The Changelings of Manehattan

Everyone had to sprint to keep up with Ruby as she quite literally carried Spectrum away like a child who had just found a new toy and couldn't wait to play with it. They chased her out of the library, around the bend, down several tunnels, and most likely put on quite the show for anyone who managed to catch their little chase.

Clover looked around the place they had ended up, having somehow managed to lose Cloud Kicker, Blossomforth, and Onyx at some point during their little run. If Sapphire's penthouse was the pinnacle of luxury, then Ruby's lab was the complete opposite. Tables filled with beakers, microscopes, and all sorts of equipment that they probably didn't even have names for, were scattered around the room. Large blackboards with with numerous facts and figures lined the walls. And in the distant corner, a disoriented Spectrum had been tied to an empty table. A red-headed changeling queen with a manic look on her face hovered over him as she levitated a particularly large syringe towards him.

"When did she have the time to set all this up?" Clover quickly made his way across the room with Sapphire right behind him. "I could've sworn we were right behind her."

"She's always been like this," she said. "Mother!" Sapphire called out, finally getting the older changeling to stop moving.

"Sapphire, dear!" Ruby called back, looking even more excited. "Are you joining me today? You never take any interest in my hobbies."

Sapphire was thoroughly out of breath as she held out a hoof to the alicorn besides her. "Mother, this is Clover the Clever. THE Clover the Clever. He's reached out to us cause he wants us to heal that changeling you're looking to dissect."

The comically large needle dropped to the ground along with Ruby's jaw. "Are you serious?" She gasped. When she got a nod in return, she abandoned the prone figure secured to the table and walked up to Clover. It was clear that she was really giving him a good look this time. "You're our ancestor?" She asked him with wide eyes, but then she started to pout as she looked back to her subject on the table. "And you're sure I can't experiment on him?"

"I'd like him back in one piece if you don't mind," he said, his eyes remaining fixed on hers. "And in better shape than when we got here."

Ruby broke eye contact as she caved in. "Ok, fine," she said as a spark of magic flicked off her horn. "I guess I can't refuse a request from our honored ancestor." The restraints that held down Spectrum released their prisoner, but when he tried to push himself up, the table overturned itself and dumped him into a freshly opened hole in the ground.

Spectrum fell face first into a pool of green sludge. The substance quickly caused the bandages wrapped around him to loosen and float to the surface. After a moment, a slime covered hoof shot out of the amorphous substance as Spectrum scrambled to find purchase. "What is this stuff?" He said as he looked at the now glowing appendage.

"That," said Ruby as she stepped up and began arranging her notes, "is a modified version of our resin. It's very diluted and doesn't do much except infuse the resident with ample amounts of love energy. Oh, and it'll allow me to use the hive mind to link to your memories as if you were one of my own children."

"You're going to do what?!" Spectrum was now trying much harder to get out of the pool, but with the addition of the resin, it was far too slippery to get a grip.

"Oh don't be like that," Ruby tried to reassure him. "It's mostly harmless. You just need to dive in the water, take a little nap, and when you wake up everything will be all better."

"And I'll be here to make sure she doesn't try to carve off any pieces," Sapphire gave her mother a stern look.

"Oh, when did I ever do that except for the one time," Ruby gave her a playful smile.

Spectrum looked desperately to Clover, hoping for an out. "You can't expect me to stay here with this crazy mare while you run around the city, forming your own herd?!"

Clover leaned down next to his friend, who breathed a sigh of relief until he saw the smug grin on Clover's face. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not trying to start a herd." Clover then placed a hoof on his head and plunged him deep into the healing waters.

Yes, mother. Understood, reported Number Four as they looked down from their cover in the treetops. Two more ponies have passed the third checkpoint, they have some sort of wolf with them that appears to be checking the trail for scents. They only had to wait for a moment before any further orders were felt along their bond. I will not fail to bring them in... Yes, one of them has a horn on their head just like Prey 42.

"I still think we're wasting our time," buzzed Number 47. "We've been hunting these new creatures for a while now but they all still expire shortly after feeding."

Number Six gave Number 47 a smack across the back of the head before continuing their vigilance. "We aren't here to think," they snapped. Most of the hive was completely obedient, but every once in a while, one was born with a few odd quirks. It was fine as long as they continued to do their work, nothing else really mattered. If anything else, it was more of a miracle that Number 47 still managed to survive despite constantly being on capture missions. Mother seemed to tolerate this drone's growing independence, despite it not being one of her guard. The only thing they really knew about this strange drone was that Mother had been performing some sort of test on them along with Number Three. They shivered at the thought of what else had been created from Mother's experiments, glad that they hadn't been subjected to something similar.

They all got quiet as their targets drew close to their tree. The dozen changelings hugged their thin wings close to their bodies to keep any errant buzzing from alerting their prey. The pair of ponies must've sensed something was wrong for they both snapped to attention, whipping their heads back and forth as they eyed their surroundings.

The forest itself seemed to hold its breath for a long moment as the tension drew itself out. "You hear that?" Said the female horned one.

"It got quiet," said the male smooth brow. "I don't like it." He looked to his canine companion, "you smell anything, boy?"

The wolf continued to sniff at the ground. It padded in circles as it made its way up to the tree that the squad hid in. It pawed at the tree for a moment before taking a few quick steps back and growling.

No words or visible signal was needed for them to know that this was moment to strike. All it took was a single thought from Number Four, and they all dropped from their hiding place in the trees.

The squad fell on the duo so quickly that the ponies barely had a chance to fight back. It would've been a clean takedown if the wolf hadn't alerted them to their presence, but it was of little consequence in the end. Three changelings fell onto the female, sinking their fangs into her neck, back, and flank. The toxin they carried quickly slowing her motions and it only took a moment before she was struggling to stay upright.

"Carnelian!" Shouted the male. He was still standing strong, despite the fact that five changelings had already administered their bite. The smooth browed ones seemed to take quite a bit more to bring down. That was why they had started with four drones and a guard, hoping that would be enough. The male bucked and thrashed, quickly throwing two changelings off himself, even as another three dove in to take their place.

"Carnelian!" The male shouted again. The changelings had no idea what the word meant, none of them were infiltrators. "It's just like the reports said. Send the flare!" He tensed his muscles, despite the fact that his knees were starting to buckle from the effect of the venom.

The female wasn't faring as well. Her eyes were barely open and it required little to no effort to keep her restrained. Her ears twitched along with the male's shouting. It seemed to take everything she had just to move her head even the smallest amount. A red glow appeared around her horn, causing the squad to tense up. Somehow, the pony had been able to stave off the poison this long. However, the only blast she managed to fire off, before finally succumbing to the poison, didn't even come close to hitting any of them as it flew up past the canopy and exploded with a loud pop.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when she finally fell unconscious. These ponies had all sorts of surprises to them. The smooth browed ones were particularly sturdy, evidenced by the fact that the male was still fighting after receiving at least a dozen bites. The horned ones weren't quite so sturdy, but the energy they fired off from their horns wasn't to be trifled with. Fortunately, these ponies didn't seem to come in any sort of flying varieties, at least none that they had seen so far.

Number Four walked up to them, having already dispatched the wolf. The canine's teeth were probably the biggest concern among their prey. However, Mother wouldn't mind them having put down such a meager food source, since they got far more from the ponies anyway.

The male continued to growl at them, it seemed strange coming from a race of herbivores. Their anger was pungent as it permeated the air. That was fine, they'd make good food once they got them in a pod to filter out everything but their love. "Your days are numbered, bugs!" The male spat at them, despite the fact that no one understood the noises he was making. "Daybreaker's forces will soon be here. My sacrifice won't be for nothing." He began to bellow with laughter, even as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the forest floor.

"Why are the smooth browed ones so sturdy?" Number 47 questioned.

An angry buzz came from Number Six, causing Number 47 to jump. Mother might've had her reasons for this strange drone, but damn it if they got on their nerves with all the questions.

Enough! Return at once. Mother ordered, interrupting Number Six's feelings of discomfort. There was some uncertainty to her thoughts that hadn't been there before. A few of the changeling drones tilted their heads for a moment, before getting to work securing their prize. Clearly they had all heard mother's disquiet.

Silence was their only companion as they traveled back to the hive. The prey had been thoroughly bound, including their recently modified resin to restrict the horn of the female. They weren't expecting her to wake up, but several drones had already been lost on previous expeditions from not being cautious enough with these horned ones.

They reached the hollowed out tree that was their entrance on this side of the hive. They could've traveled further on the surface, but the forest still had dangers that could threaten their small squad. Plus, they didn't want to give anything the chance to steal their prey. They carefully crawled through the catacombs, the many paths through the ground designed to get intruders lost without the familiar scents to guide them. They were finally able to relax when the chambers widened out and more of their siblings moved in to flank them. The new additions to the group relieving them of their burden and giving them a chance to rest.

There was a surprise waiting for them when they entered the feeding room. Mother had been personally waiting there for them. She almost never came down here, choosing instead to command the hive from the security of her chambers. She was busy conversing with Number Three as they both stood by the pods that held the results of recent hunts. As well as the largest pod in the room, the one that contained Prey 42.

Prey 42 was a member of the equine species that had been settling near the hive in recent days. Before his capture, they had collected a couple of the creatures that had strayed from the rest of their herds, they were quite potent in the love that could be harvested from them despite how quickly they would expire once placed inside pods. However, that all changed when they found the now designated Prey 42 sleeping in the woods. No real effort had been expended to capture him, and far more love had been harvested from him than any other specimen, despite his apparently weakened state. It was thought he would expire faster than normal with how quickly they were harvesting nourishment from him. However, despite their expectations, they had been able to feed on him for months on end and he showed no signs of slowing.

Mother showed no surprise when she turned her attention to their presence. She always knew where each and every one of her children were, for they were but extensions of her will. "Well done, my children," she smiled at them. Something felt off about Mother's smile. Her concern was palpable, causing many of them to buzz nervously.

Number Three stepped forward and directed them to place the smooth brow into one of the feeding pods. It took four of the drones to haul him up to the edge of the pod and tip him over until he sloshed in. Whatever color the creature may have been, they now appeared to be little more than a silhouette in the green slime.

A muffled scream broke out behind them as soon as they had deposited the male. A dozen eyes turned back to the horned female as she pointlessly struggled against her bonds. Her eyes looked down in a panic at the resin that kept her from speaking. The rapid rising and falling of her chest gave way to further panic when any effort to use the horn resulted in little more than the resin coating it to start glowing.

"You caught another unicorn!" Number Three shouted in excitement, her wings buzzing happily. "I was hoping we'd find another one soon. I've got so many ideas I wish to try out." Drones appeared from behind several of the pods, they were slightly larger than normal and had no trouble carrying the female off and securing her to a slab of stone in the back.

A collective groan came from Numbers Four and Six. They didn't know why their fellow guard had been assigned to such strange activities, but the screams that occasionally echoed from this place unsettled them.

If Mother was displeased by their attitude, she didn't show it. "Numbers Four and Six. Return to point of capture. Stand guard upon your return."

They followed Mother's orders without hesitation, eager as they were to vacate the area before Number Three got started with whatever it was she was doing. The drones assigned to them quickly followed, and while they didn't often express themselves, even they appeared eager to leave as soon as possible.

"Number 47, remain," Mother ordered as the rest left. Number 47 froze in place, a slight trembling was visible in his actions as he approached Mother.

"Yes, Mother?" He said nervously. They weren't about to disobey a direct order from her, but they were still afraid of what else she might do to them.

"Curiosity, apprehension, and fear," Mother mused aloud. "All traits that are unfitting of my children." Surprisingly, she smiled. "It looks like the experiment is showing some interesting results. Tell me," she said as she laid down and made eye contact with one of her children. "What other thoughts have you been having since you took on the blood of Prey 42?"

"I... I..." He stuttered. They knew from the rest of their siblings that it was unfitting of a drone to be expressing themselves as they had been doing, but Mother had asked. "I've been wondering why I feel so strange lately. Also, why does the sun above the forest seem angry? And the moon so sad?" They added quietly at the end.

"Interesting," Number Three chimed in as she trotted up from where she had been securing her new toy. "We finally got the blood to take and the resulting drone has increased cognitive function. The others either exploded or just melted into a puddle. We've tried it with blood from the other unicorns we've captured and it usually just results in a sick drone for a couple days with no lasting effects."

"I wonder what's so different about this one," said Mother as she stood back up and walked over to Prey 42's pod. She rested a hoof against the surface that contained the sleeping pony within. Once again, the unicorn's eyes cracked open and looked right at her, causing her to jump back in surprise. No matter how often it happened, it unnerved her every time. None of the other prey they had in the pods ever showed any signs of consciousness once they had been entombed. However, Prey 42 continued to show signs that they were fully aware of what was happening around them.