Dawn's new day.

“It has finally happened my dear changelings. We have won.” Chrysalis. Was of course referring to the fact that she had managed to kill, destroy, or take over every other changeling hive on the Equestrian continent. This left her hive with no more rivals and just a few hive-less lings that would die off without a hive mind. Sure there might be hives across the ocean but this was of little concern for now.

“There are no more rival hives for us to conquer and..” the Queen found herself interrupted by a random drone stepping forward with a newspaper in its mouth.

“Um, My Queen?” The drone shook excessively as it gently set the paper at her hooves. It knew it probably wasn’t going to survive but someling had to tell her.

“What?” She hissed out and narrowed her slit eyes. “What could be so important to intrude on my inspirational speech to the hive?” It was really just to a few drones as everyling else was working and listening through the organized hive mind, if it could be called that.

Considering how warped the queens mind was it of course effected the hive mind and her changelings as a whole.

“Here my Queen.” The drone gingerly pushed the newspaper forward then backed out of the way as she began reading.

“Two personal student’s of princess Celestial announced at the gala. Bla bla bla. Along with a… new royal consort that happens to be a changeling princess?” The queen tossed the paper aside. “Why did you bring me this drivel when…” her brain slowly caught up to what she just read.

”Changeling Princess?!?”

She grabbed the paper back up in her magic and read the article a second time with more care.

“Skitter2 get in here!” She both shouted once finished and sent a message through the hive mind as well. Moments later a frantic drone landed in front of her queen.

“Ye-ye-yes my queen?” Skitter2 knew exactly what happened to the previous Skitter when the queen was yelling like this.

“Tell me something. Did you or did you not tell me that we were the last changeling hive in Equestria? That I, in all my glory had finally managed to wipe out all those inferior bugs.” Chrysalis paced back and forth but never took her eyes off Skitter2.

“I-I-I did my queen since the scouts found no other hives we must be the last hive left.” She hastily replied.

“Then why, oh why? Was I just brought a Newspaper, of all bucking things, that says otherwise. It says~ there’s another changeling princess out there living it up in Canterlot without a care in the world. Tartarus she isn’t even hiding anymore and is dating the pony princess!.” Chrysalis looked Skitter2 dead in the eye. “Hmm?” Her voice was dripping with condemnation.

“I do-don’t know my queen.” Skitter2 covered her head with her forehooves and broke down crying.

“Come now. No need for that.” The queen began stroking the back of Skitter2’s head and spoke with a honeyed tone of a mother to her child. “Shh, It’s not your fault.”

“It-it’s not?” Skitter2 looked up hopefully until the queen lit her horn. In the blink of an eye Chrysalis fired off a blast and killed the nameless drone that had brought her the newspaper.

“Find me any information on this new princess!” Chrysalis Yelled out to her hive before returning to petting the shivering Skitter2. The poor, named drone had no idea what was going on but she was still alive and she thanked the ancient hive mothers for that. “And clean up this mess!”

“Is this real?” A nameless drone asked their companion.

The second drone nodded. “I don’t know why she would reveal herself though.”

“Maybe to save us?” A third happily buzzed.

“What?” Asked a fourth.

“She’s right. Think about it. That mad queen has destroyed so many hives that hiding is pointless so she went public and as the mare friend of the Sun princess no less.” A fifth ling, a den mother replied.

“Ohh.” The group all nodded.

“Yeah.” Buzzed the first. “By going public all of us who are scattered can join her hive instead of the mad queen’s.”

“Or dying.” The second looked downcast. They were all already showing signs of degradation from losing their connection to a hive mind.

“Yeah~, so should we go to Canterlot?” The third asked.

There were a few moments of debate before all the gathered changelings hidden inside an abandoned house made up their minds. They would leave Manehattan and beg to join Imago’s Canterlot hive.

“Imago is everything alright?” Celestia asked her love bug as they laid in bed. It had been a few days since the gala and their big announcement of dating each other. Imago’s own nymphs could now visit the castle as they wish though typically remained in the hive. Alicia and the other three would also soon be enrolled in school so ponies could acclimate to changelings and to improve the hive mind.

“I don’t know. It’s been a few days since the newspaper went out and yet no other changeling queen has come forward to speak with me.” Imago was highly concerned that she hadn’t been contacted already. “At least one should have come in disguise by now or sent an ambassador drone.”

“I take it this isn’t normal?” Celestia tilted her head.

“Oh yes. They would either come to congratulate me on becoming your consort and proposing an alliance with my hive or to challenge me to a duel for breaking our secrecy policy.” Imago signed and had trouble not buzzing her wings.

Celestia pulled her partner close and gave her a hug and kiss. “Well no matter what happens we do it together. When is the last time you’ve seen another hive?” Celestia knew she had been in Canterlot and watching over the castle for a while.

Imago tapped her chin. “Not since I left my mother’s hive around four hundred and fifty years ago. Only full queens with a hive get invited to the council and rogue drones don’t last very long. Standard procedure is to send one of my grown children to my last hive or a sister’s hive to formally announce my hive formation. I honestly took a long time to make a hive so I’m not up to date on current changeling events.”

Celestia was shocked that there was an entire hidden civilization that was older than Equestria. Contrary to popular knowledge she was much older than the founding of Equestria but even her memory wasn’t perfect.

“So should we keep the guard on alert?” Celestia broke from her own thoughts as she became worried.

“No. Changelings don’t do war as it sours the love sharing. We’re actually very diplomatic.” Imago nuzzled her partner. “For the most part.”

Chrysalis growled. All of her plans had gone up in flames after reading that newspaper. Years of hard work making sure only her hive survived so she could become the ultimate queen and horde the love of her subjects without question. “Fuck. Why does nothing ever go right. Always dealing with incompetent underlings. Low love harvesting levels. Almost getting caught replacing ponies.” She kicked a wall that morphed around her hoof so she didn’t even get the satisfaction of breaking it.

“Gah.” She continued to ramble in anger before a thought struck her. She then smiled menacingly. “Why do I have to change my plans? This new queen will rally all the survivors and then I can crush them in a few years when I enact my master plan.”

She pulled out a binder labeled ‘princess of food’ filled with photos and information on Cadence. “It will still be a perfect day.”