It was two months after the victory, three months after he first was charged with conquering the jungle, and one year ever since the Great War happened... So why in Chrysalis' glorious name was he given this reward?

Reward

Larynx glared down at the gun he was hovering with his magic. His smile was no use here, for he was alone.

I'm going to die in this forsaken region

Fearful and alone.

He had a right to fear, for in the month where he finally moved into the state he was placed as a "protector" there was 34 assassination attempts on his life alone. Too much partisans. Too much resistance mounting up. Everypony, everyling, they were at each other's throat here.

It was cursed, Larynx thought, This whole region is cursed, why was I placed in charge of it?!

The Protector slowly stared across his desk. It was full of maps of the jungle, of the city, and of the roads all over the region. It all a mess, the outdates maps were mixed in with the more up to date ones, and sometimes, they are dead wrong. Not to mention the city is missing MUCH more of its buildings now.

He sighed, staring upward as he contemplated just running off, he was a changeling after all, he can just turn into any pony, griffon, or whoever else.

That doesn't sound half bad... I should do it! Yeah! he was fully committed into just running off, and just...

Oh who was he kidding, he knew that there was many flaws to that plan. He fumbled with his magically held gun, before just tossing it at floor.

BANG!

A loud noise went off as the protector shrieked like a filly, covering his face as he heard a thud. Soon enough he found himself cowering on the floor, looking through one of his many holes in his legs, before noticing something was off... He wasn't bleeding, he wasn't dying, and he wasn't feeling like he was shot. What was going on?

"PROTECTOR! ARE YOU ALRIGHT-" As Larynx was trying to figure out what in the world was going on, he was soon interrupted as one of the bodyguards, "I heard the noise! I am- Oh you are fine. Why are you on the floor?" Hanx asked.

Out of all the bodyguards, Hanx was probably the best one to come and defend him, he was the only bodyguard, other than an unmentionable one, to STILL be surviving for this long with him in this miserable province. Smile, SMILE! Larynx thought on his hooves quickly.

He stood right up, stretching, pretending as if he was just doing some good ol' fashion... 'Push-ups', yeah that's good enough!

Hanx stared at him, giving a slow nod, though it was clear he was hiding something, as he reached for something in his big military bag of wonders. Mostly grenades, but to some ponies those were a wonder too.

"Well whatever you are doing, I... Support you?" The bodyguard said as stared with no hint of second-hoof embarrassment at the Protector. "Anyways, I got a scroll from all Vesalipolis." Soon enough he pulled a scroll from his bag, nearly dropping some of the countless grenades in his bag, Larynx made a BIG mental note to ask him NOT to bring in grenades again, after he stopped screaming internally that is.

"Well come on then, bring it here." Larynx said as he hovered over the scroll with his magic, unfolding it as he looked over it with a smile. Slowly reading the letter...

The smile grew larger and larger, the confidence in it was slowly shattering, the look into his eyes was that of a mad changeling, all he wanted to do was scream, cry, laugh, and run straight into the jungle and just wait for death...

Queen's Decree

Protectors of the Hegemony, your Queen decrees that the changeling race must not be left hungry any longer! To reach this goal, to finally rid ourselves of the hunger that we had to suffer for thousands of years, your queen demands that LOVE be brought into the hegemony. The establishment of the LOVE TAX is to be introduced to every region. You are expected to grab those filthy ponies (and whatever else) and take their love out of them. Your queen cares not if you kill them by "accident" to reach this goal, but you MUST reach this goal.

Signed - Your Queen, your Empress, your glorious one, your immortal, your charitable, your conquering, your Godde-

Larynx stopped reading the titles, she always seems to add more and more titles with each letter. He sighed, he knew that a love tax of some kind would come, he can at the very least rest easy knowing it is to serve the hegemony, and it is to- "What?" Larynx interrupted his musing as he stared at the lower part of the letter, at what he was expected to bring...

"A MILLION UNITS OF LOVE?!" Larynx screamed, his smile finally breaking, Hanx pulling out his submachine on reflex, staring around in a panic before realizing the situation. Hanx gave a stern look to Larynx, but he noticed he wasn't paying a attention. What Hanx saw was a protector running around, knocking the desk over and spilling the maps all over, as if he was trying to find a way out.

"Sir. Sir please. Sir stop shouting." Hanx casually said, not as concerned as he should be, as Larynx was shouting, screaming his heart out, ranting against all sorts of changelings. Not one of it was aimed at the Queen, for all changelings knew she was blameless. Well not all, just the ones who didn't want to get visited by the VOPS and taken into a camp.

It was two hours after the letter of the love tax was given to Larynx. He has regained his composure, his calm is assured. No time to panic, no time to panic, he kept thinking to himself, Okay maybe panic a bit, but I have to go meet with... The heads... His smile has returned, though he just wanted to groan.

"Protector, a Queen's Guard regiment is approaching the building." Hanx warned, staring out of the window, though he seems to be staring around to spot any other possible threats. Protector Larynx slowly inched his way to the window, staring right outside of it.

Boy, I could get shot here. The bloody garrisons are not numerous enough to ensure complete safety... Larynx mentally complained as he kept his smile up. It was cracking a bit, as he looked down to see the dozens of Queen's Guards coming into the building he was in.

A knock was being made at the door, each individual one making Larynx's exoskeleton tingle with anxiousnesss.

"Come on, Protector, the Obersturmführer might be here. Wouldn't want her to catch you off guard." Hanx said, as the knocking started to get faster.

"I wouldn't want her to catch me at all." Larynx complained with a cheerful smile, as he slowly stepped to his seat. It was at the end of the table, it would denote him as the leader of the upcoming discussions, but Larynx knew better than to assume that he'll be able to lead anything. The knocking was getting outright hostile.

It was a silly seating arrangement.

Larynx was sitting, window on his back, as he had his big giant smile, trying to seem relaxed and confident. It fooled no one in that room. He stared at the other changelings, for they will be his only hope for now.

There was Hanx, the most loyal one in there, the captain of the guard. He used to be a Jäger, so he isn't really pleased about being a glorified police chief. Nevertheless, out of all the changelings, he was the most professional.

There was Klein, an oddly named changeling, wearing the most GOOFY looking top hat. It was downright nearly too large for his head. Not to mention that it barely on his head. He seemed the most aloof, but there's greed in those eyes. Larynx was doubtful that he will be much of a help.

And then, dreadfully, there was the Queen's Guard's leader in the Austral Region... Elytra, a spiteful changeling, always out to control something. Not to mention her capacity to flaunt her accomplishment, she's wearing her uniform full of her medals, an obscene amount that must have felt awkward to walk around with, much less the clicks and the clacks it must have made.

Larynx smiled at her, even though he was in a bit of a panic right now. He looked at her many medals, as he started to remark something to ease the tensions. "Welcome, Elytra. I noticed that you are a Hauptsturmführer now, congratulations on the promotion." He leaned back, hoping that the wooden chair would absorb his worries.

"Oh thanks, it helps being an actual captain to an actual military force right now." Elytra mocking said, swirling her head to give a toothy grin at Hanx, who seems to still not care for her mockeries. Sadly for Larynx, the easing of tensions couldn't last, as Elytra turned her head quickly and moved into his personal space. "So. Why did you call me? And why did you call the war profiteer? Is this some kind of ploy? Do you think you can take us both out?"

Hanx hovered his gun up a bit, as Elytra stared at him with a smug grin, much to his indifference. Larynx held his hoof up a bit, waving it to try to call Hanx off. "Now now, Hanx, she's just joking." He said, as he looked at Elytra with his unwavering smile. "Can we please wait for the-"

Sadly for Larynx, the true menace has arrived. The sound of something sharp being slowly dragged across concrete can be heard outside the door, as Elytra gave a sigh. Larynx looked pleadingly at her. "Please. Please tell me you did not call her here too." Larynx said, his smile shaking as it tried to maintain itself.

The look she gave back to him was NOT reassuring him, "While she is not a Queen's Guard anymore, she is still a... Capable? Reliable?" Elytra groped at the words, before giving up, "Okay she is none of those things, but I had no way to prevent her from coming here, honest." Elytra said, clearly lying about that last part.

Right before Larynx can prepare himself, the door started to knock, gently. Right before anyone would have reasonably opened it, a metal shard was lodged into it, the sounds of something dangerous and monstrous was heard. Hanx gave out a hiss, walking right up to the door. With a deep breath, unlocked the door.

The door was flung open, as the room was filled with the overwhelming emotion of dread. While it is true that changelings can sense emotions, they can equally be forced into experiencing an emotion if the situation allows it. Larynx wanted to jump out of the window and just fly to a hole, a safe hole, far from this damned city, and that damned beast at the door.

"You pieces of manure, you loathsome dog, you harlot, you ignorant bastard," A changeling came inside, shouting. She was short, her chitin was cracked, she was having trouble walking due to having one of her limbs cut mangled into a claw, and she seemed to be the most fearsome thing here. "Stupid pig, cowardly weasel, ugly cow, and MISERABLE PONY! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, LARYNX! YOU BASTARD, WHY DIDN'T YOU SEND ME A BUCKIN' LETTER TOO?!"

Larynx was frozen in place, as stiff as a bored, stuck in his dumb smile. He did not DARE to move as the short changeling turned her attention to him.

"The QUEEN demanded you to have TWO bodyguards at all times, the QUEEN demanded that you have one from the Queen's Guard as well, the QUEEN will get her way, you traitor, I should have you shot!" She kept on shouting as she stood right next to Larynx. Ripping some of his precious paperwork while she's at it.

"For the love of... Meister Sphecidae. Stop being a grub." Hanx tried to calm the crazed clawed changeling down, but it seems he only pissed her off more.

"First of all, I am to be called the CLAW! Second of all, MEISTER?!" She yelled enough to make everyone cover their ears for a bit, "I am an Obersturmführer, I will forever be an Obersturmführer, I will never be anything BUT an Obersturmführer, you hear me, bucking Hanx, I will bury your fangs and kiss your decapitated skull before I ever stop being an Obersturmführer!" She ranted right back at him. "I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"

"You aren't an Obersturmführer anymore." Elytra corrected, trying to make things worse on purpose. She earned a glare from the crazed one, much to her delight. "Besides, Hanx here is your captain now, you should be listening to him." Elytra tried to calmly explain now, though the changeling she was addressing was hissing, scratching up the table a bit, further ruining the paperwork.

A long moment of silence was slowly dawning, as changelings glared at each other, before finally Larynx gave a cough and shook his head. Larynx started to search for the letter in the pile of ripped paperwork now, "Ah, let's.. Let's move on, cause I have something important to tell you all. A decree from the Queen."

The 'Claw' froze in place, before glaring at Larynx and practically headbutting him. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THE QUEEN SENT A DECREE?!"

"I WAS- I was getting to that." Larynx nearly lost his smile as he pushed her from his personal space. "The Queen has finally wished to introduce the love tax to all of her provinces." Finally he seemed to gain some kind of true confidence as he straightened up and explained the news. "The hegemony needs a lot of love and her gracious majesty decided to reward us with the task of retrieving some for her."

Larynx knew he was using too much praises, but he was in the presence of the Queen's Guard, even the smallest of slights against the Queen would earn an on the spot execution, probably even having his body burned to mere ashes later. "It is why her delightfulness has asked us for a million units of love in three months." Even the Queen's Guards were a bit stunned by the amount, only Elytra and the crazed changeling seeing the amount as reasonable.

"So what? You want us to round up some of the ponies around? Baltimare was 2 million strong before we conquered it, it still has a million now. Not to mention the other cities." Elytra dismissively said, leaning back on her chair.

Hanx slowly read the data, before tapping at one of the charts. "It is actually now a mere seven hundred thousand now." He tapped on another, "Tenochtitlan? Cut in half from a million." And another, "Stableside? Two hundred thousand. We slaughtered them down to THAT number. All the way from a million." He glared right at Elytra. "We are NOT in a good position right now."

With a dismissive roll of the eyes, Elytra simply started to tap at the charts as well. "Well that's more than enough then, we'd cover the tax one, and a half to spare." She then scratched the paper with her hoof. "Even if we don't get that much willing people to give their love, we can easily drain them to their last breath. You should know that draining something to their last drop should net atleast twice the units."

"Are you insane? We'd basically be dooming ourselves in the future if we do that, not to mention that we have ourselves to feed as well." Hanx retorted, he seemed to wanted to talk some more, but Larynx held his hand up.

My hoof is getting stiff... Larynx mentally complained, at very least he had SOME control over the conversation.

Klein coughed a bit, adjusting his hat. "I got an idea... How about you entrust me with some guards? If we can get the rubber plantations running, we can easily make a profit, perhaps even offset that love tax with some good ol' fashion bits." He smirked at his words. "Of course, we'd need workers. Let's start with changelings first, then we'll move on to the locals."

This earned a glare from Elytra, "Oh that's just lovely, invite more changelings here, that sure will work. We'll get them to see the jungle, you know, that one still filled with bat ponies. Brilliant idea." She grumbled, "Whatever, the Queen's Guard won't help you in this, you'll have to get little Hanx's guards to help you instead."

She glared at Hanx, knowing that he was already glaring at her. "We are here to keep the cities in order, not the dumb Tartarus pit known as the jungle out there." She made an excuse, a good one, as it made Hanx grumble.

"And I am most pleased by your help. I hope to see us through these three months, before..." Larynx said, trying to not seem so sarcastic even though he was. He noticed that the crazed changeling was breathing down his neck, literally, as he looked to the side to stare at her. "...Yes? Something the matter?" He asked after seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Let me deal with the jungle-" She started, before Larynx simply shook his head. Nope, nope, NOPE! Larynx mentally screamed, NOPE! NOT FAILING FOR IT AGAIN, YOU CRAZY 'LING!

"Please, no, seriously, no, the last time you 'dealt' with something, you killed ten ponies and one changeling. You broke one of the panzers, and you nearly KILLED ME!" Larynx shouted, his smile faded for a second, before finally returning as he composed himself. "Besides... You have the prison to manage..."

She ranted under her breath, hissing a bit, but not arguing as she stared out the window, glaring with hatred at some of the regular guards outside. Larynx sighed with relief, looking down at the charts as he started to figure out a plan. Soon he would notice Elytra standing up as she started to turn around. "Hm? Going somewhere? We haven't figured out a plan-"

"The deadline's in three months, and I have my own plans to attend to." The Queen's Guard leader said, as she squinted at Hanx. "Besides, you have your captain of the 'police' here, Protector. He answers to you, but we? We answer to the Queen, and only the Queen." She trotted her way out. "Go ahead and hire your dumb investors and beg for help, we'll be busy keeping the Queen's Peace."

As the sounds of clicks and clacks from the medals was muted from the distance, Klein simply stood up as well as he tipped his hat. "I'll make the deal, but you'll have until the end of the week to actually decide if you wanna sign it. Else I'm just going to get mercenaries to help me tame that jungle." Klein said, as he made his way out the door, a bit faster, uncomfortable with the clawed one being so close.

And soon Larynx was left with only his bodyguards. Hanx gave out a hiss, closing the door, glaring at the hole that SOMELING made. "So. That was not useful at all." Hanx grumbled as he started to arrange the paper work again. "All that amounted to was us telling the Queen's Guard that we have nothing under control. We also made the Capitalist put us under pressure with that last minute deadline thing he pulled off." Hanx gave a small hiss, "Everything is fucked"

"PROFANITY!" The crazed clawed one said, but she was ignored by the two.

"So what's the plan?" Hanx asked, stepping close to Larynx, "We're too far gone from the capital to expect them to bail us out if the locals in city decide to toss in another revolution, we're too spread thin to defend ourselves from the locals in the jungle, and I'm pretty sure even if we do make the love tax work, we'll basically be killing our chances for the end of the YEAR."

"I do not know," Larynx spoke honestly. "I am more worried about the.. Well, the 'dogs' at the gates, lacking a better metaphor." He stared at the map of the Austral Region with contempt. "As you said, this region is just a big bomb waiting to blow up again... And with the Queen having taken half of our garrison to help control her personally held provinces..."

Before Hanx can offer some advice, the crazed one tapped at the window, wobbling jamming her claw onto the floor. "Enemies can easily be made into servants." She stared at the two of them. "Why don't we try the collaboration route? Butter the communists? Seduce the lunatics in the jungle? By the hole, probably even trick some of the remaining resistance fighters to just help us."

Larynx was a bit taken aback from the suggestions of the mad one. While collaborations was a method of control in most of the Hegemony, in the Austral region, it would be very unthinkable. The region is filled with die hard resistance fighters, communists that hate the monarchy that the changelings are built upon, anarchists that just plain hate the state that the changelings brought, and bat-ponies who hate anyone that isn't them. Only the mad would ever think this would be possible... And yet...

"This is our only option..." Larynx said, grumbling as he stared at Sphecidae, glaring at her a bit as she smiled back, he hated this part of her. She seems to always switch her moods on the random. "...I need you to try to linger around the edges of the jungle, and the forests around Baltimare and all the other settlements around it."

"I live to serve. I'll kill to survive. I'll die to-" She was practically being pushed outside by Larynx, he didn't fear her when she was being strange in this manner, he just felt annoyance. He gave a loud sigh as he locked the door.

Well. Time for plan Purple Red. Larnyx thought as he turned around, staring right at his only not clinically insane bodyguard. "Hanx, I need you to most loyal uh.. Well, anyling, really. I need to you prod the cities, see if there is any shot at collaboration. Do not seem to friendly, lest the Queen's Guard mistake you for a pony sympathizer."

Hanx gave a salute, though he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with the orders. "Will do, though I do not have much hope for those ponies. They are a loathsome species."

"A loathsome species. Filled with love" Larynx retorted before thinking to himself.

And quite possibly my only hope to uphold the tax.

Author's Note

First time making a fanfic.
This based on Equestria at War, mostly based on the Pax Chrysalia path. I was just wondering how much it would SUCK to lead the Austral Protectorate.