously unheard-of properties in changeling saliva.
“My Queen,” Medimag spoke up, sounding both shaken and thoroughly aggravated, “We’re having some trouble healing the troops. The vast majority just got a bit beaten up, but some…” An almost haunted look crossed her face, “...some have injuries I’ve never seen nor heard of before.”
Both Chrysalis and Alpha’s interests were piqued. Medimag was an expert in her field and few could rival her medical knowledge, as she’d prided herself on knowing all there was to know about changeling healing and anatomy even before taking up her management position. Anything she couldn’t identify had to be a novelty, and consequently bad news.
Great. Yet another problem.
“How are those changelings doing? And do you have any idea what ails them?”
“Come see for yourself, my Queen.”
Medimag led everyling to a nearby Laceranthus where a Medidro with a helpless expression was applying salve to a patient’s side, eliciting pained hisses. The injured drone in question bore a large burn mark on its left side that stretched from the base of its neck all the way to its hindquarters. But size was the least distinctive feature of the injury. The scar was of the most bizarre pink hue Chrysalis had ever seen, and lightly glowed.
“What happened to her? And…” Chrysalis paused as a familiar scent graced her nostrils, “...is that love I smell?”
“It’s hard to believe, but yes, it is and yes, it’s coming from that wound.” Medimag answered, “This drone was near the castle when she got struck by a ‘wall of pink’, as she recalls. The wall violently pushed her into the sky, all while it was burning her side. I’ve heard similar accounts from just about everyling with this kind of injury. There’s some serious magical residue in all the scar tissue and some surrounding it, which leads me to believe a really nasty spell caused this.”
“That would be Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor’s doing,” Chrysalis confirmed with a grimace.
“Makes sense that something this weird would come from one of those alicorns.” Medimag grumbled, “Traditional burn treatment doesn’t apply because of the magical nature of the wound. But magical treatment isn’t having any serious effect either, partly because this isn’t magic I’ve ever worked with. The magic itself seems to have had an emotional component, because all of the arcane residue is imbued with love. The spell somehow injected it into the drone’s body as it burned them. You can practically feed off this.”
“Wait… feeding from a wound?” Alpha’s eyes were wide as she gaped.
“Yeah, someling tried it.” said Medidez five, her muzzle crinkling in disgust as she spoke, “Apparently, it tasted like love but was laced with hostility. And there wasn’t any sustenance to it at all.”
“That we can detect the emotions but can’t feed off them is quite bizarre.” Devlodez two frowned in confusion, “It’s something utterly unheard of.”
“It’s also perverse.”
“...I can’t deny that.”
“You’re missing the most salient point of this discovery,” Devlomag interjected, still jubilant. “Somehow, the ponies have managed to harm us with emotions! Think of what this means for us. Truly astounding!”
“Truly dangerous is what it is!” Medimag nearly yelled, exasperated, “That it can kill us is the most important thing to note here.”
It can kill us?
Alpha’s face matched the surprise in Chrysalis’ thoughts. “Can this spell really do us such harm?”
All three Medical changelings nodded grimly as Medimag answered. “We think any changeling within half a kilometer of the source of the blast magically burned to death from the spell, or died quickly from their injuries. All changelings inside the castle would’ve basically been vaporized.”
She turned to Chrysalis. “We honestly have no idea how you survived nearly unscathed.”
The Queen stood stock still in shock for a moment as Medimag and Devlomag resumed their heated exchange. Her mind was a jumbled mess as countless thoughts battled for dominance. It was supposed to kill me. Emotion-based magic!? Medimag is rarely wrong and she’s saying I should be dead—she burned my children alive! I was the closest changeling to that spell. They would’ve been without a leader—I didn’t even get singed much less vaporized! How the Tartarus did she bind LOVE to that spell!? Completely erased from history. I somehow inexplicably survived against all odds—
The hive nearly lost me.
That final, terrible thought brought her mindstorm to a screeching halt. Any hive that lost its Queen eventually fell. It was an inevitable truth of changeling hives, and hers had nearly been faced with that fate. Her life, forfeit; her changelings, lost; her legacy, no more.
But still, I live.
Chrysalis came back to her senses only to be privy to loud shouting as she was made aware of Medimag and Devlomag nearly at each other’s throats again.
“—a cure! Otherwise we’ll have all sorts of trouble if ever we have to fight them!”
“Well finding a cure won’t happen until we understand how it works and how it affects us anyway! So we might as well thoroughly research the subject—”
“Enough!”
Chrysalis’ barely-raised voice cut through all the noise in the room, causing every changeling to shut up and face her. She surveyed them all sternly before settling on Medimag and Devlomag.
“I’ll not have you two squabbling as you are, especially since the both of you will be working together to figure out how we can treat these wounds. Once our Batodro are healed, we’ll look into what this new magic means for us.”
“Yes, your Majesty.” The two Magnates answered and bowed in unison, both unhappy about the arrangement but neither stupid enough to protest the Queen’s final verdict.
“Good. Have there been any other issues or peculiar cases in healing our troops, Medimag?”
“Everyling else has been easy to take care of. Most of the Batodro that came through here are now resting up in the Florocoon. We planned on moving all the love-burned injured to the second floor once the rest of the ‘normal’ patients have cleared out.”
“Very well. Keep Adminstration up to date.” With a sharp nod, Chrysalis dismissed the changelings as they bowed to her. Wings buzzing into action, she took off once more, heading to Harvesting with Alpha in tow.
Her flight through the stony bowels of the hive led her to ponder that last conversation, lingering on the details of Cadence’s spell. She herself vividly remembered the pink wall, and recalled its impact and unstoppable force as it tore her from Canterlot, but not once while she was being ousted did she suffer the scorching pain of arcane burns. The spell’s clemency towards her and her alone simply couldn’t be explained.
It was a grim reminder to Chrysalis that there were forces beyond anyling’s control that could fell even the greatest of dynasties. All it took was for a single card to slip and the whole house came crashing down. And the one factor that had made the difference between where she stood now and complete ruin… was chance.
And she hated being at the mercy of chance.
Nevertheless, she’d been dealt a lucky hoof, bittersweet as it was. After all, her most treasured possession had not been lost. And so long as the bond between Queen and Hive remained intact, she would still have cards to play.
Author's Note
Big thanks to the awesome people who helped edit this chapter:
- SaltyVampireHorse
- VivaNyanCat
- ReluctantBrohoof
And again, sorry for the long wait. Next chapter will be out before the end of March.
