Queen

The walk- No, trot to the cave's entrance took a few minutes as the drone prattled on about their armaments, how many there were, and if they were unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony, which I didn't fully understand the last part. I just felt a grim determination to protect my Drones. We exited the cave, revealing a massive desert. Not a sand-dune desert, but a flat scrubland desert. I heard clopping hooves approaching us.

"Keep behind me" I tell the drones following me. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do, but protecting my drones was a priority.

The ponies trot into view, and I realize what the Drone had meant about unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies... another quick round of 'connect the dots' and I figured magic was a thing here. The ponies had trotted up to us, gloating about catching the 'Queen of the Changelings' off guard and weakened. they were lightly armed, with a poleaxe, a spear, and a sword. Their armor, while shiny and impressive, appeared to be made of gold. I recall Gold is not the best for protection. It was very likely an enchanted alloy or something like that.

"Weakened? I've never felt better. Leave, now... and I will spare your pitiful lives" I reply confidently. I don't know where that came from, but I'd said it and I'm rolling with it.

One pony laughed at me. Actually Laughed. A deep, belly-rolling laughter. "As if. This bounty will be Easy." He gloated, laughing more, until a green glow grabbed him around the neck and lifted him off the ground. The same green glow emanated from something on my forehead.

He made a noise akin to someone being strangled, because he was. His comrades, shaken momentarily, recovered themselves and charged at me. The pegasus took to the air, while the earth pony thundered towards me.

I smirk, a hateful anger bubbling up from the depths of my mind. "You ponies just made your last mistake." With a jerk, I snapped the Unicorn's neck, and used him as a flail to knock his compatriots to the ground. Stunned, they both lie there for a moment. I stepped past the pegasus, who was writhing in pain, and over to the earth pony.

I saw the Fear in his eyes. We all know the Fear. The one where you know your death is coming, and all you can do now is pray. His face disappeared as I stomped on it, crushing his skull and splattering brain matter everywhere. I tossed the unicorn's corpse aside, and went back over to the pegasus. Who was just now getting up, though there was a blood trail down one of his wings. It looked broken. I looked into his eyes, and hissed menacingly. "Tell your rulers that we do not tolerate raiding parties in our territory. Ambassadors are welcome, but those that bring Death should welcome their own." I broke the Pegasus' other wing, and turned away, causing him to howl in pain. "Leave, and let your rulers know what happened here. Let them know I won't hesitate to kill next time. Or even better." I look over my shoulder at him. "Tell them to come to me themselves. I wish to... talk with them." I grab the dead bodies of the two ponies, and bring them with me back into the caves. I hear the pegasus sobbing as he flees, before the tunnel is sealed and everything is silent again.

I carried aloft the corpses of the two ponies in my magic as I made my way back to the burial chamber, my face locked in a scowl. The changelings I passed by watched curiously, but dared not interrupt for fear of invoking my wrath.

Once I reached the burial grounds, I found the caretaker still busy with his duties. The collection of bodies entrusted to him didn't seem to have gotten much smaller. He noticed I was in the room, and went to approach me, faltering momentarily when he saw the ponies I was carrying.

"My queen, you return so readily, and with fresh remnants of... bloodshed on your hooves. Er, what can this one, uh... do for you?"

"Are you willing and able to bless these ponies to their afterlife?" I ask, my voice flat and emotionless.

"Anything for my queen." He smiled.

"I don't demand you do this as your queen. I ask this of you as a fellow living being." I say, which catches the caretaker off-guard.

"I can bless their spirits... but I do not know the ponies' burial rites." He answered, unsure.

"Could you ensure their bodies keep until our next visitors come, then?"

"I cannot say for sure, since changelings are different than ponies, both magically and physically."

I considered it for a moment. "Dammit... I'll find a way to take care of it then. Thank you, Sir Undertaker." We then return to my royal chambers.

By now, everyling in the hive knew about how their queen had begun to act differently, and some had not liked it very much. Murmurs of dissent spread throughout the ranks.

I couldn't find the mental capacity to care at the moment. I was more focused on brainstorming ways to preserve the bodies of the ponies until more return to take them home. "Mummification? No, they wouldn't understand the actual intent for dismantling the bodies in such a way. Embalming? No, I don't think we have the materials for it. Freezing? It's... Plausible, but it makes the bodies more fragile... Hm... I think... That's what I'm gonna do. Sir Guard!" I called for my loyal guard.

"Yes, My queen? Is there something wrong?" The changeling bounded in almost like an excited puppy who was also ready for a fight.

"No, there is nothing wrong. I was just wondering if there was a way to make a temporary 'closet' of sorts. I really would prefer to keep these bodies from rotting in the hive, and have found a temporary solution."

"Excellent, my Queen. Do you need anything else before I retrieve the construction crew?"

"Do we have any changelings adept in creating objects to cool a room to below freezing temperatures?"

"N-no, b-but some of the ponies in pods may have such an ability." My eyebrows raised at that statement.

"Take me to them." I reply. I glance back at the pony bodies, and with a flick of my horn, I use my magic will the bodies to lower in temperature until they're frozen. "That'll do for now."

The journey to the Pod room was a short one. Upon entering the room, I was met with around 50 pods, most of them with a squirming, yet content-looking, pony in them.

My guard spoke up to me quietly. "Since you seem to no longer be the queen you once were, let me remind you of a few things. One, Our hunger is endless. Two, Our diet consists of emotions. Positive ones are more healthy and more filling. Negative emotions will send us into a frenzy. Three, We've mainly been getting fed by the pony in the very back. He's a strange one, he is. Most ponies are exhausted after feeding only 10 of us, but he can feed nearly half the hive before he shows any signs of running out."

"Fascinating" I murmur. "Does the process... harm them?"

"Not in the strictest sense, no. Overdrawing from a pony will instead draw from their life force, but we've perfected the process and this amount of ponies is just enough to keep us all fed, thanks to the 'fountain' back there. Or, it was. With our reduced numbers, we seem to currently only need the good one, and a hoof-full of others as backup... Do you have any intent to sire another brood, my queen?"

I shake my head. "It already seems troublesome just keeping all of you in line" I reply jokingly, unwittingly transmitting this across the link as well, sending the dissenters into a panic. "Hold on, what?" I say aloud. 'you guys need to stop that and calm down. I don't want to have to punish you for interrupting my thoughts, but I will.' I send over the Hive-link. As they calm down, I send another message. 'Thank you. I already have enough to deal with, I don't need you throwing a wrench into the gears.'

"Where were we?" I turn back to my guard, who had stiffened into attention.

"Sir Guard? Are you well?" I ask him curiously. After a moment, he snapped out of it and turned to me.

"Er, yes. I'm perfectly capable of continuing to be your chaperone and guide. Apologies for any worry I may have caused you, My Queen." He answered. I felt there was still something on his mind, but didn't feel like pressuring him, either physically or mentally.

"No, it's quite alright. I understand that circumstances are quite abnormal lately. I'm mostly just thankful you haven't begun to be troublesome like the other 'lings, and have actually aided me in learning about what is to be my new life."

We stood in silence momentarily before I remembered why we were here. "Oh, yeah. We came here to see if any pony here knew of standard pony burial rites."

"Ah, yes. And as a changeling queen, you are able to read into the fantasies of those in pods when you feed. It... may not appeal to you at this current time. I do not know how you would view it."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around how I feed. Let alone if my moral preferences will allow it." I say. I look around at the pods again, trying to brainstorm some more.

After a moment, I think I may have thought up another idea to try. "Sir Guard, I wish to return to my royal chambers now. And have the pony bodies be brought there, as well as a few of our builders."

With a curt nod from the Guardling, we were on our way back to my room.

We arrive in my chambers at the same time as the builders and remains were arriving. "Ah, excellent. No waiting needed. Let's begin."

I had the builders make a rudimentary coffin, which I aided in refining and smoothing. After that was done, I looked over the bodies some more. The drones watched me curiously.

I lit my horn, channeling arcane energies through it as I attempted to enact my will into being. A tendril of green-tinted energy snaked down from my horn and towards the remains. The tendril touched one of the remains, and it flashed momentarily. I then did the same with the other body. I panted slightly as mana exhaustion crept into the borders of my mind. Magic is harder than I thought.

"Alright, I hope that works. Their remains are locked in time until I decide otherwise... I think... Let's get them into the coffins. They should last until-" I said. Until I was interrupted by a feeling of alarm. The only message I could gather from the feeling was of the night and day.

They were here. It hasn't even been four hours since the attempted raid.

I quickly trotted through the hive, calmly directing all of my changelings away from the entrance. I wasn't scared to face the Diarchs, but I was scared my changelings could get hurt. All the while, my guard was trying to keep up with me and the two coffins I was carrying aloft in my magic.

By the time I had arrived at the entrance, the Diarchs were already waiting, heavily armored up and looking to be armed to the teeth, as well as their own guardsponies. I sigh in irritation. I could even feel their anger, hurt, and desire for vengeance against me.

I skid to a stop about 30 paces from them, and place down the coffins, which they eye warily.

"Surrender. We have you outnumbered and out-armed." They announce loudly, lowering their poleaxes. I give them a look of tired irritation.

"I will not surrender. I will not entertain any notion of hostility or subjugation. What I will entertain is calm, rational discourse. And here are the ponies your little raiding party lost." I slide the coffins closer to the duo with my magic. "Again. Calm, rational discourse between three intelligent beings with regrets and experiences aplenty." I say simply. I channeled magic through my horn at such a slow rate, they didn't see any glow come from it. Non-glow that powered a shield in case any of them tried to attack. I doubted it would last long, but it would buy me some time.

"This was a quick response, too. It is nice to know that I'm not the only one that cares for their subjects." I say in the silence that grew.

"What art thee planning?" The dark one asked.

"The honest answer? Very little. Plans often fail before they bear fruit. I like to react to circumstances according to their importance. This was a very important circumstance to bear witness to and be present for." I reply honestly.

"What do you want?" the white one asked.

"I want to not be killed on this day, or any day in the near future. The other thing I want is for my hive to not be demolished any time soon. Little else is important to me at this time."

"Why did you let Captain Swift Wings escape?"

"Oh, he was a captain? That means that those three were on a top secret military operation to either destabilize my hive or have another reason to call war on us. Very clever, trying to make us look worse than we already look." I give them a knowing smile. "And I mean that as a compliment. No one wants to wage war without justifiable reason. Though, I'm sure you have all the reasons in the world to annihilate us. We steal love, we kidnap ponies and probably replace them, we probably appear intimidating to you. The list can go on."

"Waiteth a minute. Thee just did want to stall for time so thee couldst setteth up an ambush!" the dark one cried.

"Luna, your old equestrian is showing." The white one pointed out

"WE KNOWETH!" the dark one, apparently called Luna, shouted back.

I raised my eyebrows at their little back and forth. "I already told you, I have no hostile intent. If I did, you would have already ended my life. I am incapable of naught but the least powerful of spellcasting or martial prowess. I am unarmed, non-hostile, and offering that which I have never considered to this date, as before I was not who I am now."

"And what are you now?" The white one asked warily.

"Nothing you would believe if I told you... Unless you were willing to humor me in a more in-depth rational discourse at an agreed-upon location of neutrality." I shoot back, feeling clever.