A Hive Divided

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WAR?

Shutter Shot had read that headline at least a thousand times. His eyes dropped down to read the rest of the article, a feat made difficult by the many bumps and jolts created by the obsolete train running on tracks in ill repair.

It had been six months since the changeling attack on Canterlot, and even if every last changeling had been expelled from Equestria, the populace was still uneasy. The article detailed strange pillars of smoke billowing from what was assumed to be the changeling homeland, along with strange noises being reported along the border. Nopony dared venture any closer, for fear of being captured by the insect-like monsters and hauled off to some some horrible fate.

The article continued, speculating whether or not these reports meant mounting troop movements and the possibility of a full-scale invasion against Equestria:

“We are therefore left with only one possibility: these towers of smoke reported by the good subjects of Equestria are the fires of camps, and the strange noises are enemy scouts, poking our border crossings for weaknesses! What now will we do, in the face of these blood-suckers who threaten our very way of life? What must we do?”

Saber Rattler’s article extrapolated, as per her usual style. Shutter Shot sighed; even though she was his colleague, he could barely tolerate her alarmism.

The light gray unicorn pony looked out the window of his cramped cabin. The train was well into the desert now, and only the very edge of the horizon Shutter Shot could just barely make out the cracked brown surface that marked the beginning of changeling territory.

Shutter Shot inspected his camera, checking the film. It was the same camera he carried when he was the first on the scene to the brief rebellions of Discord and Nightmare Moon, and the same camera that had stolen images of Canterlot in the aftermath of the Changeling attack. This little machine, though meaningless to anypony else, had earned him his once-unattainable job at Stomp and his nomination for a Golden Sun.

Despite his notoriety as a journalist, he often caught himself stewing over how this trip felt... different. He considered himself an investigative reporter, sure, but he had never once ventured outside Equestria proper. Sure, Discord had turned half of the country into a freaky wonderland and Nightmare Moon threatened to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness, but at those threats were at least Equestrian in origin. The changelings were just weird.

As he turned the camera toward him to inspect the lens, his cabin suddenly lurched forward and the screech of grinding metal permeated the entire train car. The locomotive quickly slowed and stopped, still quite a ways from his destination.

He had just exited his cabin when he spotted the conductor walking down the aisle.

“Sorry son. End of the line.” he said flatly.

“What!? We're not supposed to reach our destination for another hour!” Shutter protested, pointing at the clock.

The conductor grimaced, “Yeah, about that. All the tracks beyond here are beaten to Tartarus. You're welcome a free ride back if ya want.”

Shutter Shot shook his head, “No way. I've probably got the story of the century on my hooves here.”

The conductor paused for a moment, confused. “Where did you say you were goin' again?”

Shutter Shot pointed out the window, “The Changeling Kingdom. If a war breaks out, I'm going to be the first one there!”

“Your funeral,” the conductor laughed as he headed back to the rear engine.

Shutter Shot followed the conductor to the back door of the car, and jumped out onto the ground. The conductor peeked back outside.

“Are you sure about this, sonny?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

Shutter Shot simply nodded. The conductor shrugged and disappeared into the car. After a few moments the train roared to life once again, slowly picking up steam and chugging back to the train station in Fillydelphia.

As the chugging of the train faded into the distance, Shutter found himself looking at a lone line of railroad tracks, and beyond that no traces of civilization whatsoever. Little tendrils of regret began to creep into his thoughts, but he immediately squashed the uncertainty they brought by tossing around potential names for the tropical island he would buy if this job paid off. “Shuttertopia” had a nice ring to it.

With that thought in mind, he laid one hoof in front of the other and trotted toward his final destination: the dark and mysterious land of the changelings.

His walk toward the changeling homeland was very uneventful for the first night, his only companion being a lone tumbleweed that happened to be rolling the same direction as he was walking. As the sun sank into the horizon, he took that as his cue to set up camp. Using some sticks he had gathered along the way, he telekinetically rubbed two of them together at blinding speed, setting the hot points on fire and throwing them into the stack. The fire was bright and warm, a welcome relief to the cold desert air that seemed even worse than the ones he had experienced while reporting on the Buffalo Crisis in Appleloosa.

With nothing else to do, he pulled out his camera and took a handful of quick shots of the surrounding area, capturing a few dark mountains that haunted the horizon. Nothing else caught his interest, so he unpacked the supplies he had been carrying in his backpack and set up the portable tent. The small shelter provided much-needed relief from the bitter cold of the outside, and the unicorn went to sleep.

He was greeted the next morning by the pestering glare of the sun. He held out one hoof to block out the rays, and squinted on the horizon to estimate the distance from his destination. The barren landscape of the changelings was closer, but still at least a few more days travel away. He put out the smoldering remains of the fire, packed up his belongings, and headed on his way. Had he not been humming, he may have noticed that very low buzzing of insect wings some distance behind him.

Shutter Shot was a bit more liberal with his camera usage that day, snapping photos of the surrounding desert and the slowly approaching desolation of the changeling kingdom. As he stopped and prepared his camera for a full panoramic series of photos, he noticed the same tumbleweed that had blown alongside him the day before was only about a dozen feet behind him. He shrugged, finished his panning shot, and stowed his camera away. If nothing else, a stalker tumbleweed would make for a mildly funny story.

Soon enough, the night had settled upon the desert once more, and Shutter Shot had set up camp before the stars even became visible. The tumbleweed that had been behind him was now nowhere to be seen.

Shutter Shot's sleep on that night was also uneventful, save for when he woke up later that night to what he could have sworn was a hiss. He looked around, thinking he may have rolled over on a snake, but found nothing. After his nerves had steadied, he yawned and fell right back into dreamland.

As the third day dawned, Shutter saw what appeared to be a settlement on the horizon . Closer and to the right of the apparent village was a small hill, and Shutter decided that would be his next waypoint. The journey to it took most of the day, and by the time he had made his way to the top of it, the the sun was already setting.

Whatever fortunes this town once possessed had long since withered. Half the buildings were already falling apart, and the wooden ones looked completely rotten. Several shanties also dotted another nearby hill around a mine shaft, probably the source of the town's wealth until it dried up.

As he snapped photos of the dilapidated old town, he decided that sleeping with a roof over his head was preferable to the stinging cold of the night. Shutter began to silently search the town’s buildings for the one that looked least likely to cave in on him. Deciding that the local inn seemed more promising than any of the alternatives, he trotted in with a cautious eye.

The hotel interior was completely caked over with dust and a practical jungle of cobwebs was spread throughout, but it seemed that all the actual furnishings were still there. Tables, chairs, even a small bar with a full selection of drinks, aged with time but otherwise untouched.

Shutter was too exhausted to contemplate why the owners would leave in such a hurry, so he began looking for a room. They all turned out to be on the second floor, much to Shutter’s annoyance, and he entered the first one he found as he went upstairs. Entering the room, he found the entire place covered in mold and Celestia knew what else, but it least it was a bed. Finding himself completely uncaring towards the filthy state of the bed, he gave himself to the gentle pull of unconsciousness as he flopped into the mattresses’ soft, indiscriminate embrace.

Ssssssssss...

The irritating sound pierced his skull, causing him to frown and swipe a hoof at the source of the hiss.

SSSSSsss...

Shutter grabbed his pillow and stuffed it over his head, hoping to drown out the noise.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrgh!

He lifted his pillow, his eyes wide open. Not an inch from his face was a very angry changeling, its wings buzzing and its body trembling.

Shutter's eyes went even wider as he ducked out of the way and the changeling chomped down where his head was a moment prior. He plunged under his covers and jumped out of the opposite side of the bed, kicking up the blanket and covering the changeling.

He ran toward the staircase only to find two more changelings waiting for him, both of them sporting manic smiles of glee and buzzing excitedly. He skidded and ran the other way, jumping over the changeling that stumbled out of his room, still struggling to get the blanket off. With no other options, he charged full speed at the window at the end of the hall. The moment before impact, he quickly withdrew his camera with his magic and took a shot behind him, capturing the changeling that had just escaped his blanket prison and was now chasing Shutter with full fury.

Shutter smashed through the window, using what little magic he knew repel the ensuing shards of glass away from himself. He rolled as he hit the ground, grunting with pain as he did. Another changeling appeared over the roof of a nearby house and bolted toward him, loosing an unearthly scream as it flew.

Using what little time he had to recover, the unicorn ran for the general store, hoping to find something in there to arm himself with. He dodged the attack of a dive-bombing changeling and sprinted toward the building, weaving past several more changelings who narrowly missed their goal of crushing him. As he ran inside he quickly closed the door behind him and barred it with a chair. Shutter immediately heard hooves banging against the door.

Shutter Shot quickly surveyed his options. Old bread? No. Walking stick? No. Broom? Yes! He grabbed the broom with his mouth, turning toward the entrance. With his weapon ready, the door flew open and a group of changelings charged in, surrounding the unicorn.

He swung the broom a few times in defiance. One of the changelings gave an annoyed glance as it shot a bolt of green magic at the broom, turning it to dust.

His options exhausted, Shutter Shot closed his eyes and took one last picture. As he heard the shutter click, he heard a smashing sound, followed by a shriek. He opened his eyes to see that the number of changelings had somehow doubled, and that his attackers were in a full melee with a group of newcomers, who were wearing some kind of green band around their arms.

With both groups of changelings distracted, Shutter bolted past the brawl and outside, desperately acting on the first idea that came to mind. He took a picture behind him as he ran into the ruins of what was apparently the town’s bank, capturing a fight between two groups of changelings that had enveloped the whole town. He leaped over the counter and into the vault, using every ounce of his magic to close the heavy vault door behind him. It pulled shut with a loud clang, and Shutter Shot sat there, listening to the battle that raged on the other side.

It went on for hours. It was impossible to tell what time it was inside the vault, but eventually the screams and cries died down, and he could hear nothing.

This did not last however, as a loud bang came from the other side of the vault door, followed by several more bangs. Shutter scooted into the very back of the vault, readying his camera for what he was sure was his actual last photo.

The bangs ceased as the vault door turned green, and then red. A searing heat filled the vault room, and the center of the vault door began to melt. The molten metal quickly oozed down onto the floor, cooling rapidly, leaving a precise 'o' shape where there had once been a foot of iron.

In walked a very large changeling with a green scarf wrapped around its neck. One of its chitinous wings appeared to be missing, and he looked down on the cowering pony like one would regard an irritating spider.

“You,” it hissed, its eyes squinting, “You know nothing, do you?”

Though quaking with fear, Shutter Shot managed to squeak, “What?”

The large changeling said nothing in response, lowered his head and shot a blast of green magic directly at the unicorn. Shutter Shot flinched when the projectile hit him square in the forehead, and his world went to darkness.

When he awoke, he noticed he couldn't move his body. Also, he wasn't dead, which was a plus. He could still move his neck, and used this freedom to get his bearings.

Shutter was wrapped in a prison of sticky goo. He was suspended from the ceiling of the first floor of the hotel, and all around him changelings with green armbands buzzed about. Some were marching in formation outside, others appeared to be talking. Most were gathered or buzzing above a table, where the large changeling that appeared to be in charge was poking at a map, pointing out locations with some incomprehensible clicking.

One of the changelings next to the leader noticed that Shutter Shot had woken up. It nudged its leader, who looked to where it was pointing. The changeling leader gave a harsh hiss and all the changelings dispersed. He walked up to the suspended Shutter Shot, who was still struggling to break free.

“Changeling silk. You won't escape it,” it said.

“What do you want from me!?” Shutter Shot angrily shouted back, ignoring the changeling's advice.

“Answers.” it replied plainly. It took a few steps closer and its horn lit up with green power, the very tip of it only a few inches from Shutter's face.

Now was not the time for Shutter to be making demands. He took a deep breath, “I'mareporterandmynewspaperthinksthere'sgoingtobeawarsoIcameheretofindifyouguyswereabouttoinvadeEquestriaandifsoI'dbethefirstonetogetthescoop!”

As Shutter panted, the large changeling raised his head a bit and zapped the unicorn's gooey prison, dissolving it and dropping Shutter onto the ground face-first. As he rubbed his head and looked up, the changeling leader was looking directly into his eyes.

“No war with Equestria. Go home and tell them that,” it said before turning around and heading toward the exit.

“Wait!” Shutter Shot called, holding his hoof, “What about the fires? And the noises near the border? What is Queen Chrysalis—”

As soon as he uttered the changeling queen's name, every changeling inside the hotel turned toward him and hissed, before returning to their duties.

Shutter Shot looked around, confused, “What just happened?” he asked.

The changeling stared at the unicorn for a bit, before motioning for him to follow. “Come, I'll show you what's happening.”

Shutter followed the big changeling outside, and into a practical hive of activity. Everywhere around him, changelings wearing green armbands walked, buzzed, and talked amongst each other. Some gave Shutter a warning hiss, but did no more. He also spotted the town's water tower, which now sported a flag.

The flag was tattered, but appeared to have a solid black background, with a bright green 'X' in the foreground. As he followed the leader around the building, he came across a most puzzling sight. A few dozen changelings were tied up, most of them covered with nasty bruises and cuts. They were guarded by another small group of changelings, who kept undivided attention on their imprisoned brethren.

Both Shutter Shot and the leader changeling shared a moment of silence before the unicorn broke it.

“Okay,” he said, gesturing toward the prisoners, “now I'm officially confused.”

“Servants of the Usurper.” he hissed.

Shutter tilted his head. “Chrysalis?”

The changelings guarding the beaten army turned their heads and hissed at the unicorn before returning their attention toward the prisoners.

Shutter opened his mouth to ask another question, but the changeling leader had already begun talking.

“Two cycles ago, the Usurper attempted to seize control of your homeland, with her most devoted soldiers.”

The leader spat on the ground, which began to bubble and dissolve away, “She returned with no food, and a scattered swarm. Her lies could stand no longer, and those truly loyal to the collective have begun the glorious return to the rightful head of the horde!”

One of the changelings passing by lifted a holey appendage, “All hail Queen Vertex!” it screeched.

Every changeling within earshot raised a hoof and shouted the same: “ALL HAIL QUEEN VERTEX!”

“The rightful heir!” the changeling leader boomed, shaking his hoof.

Shutter tapped the Changeling Leader’s leg, timidly requesting his attention, “Sorry, I'm not too versed in changeling politics. Who is Queen Vertex?”

The changeling leader looked at flag that flew over the water tower, “When our beloved Queen Nodus went to her ancestors, our rightful queen stood to become our rightful mother! But she was betrayed!” he said as he kicked the dirt, “Overthrown by her putrid sister! That foul beast used her wiles to trick the loyal subjects into believing she was the voice of the swarm, and imprisoned the rightful queen!”

The leader laughed, “When the Foul One returned with nothing, those still loyal to the true queen used the chaos to release her from the deepest dungeon of the Usurper's palace. She has returned to her subjects, and now we fight to restore her to the Black Throne!”

A civil war? Civil wars were always juicer than normal wars! Shutter Shot smiled, “Good for you!”

The leader smiled, “I am glad to see even the mammals know who the true queen is!” he said as he pointed back toward Equestria. “Go! Go spread the word of the legitimate heir!”

“Actually...” Shutter replied, taking out his camera, “I have a much better way of telling people the truth.”

The leader stooped down to look at his camera, and then at him. “What are you saying?”

Shutter used his magic to bring it onto one of his hooves, “This little number is the Quick Catch XB-2. Very rare, only ten ever made. I could capture Luna on the other side of the moon with this baby!”

“And?”

He picked up the camera once again and levitated it right in front of the leader's face, “I take some pictures, write some kind words about your cause, and you let me travel around with you. Fair trade, huh?”

The unicorn was met with silence, so he began to draw in the dust. “I've already got it figured out,” he said as he draw a very poor imitation of a changeling with one of his hooves, “when I have enough pictures and a good paragraph or two, you get one of your boys to turn into a pegasus. Then he delivers my article and photos here,” he said as he drew the basic skyline of Phillydelphia, “and let them run the story. You get support, I get my scoop.”

There was another period of awkward silence, before the changeling leader spoke up once again, “how long would it take you to write one of your...articles?”

“No time at all! Give me an hour, and I'll have something that'll get every prissy pants in Canterlot to start a charity drive!”

Without even bothering for a reply, Shutter Shot dashed into the local bar, and began feverishly writing his his recent experience on a couple of napkins he found and an ballpoint pen he discovered on the floor. In thirty minutes he was finished, and he rushed outside to find the commander, who was standing in the exact same place he left him.

He picked up roll of film containing the pictures he had taken and the napkins, “Here! Get this to Phillydelphia!”

The leader studied it for a moment before calling on a nearby changeling. It stood at attention, and the leader gave it some kind of order in a series of clicks and hisses. The changeling drone transformed into an inconspicuous orange pegasus pony with a cloud cutie mark, and the leader nodded. The changeling boss then took the roll of film and napkins from Shutter and gave them to the transformed changeling, and gave it another series of orders. It saluted and took off toward Phillydelphia, slowly shrinking in size as it sped away.

As the changeling courier completely vanished from sight, an entire chorus of screams came cascading over him. Shutter Shot turned around to see a giant swarm of loyalist changelings flying toward the town. The leader gave a deafening roar in response, and took off toward the attackers as every other changeling took to the skies to greet their foes.

Shutter Shot put in a new reel of film and began clicking. Regardless of whoever won, this war was going to make him very, very famous.

SHATTERED SHELLS: ON THE GROUND REPORT OF THE CHANGELING CIVIL WAR

by Shutter Shot

is what greeted most readers of the Stomp as it landed on their front porch or in their mailbox. One affluent unicorn pony in Canterlot took the paper inside to read the entire article, which detailed the opening blows of the conflict.

“I say!” Prissy Pants declared, his monocle popping out from his eye.

Letters

The offices of the Stomp had been swamped since Shutter's first article of the Changeling Civil War opened the floodgates to thousands of letters asking what exactly was going on in the land of the changelings, what sides the war had, and if their families were safe from the buzzing menace.

Several interns swarmed around the office, sorting mail, a task that consisted of pushing around wheelbarrows full of letters into a giant pile in the middle of the main office. Just to the side of Mt. Postage was a small light pink unicorn pony with white hair, an appearance sharply contrasted by the sharp sword and quill that was her cutie mark. She wore small rectangular spectacles as she typed away on her keyboard, thinking of the appropriate words for her newest article.

“-And a no matter what king or queen or whatever these bugs serve, they'll still be the same communist terrorists that invaded our home and attacked our dear princess! It's time that we show those changelings that crimes against Equestria will not go unpunished, so we should...”

Saber Rattler stared at that last word, unsure exactly what to suggest. Before the whole Nightmare Moon Crisis, she had been a rather small-time writer, only finding publication in the most reactionary of the country's newspapers.

After the Mare in the Moon had been subdued, she saw the opportunity of a lifetime and began ranting about the supposed 'night cultists' that still operated in the Everfree Forest. It was complete nonsense, of course, but her words resonated with the more than a few concerned ponies and suddenly every newspaper within miles was willing to pay top bit for one of her articles. 'Discordgate' and the Changeling Incident only served to increase demand of her particular brand of journalism.

The unicorn yawned and scooted away from her desk. With the hustle and bustle around the office, it was hard to concentrate anyway since that meddlesome Shutter Shot had that article published.

“Shutter Shot,” she mumbled as she walked away from her desk, not caring in the least when she tripped one of the interns carting mail.

Shutter Shot was nothing but trouble. While she articulated what the normal colt or mare who cared for their family could not, her associate could not claim the same. He kept demanding things like 'facts', and 'objectivity', and other meaningless drivel.

She passed by the editor's room, and peeked her head inside. “I'm taking the rest of the day off,” she said rather matter-of-factly before heading toward the elevator. The editor didn't even hear her, too busy sorting mail that was flying into her office from the window via a funnel system that slowly drained from the big pile in the main office.

Saber walked out of the elevator as it reached the ground floor, her nose held high. As she walked out into the street, she approached a local newsstand, and surveyed all the various papers and tabloids. All of them had some variation of the changeling war, most of them featuring an “exclusive” of the article Shutter wrote.

The snobby unicorn sighed and purchased one copy of Red Sun, one of the most radical tabloids in the country. She flipped through the pages and located one of the many opinion pieces, this one by a Left Hoof. It expressed solidarity with the soldiers of the rebel army and confidence that this revolution would spread throughout the entire world, and all sentient beings would soon throw off the shackles of monarchy. She sneered and threw the magazine down into the gutter. As she did, inspiration came to her, as it often did when she was disgusted or angry.

She ran back inside the offices of Stomp and returned to her work, intent on giving the ponies what they wanted.

Queen Chrysalis paced around her council chambers, a circular black room adorned with spikes. She was located at the head of a vaguely square-shaped table, with all of her closest advisers sitting silently.

The dark queen had been pacing for the past two hours, and would have done so for two more if not for one of the braver of her ministers raising a hoof.

“Your supreme excellence,” he said, “an infinite amount of pardons, but did you call us here for counsel?”

The queen hastily turned toward the rest of the table and blinked a few times, before shaking her head. “Ah, yes,” she muttered before sitting upon the large chair at the head, an intimidating piece of furniture made of obsidian and encrusted with green jewels.

“All of you have proven to be of some worth administration of my kingdom, and your non-negligible input is the only reason you are not instantly slain upon entering these chambers.”

The various ministers and generals looked at each other nervously before she continued,

“That is why I have gathered you all here, for the most important purpose any of you will ever have. As of today, this room is designated the Room of Restoration, and you are my war council.”

Some of the ministers whispered, but the high commanders simply nodded.

She went on, “Commanders Corruption, Exo, Claw, and Locus: you are all hereby granted full rights to use any subject for your armies as you see fit.”

She turned to the right side of the table, “Ministers Mandib, Grub, Frank, and Metamorph: you are granted full permission to combat the rebel lies, and crush any drone who does not love his beloved queen!”

“Now,” Chrysalis said as she jumped up on the table, further exaggerating her size compared to the council, “How will we deal with the traitors?”

“Kill them, my queen!” Mandib said, instantly earning a slap across the face.

“Yes, you idiot! But how!?” she screamed, and Commander Claw cleared his throat.

“As it stands,” he said as his horn glowed green with magic and a large map floated out from under the table, “this is the military situation.”

Commander Claw also levitated a pen and began drawing on the map. “This,” he said as he circled a large portion of the land that made up the Changeling Kingdom, “is what we control. The rest is rebel-”

“Traitor,” Chrysalis hissed.

Claw sighed, “Traitor-controlled land. It appears they are operating out of Gray Nest. We have reason to believe that is where your sist-”

Claw looked up from the map to see Chrysalis trembling, her left eye twitching.

“Uh, the traitor leader is located.”

Chrysalis snorted. “Hmph. I never did like Gray Nest. I'll make a note to burn it to the ground when this annoyance is dealt with.”

“Also,” Exo butted as he took the pen from Claw and circled a tiny region on the edge of the map, “my scouts report that the, er, traitors have taken control of this area as of two days ago.”

Chrysalis walked up to the map, squinting at the small circle Claw had drawn. “There is no nest here, you imbecile.”

“My queen, that region was once an Equestrian settlement, but was abandoned many years ago. I believe it was called Rolling Hooves.”

Chrysalis stared at the map a moment longer before smiling. “Hah! For all my sister's guff, all she can muster to take is a worthless ghost town! This war will be over before I know it!”

Chrysalis took to the air, laughing maniacally, “I WILL crush this insurrection, I WILL restore order, and when my swarms are united again, the world WILL tremble under the Grand Swarm of Mutavolu! Hahahahaha!”

A thunderstorm suddenly gathered outside and flashes of lightning soon joined Chrysalis' laughter while her advisers could only sit there and wait until she calmed down.

The loyalist army had been routed at Rolling Hooves, but by the time the last hostile changeling was driven back, the rebels that had rescued Shutter Shot were exhausted, and it was apparent they were going nowhere for a few days until they received rest and reinforcements.

Shutter Shot was busy taking shots of the aftermath as he walked around Rolling Hooves, now in even worse shape than before. One of the most striking things he witnessed was the flag of Chrysalis that had been dropped during the battle, now covered in dirt and full of holes. It possessed a similar color scheme, but differed from the rebel flag by having a large dark green circle instead of an 'X', and in the center of this circle was the silhouette of a stylized crown.

Shutter Shot realized where all the missing pieces of the flag went when a changeling that happened to be buzzing by hocked and spit on the flag which dissolved the fabric, creating another hole. Shutter took a picture of the desecrated banner before every rebel changeling got a turn with it.

While he trotted around looking for more photo opportunities, his skull was pierced by a high screech. He whipped around toward its source and saw the lookout on top of the water tower pointing to a small speck in the distance, which was rapidly gaining size.

The swarm in town gave their undivided attention to the lookout. After another moment, the lookout gave two small shrieks, and the changelings around the old town returned to their duties. The speck had become visible now, and it was apparent that it was the same changeling that the commander changeling had sent to deliver Shutter's story and photos, still disguised as a pegasus pony.

The returning changeling circled the town once and landed in front of the hotel and the commander, who had just stepped outside. It gave a salute and the changeling leader nodded. The disguised changeling then reverted back to his normal form and joined the activity around town.

Shutter had run up and captured the entire exchange, and after the drone had left he walked up to the general,“He seems useful!”

“He is our best mimic.” the general replied as he looked over the town, surveying the swarm's activity. They were in the process of digging mounds and disassembling some buildings for their lumber. What wood they did salvage was added to the hotel, which was rapidly becoming a makeshift fort.

Shutter nodded in appreciation, “That seems real useful!”

The commander made a noise that sounded like a laugh, “More useful than you know. You would be dead if not for him.”

The leader's words took a second to process, and when they did Shutter did a double-take, “I'm sorry?”

“That tumbleweed that followed you. That was not a tumbleweed. I sent him to spy on you. He came back telling me that you were headed here, and that you were probably being followed by the Usurper's slaves.”

Shutter tapped a hoof on his chin, thinking.

“Well, that's real neighborly of you. Guess I owe you my thanks!”

The leader retained the same stoic expression.

“By the way,” the unicorn pony began, “I never did get to properly introduce myself. I'm Shutter Shot!”

An actual tumbleweed rolled by during the awkward silence between them.

“Brood,” the commander stated, “My name is Brood.”

Shutter Shot took looked around the town. “Well, Brood, is there anything I can help with? I don't wanna just follow you and take pictures when stuff happens. I get really mean letters when I do that.”

Brood retreated in thought for a moment before looking down upon the unicorn. “Yes,” he declared, pointing toward the inside of the hotel, “my swarm discovered a great many letters inside this building, inside the desk in one of the rooms. We can speak the pony language, but we cannot read it. Look at them and see if they say anything important about this town.”

Shutter gave Brood a half-flanked salute, “Yes, sir!” he exclaimed and went inside the hotel.

The letters were not hard to find. Some changelings had collected and laid them out on a table. The drones were currently in the process of trying to decipher them. They all possessed varying degrees of confusion, and some were very clearly developing a headache trying to understand the characters on the paper.

Shutter said nothing to the changelings at the table and picked one of the letters up magically, reading the first few lines.

My dearest Iron Pick,

You are my light.

My dearest love, you must know that your presence is like Celestia's golden warmth, banishing any darkness clenching my heart and giving my wings and heart a stronger lift than the western winds. Our love is like a-

“Yech,” Shutter grumbled as guided the letter away from his eyes, hoping the sappiness hadn't given him brain damage. He picked up another letter, hoping for something more useful.

My dearest Iron Pick,

Two dancers.

Remember when we first met? The stars were so beautiful that night at the Grand Galloping Gala, as if the cosmos itself had-

Shutter averted his eyes and picked up a third.

My dearest Iron Pick,

Our love conquers all.

It binds and shines. As long as we are together we-

“Wait a darn minute,” Shutter said as he quickly skimmed several more letters, all which were addressed to the same pony, “these are all just sappy love letters!”

Every changeling at the table looked at the unicorn as he uttered the word 'love'. One of the changelings looked back at the letter he had been staring at and gave it a hesitant lick. His eyes lit up and he took a large bite out of the letter. As he gulped, the changeling began to quiver and fell onto the floor, landing on his back. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest though, as his pupils had dilated and his wings were twitching with ecstasy.

The others around Shutter soon did the same, and the unicorn suddenly found himself as the only one actually sitting at the table, surrounded by writhing changelings.

Word of the edible pile of love inside the hotel got around quickly. Shutter had to retreat to the second floor as a flood of changelings poured in the main entrance to descend upon the love letters. They tore and ripped each meticulously written message, all of them experienced total love overdose as soon as they got a bite. In the span of a few minutes the floor was littered with changelings in euphoria. Shutter took out his camera, but out of respect only made one photo.

Brood walked in a few moments later, looking over his incapacitated swarm. He turned his sight towards Shutter Shot, who was standing at the top of the stairwell. Shutter had no idea what to say, and simply responded to Brood's gaze with a shrug. The changeling commander sighed, and walked back outside.

It took a good hour before the swarm sobered up, but slowly most of the chitinous carpet filed out of the hotel. When enough changelings had left so that Shutter could move around on the first floor, he walked down the stairwell and went outside, now wanting to apologize to the leader for leaving his army vulnerable.

As we walked outside, he jumped a bit to see Brood standing just to the left the entrance.

“Thank you,” he stated before Shutter even had time to open his mouth.

“What?” Shutter asked, tilting his head.

“My swarm has been fighting off starvation for weeks. This should stop their complaints of hunger for some time now.”

Shutter scratched his head, ruffling a few of his black hairs. “Well, glad I could help.”

Brood began to walk away, but Shutter held out a hoof, “Wait!” he called and the commander turned his head.

With his magic, he pulled out a letter he had been hiding. “I, uh, saved this one before it got eaten. It doesn't look like it's even been opened. You can have it, if you want.”

Brood seemed to consider his offer for a second before shaking his head. “Save it. I am not hungry anyway.”

While some of them were still a little wobbly, most of the changelings had returned to work. Shutter looked at the various drones and back at Brood. “So, what now?”

“I was planning to stay here,” Brood replied, “for rest and reinforcements. However, because of your discovery, I believe my swarm has the energy to attack Deep Tunnel.”

Shutter grinned, “Sounds like a dandy place!”

Brood nodded. “It was, once. Many homes burrowed into a white limestone cliff. It was once a thriving hive, but the reign of the Usurper has reduced it to little more than a strip mine.”

“Are we headed there now?” Shutter asked as he noticed the sun was beginning to set.

“Tomorrow.”

“Works for me!” Shutter replied, his typical bright expression now betrayed by fatigue. He headed back inside the hotel and went to sleep in the same bed he had been attacked in.

Stomp, pg. 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Hi! I stuffed this letter into one of Derpy's cupcakes when she came by store. Hope she didn't swallow it!

Anyway, I don't usually read much, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake were using a newspaper to cover a table so it wouldn't get covered in icing, and when I was licking it all off I read that article about the changelings being all mean to one another.

I don't know about Queen Vertex, but I can tell you Queen Chrysalis is bad! Super bad! Forever! She's the queen of the grumps! She may have liked my party, but that's no excuse for beating up the princess! I want the changelings with Ms. Vertex win, because they seem a lot nicer. Also I could call 'em Vexies! That's a real fun word to say! Vexies Vexies Vexies Vexies Vexies Vexies Vexies [letter edited for length]

- 'P', Ponyville

Please don't publish this. I just wanted to say that Queen Chrysalis was really, really bad. I mean, I know Mr. Shot said that Vertex seemed better, but I needed to say it too. I mean, what if Vertex is a lot worse?

I just wish they find a good leader and leave us alone.

- 'F', Ponyville

Green armbands? I know they're fighting for a righteous cause, but with fashion sense like that I'm almost convinced to side with Chrysalis.

- 'R', Ponyville

Siege

Shutter Shot awoke much more peacefully than he had the day before; there were no unwanted or unexpected visitors looming over his bed or in his room. He yawned and got himself out of bed, checked all his belongings and headed downstairs, his eyes still half-shut.

As he went behind the bar and poured himself something to drink, he noticed that the hotel was completely devoid of activity. Gone was the buzzing and chattering, and only the quiet sound of the aged hard cider overflowing the shot glass permeated the room.

Now aware of his solitude, Shutter quickly gulped down the entire glass and rushed outside. He whipped his head all around town, hoping to spot his scoop before it got away. He couldn’t make anything out on ground level, and began to look for a vantage point. He chose the water tower, and scaled the tower’s ladder with surprising speed for a buzzed unicorn that had just woken up. Now with a much better lay of the land, he spotted a cloud of dust billowing up in the north. There was Brood’s army, slowly advancing.

The pony froze for a second. Shuttertopolis was literally marching away from him, slipping through his hooves. The guarantee of a lifetime supply of umbrella drinks slapped Shutter out of his shock and pushed him down the tower and after Brood and his army.

It took him almost an hour to catch up, and by the time he had made it to the front of the pack he was completely exhausted. Brood, at the very head, glanced down at the heaving pony who now was struggling to walk.

“I said we were moving the next day,” he said with a frown.

Shutter attempted to make a case for his tardiness, but found his words replaced by desperate gasps for air.

For a time, all that could be heard along the plains were the sounds of buzzing wings and hoofsteps, as the army marched toward Deep Tunnel. At around noon, Brood suddenly stopped and sat down, and the rest of the changeling swarm did the same.

Shutter wiped some sweat off his brow and did the same. “Whew. Thanks for the break, Brood.”

Brood didn't even turn his head when he spoke, “No break. We wait.”

The unicorn scratched his head. “Uh, okay. What are we waiting for?”

“Reinforcements.”

“Oh.” Shutter Shot pawed at the ground, still unsure of how to deal with Brood’s stoicism. “How long until they get here?”

Brood shrugged. “We’ll see.”

Shutter Shot took the hint; he might be stuck here for a while

The pony baked in the hot sun for most of this time. His only distraction came when he tried to make conversation with a nearby drone.

“So. What’s being a changeling like?”

The changeling he had spoken to glared, and with a small flash transformed into an exact copy of Shutter Shot. He crossed his two hooves across his neck, closed his eyes, and gave Shutter Shot his best impersonation of a corpse. The changeling immediately returned to normal and ceased interaction with Shutter.

Expecting similar responses with the other soldiers, Shutter Shot chose silence for the remainder of the wait.

When the sun had reached its crescendo, a low hum became audible in the distance.Shutter turned to see a changeling horde advancing toward them. The unicorn tensed, but relaxed a bit when he saw several rebel flags flying amongst their ranks.

Brood walked off toward the approaching army, his own swarm staying put. Shutter followed right behind him.

“So, these are your reinforcements?” he asked.

“Yes,” Brood replied, “I sent word for them to meet us here last night.”

“Are they going to help us take Deep Tunnel?”

“Yes.”

Shutter timidly trotted along as they both approached the reinforcing army, and Brood greeted a large changeling that had positioned himself in front of the swarm. Though he was similar to Brood in size and stature, his shell seemed to be graying with age, and sported several nicks and cuts that likely had stories behind them. His piercing gaze was further intensified by one of his eyes, which had clouded over with a cataract. Shutter assumed this was their commander.

He watched as the two leaders walked up to each other, their faces mere inches apart. Suddenly they both reared down and hissed, circling each other and snapping their jaws. This continued for a few moments before the old changeling commander reared up on his hind legs and screamed. Brood stood still, and a second later the old changeling dropped to all fours and walked back to his swarm.

“Er, what just happened?” Shutter said as he cautiously tip-hoofed behind the changeling commander, who was still crouched down.

Brood stood and up dusted himself off, “Commander Acid will be leading the siege force,” he said before returning to his own swarm.

“That was a heck of a show,” Shutter said, “did you, uh, lose?”

Brood turned around and dismissively snorted at Shutter before returning to his swarm.

The two armies were soon on the move, with Acid's battalion ahead by a few hundred meters. As the sun began to retreat and the stars became visible, Acid looked up, tracing the constellations with one of his hooves. He nodded.

Both Brood and Acid let out fearsome growls and their swarms dispersed, their drones scattering all across the desert. They soon returned with large amounts of sticks and grass and piled them high. When the hill of kindling had grown large enough, both commanders hissed. In response, the changelings all huddled around their respectives piles until both were completely covered by drones. They then began to vibrate rapidly, and smoke appeared to escape from the pile.

Within a minute both piles of drones dispersed, their combined body heat having caught the kindling on fire. With their task done they huddled around their fires, treasuring the warmth.

Shutter took a picture of both fires now billowing against the evening sky and sat down amongst the changelings.

Brood was the only changeling Shutter had actually talked to, so he attempted to make some more friends, “Hi, I'm Shutter!” he said to the closest changeling to him. The drone turned and hissed at him before resuming conversation with his comrades.

Shutter sighed. With his conversation options limited at his own camp, he decided to journey over to Acid's. No changeling paid mind when left, and as he approached the other swarm he spotted the changeling commander in the middle of a complex array of exaggerated motions, hissing all the while. His strange dancing would at least make for decent photos, so he stuck around. When he had a good view of the camera, he readied a shot.

“He's telling a story,” said a stern voice behind him.

Shutter nearly dropped his camera and whipped around to see Brood standing there, stone-faced as ever.

“What?”

Brood pointed toward Acid, “Our story. Where we came from.”

The shadows from the fire cast themselves on a rock behind Acid, adding an extra set of dark actors to his lone performance. They moved in unison with their leader, displaying warped parodies of his own motions, mocking his story as much as augmenting it.

Brood took a deep breath and began to translate Acid's words:

At first, there was nothing. The white chaos was everything, and there ruled the Great Silence. A red egg emerged from the white chaos. It cracked three times before breaking, and from it emerged the Vowst, and she looked upon the white chaos.

“This will not do,” she said, and gathered the pieces of her egg. She scattered them around the white chaos. Where they landed, continents formed. She looked upon the world she had crafted, now empty and harsh.

“This will not do,” she said, and beat her wings against the dead land. Wind filled the world, the howling gusts whipping across the vast emptiness.

The Vowst looked upon her creation, disappointed in its desolation and ugliness.

“What will I do?” she asked, and began to cry. The great oceans and lakes formed where her tears landed. Clouds filled the empty skies, and the first drops of rain began to fall. The blue expanse enveloped creation, and for the first time the world knew beauty.

The Vowst looked upon her creation, disappointed in its emptiness.

“I know what I must do,” she said. She took a spark from inside herself and breathed it onto the world. The winds and waters carried it far, scattering it across the oceans and continents. Where the sparks landed, grew life. What remained of the original spark split in two, becoming the sun and the moon.

Tired, the Vowst went into a deep sleep.

Acid had stopped his story at this point, to the celebratory hisses and cheers from the swarm.

Shutter frowned, “That's not all there is, is there?”

“It is bad luck to tell the whole story in one night.”

Having finished for the night, Commander Acid picked a nearby boulder and spit on it, which caused it to corrode and dissolve. Once a sizable crater had been formed, he curled up inside, using the massive stone as a makeshift shelter. All the drones followed his lead and also curled up along the ground to rest for the night.

Shutter captured a picture of the resting army's serenity before heading back to Brood’s camp. He had trouble finding his own place to rest; straying too close caused the nearby changelings to hiss and snap at his hooves.

He eventually came to rest between the two camps, and found himself missing the filthy bed back at Rolling Hooves.

“Here, here!” Fancy Pants ordered, banging his gavel until the crowd before him came to attention.

The great echos that bounced around the ornate party hall quickly ceased, and all eyes rested on Fancy Pants, who sat upon an elevated stage with several other Canterlot residents of importance. He telekinetically removed his monocle and cleaned it with a cloth, dramatically clearing his throat while doing so.

“Now then,” he said, “The Canterlot Progressive Society is now in session. I must first beg your forgiveness for scheduling this meeting in place of our normal croquet match, but as most of you know, recent events have warranted our attention.”

Jet Set stood up, “Yes! I have been saying for the longest time that we need more fountains and statues around the city!”

The posh pony was met with an eerie quiet and a few awkward coughs. He sat back down, blushing.

“Yes, quite,” Fancy Pants muttered, setting his monocle back into place, “As you all are no doubt aware, a war is raging on our border. I've called this meeting to help us arrive at a consensus; a goal that we can work towards to help end the conflict.”

A rather mean-looking grey pony stood up, “Fancy, why should we even bother helping those...bugs? They looted our capital city for Celestia’s sake!”

Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle, “My boy, if you bothered to read the paper you would discover that those changelings that attack were loyal to Chrysalis. She’s been doing a rather poor job as queen, and now she’s paying the piper, as it were. If we help alleviate suffering, it would go a long way toward building up relations to whoever replaces her.”

Murmurs passed through the crowd. One of the well-to-do mares with an enormous hat raised a hoof. “We could start a charity auction!”

Another pony next to her rolled his eyes, “What is it with you and charity auctions?”

“Do you have a better idea?” she shot back.

Fancy Pants smashed his gavel again in an effort to contain the argument, but their quarrel had already infected the room.

“We could start the Changeling Ponytarian Fund!”

“I say we organize a raffle!”

“Let's supply the rebels with arms!,”

Soon, ideas were erupting all over the room, and each of their respective owners thought that theirs was the best one. The civility and pomp of the upper class collapsed, and heated arguments erupted amongst the attendees. Fancy Pants simply watched, considering this his entertainment for the evening.

Fleur, who had been leaning on Fancy Pants the whole time, took out a small cider flask from one of his coat pockets and began to drink.

Beaming with pride, Saber rattler plopped her latest article onto her editor’s desk. It had been a labor of love; she had spent hours mulling over the right words, sewing seeds of alarm and danger into the fabric that was her most captivating article yet.

“My article.” said Saber, expectantly.

The editor didn't even look up as she sorted out letters, “I'll get to it in a second.”

“Why not now?” growled Saber Rattler, accusingly.

The editor groaned. “I'll get to it in a second.These letters just keep piling in, and somepony’s gotta take care of them.”

“You should really read it now.”

The editor threw up her hooves, “Fine!” she yelled, before leaning in closer to Saber's opinion piece. “-and a show of military force is the only option. We must punish both sides of this little brawl that plagues our borders. I recommend we-” she recited, before shuffling the article into a drawer into her desk.

“Yeah, okay, that'll do,” the editor said, returning to her sorting. She hoped that her dismissal would end the conversation; she didn’t particularly feel like dealing with another of Saber’s hissy-fits.

Saber gave a loud hmph before returning to her desk. Who did the editor think she was? Inquiring ponies needed to have their biases confirmed and their fears justified! Why weren't the folk eating up her articles like they used to?

As she sat back down to her station, she opened the drawer where she kept copies of all her old articles. She took one out at random and scanned it.

“-don't know how to do anything of value! It's all these modern conveniences that are making our foals stupid and quarrelsome! My parents were good, honest, Celestia-fearing folk, and they-”

“I was so passionate back then,” she sighed, “what did I lose?”

Another cartload of letters arrived via elevator. If looks could kill, each and every one of those letters would have burst into flame.

The two changeling armies awoke as the sun had just begun to peek over the hills. Shutter did not hear the marching until Brood walked over and lightly kicked him in his sides.

Shutter looked at the two advancing swarms and yawned, rising and taking his place among them.

Their march did not last long, as they quickly came upon a sheer cliff. The cliff face of the other side was an almost alabaster white, and dotted with holes.

Shutter took out his camera and pushed the zoom function as far as it could go. He captured the loyalist flag hanging right outside the largest cave entrance, flying defiantly before the two assembled armies.

A low buzzing emerged from the two swarms. Shutter looked around him to see that all the rebel changelings had reared down and were shuddering. The speed of their shaking increased proportionally to the buzzing noise, and when it had become almost deafening, Commander Acid belted out an ear-splitting roar. Every changeling took to the skies, charging the holes that dotted the cliff.

Every changeling except Brood. Being short one wing, he simply ran back as far as he could, jumped, and landed directly into one of the tunnels.

Dust soon erupted from the tunnels as the battle began. Dark gray clouds of grit spilled forth from the tunnels, and every so often a changeling would be thrown out. When the cries and banging in one tunnel ceased, the rebels would fly out and head into another, starting from the top of the cliff and working their way downward. As they did, they ignored the largest tunnel in the middle of the colony.

Soon, all that remained was the middle tunnel and both armies grouped together into one giant black cloud. Brood was standing on the heads of two of the drones, and when Commander Acid gave the screech they all darted inside at full speed. Shutter stumbled a bit as the ground shook with a slight tremor, and small cracks appeared around the main tunnel entrance.

Shutter gasped as he saw Brood violently tossed out of the tunnel, but managed to grasp the edge in time. He struggled to pull himself back up, and he appeared to be losing his traction. Right before he fell, a few of his minions came to his aid and pulled him back up, a moment Shutter was certain to catch on film. When they pulled their leader to safety, they all returned to the fray.

When the fighting seemed to cease, the sun was already past its high point. Rebel changelings began to flow out of the main cavern at an even pace, all of them settling into the various minor tunnels and openings. As they did, Commander Acid flew out, carrying the rebel banner. In one quick motion he tore away the loyalist flag hanging next to the main entrance and replaced it with his own.

Shutter took a few more pictures of the rebels slowly consolidating their hold before he realized that there was no way over to the army he was supposed to be following. He spotted Brood at the large cave entrance, standing at the edge and observing the activity.

“Oi!” Shutter called, waving one of his hooves, “mind helping me out here?”

Brood looked and seemed to roll his eyes before he called two of his subordinates. He pointed a Shutter and the two changelings nodded, lifting off and heading toward Shutter. Shutter protested a bit when they picked up him and hoisted him into the air, but stopped when he observed the long way down.

They plopped him rather roughly in front of Commander Brood. Shutter dusted himself off before looking up to the changeling leader.

“Thank you!” he said.

“Why do you keep following me?” Brood replied, frowning.

Shutter smiled and shrugged, but said nothing.

Brood walked off into a sub-tunnel, leaving Shutter to explore the changeling colony for himself. He walked into the winding narrows of the main tunnel, keeping his camera at the ready. The loyalist changelings had already been detained, most of them trapped within the same sticky substance that Shutter had been. The rebels ran around the tunnels, chirping and hissing at each other to coordinate their efforts.

The narrow pathway suddenly opened up, and Shutter looked in awe at what lay before him. In a massive cave inside the cliff was a beehive-like structure, yet much slimier colored a sickly green. The rebels were busy probing it, digging out larvae from the combs of the hive. When they found one, they put it on their back and headed into one of the deeper parts of the tunnel.

Shutter watched this unfold for a bit before interrupting a passing changeling, who also had a squirming grub on his back, “Wait! What are you doing?”

The changeling stopped for a moment and concentrated. It spoke hesitantly, and with awkward pauses, “We take...children! To Vertex! Make them loyal!” it hissed, and resumed its task.

Shutter expended the rest of his film on the hive. When he was finished, his put his camera away and sought a secluded corner in the large cave. He produced some paper he had stocked up on from the hotel, and began to wrote a chronicle of his adventures up to that point. The changelings were not even close to extracting all the grubs as he penned the last word, and it became more and more apparent that neither he nor rebels were leaving these tunnels anytime soon.

He got up and sought out Brood, hoping he would be near the main tunnel entrance. The big grump was nowhere to be found at the opening, but following a deep hiss from one of the smaller tunnels branching off led him to a small room where Brood and Acid were staring at a map that had been carved into the stone wall. The two leaders were talking amongst themselves and pointing out other dots on the legend.

Shutter took another step forward catching Brood’s attention. The irate changeling turned to face shutter shot, making no efforts to mask his displeasure.

“What?” he demanded.

Shutter telekinetically took out his finished story and roll of film, “I, uh, have my story ready!”

Brood snorted before letting out a familiar screech. Almost instantly, the changeling courier appeared, already disguised as the orange pegasus. Shutter gave his items to the imposter pony, who gave Brood a rigid salute before speeding off.

Their business concluded, Brood turned back toward the map and pointed toward a larger dot in the bottom left portion of the map. Acid nodded, and the tone between the two became excited. Shutter headed back to the main tunnel, his mental faculties focused entirely on finding someplace comfortable to rest.

Saber Rattler was slowly thinking of the best possible way to blame everything on the intellectual elites in Canterlot in her latest article until her thoughts were interrupted by a crash. She turned around to see an orange pegasus pressed against a window to her right. He quickly unstuck himself and flew around to the editor's office and handed her a few papers and roll of film before leaving. The editor stopped everything she was doing and reviewed the delivery, before walking over to the entrance of her office and peeking her head out.

“Saber Rattler? Could you come over here for a sec?” she asked, and went back inside.

Saber adjusted her glasses and complied. She walked in to see the editor practically buried in the papers she had received.

Saber stomped a hoof down, “What do you want, Inkwell?”

Inkwell looked up, “Oh, yes,” she said, putting the papers down for a moment, “I don't know how to tell you this, but-” she trailed off, averting her eyes, “what Shutter Shot sent in looks pretty long, and our readers are going to want the whole thing. I think we'll have to cut your article this time around. Sorry.”

Saber Rattler simply walked over to the coffee table and stood absolutely still. A second later she flipped it over with the force of a hurricane, which hit the wall and broke in half.

“THAT'S IT!” she screamed, her glasses now unsettled and hair frizzled, “I'M TIRED OF THAT HACK RUINING THIS COMPANY!”

She turned toward Inkwell with a manic look in her eye, “He thinks he's so special. He is not. I'll prove it! I'LL PROVE IT TO ALL OF YOU!” she yelled, stomping out of the office. The editor followed, trying to calm her down.

“It's only for this edition, I promise!” Inkwell explained, trailing Saber back to her desk.

As the unicorn pony arrived at her desk, she took out a load of paper and pens, and stuffed them into the purse she kept under her seat. She turned around, gazing at Inkwell mere inches from her face.

“Shutter Shot is about to get a little competition.” she whispered before storming out of the building.

One intern leaned toward the other, “she snapped on a Tuesday,” he said, “you owe me twenty bits.”

Marque

Fancy Pants had called another meeting of the Canterlot Progressive Society in hopes that this one wouldn't end in a borderline riot like last time. Ponies whispered annoyedly among themselves, frustrated over the impromptu nature of Fancy’s meeting; it was being held at the same time as the grand opening to an art gallery.

Fancy Pants, flanked by Fleur, banged his gavel and cleared his throat, “All attention forward please!”

The audience quieted down, progressively shifting their attention to the monocled unicorn.

“Now then,” started Fancy as he produced a small scrap of paper from under the podium, “I have here a petition. It contains signatures from many very influential ponies from throughout Equestria. I believe that if I could obtain even a few signatures from this audience, I could bring it to the princess and—”

One of the older mares stood up. “Scandalous! How dare you even consider tarnishing her majesty's eyes with a document of—” she said as her nose flared in disgust, “-petition.”

Fancy Pants frowned and banged the gavel once, “I merely wish to bring to her sovereign's attention that—”

“How would she not know? She knows everything!” one of the other posh ponies yelled, followed by waves of agreement.

“Now see here!” The echoes of the gavel's strikes rang throughout the hall as Fancy Pants attempted to restore order. “I am simply requesting—”

“Why should we listen to you anyway?” Upper Crust asked, “You're the one who let those barbarians from Ponyville run amok at the garden party!”

“Order, I say!” Fancy Pants protested, but it was too late. The entire audience had turned against him, and it was unlikely that he'd ever gain their support. Fancy gritted his teeth.

“Fine!” he yelled, teleporting to the hall’s entrance, “make your own blasted choices!”

“You ruffians can freeze in Tartarus.” he mumbled as he walked out the door and into the street.

“Absolute savages, the lot of them.” Fancy complained. Fleur was daintily pacing behind him, completely unfazed by Fancy's dramatic exit.

He continued his audible monologue, “Aristocrats and reactionaries! Bah! If I was twenty years younger, I'd rig up my airship and...”

Fancy Pants lurched forward and his feet refused to budge another inch, and he contemplated his last words, “Wait a Manehattan minute. I'm not some old colt who can't chew his own food! I'm Fancy Pants, explorer and playcolt extraordinaire! Who needs the forsaken bourgeoisie! I'll do it myself!” he exclaimed.

He whipped around to face Fleur, who was watching his inspiration with amusement.

“Come now, Fleur! I have a plan!”

“Are you going to the Fancy Cave?” she asked in a bored tone.

“Stop calling it that! And yes!” he said. He suddenly picked up Fleur and tossed her on his back and took off toward his mansion.

For a pony as wealthy as Fancy Pants, his mansion was rather modest. It was more of a large house with an meticulously kept lawn and a few fountains in a front. A small gate surrounded it, and the gate entrance bore the initials 'FP' in intricate lettering.

Fancy Pants smashed right through it, making a note to replace it when he returned to Canterlot. As he dashed through the mansion's main lobby, he tossed Fleur onto his butler.

“I'll be gone for a few days! Get my brother Prissy to stand in for me at the parties, will you?”

Without waiting for an answer, he ran out the back door and down the flight of stairs that had been carved into the mountainside. He quickly made his way down the steps and into a rather small hole at the end of the stairway.

He navigated through the cramped corridor, which eventually opened up in a huge hangar, carved out inside the mountain. In the middle was his masterpiece, an airship that he had christened the Grand Royale.

It was massive; likely the biggest non-dragon object capable of lifting into the skies. The entire hull of the ship was coated with imperial purple. The balloon that suspended it was a brilliant cobalt blue, and a golden trim accented the ship's regal appearance. Three large silver propellers lined each side of the ship, along with smaller pair on each side of the bow for extra control.

Fancy pushed a large red button next to the entrance, and the entire hangar began to shake. Little rocks and dust fell from the ceiling as an entire section of the mountain pulled upward, creating a gargantuan exit to pilot the airship out of. As the last of the thick wall withdrew, Fancy boarded his creation and walked towards the navigation room.

Just as he was opening the door, the hairs on his back stood on end as he felt a sudden surge of magic and the unmistakable bzzzt of a pony teleporting.

He turned around to see Princess Luna, who looked rather taken aback at the hanger she had just transported herself into.

“Your majesty!” Fancy Pants exclaimed, and immediately bowed.

After a sufficiently awkward time had passed, Luna nodded.

“You may rise.”

Fancy got up and dusted himself off. He had only ever seen Celestia's sister a few times, and she could hardly be described as sociable.

Luna was the first to break the silence. “We heard of your plan to petition sister.”

Fancy rubbed his head, “Ah, yes. That business. I'm afraid it's old news now. I was just about to—”

“Our sister knows what you were hoping to do, and of this cavern you've hidden in her mountain.”

Fancy coughed, “Ahem. Yes, well. You see, I—”

“That is why she wanted us to give you this.” Luna said, summoning a small scroll and unwrapping it in front of Fancy Pants.

The unicorn adjusted his monocle as he read the parchment.

By decree of her royal majesty Celestia, Rightful sovereign of the Principality of Equestria and Protector of the Sun, does hereby bequeath commission the Grand Royale and its captain *Fancy C. Pants.***

This letter does give full legal right for captain *Fancy C. Pants** and lieutenant Her Royal Highness Princess Luna to seize all unlawful cargo belonging to illegal pretenders to the changeling throne, and hereby orders all seized cargo and vessels hereunto mentioned to be transferred in ownership and become rightful crown property of Queen Vertex XII.*

Signed in full witness and in good faith,

Princess Celestia

(PS, I’ve known about your little hideout for a while.)

“How did she—”

(PSS, millionaires don’t buy two hundred cases of custom-made silent dynamite for no reason, Fancy.)

“I say,” Fancy muttered, and turned the parchment toward Luna, “Is this—is this a letter of marque?”

“Indeed.”

Fancy turned back to the letter. “And according to this, you're to be my lieutenant?” He looked at her, quizzically.

Luna averted her gaze for a second, tapping her hoof on the deck. “Sister...wishes me to come with you. She wants me to see the world beyond our kingdom.”

Fancy paused momentarily, before beaming excitedly. “Capital! Well then, let's not keep the changelings waiting, shall we?”

Fancy turned and headed into the navigation room. Luna followed with guarded hesitation.

In the center of the command center was the ship's wheel, which sat upon an elevated platform. Around it was the glass that allowed a full panoramic view of the outside, and below the windows sat a few swivel chairs, which were bolted to the ground and appeared serve as the stations of the ship's non-existent crew.

“Here it is!” Fancy exclaimed, “the nerve center of my brainchild, as it were. Navigation is done at the wheel, all the secondary tasks are handled by the crew at their stations.”

Luna looked at the empty seats before turning to Fancy. “You do not appear to have a crew.”

Fancy hopped up on the wheel platform and turned to her. “Funny you should mention that. My original plan was to swing by some of the more unsavory ports of Equestria to gather one, but your appearance changes things quite a bit. With your magic, you could be an entire crew by yourself!”

Luna frowned, but Fancy continued, “I'll be a second getting Gyrole ready for launch,” he said as he produced an absolute tome of a manual and tossed it on the floor in front of Luna, “In the meantime, everything you need to know about the ship's operation is right there.”

Fancy turned his attention to a box of knobs and levers to the immediate right of the wheel as Luna cracked open the thick bindings and began flipping through the pages. After a few minutes of playing with the settings, he called back to Luna.

“I'm finishing up early, dear. Almost—”

“Done.” Luna stated, closing the book with a loud [thump for emphasis.

“I say.” Fancy mumbled, and grabbed hold of the wheel. “Well then, no more dillydallying! Lieutenant Luna, to your station!”

Luna teleported to the crew's work area and assumed control of all their machinery. She walked up to panel of the station that displayed all the areas of the ships and their conditions with a flip display. She retained control of the machinery and nodded to Fancy that she was ready.

“Right then!” Fancy exclaimed, pushing large black button to his left. The ship roared to life, and the propellers began to slowly turn.

“Engines one through six, lieutenant?” Fancy called down to Luna.

“Operational.”

“VTOL propellers?”

“Operational.”

“Automated coal plant and air brakes?”

“Operational and ready.”

“I feel forty years younger!” Fancy hollered as he pushed the propeller lever to half-speed and the colossal airship slowly maneuvered its way out of the hangar. Just as the Grand Royale was nearly free, Fancy locked the wheel in place and bolted outside onto the deck. With the ship running on autopilot, he picked up a rock that had fallen from the cavern roof and hurled it as hard as possible at the gate button.

The stone managed to push the mechanism far enough began to begin raising the gate, and Fancy headed back inside. The giant mountain closed right behind the Grand Royale, and the airship sailed into the sky.

Fancy’s butler, who can come down to see if his master needed assistance, sighed as he watched the giant gate close shut and inspected the possibly broken button.

“Why does he always close the gate like that?”

“Now that we're in the clear,” Fancy said as he walked up behind a concentrating Luna, “I believe I need to settle one thing.”

Luna jerked with surprise as Fancy stuffed something onto her head. She nearly lost control of the ship as she lifted the object on her head to see that Fancy had put an old-fashioned admiral hat on her.

“On this ship, you are Lieutenant Luna, not Princess Luna. And you may address me as Captain, or Mr. Pants, or Fancy Captain, if you prefer.”

Luna shook her head and returned to her duties.

“And so, we journey into the wild blue yonder!” said Fancy as he climbed back up on the pedestal and assumed manual control of the wheel, “And if we make certain buggy queen's life miserable in doing so, all the better!”

It took a few hours for the swarm to completely dig out all the larvae from Deep Tunnel. When the last one had been pulled from its hexagonal home, the changelings began to congregate at the entrance. Shutter Shot, who had set up camp in the central chamber and was napping, woke up to see the last changeling exiting the chamber.

As his eyes drifted open, the changeling turned to him and bestowed the greatest act of kindness one of the drones had extended to him thus far:

“We leave. Soon.” the drone said, and disappeared into the winding tunnels.

Not wanting a repeat of Rolling Hooves, he quickly scrambled up and bounded towards the tunnel that led to the largest entrance. He huffed and heaved as he bounded toward the changelings preparing to leave, some of them already hovering in mid-air.

“Hold on!” he called, and every changeling turn around and glared at him. He skidded to halt and averted his gaze, blushing.

“Uh, could one of you give me a lift?”

Acid looked at Brood and exasperatedly pointed at Shutter, causing Brood to shake his head in response. Acid merely rolled his eyes and took to the skies, along with his entire army. Brood turned toward one the changelings and gestured at Shutter Shot.

The drone seemed to whine in protest until Brood hissed and angrily buzzed his one good wing. The drone sunk down and walked over to the unicorn pony. Defeated, the changeling picked up Shutter none-too-gently and followed Brood out of the caves and back onto the cliff edge.

As soon as they were over land, the drone dropped Shutter on his rump at a height much higher than necessary as all the changelings landed and the two commanders began talking amongst themselves. Acid pointed toward some grey mountains in the distance, and Brood nodded. With a sharp cry from both of them, their drones immediately dropped into file and began marching behind them, almost all of them carrying larvae salvaged from Deep Tunnel.

Ignoring the pain in his flank, Shutter ran up to Brood.

“Where are we going now?” he asked, looked back at the changeling army carrying a future generation.

“Gray Nest,” Brood replied, “home of our queen. We will deliver the children to her.”

“Queen Vertex?”

As soon as he uttered her name, the entire battalion of drones stopped and raised one hoof.

“ALL HAIL QUEEN VERTEX!” they cried.

“All hail Queen Vertex!” Brood replied, his support genuine but more reserved.

Acid mumbled something that sounded like “All hail Queen Vertex.”, but Shutter couldn’t be sure.

Their march continued for most of the day until it was once again time to set up camp, and each division of drones repeated their ritual for gathering firewood and lighting it. Commander Acid once again took up his role as storyteller, and Shutter didn’t even have to ask for clarification as Brood began to translate to Shutter without prompt,

The Vowst woke.

She saw the land that she had created now covered in life. But this life was simple, and without direction. She lauded their beauty but pitied their ignorance.

“They must know what must be done,” she said, and reached into the vastness of her own mind and pulled out just a small sliver of her own knowledge. She scattered it on the winds, and all life soon knew the gift of intelligence, and emotion.

The life that received the knowledge of strength became the buffalo, harsh and unbudging.

The life that received the knowledge of skill became the griffins, masters of art and war.

The life that received the knowledge harmony became the ponies, greatest in brotherhood and peace.

And so did Vowst pass down every aspect of knowledge to all the races, but noticed that she had overlooked the tiniest speck of life, still stupid and helpless.

“For you,” she said, “I will give you the greatest gift of all.”

She imparted upon that speck of life the knowledge of change, and that life became the first changeling queen. Vowst bestowed upon her the name Metamorphosis, and sent her out into the world.

The changelings all showed their appreciation for Acid’s storytelling by chattering and buzzing. Shutter turned to Brood.

“Is that the whole story?” he asked.

“No. There is one more part.”

Shutter raised an eyebrow, “You said that it’s bad luck to tell the entire story to one night. Why?”

Brood took a deep breath, “Three hundred years ago, one of our greatest generals told the entire story before the night of a great battle.”

“Uh huh.”

“During that battle, he won a great victory.”

“That sounds like good luck.”

“He became arrogant, and blind to his weaknesses. Shortly after his victory, he lost his entire army in a surprise attack.”

Brood turned, “That general was Commander Acid’s ancestor. Do not mention this to him unless you enjoy your digestive system staying inside of you.”

“Eh, okay.” he answered. He made a mental note to just avoid talking to Acid altogether and began searching for a place to sleep. When he found one, he made himself as comfortable as he could and nodded off.

The next morning, the drones woke up even earlier than usual, and they were busy talking amongst themselves. They seemed much more active, and if Shutter was getting any better at reading changeling emotion, happier.

He shook himself out of his droopy state and looked for Brood, who was consumed in the sight of their destination: A towering mountain range, gray as ash. It stood stubbornly in the flat and unforgiving land that surrounded it, much like the balky changelings that inhabited it . Shutter squinted at the large mountain range, and could just barely make out what seemed like a slightly darker grey city in the foreground.

“Is that Gray Hive?”

“Yes.”

“That’s where the queen lives, right? The real one?”

Brood slowly turned and raised a brow. He sighed and began to follow Acid, who had already begun marching toward the city.

The journey to the rebel capital did not take long, and within only a few hours the city’s details became much more apparent. Gray Hive appeared to be an ancient castle or fort, long since taken over by the changelings. Green catacombs and hives permeated the structure, and only the castle’s keep and outermost walls appeared intact.

When both armies came to the gate’s entrance, a small changeling poked his head over the ramparts. He gave the two armies a look-over before barking at someone out of sight, and the giant iron gate began to rise. Shutter noticed both commanders seemingly puffing themselves up and they marched triumphantly into the city, carrying a full bounty of larvae and news of a victorious siege. Changelings everywhere emerged from their catacombs and subsections of the keep to greet their heroes, hissing with joy and jubilee.

Shutter kept low to the ground, unsure of how these changelings would react to him. He certainly didn't risk taking a picture, as the flash of the device would likely seal his fate.

He wasn’t even sure they knew he was there, and he wanted to keep it that way. As the parade made its way toward the castle and he passed by an alley between two hive clusters, a holey appendage wrapped around his mouth and dragged him into the darkness as the parade went on without him.

The unicorn protested with muffled screams, which only caused his kidnapper to squeeze him tighter. He must have been unfortunate enough for nobody to have seen him taken into the shadows.

“Ssssssss!” it hissed, “Quiet!”

The reporter ceased his cries for help, and opened his eyes. He was at the mercy of a stocky changeling with a broken horn.

“I am not going to hurt you.” he said, reassuringly. “I am just going to take you to the castle.

His abductor removed his hoof from Shutter’s mouth, who looked back at the parade reception.

“Can’t I just go in with them?” he asked, pointing to Acid and Brood.

“They will deliver the larvae first. That will take time, and the queen wants to speak to you as soon as possible.”

“Queen Vertex?”

The scruffy changeling groaned, and let go of Shutter. He raised one hoof.

“All hail Queen Vertex!” he shouted, and instantly returned to restraining shutter.

“Now, castle.” he said, and his horn began to glow.

“Wait!” Shutter screamed, “not agai—”

The spell hit Shutter straight in the gut, and he went down like a sack of bad cheese. The changeling tossed the pony over one shoulder and began to fly to the highest tower of the keep, no other changeling in the city any the wiser.

Shutter awoke, once again, suspended in a changeling prison of green sticky goo. He didn’t even bother struggling this time, and spend his energy trying to get his bearings.

He looked around his new location, and was surprised at the its regality. Furniture carved out of stone laid about the room, and quite a few paintings dotted the wall. He knew he was still near changelings though when he saw that the sticky green goop didn’t stop at his temporary prison, and practically served as the wallpaper and carpet for the room.

As he swiveled his head around, he began to hear steps echo outside the door, and he turned toward it to see the thick wooden entrance creak open. The stranger that came in closed the door behind her, and turned toward him.

Looking him straight in the eyes was a very tall and very lanky changeling female.

Her hair was jet black, and on the peak of her head was a small green crown. Her horn was extremely long, like Chrysalis’, but it bend backward at the very tip. Her eyes were midnight green, and so was the color of her thorax.

“Brood won’t shut up about you.” she said as she walked up to him, her expression a mixture between boredom and fatigue.

Shutter looked at the tall changeling’s crown, and then back at her. “Queen Vertex?”

“No,” she replied and assumed the pose of a prissy schoolgirl, altering her voice to an annoying falsetto. “I’m Princess Celestia! I’ve whisked you away for a pretty pony princess adventure!”

Her imitation finished, she reverted back to her dour disposition.

“But seriously, we need to have a talk.”