The Changelings of Manehattan

Her whole world was agony.

Mother didn't know what was happening or why she was in so much pain, but by the time she clawed her way back to consciousness, it had at least subsided to a dull throb.

"I think she's waking up!" Came an excited voice to her side. "Somepony go find Red Cross!" A heavy creaking, followed by the rapid padding of hooves, filtered through her muffled hearing as her eyes crept open.

A unicorn sat beside her, a look of anticipation on her face. "How are you feeling? What's the last thing you remember? Do you recognize me?" She rapidly fired off the questions.

Mother squinted at the pony, still not sure of what was happening or why this pony was watching over her. "You're one of the unicorns we captured," she finally said. "Carnation... I think." Her throat felt dry, causing the words to come out raspy.

The unicorn visibly relaxed after hearing her speak. "That's good," she said. "You don't sound completely addled. It's Carnelian, by the way," she added at the end.

"Carnelian..." she tried out the name on her tongue. Her head still felt foggy, leaving her feeling uneasy. "Where am I?"

"I think it would be best if I let Red Cross explain," she said as she pushed open the door set in the wall to peek outside. Bright light poured in during that brief moment, causing Mother to wince as the light hit her sensitive eyes. "Besides, I think you'd rather have somepony familiar explain everything that's happened."

She strained her memory, despite how much her head hurt. She was pretty sure she didn't know anyone named Red Cross. "Who..." She started to ask.

The door flew open and a red maned pony rushed in. A look of unbound joy appeared on the newcomer's face as she met her gaze. Without warning, the pony threw herself at the changeling queen and wrapped her hooves tightly around her. "Mother!" She cried. "You're finally awake."

Mother let out a small squeak as she came into contact with this creature. Now she was certain she hadn't seen this pony before. "Who are you?" She demanded. "What's going on?"

The pony pulled back and looked a bit sheepish. "Oh, right," she said, seeming a bit embarrassed. "You wouldn't recognize me right now. How's your head?" Red sounded genuinely concerned. "The link's been completely down while you've been out."

It was then that the changeling queen realized the biggest thing that was different. Everything was far too quiet. She couldn't hear any of her children. How had she not noticed? She reached inward for the connection they all shared and tried to feel out the rest of her hive. It took some considerable effort on her part, but she eventually managed to reach out with the link just long enough to feel everyone turn their attention to her. Unfortunately, pain and exhaustion soon began pressing down on her, forcing her to abandon her efforts.

Hooves found their way to her chest. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard," said Red Cross, the changeling she could now identify as Number Three through the short-lived connection. "You've been asleep for two weeks. We thought we lost you."

"Two weeks?!" She exclaimed. What had caused her to sleep for so long? It probably explained why she was feeling so sluggish. She did her best to try and remember what last happened. It wasn't easy, but eventually she was able to remember what had happened. A chill ran down her spine and she wrapped her forelegs around herself, her eyes widening in horror as recent events came rushing back. Her failed attempt, the unbridled rage she had invoked in her mate, and the retaliation she had suffered, which could account for her weakened state.

"Number 47 somehow managed to get Clover off of you before it was too late," Red Cross scuffed at the ground. "It still took some time to dig you out of the crater we found you in, though."

"Where... Where is Clover now?" She struggled to ask. She had been so dangerously close to her own death, a feeling that wouldn't abandon her any time soon.

Red shook her head. "We don't know," she said. "Once he calmed down and saw what he had done, he ran away. We haven't seen him since."

"We have to find him," Mother said in a hurry as she stood up. "We have to..." The sudden movement left her feeling dizzy and even after she sat back down, the room felt like it was still spinning.

"You're in no shape to be doing anything," Red said sternly as she rushed forward to catch her. "And you're going to be staying in bed until I say otherwise."

Mother looked dumbfounded at the guard who had just given her an order. She was about to reprimand her but she soon found a hoof to her lips, forcing her to keep her silence.

"I know I spoke out of turn, but a lot has happened while you've been out. The hive has had to cope without access to the link the whole time you've been unconscious. Besides," she said. "Have you even seen yourself, yet?" A green glow lit upon Red's horn, slowly filling the room with its light.

With the added illumination, she was able to properly see her surroundings for the first time. There wasn't anything too elaborate about the wooden structure she was housed in, except for the telltale signs of resin she could barely make out holding the edges together. When her gaze fell on her own body, she saw what had the other changeling in the room so concerned.

Long cracks ran up and down her forelegs. She followed the lines and found that they went straight up into her chest and down her sides. Thinking that it was just a trick of the light, she made a few experimental motions, only to cringe when she realized that the damage that had been done to her chitin was indeed real. How deep did the injuries go? Concern gripped her as she wrapped a hoof around her abdomen. Most of her body still felt numb and she was having trouble assessing her own condition.

"Your injuries didn't make it quite that deep," Red offered her consolation before she had a chance to ask. "Although," she quickly continued like Mother wasn't going to like the next thing she told her. "You should probably give up on Clover."

"What!?" Protested the incensed queen before wincing at her own outburst. "How could you say that? You know he's the one I need... we need to make the hive stronger."

"We almost lost you that night," tears began to run down Red's face as she spoke. "And we don't have any other options left," she said. "The remaining grubs that Eight and Nine were carrying pupated when the camp became so oversaturated with love."

Mother visibly cringed as memories of the camp breaking out into a veritable breeding frenzy bubbled back to the surface. Something didn't seem right about the whole ordeal. From everything the hive had learned about these ponies before the attack, their mating rituals were usually a very private affair. "What exactly happened that night?" She asked, now that her head wasn't muddled by the scents and sounds of out-of-control libidos.

"We're still not sure what happened," Red admitted sheepishly. "We were far too busy trying to keep you alive to question what had happened." She scratched the underside of her chin before continuing. "We did discuss it later once we were sure you'd live. A few of the unicorns theorized that our different magics had combined and rebounded off itself, causing that effect."

"That aside," she was beginning to blush furiously as she pawed at the ground. "We had no idea that love offered so freely would be so potent. I certainly didn't."

Mother wasn't about to give up so easily. "What of Number 47?" She asked eagerly. "Where is he? Is he still following Clover?"

"Probably..." Red tilted her head as she thought it over. "He disappeared the same night as Clover."

Mother's ears perked up. There was still a chance, then. She mentally braced herself against the impending discomfort as she reached out into the link and began searching for the changeling in question. She ignored the looks that Red started giving her as she searched. It took a while to find him, but find him she did. Number 47! She called out, hopeful when she could feel his attention look her way.

"Mother! No!" Red shouted, causing her attention to waver for a moment. She tried to ignore the protests, but she couldn't pull herself away from her pleading eyes.

Mother? Is that you? Number 47 sounded relieved. You're alright! I was so worried.

Despite how taxing it was to maintain the link, she didn't answer right away. Red's concerned look had captured her attention, and not even her rapidly building headache could pull her away from the concerns of her guard.

The concerns were more than valid. Mother had almost died that night. She would've passed away without leaving an heir to take her place. Combined with the fact that there were no longer any grubs left for plan B, she couldn't afford to take any more risks.

With a heavy sigh, she again reached out to the drone assigned to Clover. Number 47, she resigned herself as she gave the dreaded order. Return to the hive. We will no longer be pursuing Clover.

The ensuing silence was painful. After everything she had done in an attempt to strengthen the hive, it felt wrong to give up after everything they went through.

I'm sorry, Mother, but I can't do that. The unexpected answer she received from Number 47 left her feeling so stunned that it took her a moment to process what she heard.

Number 47, she said more sternly, her headache beginning to worsen. Return to the hive. Clover is no longer your responsibility.

There was no way he didn't hear her. To the best of her knowledge, it was impossible for any of her children to ignore her outright, but that's exactly what happened. He had just openly disobeyed her, and in front of the entire hive, no less. There was no way they weren't listening in on the exchange. She was about to tell him off for his disobedience, but her headache had grown to the point that she couldn't simply ignore it. The link completely fell apart, once again leaving her and her children alone with their own thoughts.

Mother found the comforting touch of a gentle hoof resting against her side, and she looked down at the trusted guard who had been by her side with everything they had gone through. "You've only just woken up," she said with apparent concern. "You need more rest."

The changeling queen didn't have the energy to argue, the brief time she had been awake had already taken its toll on her. She still despaired at the state of her hive. Despite her best efforts, there was nothing more she could do at this moment. So she did the only thing she could; she laid her head back down and let sleep claim her.

A few days later she was finally feeling well enough to leave her bed. It was a good thing too, she had started to get restless and felt like she might go mad if she stayed cooped up any longer. That, and she still wanted to know how well her children had managed without her.

Red Cross opened the door for her and she stepped out into sun. It took a moment for her eyes to readjust after being in the dark for so long. Frequent visits while she rested had allowed her to gather bits and pieces about how things had changed in her absence, but seeing it herself for the first time was a whole different story.

A large chunk of forest had been cleared out around them, evidenced by the fallen trees and torn up stumps she could see littering the camp. All throughout the clearing, there were ponies and changelings working in tandem as they used crude tools to strip and work the wood while others moved it to the cleared ground. Once there, ponies and changelings worked together to lift and reposition the rough lumber, fastening it in place with changeling resin once it was in the desired configuration.

Elsewhere, they found an earth pony busy directing and teaching others how to till and ready the ground for planting. At first she thought that more ponies had joined their mixed hive, or was it more of a herd now, but as she reached out with her slowly recovering connection, she saw that a number of her children had begun taking on unique identities, making it far more difficult to tell them apart from the actual ponies.

She took a closer look at the changelings around the camp. Most of them had taken on unique appearances, it wasn't just her trained infiltrators anymore. Aside from the ones that were helping with construction, and a discreet underground location she could just barely sense the young being cared for, everyone was wearing a pony facade. Strangely, it made her feel a bit self-conscious to be walking around in nothing but her cracked and damaged chitin.

Those fears were put to rest as a number of the workers caught sight of her. Changeling and pony alike greeted her with a smile, some even gave her a friendly wave, before returning to their work.

Red Cross continued to guide her through the camp until they found the former noble that had originally put the hive on the brink of extinction. Greengrass was busily hunched over a rough table as he passed notes and directed the others gathered around him. He caught sight of the pair just as he finished instructing the last of the ponies, and hastily trotted up to meet them. He surprised Mother as he threw a hoof around Red Cross and pulled her in for a kiss; the love exchanged in the gesture being so freely given.

"Glad to see you up and moving about," said Greengrass as the pair pulled out of their embrace. His demeanor had been changing over the course of the journey, and during the two weeks she had slept, there didn't seem to be anything left of the once pompous noble that had raided her hive. "I meant to come visit, but... well... It's been a bit busy around here."

"I can see that," Mother noted as she took another look around the camp. "What exactly are we trying to accomplish here?"

"Well," said Red Cross as she resettled on her hooves. "After we made sure you were stable, we had to vacate the camp in a hurry. One of the unicorns mentioned that there was enough residual magic leftover from the departed Ursa to draw attention from other passing predators, and possibly even from Equestria itself. Eventually, we managed to find a fairly safe plot of land surrounded by water and set up a more permanent residence."

Mother raised an eyebrow at the explanation, but the duke continued before she could voice any concerns. "We all agreed it was the best thing for everypony. We should be far enough away from Equestria by now and the changelings wanted to get you properly settled so you could recover and hopefully let you finish your final laying."

She winced at the reminder of how much trouble her final laying had brought everyone. Now, more than ever, she needed to finish her final task if her hive was to have any chance of survival.

"Oh," Greengrass nervously looked over to Red. "Did you not tell her yet?"

She shook her head in response, "no," she said. "I was waiting until she was feeling better."

Mother looked at the two of them as something seemed to silently pass between them. There had been more than a few developments while she'd been sleeping and she wasn't just talking about all the construction. "Tell me what?" She asked.

The stallion looked a bit embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. Whatever it was he wanted to say, it looked like it was taking him some effort. "We talked about it," he said as he fished for the right words. "All of us did, the entire camp, and... it won't make up for what we did," he bowed his head to her. "I would like to help you finish your final laying."

Words escaped her as she processed what had just happened. One of these ponies had just openly offered to help her carry out her sacred duty to the hive. However, she still felt a bit conflicted by the offer. She had always had her mind set on breeding with a physically strong male and she didn't feel that described the pony standing across from her.

She continued to ponder the offer as she looked out over the camp and saw how everyone was busy with a sense of purpose. This pony had managed to organize the two different species into a collective unit without access to something as useful as a hive mind. She couldn't deny the impressive sight that lay before her. This earth pony certainly had some strong leadership skills. That could be considered a form of strength, couldn't it?

He wasn't the worst possible choice, but still. Mother felt a sick feeling twist in her gut after everything they had been through. They had brought so much unwanted attention down on their heads, and for what? The hive had been decimated, they had been forced to flee the forest that had been theirs for generations, and even though everything looked pretty good for the moment, the future was more uncertain than it had ever been before.

Then she looked at the two of them, pony and changeling, that had managed to come together despite their differences and their less than pleasant start. It wasn't the future she planned for her children, but it seems it was the future that had been chosen for them. "Very well," she conceded, doing her best to maintain her dignity. "I will accept your offer."

A comforting hoof rested on her shoulder and she once again looked into the eyes of Red Cross, the guard that had taken up the mantle of caring for the hive in her absence. "Thank you, Mother," she said, tearing up as she did. "With this, we can finally have a future again."

"When do you want to do this?" Greengrass asked, still looking a bit wary.

"As soon as possible," she said. Mother was more than ready to get this over with. While the itch to fill herself had been momentarily sedated as she recovered. It was slowly starting to make itself known again.

"I should be able to pull myself away from my work later tonight," he said as he turned his attention back to his notes. "Far too much still needs to be done while we still have some daylight left and..." he stole a nervous glance in her direction. "Don't take this the wrong way, but from what I've been told to expect, the whole process sounds a bit unpleasant. I need some time to steel my nerve."

Mother nodded along with the stallion's admission. If he already knew what the process entailed and was still willing to go through with it, she couldn't blame him for needing time to prepare himself. With nothing else left to occupy her time, she contented herself with returning to her cabin to rest up for the coming night.