Mesmera

by Arnyx

Rating: everyone
Tags: Changelings, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Random, Slice of Life
Length: 12521

A new changeling queen hatches alone, and has to work to build her hive.

Based on the changeling concepts of Siansaar

(By request, links to specific relevant parts of lore, though I encourage you to look at his art in general.)
Changeling Concept: The Hive
Changeling Concept: Husks (this may not end up having much relevance)
Changeling Concept: Reproduction
Changeling Concept: Enslaver

Mesmera is a queen whose egg had been stolen by an enslaver. The enslaver, being fed up with her egg's love consumption and gestation time, decides her egg is a dud and discards it, and she hatches alone.

Cover art by xcinnamon-twistx

Published 2020-06-21 15:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-04-09 00:35:26 UTC

Chapter 1

I’m done with this one. This one purple egg has been here for 5 months, compared to the 2 weeks of everything else, guzzling love at fifteen times the rate for nothing, forcing us to hold back on further operations because we can’t support any more eggs with this thing here. I pointed at a nearby yellow changeling,

“You there, take this egg and get rid of it,” I barked, its empty gaze not-meeting mine

“Yes, Master,” it droned, taking the egg without a second thought--or a thought at all, for that matter--and exiting my pseudo-hive, making its way to the forest. A burst of pheremones released themselves from their vents as I sighed in frustration. That little monster is gone, but I have to wonder if that was smart. With all the resources it took in, there had to be some payoff, right? That’s what I thought the first week. Then the second. Then the second month. There wasn’t any indication that it was even gestating properly. Even if I wanted to get it back, that changeling was probably already too far off to command before the egg was tossed away.

The fifth batch since the bottomless love void had hatched just the other day. They’re the same as all the rest, different only by color. Some are red, some blue, the occasional green or yellow.

“We’ve finished the new expansion, Master,” a teal one soullessly informed me.

“Well we have a new task,” I informed, feeling a bit empty myself, “We’re finally rid of that love-guzzler, so we can now support more eggs.

“I understand, Master. I will put together a team to make new acquisitions,” the changeling left. I leaned back and sighed. Nothing is really interesting. Same old egg-tending, same old routines for the same old identical changeling slaves giving the same old ‘yes, Masters.’

“I need to get a hobby.”

———————————————————————————————————————

Darkness was the first thing I knew. its cool embrace enveloped me, the only thing I knew was real. When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a dim amethyst light seeping into my world. It moved closer, then closer, until I could taste it, and feel it on my fangs, cracking, splitting, the light growing in intensity. Suddenly, my world changed, becoming blindingly bright as my egg broke with one final crack. I was alive.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the world, brightening a bit in correspondence to the light they now took in. I stood slowly, hooves shaking as I rose out of the puddle of goo that once held me in my egg. Once I had gotten to my hooves, I took my first step forward.

And failed, falling right onto my butt. After shaking my head and standing up a bit, this time with more ease, I attempted to take another step. This one was more successful, and I was able to take a few steps before falling over again. And again. And again. Finally, after some physical bruises, along with a few mental ones, I was able to manage a simple trot. And trot I did, having nothing much else to do but see what this place held for me.

The forest was alive with all kinds of sounds, chirping of birds, woodpeckers, and all sorts of other things. I didn’t know what any of these actually were, of course, so to me they were just funny noises. I was guided around by them, following whichever one happened to grab my attention at any given time, slowly becoming more adept at navigating terrain after tripping over a few roots.

Eventually, as I was following a bird, I came across a big, shimmering blue lake. As I approached the sparkling pool of raindrops, my eyes laid upon myself for the first time. My eyes and hair were the same soft amethyst shade, rainbows refracting through it like crystal as it sparkled slightly. Two tiny fangs emerged from my lips, as I tilted my head curiously. A horn of intertwined branches, spiraling together into a singular point sprouted from my forehead, made out of the same dark material as my shell.

I wonder...

I extended my wings, before being mesmerized by my own reflection. They were the length of my back, sporting a similar shade of regal purple to my eyes, but with long, lighter veins running about. They shimmered as I waved them about, a halo of light dancing about with each sparkle.

I giggled as I fluttered them about, their colors softening as my mood eased. Purple to red, then to orange, each cycle bringing a dazzling display to the makeshift mirror. However, one could only marvel at one's natural beauty for so long, and soon enough I felt inclined to press on. Maybe there was something important to being able to change my wing color. I just couldn't put a hoof on it.

I looked around and noticed a creature, a deer. It had seen my little light show and was a bit caught up in it. It shook its head when I settled my wings before hopping away.

Seems it was a fan, too. Perhaps I should find it again, let it revel in my beauty some more. I began to follow happily behind the deer, trying to locate it. There was something within it, within every creature, for that matter, that I could sense. It wasn’t that I could see it or hear it, I just felt it, I knew exactly where these auras originated from. What they actually were, I had no idea.

I followed the aura of the deer, and as I did, I started to feel something. A gnawing hunger, eating away at me. As the feeling intensified, everything but the aura of the deer faded out. I needed it. My trot sped up, slowly turning from a trot to a canter to a full-on gallop. My hyper focused mind moved deftly through the forest like I’d been practicing my whole life, which I had, to an extent. The deer flickered in and out of my vision between trees, running and running...until it came to a vertical cliff wall.

The deer stopped, turning around as I used my wings as air brakes to slow me to a stop. As I did so, I also let them light up again, and just like at the lake, the deer was enraptured. Only mere moments passed before my pretty purples and pinks were reflected in its eyes, the rings flowing outwards as all thought ceased. I smiled as I approached, and instinctually, I opened my mouth, drawing a stream of pink energy from the deer’s chest to my mouth, and my hunger began to be sated.

After finishing the meal I so rightfully deserved, the pink stream ceasing to form, I closed my mouth and lowered my wings. Strangely, the deer’s eyes remained as if they hadn’t been closed. Had I just enslaved it? I pointed to the ground in front of me and it moved there, staring mindlessly. A few seconds of silence, then I jump up, buzzing excitedly.

I can control things! My wings give me the power to command the world! I revelled in my newfound power, then turned to the deer. A queen needs her chariot, and you will do nicely. A wing-assisted hop puts me right atop the deer’s back, and I gesture forwards, onwards! I think, and the deer, clearly understanding enough from the gesture, begins its journey west.

Chapter 2

Me and my trusty steed travelled west for who knows how long. The deer was clearly tired, practically limping along, but it continued for its mistress, lacking any other purpose or desire. Deer normally had rather blank, inexpressive eyes, but this was a whole new level. While others would perform some level of facial expressions; shifting their eyes, squinting, etc, my little slave did nothing. Its eyes just spiralled, hardly even blinking as it continued unerringly in my stated direction.

It was evening when we had exited the forest, the deer about to collapse from exhaustion. Immediately outside, I saw some structures that in no way looked natural. There were some creatures that looked vaguely like me, only pastel-colored and much bigger. I got off the deer, and gestured at the ground. It sat down, mindlessly awaiting further instruction. It received no instructions as I made my way over to hide in a bush, observing. They milled about, moving between smaller structures, trading small gold items for other, larger items. They also made complex noises to each other, far deeper than any sounds I heard in the forest. They must mean something. And so I listened. And I learned. I didn’t learn very much though, seeing as it was hard when all the talk was about buying fruits and flowers, though now I did know the names of quite a few species. Knowing how to buy a bouquet of roses was not helpful though, so this ‘market’ as they called, it wasn’t really helpful. I needed to know more. I thought a bit, buzzing my wings idly, before realization hit me. But first, I needed to find someone who was alone…

“See ya later, Storm!” As night was falling, a pony was waving his friend goodbye.

“You too, Pathfinder!” The gilver-gray pony, Storm, began on his way to the other side of town, while the other tannish-brown pony, presumably Pathfinder, stayed at his home, shutting the door as he reentered his house. Once Storm had left eyesight, I moved up to the door, and opened it without any issue. Seems there wasn’t anything to stop intruders from entering.

“Huh? What was that?” I quickly darted into the shadows, my jet black carapace concealing me better within the darkness behind a chair as the pony approached the open door, inspecting it. “Huh, guess I didn’t shut it all the way.” He shut the door again and returned to the other room, where I could smell food being made. After a few seconds, I exited the shadows, raising my wings and walking slowly towards the room. Slowly, carefully, I rounded the corner, and lighting up my wings with spirals, I stamped a hoof on the floor.

The pony shot around in surprise, and seeing a small insect pony, began to scream

“change-li…” He stuttered and trailed off as his eyes saw my wings, distracting him with their beautiful amethyst and quartz rings, the veins through which the glowing fluids pumped adding extra intricacies to the design that was simply mesmerizing. I couldn’t help but smirk as I saw all tension in their body melt away.

I really am queen of the world, it seems, I thought, my ego glowing brighter than my wings. I took a few moments to gloat mentally to myself, before I remembered my task. Right, learn to speak.

I returned my attention to the pony, who seemed to have forgotten all about the fact that he was currently looking at a shapeshifting emotion eating equine insect, and considered how to communicate my desires. I gesture to my mouth, open it and move my hoof away from it, hoping that the pony would understand. It seemed confused. I sighed and gestured first at myself, then repeated the same gesture.

“You...speak?” He said blankly. I nodded, then gestured towards him and back to me. “Me...you...speak?” he paused for a moment, “help you speak?” I nodded rapidly at the pony, then decided to take a look around my slave’s house. I exited the kitchen and entered the living room, which was rather barebones furniturewise with little more than a couch and a coffee table, but the walls were decorated with all kinds of maps of the land.

Well I can see why he’s called Pathfinder now. I spent some time admiring the maps before suddenly

“Um...changeling?” I shot around and saw Pathfinder, eyes back to normal, and I panicked, forgetting I had my wings. He panicked too, though for a different reason. “Wait! Wait! I’m not gonna hurt you!” He tried to assure me. I didn’t yet have enough knowledge of language to understand that, but his gestures told me enough. I slowly calmed down as he came up in front of me and kneeled. His sapphire blue eyes had a slight purple haze to them. My purple haze. “You’re just a baby aren’t you?” I cocked my head, still not entirely understanding, and he sighed. “I do need to teach you to speak, then.” The words “teach” and “speak’ told me what he was saying and I clapped my hooves. “Hehe, alrighty little bug. Lemme go get something to eat and I’ll get started on trying to teach you,” he said, taking his leave back to the kitchen.

Well I guess they don’t have to be completely blank. I think I like this, honestly, it might be nice for my slaves to have personality. They will work for my amusement! The deer was completely forgotten in my victory.

I spent my time looking around the house, trotting around like I owned the place. I probably did, effectively, what with the owner’s mind belonging to me. Said owner eventually called out to her,

“Changeling! Come here!” I didn’t know what he was saying, but I’d picked up on the fact that by ‘changeling,’ he meant me. I rushed over to the kitchen, where he’d made two plates of food. “I didn’t know what changelings ate, so I just decided to make hayburgers,” He set them down on a table and took a seat. I looked up at one of the chairs and made a half-successful attempt to buzz up before being helped by Pathfinder. “So, you want me to teach you to speak. I mean, I don’t think I’m the best teacher, but I’ll do my best.” He then sighs, “You don’t understand a word of this, do you?” I considered all his words, attempting to piece together meanings based on what I’d heard and what he seemed to be saying,

“Understand.”

“So you do understand!”

“Little.”

“Only a little, got it. So then, where to start?” and so the thinking began. “Do you know what we are?”

“Pony,” I say, having figured out the term, “you...Pathfinder?” I said, tilting my head inquisitively

“Yeah, I’m Pathfinder,” he looked around in mild shock, “Where'd you figure that out?” in response, I pointed at the door. “Ah, I see. How long were you watching me, then?”

“No long.” I say, and he chuckles

“Well, changeling, let's help you figure out the basics of speech,” he pauses for a moment, “say, I can’t just keep calling you ‘changeling,’ do you have a name?” I shake my head. “Hmm, well your wings were pretty…mesmerizing…” he trails off for a moment before shaking his head. “How about ‘Mesmera?’” I mulled over the name a bit in my head,

“Mes-mur-uh?” I sounded out. “Mesmera” I said a bit more definitively “Name Mesmera.”

Author's Note

Thanks to the people who've read my story for coming here. I honestly didn't expect anyone to actually pick up on this, it just being an origin story for the queen of my hive. I'm only a fledgling writer at the moment, so mistakes are to be expected, but I will improve with time.

Once again, thank you.

Chapter 3

Pathfinder, you dirty traitor, I never expected you would turn on me so, that you would try to enact such evils upon me. A queen shall not be pushed around so easily…

"Don't wanna go bed!"

"Mesmera, a young queen needs to get their rest, and that goes double for one that just hatched today," Pathfinder pleaded.

"No!" I raised my snout defiantly and tried to buzz away, to no avail as Pathfinder grabbed me.

"Mesmera, a queen needs their rest!' He had to keep a hold on me to prevent me from flying away.

"No!" I repeated again, struggling in his grasp.

"I'll give you cookies tomorrow, but only if you head to bed now," he stated, and I had to consider this offer. I really didn't want to go to bed, but I'd had some cookies earlier today, and they were delicious.

"fine." I let up and went over to the bed with a huff, getting cozy beneath the covers. Pathfinder gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. and now it's time for me to sleep as well," He laid down on the floor. Of course, the queen is the one entitled to next to the only bed, and her loyal-yet-devious servant would sleep on the floor. "Goodnight, Mesmera"

"Goodnight, Pathfinder," and with that, the exhaustion my body had been experiencing finally reached my awareness and carried me off to sleep in moments.

———————————————————————————————————————

I groaned as sunlight began to peek through my eyelids, shifting uncomfortably. I didn't wanna get up, I was having a really good dream. I didn't really remember the specifics, but there were a lot of ponies, and I think I was wearing a crown of some kind? my musing was interrupted by a hoof being placed upon me

"Time to get up." Pathfinder. I knocked his hoof away with a little huff and tried to get cozy again. "Mesmera, do you want your cookies?" I groaned, defeated by his promises of sweets.

"Fiiiiiiine…" Slowly, I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I got out of bed and began towards the kitchen.

"So Mesmera, I was thinking about how to teach you, and I decided that instead of trying to teach you myself I'd send you to school." another foreign word.

"What school?"

"It's a place purpose-made for learning. You'd go there every day and they'd teach you more than just speech. reading, writing, and more that isn't related to the topic of language, But first, you need a disguise.

"A wuh?" That was a word I couldn't easily deduce the meaning of.

"Ponies don't really like changelings, so you'd need to look like a pony instead of a changeling," he explained, "a disguise is making yourself look like a pony, something changelings are able to do easily"

"Look...pony?" I considered. After thinking through what I knew about language, that seemed appropriate for something called a 'changeling.' "How do?"

"Well, you-" Pathfinder cut himself off, suddenly looking unsure, "you uh…" he chuckled nervously "I… dunno. That's something you're gonna have to figure out on your own, I suppose."

Excellent, something I can't be taught, I thought sarcastically, before a cookie is sent my way, which I greedily munch on, completely forgetting my frustrations.

———————————————————————————————————————

I fell to the ground in my room once again, huffing exhaustedly after trying for the seven-hundred-billionth time to figure out how to change shape. I'd been trying so hard for nearly two hours now, I don't know how I hadn't gotten it yet!

Calm, Mesmera. Calm. Yes, perhaps I just needed to be a bit calmer. I collected myself and tried again, closing my eyes and attempting to relax as I focused on that silver pony from the other day, Storm. I didn't remember the details all that well, but I could get a general idea. He had a silver coat and a grayer, more jagged mane, his wings, and his lightning bolt 'cutie mark.' I held the image in my mind, trying to keep myself relaxed. I took careful, deep breaths as I imagined him in my place, his hooves in place of mine, his voice—or what I think it sounded like—in place of mine, and after a few seconds, the room felt momentarily very hot, the wave accompanied by a fwoosh. Upon opening my eyes to locate the source, I notice my silver hooves. I look back at my body and see bird wings instead of bug wings, and I suddenly gasp in a voice that is definitely not my own, then prance in place happily. My mind closed in on him. His hooves. His wings, his voice. I then focused on Pathfinder until I could see him in crystal clarity. At that moment, I felt a wave of heat. My vision flashed shades of violet as my old form burned away I giggled and tried to give him wings, and after another burst of flame, I could feel them flare out behind me. I started to giggle hysterically as I changed back to my normal form. I could be anyone now. Nobody was safe from the hypnotic powers of Queen Mesmera!

Chapter 4

I just learned to shapeshift! I could be anyone now! I was still reveling in my victory when I began to feel this gnawing hunger, the same one I felt in the forest. Knowing what this feeling meant, I went downstairs to meet up with Pathfinder again.

“Pathfinder, I hungry,” I called out, and the pony I requested came out to meet me.

“Oh? What do you want to eat? I can make-”

“Not that stuff. Need…” I point to his chest. He’s silent for a few seconds before realization hits

“Right, changelings need love. Well, it was gonna happen eventually,” he pushes his chest out a bit for me, “go ahead, just not too much, please.” I nodded, then opened up my fanged maw, starting to extract the pink essence from his chest and bring it to my mouth. He whined slightly as I fed and after a few seconds I shut my mouth, satisfied, and he collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. I panicked momentarily before he held up a hoof to show he was okay. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. A few awkward moments passed before I spoke up.

“So...I learn shape-shift,” I say, only managing to turn the awkward silence into awkward loudness. He did look up at me though, smiling proudly at hearing that.

“Lemme see,” he says, and I comply, making myself into a carbon copy of him, and he looks even more proud. “Why don’t we...work on your disguise,” he says a tad weakly, and I nod in response.

I make my first change, my carapace turning into a royal purple coat as I lose my wings and horn. A few moments of thought later another burst of fire flows over me and my horn returns, straight now instead of twisted. I make an attempt to pull my mane into view, but I’m unable to do so and realize I haven’t yet given myself a mane yet. I tap my hoof on my chin and think some more before another burst of fire finds myself with something curly, a lighter purple compared to my dark amethyst eyes. I look over at Pathfinder, who nods approvingly.

“You look cute...Mesmer Swirl.”

“Mesmer...Swirl?”

“You need a pony name, and I think that’ll do nicely.” I think on it for a few moments,

“I like,” I say as I strut around the room, admiring my new look. “So Mesmer Swirl go school?” I inquire, and he nods

“I’ll set you up for as soon as I can.”

———————————————————————————————————————

About a week later, I was being walked through the little town of Maregate over to the local school. It was interesting, seeing all the ponies milling about from an inside perspective. I could feel how happy the little town was, how calm and peaceful, how there was no way there could possibly be a love-eating shapeshifter about. I giggled at their ignorance.

When we finally arrived, we saw the school to be a small red building, enough for maybe four classrooms. It is a small town, so they could get away with that for an elementary school. When we come to the door, Pathfinder turns me to face him.

“Now Mesmer, you remembered what we talked about?”

“No hypnotizing ponies,” I grumble, irritated. Queen Mesmera should not be barred from the respect she deserves. She shall not be barred from it.

“That’s right,” He pats my head, “now get in there and do some learning.” He gives me a little nudge in the direction of the school, and I roll my eyes as I walk in the direction of the school.

Inside, I see other foals going about and heading to their classrooms. Mine is the second on the right. I make my way over and enter a room of about a dozen foals, a few more entering alongside me. I sit down at one of the unoccupied desks. Once everyone has settled in and the room is quiet, the teacher comes up to the front of the room.

“Good morning class! Today, we have a new student. Mesmer Swirl, would you like to come up to the front?” The yellow mare exclaimed, and I tensed up momentarily at having the focus of the entire class, then got out of my seat and up to the front of the room, where I faced the rest of the class. “Tell us a little bit about yourself, Mesmer.”

“I sure you all love me,” I say with unrivaled confidence, snout high in the air as I smile brightly.

“Well, I hope that we all do. Thank you, Mesmer. You may sit down again,” and so I do, plopping back down at the desk I began at. “Now then, it seems about right that we’re going right into writing.” I was introduced to pencil and paper for the first time and being taught how to spell different words. Well, they were being taught, while I was sitting there trying to understand what ‘T’ was.

“Psst,” the pony next to me, a white filly, leaned in towards me, “Need some help? I’m Brightstar.” I considered her proposal for a few moments, then proceeded to push my papers towards the edge of my desk in her direction. She leaned in a bit closer and realized that my paper was completely blank, "You haven't done any work?"

"Don't know how write. Or spell. Don't know all words or how say," I explained as best I could, and after a few moments of stunned silence, she raised her hoof.

"Ms. Marigold? Could you come here?" And thus, the yellow mare leading the class approached us.

"Yes, Brightstar?"

"I think that Mesmer Swirl might need to learn a bit more than just writing," she explained. I puffed my cheeks out at this, insulted.

"No need help! Can learn with rest ponies!" Nobody was convinced.

"Perhaps some private lessons might be of use. In fact, Brightstar here was having private math lessons with me to help her keep pace with the rest of the class, along with another foal, Light Stem and Night Stem," she gestures over to two foals, one with a bright yellow coat and a black mane and tail, and one with the exact opposite colors. "I'll tell you what, after class is over, why don't you stay with the other three for lessons, alright?" She had a warm, caring smile on her face, happy to help a struggling pony to learn. I nod in acceptance.

"Will stay. You help Mesmer," I state commandingly.

"Yes, of course I'll help you, it's why I offered," she tussles my mane, "In the meantime, Bright, please do help Mesmer here with her work." A small salute is given in response followed by the filly turning to me.

"So then, shall we teach you the alphabet?"

Author's Note

I now have an editor and as a result, the previous chapters have undergone some editing and reformatting. Only small changes have been made to previous chapters, not enough to change the course of the story, so rereading them isn’t necessary. Anyways, chapter 4, yay!

Chapter 5

I flinched as the bell rang, about to get up along with the rest of the foals before Brightstar held out her hoof. Right, I had tutoring to go through with. As the class filtered out into the halls, just myself and the three other foals previously brought up remained. Brightstar seemed content, not wishing to be somewhere else, but not overly eager either. Night Stem, on the other hand, was smiling happily, clearly more than eager to be here and keep learning. In stark contrast, Light Stem looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but here. soon, Ms. Marigold entered, and she quickly approached me.

“So Mesmer, did Brightstar teach you anything during writing?”

“Uh-huh, learned alphabet,” I proudly said, then proceeded to start listing off the letters. I got to F before I was hushed.

“Well now, I think it’s time for you to get acquainted with your new friends here. Night Stem, Light Stem, could you come over?” She started to move some desks together to form a little table, gesturing for everyone to take a seat, “Girls, this is Mesmer Swirl, she’s going to be joining you here. For now, we’re going to be having a stronger focus on grammar for her,” she explained.

“Well a little break from math might be nice,” said Brightstar.

“And a new friend!” added Night Stem. Light Stem just rolled her eyes, thinking deeply about something. Hah, thoughts. Those wouldn't be around very long.

“Yes, a new friend. Said you’d like me, wasn’t lying,” I was already picking up on the greater intricacies of language, but if someone who had only spoken broken sentences started speaking fluently, that might raise some eyebrows. My wings would buzz if they still existed as I thought. Perhaps…

“What’s on your mind?” I started as Ms. Marigold interrupted my thoughts,

“Nothing. Thinking ‘bout future.” I technically wasn’t lying. I was thinking about the future, but primarily the one in which everyone is bowing before their true queen.

“I think it’s looking bright with you here,” Brightstar smiled softly. Light Stem facehoofed. “What, it was funny!”

“Honestly, that was a bad joke,” interjected Night.

“Yeah, seriously,” adds Light. Brightstar puffed out her cheeks, letting out a hmph. I giggle at their squabbling.

“See! She thought it was funny!” Brightstar pointed at me and I giggled a bit more.

“Alright, settle down now,” Ms. Marigold said, and everyone slowly complied, “Now then, I’ve noticed that you’ve struggled with articles, Mesmer.”

“Ar-ti-culs?” I had my guess as to what those were, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Words like ‘the,’ ‘a,’ and ‘an,’” she explained, “It’s been a struggle for you, though I’m sure that you’ll get the hang of it,” she emphasized specific words, so I began to start using them.

“Happy you think that I’ll learn,” I smile brightly at her and sense her happiness swell within her.

“There you go! Already getting it!” She praised, making my smile grow some more, though now for a different reason. The praise was intoxicating, but not yet enough…

“Can I go to the bathroom?” I asked, noticing it as a thing some other foals did that let them leave.

“Of course, the little fillies room is just down the hall, you’ll see it,” she gestured out the door, and so I made my way out and over to the bathroom.

There was no lock on the door, but there didn’t appear to be anyone else here, so I felt safe to experiment some. I had something I wanted to try that needed a bit of privacy. I looked over in the mirror and focused, focused on my wings, and with a fwoosh, I saw Mesmer Swirl with a pretty set of insect wings. With a smirk, I laid them against my back and sides and made my way out of the bathroom, hiding them as best I could as I reentered the room.

“Welcome back, Mesmer,” Ms. Marigold gestured for me to sit down again and I shook my head.

“I have something I want to show you all,” I said, wings twitching slightly. Everyone turned to look at me, and I heard something from Light Stem.

“What’s that on your side? It looks like...bug wings?” her confusion turned to shock, then relaxation as my wings were spread and spiraling before anyone could react.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you,” They all nodded blankly, “I want you to praise Queen Mesmera,” I smirked as I walked towards the front of the room, the four ponies standing up from the makeshift table and kneeling before me.

“Of course, Queen Mesmera, we will do as our queen asks,” they all said blankly, speaking in perfect unison, so perfect that it might not even sound like there were multiple people.

“Ponies do what Mesmera say.”

“We will do as you ask,” they all say, but Ms. Marigold adds to the end, “We will obey.” Obey. That’s a fun word, I think I’ll use it myself.

“Not just you, all ponies obey!”

“All will obey Queen Mesmera,” they say, and I begin cackling like a madmare as they continue to kneel, whispering praise to their new queen.

“Yes, all! All ponies in all Eque-”

“Mesmera!” I jumped at the voice of pathfinder, “What did we talk about this morning?” His voice was filled with anger. I lowered my wings sadly.

“No hypnotizing ponies…” I muttered under my breath.

“And what did you do?”

“I hypnotized ponies” I muttered, drooping as my wings disappeared, though the ponies didn’t seem to be waking quite yet. Before I could contemplate this further I feel a pain on my ear as Pathfinder drags me out by it.

“Please, just forget this ever happened,” He says with my ear in his mouth, and the ponies nod as he drags us both out.

———————————————————————————————————————

Once we got home I was instantly brought to my room. He dragged me into the corner and made me face the wall.

“You’re going to spend the next five minutes in the corner, and…” He leans in right next to my ear, “no cookies,” he says with a devilish smile.

“What!?” My head spun around to face him, horror in my eyes, “You can’t do that! I’m Queen Mesmera! You will obey me!” My wings glowed a bright red, and as I spread them to try and make him obey, I couldn’t get them to stop glowing red.

“Mesmera, I don’t want to have to tie those to your sides to stop you from using them on me. You need to learn to use them responsibly. This is for your own good,” He’s silent for a few moments as he thinks, then he smiles warmly, “my queen,” he adds, and I smile a tiny bit in return.

“Fine,” I say begrudgingly.

“Thank you,” he gets up and turns away, “oh, and if you learn to be responsible, I’ll let you do it more.” With that, he walks away, leaving me in the corner, less angry than I thought I’d be given the situation.

Author's Note

I’ve admittedly been putting off publishing this chapter because I felt kinda embarrassed about the middle section, despite the fact that it’s literally what Mesmera is built for. I just hope that people aren’t weirded out by it. But yeah, Chapter 5.

Chapter 6

I was a bit uncomfortable as I sat next to Brightstar in class, aware of what she was not. There was something very strange about them simply not remembering. Was this a natural effect of the hypnosis? Or did they take what Pathfinder said to heart? And if so, does that mean other ponies can tell them what to do? I’d have to be more careful in the future.

I turned my attention back to the board as Ms. Marigold went over adding and subtracting digit-digit numbers. It really wasn’t that hard after being given a few examples. I could probably even upscale to three-digit numbers if I wanted. Is everyone just slow? Or am I fast? Considering I wasn’t even two weeks old and everyone here has been alive for years, I think I’m fast. Who knows how smart I’ll be when I’m an adult.

“Now then, keeping in mind what happens when you add 9 to another number, what is 9+13?” Ms. Marigold looked around the room, “High Cloud?” She pointed at the filly in question who was raising her hoof.

“Well...when you add 9 to something it makes it 10...and the number you added it to but one lower...32?” She looked a bit unsure of her answer.

“Close, it’s actually 22,” High Cloud wilted a bit, “Don’t worry, we’ve all made mistakes like that. Even I have,” she smiled gently at the foal, who perked up a bit.

“Really? But you’re so smart!”

“Well I was a filly too, you know, and I had to learn just like all of you,” She looked around at the rest of the class, “You’ll all learn, just like I did,” She looked back at High Cloud, “You especially. I’m sure you’ll be the smartest one in the class.”

Pfft, yeah right. That title belongs to me. I’m going to be the one on top. I’m the queen of the world! I smiled deviously to myself, before putting on a cool face again, but not yet. I need to use my powersresponsiblyinstead of just attempting to enslave the class. I remembered what Pathfinder had told me. If I was responsible, I’d get my cookies back.

...Why didn’t I just- I smacked my head, what’s he gonna do when I’m in total control? Stupid, stupid! As I smacked my head a few more times Brightstar leaned over to me.

“You alright?” that snapped me out of it.

“Yeah, yeah...sorry. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just feel a bit dumb.”

“What did you get?”

“Uhhh...26,” I lied. Better that she thinks I’m stupid than knows what I did to her. In hindsight, I could have just left it at ‘don't worry.’

“Well, you’ll get the hang of it. I’ve seen you do really well before, but people mess up occasionally,” she reassured. I could feel her care, even taste it a bit. It tasted nice, though it wouldn’t do much to actually feed me. I nod to her and give thanks before turning my attention back to Ms. Marigold.

Class continued as normal for the rest of the day until recess came around. I’d been enjoying myself on the swings, going back and forth, back and forth, when one side simply stopped swinging. My eyes went wide as I was ejected off of the swing, my muzzle being buried in the ground. This was followed by laughing. Turning around, I see two colts laughing hysterically, one holding the chain of the swing.

“Awww, her horn didn’t get stuck in the ground,” the one holding the chain teased. He had a tan coat and a yellow mane accompanied by an image of a hammer hitting a nail on his flank. He was being flanked by another colt, this one gray and sporting a carrot for a mark. I saw these images though never quite understood them. I should ask Pathfinder at some point.

“Well perhaps you could hit it in yourself,” The gray one teased, smirking evilly.

“Oh, gladly,” The tan one began to approach as I got to my hooves. Before I could say anything, a white shape was between us.

“You two leave her alone!” Brightstar had come to defend me.

“Oh, is she gonna tell on us? ‘Two pony do thing Mesmer,’” He mocked my limited speech, at least as limited as I keep it for subtlety. I would not stand for this insult.

“I can speak just fine, thank you very much!” I stopped pretending that I was barely capable of speech, “You two should get out of here before something ends up happening.” I could see and feel the surprise at seeing me speak with fluency.

“Alright, I don’t know where that came from, but you’re still going in the dirt,” He continued towards Brightstar and me, more determined. Brightstar herself entered a defensive stance and the two ponies stood with some space between them. The entire schoolyard went quiet, watching the two have their staredown in perfect silence.

“Get her, Hammerhead!” The gray one yelled, and the tan pony, Hammerhead, leaped into action, charging at Brightstar, who swiftly flew out of reach. He huffed and his eyes moved from her to me, a new bullrush started. My eyes widened as I tried to move, but was tackled to the ground out of the way by none other than Light Stem, Brightstar diving onto Hammerhead. I smiled at her.

“Thanks for that,” I say to the white unicorn.

“Don’t mention it. He’s a big troublemaker. I was in your position once just because of my name and disposition, as was Night Stem. He and Jackrabbit will find just about any reason to try and mess up someone’s day.” I looked back over at the fight, seeing Brightstar running circles around Hammerhead. Brute strength clearly won’t do against a pegasus.

“Does she...?”

“Brightstar is the protector. I wouldn’t be surprised if her cutie mark was a shield or something.”

“Cutie...Mark?” I asked, and Light Stem’s face turned to confusion.

“Uh, yeah?...her cutie mark,” she gestures to Jackrabbit, who was just watching and munching on a carrot just like the one on his flank, “like his.” I stared in confusion before realizing what she was referring to.

“Oooooooh, okay. Sorry, just a bit out of it, still trying to get my head together,” I hoped this would cover up my lack of common knowledge. Before she could respond, the bell rang. Recess was over. Ms. Marigold came outside and gestured everyone back inside.

“Come on class, back inside,” She looked around as she spoke and proceeded to sigh upon seeing Brightstar and Hammerhead, knowing exactly what happened. “Hammerhead, Brightstar, I want to see you two after class,” She said. Brightstar sighed and began on her way over. When Ms. Marigold turned away, Hammerhead smacked her on the back of the head. Another sigh could be heard from Ms. Marigold as the orange mare brought the class inside again.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait on this one, just needed some time to figure out what to do. I’m going to work to plan more of this out beforehand. I hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 7

As the bell rang to signify the end of the day, I got together my stuff to go home. collecting my stuff, I felt a nudge. Turning, I saw Brightstar.

"Hey Mesmer," she greeted with a smile, "I was curious as to if you might wanna hang out."

"Hmmm," I had to think on that. Would it be a good idea to bring her home?

It might be a good place to teach her who's in charge, I thought mischievously. But then again, I needed to be responsible, like Pathfinder said. I spent a few moments thinking before discarding his advice. I could easily make him agree with me in that everyone should obey me! "Sure," I replied as I finished gathering everything. Brightstar smiled wider as she pulled me along outside. After taking a moment to regain my bearings after the sudden relocation, she asks,

"So where do you live?" I explain my residence with Pathfinder and where we live, and it's a relatively short trek over. Upon entry we're immediately greeted by a certain Earth pony.

"Ah, welcome home, Mesmera!" He greeted me happily, and then noticed the filly next to me, "Er, Mesmer. I see you've brought a friend.

"I'm Brightstar, Mesmer's best friend," 'best friend' was rather presumptuous, but a brief moment found it to be accurate.

"Ah, I see. Well why don't you show her your room, Mesmer. I'll get the two of you a bit to eat," he said as he went to the kitchen. I followed his advice, bringing Brightstar up to my room. It didn't have much, having yet to be properly converted from Pathfinder's room to mine. It was still his nightstand and dresser, and an unfortunate lack of a toy chest.

"I only recently moved in, so we're still getting things set up for me," I explain, trotting around the fact that this was Pathfinder's room and he now sleeps on the floor.

"You don't have any toys? How about board games?" She looked a bit disappointed at the lack of toys, though it was clear that she had some hope regarding games.

"Lemme check with Pathfinder, stay here a moment, alright?" I smile innocently at her as I move towards the door. She smiles and nods in return as I head downstairs.

"Hey Pathfinder? You have any board games?" I call out, walking towards the kitchen where he's baking something in the oven.

"hmmm, well I have a few in the box in the living room. Not much though, just things like dominoes and playing cards. Perhaps I could teach you two how to play," He looked a little excited at the prospect,"It's been a bit since I've had anyone besides Storm to play with, and he's been a bit ‘ehhh’ about them recently." I nod.

"One other thing," I say, suddenly shifting back to my regular form in a burst of purple flames and spreading my wings wide apart. Before he could question the reason behind my transformation his eyes had already been turned into pulsing glowing rings, his body having completely relaxed.

"So then, first thing is that I'm allowed to have cookies again." my statement is returned with a nod, "and secondly, you know that I am your queen," I pause to take the most regal posture I can muster, "and a queen must have subjects."

"Of course, my queen," he said mindlessly, much to my delight.

"And so just like me, you want as many ponies to serve me as possible. You want every pony to serve their rightful ruler," I command just as regally.

"Yes...all must serve...all will serve you, my queen," he droned, and I nodded, letting my wings settle. A few moments passed without any change in his expression, his eyes still pulsing with my hypnotic colors. I stared at him for a few moments before the existence of another set of appendages came to my awareness. The armored part of my shell was like a beetle's shell another set of wings, though lying underneath my flying ones instead of over top. I lifted them up and clicked them together, and he instantly snapped out of it. After he regained his bearings, he kneeled,

"Mesmera, I'm sorry for taking away your cookies, and for holding you back from finding new servants like myself " he apologized earnestly, "To make up for it, how about I help you with Brightstar?" He looked up at me hopefully, his eyes having a deeper purple haze than before. Nobody else seemed to notice it before, perhaps only I can see it?

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Come," I turned away and began walking away, and Pathfinder nodded eagerly, quickly moving to follow me back upstairs to Brightstar.

"Oh Brightstar," I called as I opened the door, "I'm back,' I smiled mischievously as her smile suddenly turned to fear.

"Mesmer, you're…you're a changeling!?" She panicked and backed up as far as she could as I slowly approached her, wings spread. Suddenly, her fear turned to anger. "No! Mesmer can't be a changeling! what did you do with her!?" Suddenly, she lunged at me. I was brought to the ground, one of my wings being folded back onto itself. I yelped in pain and Pathfinder sprung into action, quickly pulling Brightstar off of me and pinning her against the wall. She gasped and struggled against him, wings flapping uselessly as I slowly got to my hooves, bringing my damaged wing forwards into view and trying to unfold it with my magic.

"No, I am Mesmer. Well, not really. I am Queen Mesmera, and Pathfinder here is my loyal servant," I smile smugly at Pathfinder.

"Of course, my queen."

"And soon, you will be too," I winced for a moment as I experimentally fluttered the wing, though the pain dissipated after a moment. She struggled more violently as I began to spread all of my wings and make them glow. She closed her eyes, shaking her head rapidly, "No, you aren't going to get me!"

"Brightstar, please open your eyes," Pathfinder begged, "I need to make it up to Mesmera." She shook her head rapidly.

"No no no no no!" Eyes still closed, she bit down on the hoof pinning her to the wall. Pathfinder yelped and pulled it away for a moment, and that moment was all she needed to wiggle out of his grip and begin to fly towards the open door. The door which I shut in her face, knocking her to the floor, dazed.

As she regained her bearings, I stood atop her, my wings glowing and pulsing brightly, and when her eyes refocused they swiftly found themselves being replaced by the pattern shown on my wings.

"You shouldn't have fought back," I said condescendingly.

"I'm sorry," she droned, completely devoid of any original thoughts.

"But now you can redeem yourself like Pathfinder did. Join him as my loyal subject, serve me. Serve your queen."

"Serve my queen...Yes, queen Mesmera... my queen…" Her mind slowly reshaped itself according to my words. processing it a bit more than Pathfinder did, "Yes...I will serve you, my queen," She finally decided.

"Good, good. You'll be very happy with this, I'm sure," My ego probably wouldn't have been able to fit in this house were it physical.

"Yes...happy to serve…" As it all finally set in, I laid my wings against my side and clicked my shell against my carapace. She snapped out of her trance, eyes hazy like Pathfinder's. "Mesmer, er... Mesmera, my queen, I'm so sorry for fighting back. I should have just let you do as you wished. I'll be good for you from now on." I couldn't have been happier.

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it’s one I’m rather proud of, and I’m glad to bring some attention to her elytra, which is the actual term for the beetle shell thing. I’d appreciate feedback and criticism if any of you want to provide. Thanks!

Chapter 8

"Another cookie, my queen?" a cookie floated in the air I'm front of me, which I swiftly took and began to munch on.

"Luna, go get me some chunky ones, I wanna try them," I say, looking at the blue alicorn next to me.

"Of course, my queen," said alicorn says, taking their jar of cookies and exiting the room. I looked down at the hoofstool I was currently resting my hind hooves on. The white alicorn looked back with pulsing purple eyes, then cocked its head at my attention.

"Do you wish something of me, my queen?" Celestia asked, "I'd love to serve you more actively." I briefly considered her proposal.

"mmmm, nah."

"Very well, my queen," she said, breaking eye contact with me and gazing off into nothing as her mental facilities shut down once again. I sighed in satisfaction as Luna returned.

"Your cookies, my queen," she said, bringing me one of the chunky cookies. Suddenly, Celestia piped up

"Time to get up," she said.

"I beg your pardon?" She said nothing in response. "Did you just ask me to get up?" Anger began to surge, then she spoke again.

"Come on, Mesmera, get up." She spoke in the voice of a stallion this time though. It sounded... familiar. "Come on, wake up," she spoke in Pathfinder's voice, and suddenly I was staring at Pathfinder as I lay on my side.

"Nooooo...Dun wanna get up…" I flipped over the other way in my bed, "I was having such a good dream," I sighed, "I ruled Equestria."

"Well it will be a reality soon enough if I have anything to say about it, but to rule the world, you need to get up out of bed." I groaned as I sat up, pouting. Brightstar was also there, looking at me with her purple-tinted eyes.

"I can't wait for everyone else to see the truth as I did," she said with a smile, "is there anything I can do to help?" I had to think about that question a bit.

“Well I think the tutoring group might be a good start,” I mused, and Brightstar quickly jumped on that.

“Of course, my queen! Ms. Marigold especially should know! She could teach the class everything there is to know about serving their queen!” Her smile grew wider and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Ms. Marigold it is, then. See what you can do to make my job easier and I’ll do my part,” I affirmed with a smirk “I hope you’ll have something by tomorrow, ideally sooner. The sooner we can get our hooves on her the better.” Brightstar herself responded with a salute and “yes, my queen,” and I proceeded to dismiss her to go home and plan.

———————————————————————————————————————

The bell rang for recess just as lunch was finishing up. All the colts and fillies galloped out into the yard to swing, play hopscotch, wallball, or whatever else they might want to. All except myself and Brightstar.

“I think now is a good time to try it. Bring her back to the classroom.” before I could say anything, she had went over to Ms. Marigold, who was watching over all the kids.

“Oh, Brightstar, Mesmer, is there something you wanted?”

“We’re not feeling the best. We wanted to know if we could go to the classroom.” Brightstar put on a nervous smile

“Of course, come with me,” she gestured to us to come in as she opened the door, heading in herself. We did as she requested, walking down the empty hallway, “do you need to go to the nurse? I’m sure-”

“Nono, we don’t feel sick,” I interrupted, “we just...wanna be inside for now. Play with some of the toys.”

“If you’re sure,” Ms. Marigold said, slightly unsure.

We entered the classroom and Ms. Marigold took a seat at the front of the classroom, looking back at us. It was then that I returned to my original form, much to the alarm of Ms. Marigold. The pony jumped back with a yelp, startled by the burst of fire that had just engulfed my body. Before I had time to react, Ms. Marigold's chair flipped over, landing her squarely on the floor, dazed.

“Oops,” I said with a slight giggle, trotting over to the orange mare on the ground, “Didn’t mean to scare you.” I smiled innocently as I stood over her, buzzing a tiny bit. She didn’t seem to find this as entertaining as I did.

“M-mesmer?” she stammered as she tried to regain her bearings.

“Mesmer-a,” I corrected, “Queen Mesmera.” Brightstar came over with a big dopey grin on her face.

“My queen, and now yours too!” I could taste the happiness coming from Brightstar as I spread my wings out for Ms. Marigold to see, lighting them up with pulsing purple rings and watching Ms. Marigold’s expression turn from fear to relaxation.

“So then Ms. Marigold, I know that students are supposed to listen to their teachers, but I think this will be a time where you listen to me,” I said, smugness filling my voice, “and in fact, from now on you’re going to do lots of listening to me; your queen.” Her reply was a silent nod as her brain processed my words, “And we’re going to make sure that all the ponies of Equestria do the same. Understand?”

“Yes, my queen,” she droned as her mind finished processing her new desires. I rubbed my hooves together mischievously at my victory, and after a few moments, I clicked my shell and she snapped awake. She then began to apologize for not seeing it before and pledging her allegiance.

———————————————————————————————————————

“Come on Light, just focus on your drawing…” I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was... wrong with Ms. Marigold. Whenever they had a new student she would give them extra care, understandably, but over the last few days she had been practically orbiting around Mesmer Swirl. That, and some of the things she says were... strange, and she would occasionally just stare off into space.

"It's probably nothing," I say to myself, putting my pencil to my paper

"You okay, Light?" Night Stem looked at me, somewhat worried, "you seem frustrated."

"I am. Well, not frustrated," I look over at Mesmer Swirl, seeing her smiling widely as she kicked her hooves up on her desk. "You notice anything weird about Ms. Marigold?" Night Stem put her hoof to chin and considered.

"Y'know, I do. I thought I was just imagining it. Brightstar, too"

"I'm gonna look into this."

"Please do."

Author's Note

Hey all, sorry this took so long. A lot of writer's block and being unsatisfied with bits of the chapter, but now it's out. I hope you find this wait was worth it.

Chapter 9

Me and my crew had been lurking around a battleship, our submarine's tower just above the water's surface as we readied the torpedoes. I stood atop the tower, looking out at the ship, before suddenly I saw the barrels light up, followed swiftly by a shell whizzing past me. I dropped my binoculars and instantly opened the hatch, climbing inside.

"They're firing! Flood the tanks! dive, dive, dive!" I yell out to my crew as I shut the hatch above me

"Yes, Ma'am!" I hear from Light Stem as she turned the knob to bring us deeper, "Down to periscope depth."

"Hey Mesmer, I think I can shoot 'em!" Brightstar exclaimed as she looked through said periscope at the ship.

"That's Captain Mesmer to you, private," I corrected, "fire upon the CLS Hammerhead!"

"Yes, ma'am!" rang out from both Brightstar and Night Stem, the former of which trained the scope on her, and the latter which pressed the big red 'torpedo' button. Our sub briefly shook from the launching of the torpedo.

"Torpedo away, captain!" Night Stem saluted me proudly as Brightstar continued to look through the periscope, counting downwards.

"Five seconds, four, three, two, one!"

———————————————————————————————————————

The cardboard cutout of a boat fell over as it was hit with a tennis ball.

"Confirmed hit!" Brightstar says as she looks through a similarly cardboard periscope. "Victory!" She throws her hooves up, falling onto her back and knocking over one of the boxes making up our sub, giggling, and the rest of us do the same.

"Alright girls, time to wrap it up," Pathfinder says as he starts picking up the pieces of the mighty ERNS Conquerer, "We've got to get you four to school."

"Awwww…" All of us simultaneously express our disappointment as we proceed to help with the disassembly of our warship.

“Well hey, we can always put her back together tonight!” Night Stem reassured, putting some smiles back on our faces as we finished up putting away all the sub’s parts.

Our trip to school was rather uneventful. Not much happened, though I noticed that Night and Light Stem seemed a bit… off. They said something about Ms. Marigold and their parents, but I didn’t really catch anything more. Upon arrival we were met by a rather excited-looking orange mare, beckoning us in.

“Come, come, school is starting soon!” She said. School didn’t properly start for another ten minutes. Night and Light looked a bit more confused still, but didn’t have any time to consider anything as Ms. Marigold pulled us all inside. Most of the other kids had already been rounded up by Ms. Marigold, seated at their desks, confused by the rush. My friends went to their desks, but I was pulled aside by Ms. Marigold.

“I have something special planned for today,” She said, excitement in her voice, “a special lesson, if you will. One on leadership and royalty.” She zoned out momentarily, smiling lazily to herself before snapping back to reality. I think about it for a few moments before realizing what she meant, and give her a mischievous smile and nod, delighting her even further. “Let me just get the other students and we’ll begin. Head to your desk, please.”

“Sure,” I reply simply as I take my leave, sitting down at my desk next to Brightstar. I give her a little nudge, “this is going to be fun,” I tease, much to her interest. “You’ll see soon enough.” There’s a final shuffling of hooves into the classroom, Ms. Marigold rolled in a projector as the students took their seats, confused murmuring filling the room. She placed a reel of film into it and approached the front of the room.

“Good morning, students! Today we have a very special lesson on Equestrian history, specifically Equestrian royalty. Now, I’m sure we all know who rules Equestria,” Ms. Marigold explains, “but have you ever thought about if somebody else ruled? How would things change?” Confused murmuring proceeded to fill the classroom, snippets of ‘Discord,’ and ‘Cris-uh-lis.’

“Wouldn’t that be bad?” A blue pegasus asked.

“Well, yes and no. Discord would be a bad option for a ruler, but I believe the very best option is right here with us,” MS Marigold proceeds to turn the projector on, displaying a big spiral on the board, “Mesmera, my queen, would you please come forward?” Filled glee, I get up from my desk and swagger towards the front of the room, looking at all the mesmerized fillies and colts. Upon reaching the front of the room, I turn around, taking my base form again in a burst of flame and spreading my wings,

“Thank you, Ms. Marigold,” I acknowledged, “and thank you all for being here, not that you had much of a choice, really. You may continue now, Ms. Marigold.”

“Yes, my queen. What you see before you is who should truly lead equestria,” I flare out my wings a little more in response, “Mesmera is capable of great things, of showing people what it means to obey, and how nice it feels. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to share this to you myself.” As Ms. Marigold continued to preach about my royal status, I looked out upon the crowd of blank faces. It was almost weird seeing Light Stem with a blank sheet of paper in front of her. Well she certainly is drawing what’s on her mind~ I thought with a giggle. Even Hammerhead and Jackhammer were completely focussed on Ms. Marigold’s ‘lesson’ on obedience. I suddenly felt an inexplicable feeling of anxiety, which faded after a few seconds. It was probably nothing.

Author's Note

Hey, I'm really sorry I've been gone so long. Lots of things have been happening, school starting back up, social drama within my friend group, and I had to basically rewrite the chapter. I additionally have always been worrying that this might end up transitioning from what it should be into what is effectively a hypno fetish fic, and this is one of those scenes. I probably should focus more on those scenes rather than just glossing over them, and I'll try to do that and to be a bit more consistent with my writing. I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 10

I couldn’t help but worry as a guard passed me on the way to school. That was the third one I’d seen so far today. What was happening that needed them? Upon arrival, there was yet another armored stallion standing sentry in front of the school. I decided to ask him.

“Hey Mr. Guard? Why are there so many of you around Maregate?” The guard turned and looked down at me.

“Ponies have been acting strange, changes in personality sweeping the town, and changelings are the suspected culprit. We’re here to keep an eye on everyone and ensure nobody has been replaced.” My worry increased. Were they onto me?

“A-alright. Thank you, Mr. Guard,” I stammer, slowly making my way into the school and taking my seat. Everyone else seems just as worried as myself, and likely for about the same reason. Ms. Marigold stood at the front of the room, shuffling some papers.

“Mesmer?” Brightstar gave me a poke and I turned to face her, “what do we do? You’re the one in charge.” I put my hoof to my chin, thinking only briefly

“Well we just take control of the guards, obviously!”

“But isn’t that exactly what brought them here in the first place?” Ms. Marigold rebutted, “Ponies suddenly started acting differently, if the guards started to change then there would be reinforcements. I don’t want to question you, but I also don’t want you to get hurt.” The rest of the classroom began murmuring. She did have a point. I can’t just let go of all my loyal followers, though.

“We should probably start the lesson in case someone walks in,” another pony interrupts, and we all nodded in agreement. Ms. Marigold got her papers together and the mood of the room lightened greatly.

“Now then, last week we talked about polygons, does anyone remember what they are?” Ms. Marigold’s smile was clearly genuine, as if she had forgotten everything we had just talked about, as did everyone else. I didn’t.

———————————————————————————————————————

Math class was rather uncomfortable today, and I thought recess would be a good break from it. I could just sit somewhere and think, mabe devise a plan, but mostly just rest. Unfortunately I couldn’t really get any comfort due to the proximity of the playground and the entrance, the guard practically on duty for the playground as well. The day was practically normal for the rest of the ponies, blissfully unaware of the stress their queen was under. I got up and made my way to Brightstar.

“Hey Bright? Can… we talk somewhere?” I asked quietly, Brightstar nodded in return and we made our way against the wall of the school, a bit out of line of sight of the guard.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her expression now just as worried as mine. I could see her programming beginning to take control again, her eyes gaining a slight purple tint.

“I’m scared, Bright. What happens if…” I quieted down a bit to make sure I couldn’t be heard, “what if they find out? What’s gonna happen? Are they gonna take me to jail? Are they gonna kill m-” Brightstar cut me off, stuffing her hoof in my mouth..

“Two things: one, quiet. Two, shut up. Everything will be fine. We’ll find a way, we just need to not attract suspicion.” She removed her hoof from my mouth and peeked around the corner to see if the guard was looking our way. They weren’t. “And if anything happens, I will guard you with my life.” I sighed and smiled.

“Thanks, Bright. How about we go play something?” I walked over to a bin of toys and took out a tennis ball, “think we could get some others together and play wall ball?” She smiled and nodded, then ran over to the rest of the colts and fillies.

“Hey! Anyone wanna play wall ball?!”

———————————————————————————————————————

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, and I was headed back home before I knew it. I felt a lot better after the talk with Brightstar, but the looks of all the guards around town continued to make me feel uneasy. My arrival home was great for removing that weight, where I was greeted by Pathfinder.

“Hey Mesmer, how was school?”

“It was good,” I replied, “but also worrying, what with all the guards around.” I looked at the ground for a few seconds before shifting my eyes back up to him. “So what have you been doing?”

“Oh, I’ve just been reading the news. Apparently Discord went on a big pranking spree in ponyville, enough to cause some real problems. As they say, ‘with great power comes great responsibility,’ and Discord still needs some help in that department.” that line, ‘with great power comes great responsibility,’ it hit somewhere within me. Hmmm...

“Well, I think I’m going to go upstairs now, to think.” I began trotting over to the stairs.

“Be sure to do your homework as well,” Pathfinder said as I made my ascent, to a nod from me that he might not have even seen.

I flopped onto my bed, going over that line,

“With great power comes great responsibility,” I muttered, my mind at work thinking about what it meant to me. I swear i’d heard it before, or something like it, but I couldn’t put my hoof on it… I spent about an hour pondering it before deciding I should probably do my homework first, just some simple stuff on shapes. All the sides are different lengths, they don’t look like what we were taught… this may be hard…

It took longer than I’d expected to finish, but I think I got everything right. Either way, I could smell Pathfinder cooking, which probably meant it was about dinner time. I got up and trotted downstairs to meet him in the kitchen, where he sat down with some pasta for himself.

“I was just about to call you down. Did you do your homework?” he asked as he started to eat?

“Yeah, it was kind of hard though, it didn’t match what I’d already seen, but I think I got everything right. It’s just about sides.”

“Well that’s good, I’ll help you check everything after dinner if you want.” he offered, and I gave an approving nod and a smile. “Alright. Also,” he leaned closely and whispered, “I’d recommend that you keep your disguise on for now, in case someone peeks in,”

“Yeah, good idea,” I said as he pulled away. I wonder if I’ll be able to properly sleep in this disguise, I thought, but I felt confident, I was Queen Mesmera, after all, and someday I’d rule over my own hive!

Dinner continued mostly uneventfully after that, a bit quiet given that not much was actually done today by either of us. Soon, Pathfinder had finished eating, and brought his bowl to the counter.

“Alright, I’m done, so now it’s time for you to eat,” he puffed out his chest a bit for me, showing readiness. I opened my fanged maw and watched the pink love energy transfer from his chest to my mouth, sating my hunger. I was still tired though. I finished after a few seconds and Pathfinder wobbled for a moment before sitting down at the table again.

“Hey Pathfinder? I’m feeling a bit tired. Is it okay if I go to bed early?” he chuckled.

“Well that’s a first. Alright I suppose, and I was going to ask you to go to bed earlier anyways, granted not this early, since I know someone has been staying up way past their bedtime.” Dang it, how’d he find out?

“Alright, goodnight Pathfinder,” I said, trotting up the stairs.

“Goodnight,’ he replied just as I exited his view. I went back to my room and flopped onto my bed, eyes already heavy. I shut the door and turned off the lights, and fell asleep in seconds.

———————————————————————————————————————

I woke up to a blinding light in my face. I raised my hoof as my eyes adjusted themselves to the environment. I was in a dark gray room, sitting in a high chair in front of a similarly gray plastic desk opposite a white unicorn clad in armor. I panicked and attempted to fly away only to find my wings tied to my sides. The guard slammed its hoof on the desk.

“So you’re the changeling that got into Maregate? I thought you’d be bigger.” he chuckled a bit, “so, where’d you come from? Who’s your queen?” Okay, I couldn’t panic, I need to assert my dominance.

“I’m my own queen! I’m Queen Mesmera, and you’re not gonna get away with this!” this clearly didn’t work, seeing as the guard laughed.

“You’re the queen? Oh that’s rich, but also impressive that you managed to do all this. But there’s no way you did it alone. How many other changelings did you bring with you?”

“None,” I said, trying to sound as big as possible, “I’m the true ruler of Equestria and I could do this all on my own.”

“You know, I’ll admit, that was a dumb question,” the pegasus smirked at me, “you’re so small, there’s no way you’d have a hive yet. And acting like this, you never will have one.” He leaned onto the wooden desk, “maybe if you’d been a bit more subtle, didn’t try to control the town, we wouldn’t be here. Thanks for that though, now we can snuff out your hive before it even develops.” he signalled for two guards to come and grab me, who quickly raced to complete their orders, though my struggling did cause them some difficulty.

“You’ll never rule the world like this. You had great power, and with great power comes great responsibility. It’s lucky for us that you didn’t have the latter. He exited the room into a bright hallway, and as I struggled against my captors, I sunk my fangs into one, escaping from his grasp, I turned to face the other and saw a hoof coming for my face.

———————————————————————————————————————

I woke up in a cold sweat, panting. I was back in my room. It was just a nightmare. I got up from my bed slowly, and as I exited my room I realized the significance of that quote. I knew what I had to do, as much as I hated it. I began to make my way down the stairs.

“Morning, Pathfinder.” I said nervously.

“Hey, Mesmera,” he noticed my tone, “is something wrong? Did you have a nightmare?

“Hey Pathfinder? I uh, made a decision,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“I need to… I need to let everyone go.” he was silent for a few moments.

“Sorry, repeat? I thought you had said that-”

“I need to let everyone go. You were right before that I needed to be more responsible with this, so I need to let everyone go.” I looked down sadly. He looked about the same.

“I’ll see what I can do to help with that. Just make sure to wipe their memory of the weird stuff.” I nod and flash my wings for him.

“You can relax, too. Clearly I need you to have at least some autonomy.” his eyes flashed purple for a few seconds, and he stumbled. When he regained his bearings and his eyes returned to normal, his expression changed.

“Mesmera, I hope you know that you’re going to be punished dearly for all of this.”

“I know…” hopefully it isn’t that bad.

Author's Note

We're back, and hopefully, we'll be a bit more consistent in the schedule. Just by the way, the inconsistencies in the dream scene were intentional.