The drone felt a stirring against his back, rousing him from half-sleep. His compound eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dim glow of the queen’s inner sanctum. He flicked his tongue out experimentally. The faintest trace of pheromones still lingered in the air.
There was a sigh of cool breath on his neck, and a chitinous foreleg wrapped around him. “So delicious,” a throaty voice purred.
Most drones would have made some excuse to leave at this point. Tired, drained, hungry, anything to gain respite. Feeding the queen was rarely a pleasant experience, but Veltrax didn’t mind and so stayed silent. To him it was a privilege, an honor above honors.
“You’re my favorite, you know,” Chrysalis murmured, nudging her snout into his neck and dragging her fangs over his plating. “So pure, and you always have more. I’ll never know how you do it.”
The sensation of enamel on chitin made a shudder run through him.
“Such a big day today,” the queen continued absently. She was used to his stoic silences by now. “It’s a shame you won’t be able to join me until the wedding. I’ll bet that stallion is just oozing with sweet, sweet infatuation.”
The plan was no secret to anyling in the hive, but for a moment Veltrax had forgotten. He felt his heart quicken at the thought of his queen playing royal mate to some self-inflated guardpony. Feeding was one thing, but that was enough to make his tongue curl involuntarily, regardless of the bigger picture.
Chrysalis rolled away and stretched with a satisfied groan as her joints crunched. “It’s a pity I can’t stand females though. I mean, a literal Princess of Love! It’s almost enough to make me consider being the Captain, just to get a taste.” She nudged Veltrax’s shoulder playfully. “More for you when the time comes, I suppose.”
I’d rather dessicate, Veltrax thought to himself.
“You’re awfully quiet today, even for you,” she mused. “Something on your mind?”
He shook his head slightly. Regardless of how he felt, there was nothing he could say that wouldn’t sound like insurrection or insolence.
“Suit yourself.” Chrysalis rolled to her hooves and stretched once more. “Help yourself to any of these others; they’ve still got a little left if you need a pick-me-up.”
Veltrax waited until the echo of Chrysalis’ hooves faded down the tunnel. He rolled over and glanced at the other drones strewn around the nest and enclosing chamber. Their eyes were half closed, chests shuddering in staccato breaths, wings spasming involuntarily.
Once more the familiar clutching sensation rose in his throat. She deserved better than them. Pitiful appetizers that could barely sustain themselves, much less provide any to share. Among them all, he was the only one that could truly satisfy her.
A drone on the edge of the nest blinked into consciousness and looked up at him. It gasped pitifully and flicked its tongue, begging for the slightest drop of affection. He hissed in response and shoved it away, ignoring the faint cry as the drone tumbled limply to the floor of the chamber. He wasn’t about to let some mewling grub feed off him.
Feeling invigorated, Veltrax pushed himself to his hooves and stepped down from the nest. He walked slowly out of the chamber and down the tunnel, following the queen’s pheromones. He found her in a small side-chamber not far down the tunnel, a place she often came to plan and meditate.
This time, she’d conjured an illusion of a city with gleaming walls, perched high on the side of a mountain. He recognized it immediately as Canterlot, the seat of Equestrian royalty.
She didn’t look at him as he entered, although her ears flicked back. Careful not to disturb her further, he quietly sat near the entrance of the chamber. For several moments they both watched the illusory city slowly turn.
“Just look at it,” Chrysalis murmured. “Full of love and ripe for the taking. If we succeed, our hunger shall be sated for generations. No more will we have to feed on each other, or on the pitiful scraps that wander out of Celestia’s watchful gaze.”
“I wish you wouldn’t go.” The words came out before he could stop them, and he cringed.
“Why?” Chrysalis replied without looking at him.
It had been impertinent and Veltrax kicked himself for letting his mouth run ahead of his brain, but he was committed now. “It’s... too dangerous, my queen,” he said, hoping the words were convincing. “What if you’re discovered? What if the princesses are more powerful than you think? What of the Elements our spies warned about? The hive would not survive without you.”
“All have been accounted for,” Chrysalis replied. “ Honestly, Veltrax, it makes me wonder if you’ve forgotten all the other civilizations I’ve overthrown.”
He gasped. He knew the queen knew his name, but it was the first time she’d ever said it to him. His heart fluttered and his knees grew weak.
She turned and smiled, fangs gleaming as her forked tongue played over her lips. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were worried about more than just the safety of the hive.”
“Maybe...” Veltrax looked away and pawed nervously at the chamber floor. Keep it cool, he thought, just don’t say anything else stupid.
When he looked up, he nearly jumped out of his shell. The queen had moved to stand directly in front of him, snout nearly touching his own. Her green pony-like eyes seemed to nearly fill his bulbous wide-angle vision.
She took a long sniff, drawing in the pheromones that were beginning to saturate the air. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “All night long and you still have more?”
Veltrax nodded. His heart seemed to be swelling, making it hard to breathe. The edges of his vision almost sparkled with glittering phantom stars. She was so beautiful he could barely contain himself, but he forced the love back. She has to take it, he reminded himself, repeating the lesson he’d learned from birth. You can’t give it, she has to take it.
“Do you think you can?” Chrysalis whispered. “I’ll need all the strength I can muster, and it would be nice to have my favorite drone on my lips when I travel to Canterlot.”
Veltrax nodded a bit too eagerly, and closed his eyes to await relief.
Without another word, the queen wrapped him in her magic and pulled him close. Her fangs pressed against his plated chest as she drew the love from his heart. It took all his will not to simply let go, but he did as every changeling was taught and held back so she could take it at her own pace.
Soon he felt the painful ache lessen. His heart no longer threatened to break out of his chest. The tightness in his throat released, and he sighed in relief as the love drained from him like poison from a wound.
A moment later, the draining sensation dissipated and he felt the magic set him gently back on the floor of the chamber. He opened his eyes just in time to see Chrysalis slump to her haunches, shoulders trembling. Green effusion trickled from the corners of her eyes.
“Exquisite,” she sighed, contented. “Truly a meal fit for your queen.”
Spent, Veltrax tipped over onto his side. This was the worst part. The empty, cold, weakness after feeding. It felt like he imagined death would, but he didn’t care. This was his honor, his duty, his passion, and he’d gladly die a thousand deaths for her.
Chrysalis pushed herself up from the floor and shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “Well, that’s all for now,” she said. “I’ve got to leave soon if I’m going to catch that vapid princess between guard shifts.” She bent forward and gently licked Veltrax’s snout. “Just rest. I’ll summon you and the others when the time is right, and soon we’ll have all the love we can hold.”
As she turned and strode out the door of the side chamber, Veltrax wondered at her words. All the love they could hold. All the love they could ever possibly want to take. He knew they needed love to survive, but it didn’t make sense. He practically had to beg for a chance for her drain him so he wouldn’t explode. Why should he want to feed on ponies when his heart always seemed full to bursting of its own accord?
It happened whenever she’d finished with him, these little moments of delusion or clarity— he couldn’t decide which. Unwilling to figure it out, he simply pushed the thoughts from his mind as a tiny flicker of warmth began to grow in his chest again.
He loved her, and that was all that mattered.
