Xenobiologist(s)

In the upper underground levels of the hive lies a very special cavern which hasn’t been visited by a changeling since the days preceding the infamous invasion of Canterlot. Due to the vast majority of the changeling species having been wiped out in its wake, the area in which this cavern is situated became impossible to defend against the creeping infestation or rock worms -train-sized, armored beasts capable of tunneling through solid rock as if it was sand- and was rendered inaccessible. Only over the past year and a half, originally thanks to a bold plan thought up by 10k consisting of 99856 devising a highly pressurized and extremely corrosive acid bomb, 99066 baiting a rock worm into eating it and fleeing in time, has the rock worm territory been slowly reclaimed, one dead worm at a time. Thankfully, drones didn’t have to do any of the work, with the exception of making more bombs, past the first attempt, as baiting and then exploding the heads of the rock worms quickly became a bonding exercise between the ranked changelings and their Queen. Normally, it’s 156’s job to relay Her Majesty’s orders regarding the hive’s operations, yet once the area was deemed secure, the drones were called again by Chrysalis herself to re-excavate this cavern with the explicit order for the few still alive pre-invasion drones to not tell anyone what this place was used for.

No reason to sow the seeds of fear and discontent, after all.

Chrysalis bends low when the tip of her horn grinds against the ceiling of the roughly hewn tunnel opening the cavern in question, and enters into the only marginally more spacious area where she can at least stand up straight. With a flick of her head, three green flares shoot out of her horn and light up the cavern, revealing what looks like an open bulb of a dried-up and dead flower. The spread “petals” are baked into the floor, their edges fading into fractal tendrils burrowed into the rock. The center is round and large enough for a pool into which several ponies could comfortably fit, if the see-through membrane forming the floor wasn’t revealing a dark green, muscular hole suspiciously resembling a throat.

“Hmph!” the Queen huffs in disappointment that’s clear to 156 who enters the small cavern the second Chrysalis’ backside stops corking up the tunnel mouth. Finally seeing clearly, 156 grits her teeth, frowning.

“The Reconstitution chamber? This is what you wanted to show me?” asks the infiltrator, “387 told me stories about the past, how you-”

“Experimented on changeling genetics in order to control what traits they’d hatch with? Yes, I did that a lot,” Chrysalis nods.

“Mostly about how you created the Silents,” says 156 coldly. While she’s loyal to the core, something can be understood but not so easily forgiven, “How did I not sense any hive mind traffic regarding this from the drones? Digging this damn place out is THE one thing that could shatter the drones’ trust in you. Did you order drones to excavate this area in secret and wipe their memories after?”

“387 is an incorrigible blabbermouth…” Chrysalis rolls her eyes, “No, 156, I did no such thing. 10k knows about this, and believes that I have no reason to use the Reconstitution chamber to punish drones like I used to when I was still ‘evil’. I just asked it not to tell anyone about this particular aspect of the past.”

“No, you don’t get to use the hoof quotes this time, Your Majesty,” 156 looks Chrysalis sternly in the eyes, “For holes’ sake, even I remember this place only as The Crusher, and that’s their expression. Throwing drones and any other unsuccessful changeling into that damn thing while it slowly dissolved them alive and all their friends were forced to watch and listen in both physical realm and the hive mind wasn’t quote-unquote evil it was capital letters MONSTROUS.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to. It helped keep the inevitable uprisings less frequent,” Chrysalis shrugs and starts walking around the room, poking the rock-solid ‘petals’ with her hoof from all angles, “Besides, we’re not here to resume using it for punishment. That’s not what it’s for anyway.”

“You did also promise 387 to never again use it for genetic manipulation,” adds 156, growing curious as she walks over to the center and looks through the membrane into the ‘throat’, because to her it feels as if the thing has a mental signature. Weak, barely possible to sense in the hive mind, but it’s there. It must be noticeable now only due to being up close and with so little hive mind traffic compared to the pre-invasion times.

“I never did that! I’m not that stupid,” Chrysalis puts a hoof on her chest, pretending to be hurt by 156’s words, “I very specifically promised to never again make something like the Silents which, like the punishments, I absolutely don’t intend to repeat either. There’s no need for it anyway, times are way different now.”

Silents - changeling drones who, during the egg phase, had love directed away from their brains and into the growth of their bodies. They were tougher and stronger than normal drones, albeit still smaller and weaker than normal changelings, and they still could use their digging power. The trade-off was that they were near-mindless golems only able to follow simple orders.

They did such a great job breaking the magic shield as front-liners during the invasion.

“Though I don’t know why you’re complaining so much,” Chrysalis smirks, continuing, “Smiley turned out better than anyone could have ever hoped. We could use more like her.”

“Your Majesty!” 156 leans back as if struck.

“That was a joke, 156,” Chrysalis pats 156’s head as she passes her while finishing her circle around The Crusher, “For complete transparency, I do intend to grow a new Reconstitution chamber eventually. The only better way to control the attributes of changelings is for me to carry their eggs to term myself, and I don’t want to ruin my perfect figure. We might be extremely lucky, though, because this one is still alive and almost ready for one last hurrah.”

“Alive might be a massive overstatement…” 156 pokes the nearest fossilized leaf tendril which crumbles under her hoof.

“That’s exactly what we want,” Chrysalis allows herself a predatory smile while winking at 156.

“I don’t understand. Wouldn’t you want this thing in perfect shape, even for one last use… whatever that may be?” 156 holds the Queen’s gaze, her curiosity growing. Now that the opening shock is gone, curiosity is taking over.

Chrysalis isn’t a Queen stuck in the past and hasn’t shown any of her old desire to take over Equestria, so what’s her game?

“Obviously you don’t understand. You can’t,” she nods towards the tunnel mouth, “Walk and talk. We’re done here for now,” her voice strains as she shuffles with bent knees through a way too small tunnel again, “I’m going to tell you something and I hope you appreciate how much I trust you by sharing it.”

“I already feel honored,” the infiltrator follows her through the hole again.

“Don’t use the fact that I can’t turn around and reach you to snark at me, 156.”

“You’ve been talking around the issue so much that I just couldn’t help myself, Your Majesty. Do you need my help in pushing you forward? Your backside barely fitting into this hole is the most concrete proof that the hive is doing better than ever before.”

“Fine, smartass- not the best choice of words there, I admit,” Chrysalis lowers her voice just in case. She can’t sense anyone other than 156 nearby, but some risks are not worth taking, “From what I’ve pieced together, there is a special survival instinct built into every single changeling, no matter the class or power. If the changeling is alone -Not just on their own, but in a situation where their entire body and mind accept they might be the last changeling alive. Or possibly it’s area-based, this isn’t something you can just experiment with- this instinct will gradually turn them into a royal able to build a new hive. It’s the final failsafe against the extinction of our species.”

156 puts two and two together, confirming yet again that her second-in-command has always been the best one for the job.

“The Reconstitution chamber has a hive mind link and it was still here while everyone else was dying in Canterlot. Do you think it can… grow to be a Queen or something? No, wait! It exists to manipulate our genetic material - you think it can grow a new Queen or some super-changeling?”

“Close,” Chrysalis spits out some dust she swallowed while talking and creeping in the narrow tunnel, “Through my experiment with Silents we know it can make modified drones who still have their overpowered nonsense digging power. Since it exists to help me build new changelings from ground up, imagine how interesting things would become if it, in its final instinctive throes, distilled something that would allow me to create new changelings of all classes who could dig.”

“One - it would make protecting you from any potential uprising near-impossible. Two - making infiltrators spend their days disintegrating rocks and shoveling away residue would also make such an uprising inevitable. Frankly, if you made me do it for long enough, I’d try to assassinate you out of sheer boredom.”

“Hah!” Chrysalis lets out a single, sharp laugh, “I wouldn’t blame you. However, It is called the Reconstitution chamber because it can also modify an existing changeling. For example, just goopballing here, a changeling of sufficient power could gain the digging ability or some other skill we don’t know about because it was lost to time. Unfortunately, it’s also both incredibly dangerous to use in that way and one is exceedingly vulnerable during the process, because your body is basically sludge and your mind is only loosely stored inside the hive mind.”

“I could be the test subject,” offers 156 immediately.

“And they keep telling me to keep my ego in check…” Chrysalis shakes her head, “156, you may be the most powerful changeling of the current hive, barring myself or possibly 387. In the old hive, you could probably even break into the top fifty, but you are nowhere even remotely close to surviving a total reconstitution. Old 1 could do it on her own, maybe even most from the top ten if they got a little lucky, top twenty at best if they got help, but anyone else would end up like the drones I sacrificed in hopes to regain the key to their digging powers. The fear that kept everyone in line because I chose to do it in the most horrific way possible was just a useful side-effect.”

156 looks back towards the chamber with a wistful sigh.

“For a moment, I was hoping for a way to get stronger,” her voice grows warmer as she’s walking behind Chrysalis, taking the tone of someone walking to a trusted friend and a guide, “I feel like I’m stagnating and there’s no one within the hive to test me. Excluding you, of course. Not that I miss the constant paranoia and power struggles of the old days, but it was how the top ranks got so… larger than life.”

“156, you’re an infiltrator. You’re not making me safer with your muscles or combat skills, you’re making me safer with your head, and that’s an area where you can always improve. Self-control, discipline, efficiency, awareness - there’s nothing more that a changeling needs, and there are ways to improve those without having to fight for your life every day,” Chrysalis flicks her tail and pats 156’s head with it, “Tell the drones to bring love crystals to the Reconstitution chamber and lay those out in a manner I’ll show you. It’ll take some time to wake it up and, in the meantime, I’ll think of how we’re going to use its final charge.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” 156 nods, “Now that we’re talking about it, do you know why only drones can use the digging power?”

“The first few generations of changelings could freely learn to use magic just like unicorns. An ancient Queen used magic to genetically lock the disintegration-on-touch into drones,” replies Chrysalis after a moment of hesitation. In the end, however, what does it matter if 156 knows?

“A Queen more powerful than you?”

Chrysalis pauses, yet the same thought as before returns - what does it change if 156 knows?

“Yes, Haze was the most powerful changeling Queen to have lived and likely to ever live. On an unrelated subject - you are intent on testing me today, aren’t you?”

“It’s in the hive’s interest to test you now and then, just in case the evil thoughts return.”

They finally reach the end of the narrow tunnel and enter the new, smooth-walled, rebuilt corridors shaped like upwards-narrowing rectangles that can easily fit the Queen and 156 side by side. Chrysalis stops and stretches with a pleased moan.

“Ahhh, that felt great. Even if I was evil again, I wouldn’t be throwing drones into the crusher in hopes it would unlock their genetic code anymore. Well, maybe the ones wounded beyond help or some really annoying ones, but not whole mining sections if one failed to meet the quota. It’s just not worth being able to instantly destroy any material or energy field on touch when I can make drones arm a bunch of ranked changelings with acid bombs that, if we leave 99856 unsupervised for long enough, I’m certain will do almost the same thing. Possibly worse and at long range.”

“I wonder why just changing into a drone doesn’t do it.”

“I wondered about it myself, and I think it’s because the same instinct that allows you to change into a rock without being a geologist was removed by Haze. You could try to perfectly copy a drone, but that means you’d have to change your brain into a drone’s and that would make you unable to think properly, understand what you did and, quite likely, turn back. In short, you would become a drone.”

“Good point.”

Chrysalis turns her head and playfully sticks her tongue out at 156.

“Of course it is. I am the Queen, after all.”

156 rolls her eyes, but can’t help cracking a smile as well.

***

“Finally, some proper shade!” exclaims Twilight Sparkle in relief as the black, porous hill of the changeling hive comes into view enough for her to be sure it’s not a mirage, “Even my sweat is sweating,” she shakes her head to get the beads of liquid trickling down from her mane out of her eyes.

Her two companions - Gloom, a toned, brown-maned, dark coated bat pony mare with amber eyes, and 3012, a standard changeling warrior with no distinguishing features who picked the Canterlot duo at Dodge Junction train station, exchange looks.

“It’s not that bad,” comments Gloom, wearing nothing but a white hood and cloak, sunglasses, and carrying two standard saddlebags as well as a backpack, “And I don’t think it’s the heat that’s the problem, rather you carrying an entire workshop on your back, Your Highness,” she takes a jab at Twilight’s cargo harness containing five bulging backpacks, four hanging from her sides like saddlebags and an enormous one on Twilight's back, “On top of that, you’re not used to being outside, are you?”

When Twilight frowns at Gloom, the bat pony just smiles back innocently. While taking pot shots at the decade younger princess is easy, Gloom has to admit that Twilight, while looking somewhat out of shape, has been carrying a weight that would seriously inconvenience an earth pony stallion for the whole day’s trip from the Badlands’ edge in this summer heat. Nightguard training or not, there are physical limits a normal pony can’t overcome, and Gloom is fully aware that she wouldn’t be able to carry Twilight’s cargo in this weather for this long without rest.

“I’m not used to being in a desert-like environment without magic!” huffs Twilight, breathing heavily and blinking away sweat but pressing on like she’s being the entire day.

“How about you try casting your spell again, Princess Sparkle?” suggests 3012, seemingly entirely unbothered by the blistering heat.

“Hmmm…” Twilight looks around.

Nothing has changed since we got a little deeper into the Badlands, but they wouldn’t know. There’s something weird about ambient magic here, but I won’t figure out more until I set up my equipment.

“Why not, Your Highness?” Gloom joins in.

Twilight concentrates. Where her horn should become enveloped with a smooth, purple aura, it lets out a wild flash of purple glow. The Princess’ eye twitches as the feedback of magic shoots out spikes of migraine behind her eyes. For a moment, a purple dome materializes above the trio before-

*Boom!*

-it scatters into a horizontal shockwave and vanishes. Twilight shakes her head.

Still impossible to retain the control of the spell, although it's not as bad as when I tried casting it after we entered the Badlands. Perhaps whatever is causing the magic surges is weaker around the hive? Maybe it’s some kind of barrier of wild magic that’s strongest at the Badlands' edge?

“Are you okay, Princess Sparkle?” 3012 tries to be helpful for the hundredth time since they met, “I can help you with your bags.”

“No, I’m fine. I may not look anywhere close to my friend Applejack, but I’m stronger than Big Mac- you have no idea who I’m talking about, do you?” Twilight shakes her head, “Nevermind, and don’t call me Princess Sparkle, please. Just Twilight is fine, really. Finally, to expand on your observation, Miss Gloom - books aren’t usually stored outside, and sunlight damages most common variants of ink,” she adds, looking from 3012 to the bat pony, “And I get that a changeling isn’t bothered by the heat, but how are you so okay with all-” she waves her hoof around, encompassing the dry, cracked landscape of the Badlands, the air shimmering in the heat, and the overall similarity between this place and a desert, “-this?”

Gloom takes a deep breath.

She even talks as if reading from a list.

“Training and resource management, Your Highness. We, poor mortal Nightguards, can’t rely on a demigod physique, and have to prepare. We do desert survival drills at least twice a year with minimal equipment. White fabric deflects sunlight, and while you’ve drunk an entire bottle of water in three goes, I’ve been periodically sipping from mine. It’s all about pacing. Frankly, the worst part about all this is how bright the place is. I can’t wait to be inside.”

“Definitely can’t argue with that,” Twilight nods.

***

Despite Twilight sweating rivers, she still gives a courteous bow to the changeling on guard in front of what looks like the main entrance to the hive only because it’s the largest visible hole in the black hill and looks like it leads somewhere deeper.

“Her Highness, Twilight sparkle,” says 3012 in an official voice.

“Welcome to the hive, Your Highness,” the changeling guard bows, “I’m an infiltrator rank 2119. We didn’t know when exactly you were going to arrive, so we couldn’t time everything perfectly. Both Her Majesty and 156 are currently busy and I was instructed to show you around in case you arrived while they were gone. If it’s against a pony diplomatic protocol, we can wait in the throne room.”

Twilight’s curiosity immediately spikes.

The build of an infiltrator caste or class is sleeker and skinnier than that of a warrior like 3012. It’s a sample size of one, but I did notice these exact differences in physical build among Canterlot changelings as well.

“It’s no problem. The Queen and I have never been on the best of terms, although I hope her acquiescing to the exchange request is a step towards a warmer future, and I prefer my guide to a new culture being a normal pony- changeling anyway. It usually leads to a more authentic experience.”

“As you wish. Come with me,” 2119 nods. Without a word, 3012 takes the infiltrator’s palace as a gate guard surviving the harsh sun outside as the three enter the cool shade of the hive. The infiltrator looks at Gloom, asking: “Who is your companion, Your Highness?”

While it takes a moment for Twilight’s eyes to adjust after entering the dark atrium, her body feels the dramatic drop in temperature immediately, making her sigh in relief.

“Name’s Gloom,” the bat pony smiles at the infiltrator and shoots him a quick salute, “Bodyguard, research assistant, drone hugger extraordinaire.”

“You’ll like it here then. We have quite a few of those,” 2119 nods back, “As for business, we’re not exactly set up for guests, so we can accommodate you either in the throne room itself, or in one of the top-level caves nearby.”

“What about around here?” asks Twilight, pointing at one of the many changeling-sized holes threading the walls around and leading into darkness.

“This goes into a topic I’m not sure I’m allowed to talk about, but a non-changeling wouldn’t be able to navigate the surface level of the hive. You can ask Her Majesty if you want to, but whether you learn the reason or not, the end result will remain the same.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Yes. The surface level is a shifting place, so it’s highly likely you'd either get stuck somewhere without a way to call for help, or you’d have to break a wall to get out. Besides, there really isn’t much up here anyway, aside from the throne room. The real hive is underground.”

“We’ll take the cave then,” decides Twilight, “I need somewhere to set up my equipment and I wouldn’t want to clutter your throne room.”

“As you wish,” 2119 walks over to the right wall of the atrium, puts his hoof against it, and the wall splits into two and withdraws like a pair of curtains, revealing a wide tunnel leading underground, “This is how the surface level works. You’re not changelings, so you wouldn't be able to do this and you’d have to force your way through.”

“That’s amazing. How does it work?” asks Twilight immediately before catching herself, “Or is that the part you can’t talk about?”

“Correct,” says 2119, and leads the way down into complete darkness.

Gloom and Twilight exchange glances.

“Got a light spell bouncing somewhere inside that warehouse on your back, Your Highness?” suggests the bat pony.

The Princess frowns.

“Not even the best laid plans survive first contact. I was expecting many things, but not my magic going haywire. Let’s see,” she concentrates. It’s not about power. With the field of wild magic around, there’s more than enough usable energy to go around, which is the point. Keeping the spell stable is the real problem but, as far as magic is concerned, Twilight learns quickly, and within a few moments that feel much longer to the alicorn she conjures a flickering, barely stabilized glowing ball on top of her horn which makes 2119’s shadow jump and dance.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you in regard to visibility,” says the infiltrator, “Even without shapeshifting, our bioluminescent eyes give us enough light to see ahead, so we don’t use torches or anything. We can make glowing resin if we want to see further, but that costs us love so it’s mostly on a need-to-use basis.”

“I’m starting to think this would be a great new place for a Nightguard wilderness survival training,” comments Gloom and follows 2119 into the dim tunnel. Twilight’s light is giving off just enough visibility for the bat pony’s eyes to finally relax and stop burning after so long in direct sunlight.

***

After the full day of walking in the open, both Gloom and Twilight happily throw their bags off and start unpacking. The cave in which they’ll be staying is spacious and close enough to the main tunnel leading to the surface that they won’t get lost even on their own and without light. While Gloom simply throws her food and water supplies to the nearest wall, unrolls a bedroll and a sleeping bag, and immediately lies down, it’s clear that Twilight’s setup will take so much longer. Most of her massive backpacks are filled with what looks like machine parts, and only one remaining bag is survival supplies.

“I’m all for the comfort of home, but you didn’t have to bring an entire bed frame, Princess,” Gloom takes a jab at the alicorn who’s starting to build some kind of a metal construction as tall as she is.

“Har har, Miss bodyguard. How about you help me instead of lying over there?”

“I would, but with the only light being your horn that’s barely working as is, I’d either get blinded or get in the way.”

Twilight has to admit Gloom is right. If the cave was well-lit, they could work together but this way they just run the risk of losing screws or any other small bits and pieces. Thankfully, the cave isn’t particularly big, the walls and the floor are smooth, and there doesn’t seem to be any place where anything could roll away and get lost.

After a couple moments of thinking accompanied by the clanking of Twilight building stuff, Gloom gets up.

“Alright, time for the fun part,” she says, rummaging in her bags again, “Princess, I’m going to explore a bit and see if there are any drones around.”

“Miss Gloom, my plan is to do some environmental studies and observe the social life of the hive before interacting with the subjects at large-”

“Nnn-ope!” Gloom interrupts her, “Feel free to study rocks and dirt as much as you’d like, but I’m going to hug a drone and you’re not stopping me.”

“May I remind you that you’re here as a bodyguard and as a research assistant?”

“We both know the research assistant thing was so that you wouldn’t insult the changelings by suggesting you’d be in danger inside their home. Besides, from what I heard, the hive is massive, decentralized, and mostly empty, so you’re going to need somepony to scout ahead to find anything other than useless granite. Now that’s settled, my professional bodyguard's judgement is that I should be that somepony and if, by any chance, I happen to stumble upon a potential drone threat I must hug the bad ideas out of them immediately!” Gloom shuffles things between her saddlebags with a smile and finally settles on bringing only one with her.

Twilight sighs and her tone turns serious.

“I am the official guest here, Miss Gloom, so can also ask the changelings to limit your movement around the hive or have you sent back,” the alicorn catches the sudden metaphorical drop in temperature and Gloom’s death glare, “I don’t intend to do that, but I want us to come to an understanding. This is the first opportunity of anypony to research the changeling hive from the inside. Tainting the experiment results by interacting with the specimens-”

“NO!” hisses Gloom with a level of venom that makes even Twilight back off, “They aren’t specimens. They aren’t things to be studied. I’ve been 65536’s family since the explosion ending the Canterlot invasion shot it into Luna’s room, and the way the drones were treated by everyone from ponies to other changelings would make you throw up the protein bars you brought for the trip. You want to learn about them? Go talk to them. You want to kick me out? Go for it. I’ll find a new way to come here. When you’re begging Chrysalis for water two days from now because there are no streams or springs around here and you didn’t pack enough for the way back, we’ll see who has the last laugh.”

The Princess loses the staring contest against the suddenly downright rabid bat pony and looks away, masking it by searching through her bags again. She knew the trip here would be rough, but she didn’t think there wouldn’t be any water in the hive. What species can survive without water?

“Miss Gloom?” her voice softer, she levitates five small, elongated crystals from a bag as well as a rolled-up scroll which all float towards the bat pony, “I understand… a little, but our time here is limited, and I’m still going to need your help with my research.”

Gloom played her cards, bluffed, won, and is smart enough to not push her luck further, so she grabs the crystals and the scroll.

“What are these?” she asks in a controlled tone.

“Observation crystals. I won’t ask you to not interact with the hive’s inhabitants at large again, but if you find an area where they gather for social reasons, I need you to set those up so that the wider tip isn’t obstructed. I’ll have to gauge how or if my magic is going to work, but if it does I’ll be able to observe through them. The scroll is just an automatic map. I checked, it works. The wild magic prevents it from mapping details, working as a compass, or adding notes, but it still draws lines based on the direction you’re going. The main problem is that it can’t do levels. I’ll try to figure out how to change the mapping enchantment to work fully even under these conditions soon,” warming up her tone as she talks, Twilight ends with: “Do you need a light?”

Gloom shakes her head, packing the crystals and the map into the one saddle bag she chose for the first exploration.

“Got a lighter and some lasting matches for now. I’ll see if I can find something to make a torch out of. From what I heard, there’s more than just stone tunnels deeper in the hive, and the ones who know the most about it are the drones.”

As Gloom’s about to leave, Twilight calls out:

“Wait! We need a way to figure out if something went wrong.”

“I have a spare mechanical pocket watch with me in the side pocket of my backpack. It’s synced with the one I’m taking with me. If I’m not back in… five hours, give or take, contact a changeling.”

“That long?”

“Yes,” Gloom leaves the cave without a further explanation.

***

What am I doing? The Nightguard is my life. Luna wouldn’t want to kick me out but she owes Twilight a lot. It worked this time, but that’s the one screw-up I’m allowed. Now be a good mare, Gloom, make a good impression, and maybe you’ll score enough goodie points all around so that…

…so that Chrysalis lets you take a drone home.

Deeper into the tunnel a short distance away from their cave, Gloom allows herself a sigh of relief before trying to control her breath and stop herself from shaking. Mouthing off to an alicorn Princess like that could have just ended her guard career, but learning that Twilight sees the drones like some kind of objects to be studied reminded her too much of all she heard about Chrysalis treating them like resources to be used up, and she couldn’t control herself.

Once she’s finally calmed down, she finds the chill of cold, stone floor and walls seeping into her bottom and back. When did she even sit down?

Shaking her head to focus, Gloom spots something teal from the corner of her eye. When she looks deeper into the tunnel, however, there’s nothing.

Am I being watched by a changeling? It would make sense, if only for our safety.

She doesn’t want to call out and alert Twilight, so she finally gets to the exploration she’s supposed to be doing, and taps the horseshoes on her forelegs against each other. They spark into a buzzing, glow stick-like blue light which flickers just like Twilight’s spell but does neither fizzle out nor explode. It wouldn’t do anything for a normal pony other than faintly outline their hooves, but it’s enough for a bat pony to see a tiny bit ahead and, most importantly, not fall into a hole.

Hah! The light is weak as hay, but when she said the map spell still worked, I wondered if the enchanted horseshoes would too.

Emboldened, Gloom finally starts moving deeper into the tunnel until a bit of deeper darkness to the right reveals a branching path and the same pair of teal dots which quickly vanish when she looks.

“You’re a changeling and you just closed your eyes. I can see you,” she says calmly, “Hello there!”

“Miss Gloom,” a voice clearly disappointed in itself replies, “It’s me, 2119. I didn’t mean to unsettle you,” the changeling approaches her, “Her Majesty didn’t want us to limit your movement even on the first day, so I was just keeping an eye on you.”

“Glad to hear it. Can you tell me how I can get to the High Score Cavern?”

“How do you know about it?” 2119 raises an eyebrow.

“I’m a friend of 65536.”

“Riiight!” the infiltrator facehoofs, “I didn’t put two and two together. You’re the famous Nightguard lady.”

“Famous?” the corners of Gloom’s mouth curl up.

“65536 talks about you a lot during its visits. Little guy’s very fond of you.”

“And we all love 65536 too, that’s why I’d like to see more changelings like it.”

“You’re in luck then, we have lots, although 65536 is definitely the cream of the crop. However, most are working outside the HSC and the ones using the workshops in the back are better left alone during their shifts. Things can get explosive if they’re distracted.”

“I can wait or explore the place,” Gloom shrugs, “The Princess wants some soil and rock samples anyway.”

“I still need to keep an eye on you and Her Highness, and I can’t be in two places at once,” 2119 rubs his chin, “Ha! I might have an idea. Follow me.”

Wondering where this is going, Gloom lets the changeling lead the way and, after a moment, he explains things:

“I’m taking you to a ‘node point’, as we call them. They’re tiny, easily securable caves positioned between key points of the hive where we let drones sleep off physical exhaustion and wounds while they can still use their heads to make hive mind communication over long distances easier. I can be the node while looking out for Princess Twilight while the drone on hode duty can lead you down to the HSC.”

“That’s… really nice of you. Thank you,” says Gloom with a hint of surprise, “I wasn’t expecting this. Sorry to say it, but changelings in Canterlot aren’t exactly the welcoming sort.”

“I can only speak for myself, and since I’m the lower ranked infiltrator in the hive I’m usually just on gate guard with 3012 so I don’t get out much, but any friend of 65536 is a friend of mine.”

“You said you were keeping an eye on us. Is the hive that dangerous even up here?” asks Gloom while they’re walking.

“Not really,” 2119 shakes his head, “The only real danger is you and Her Highness getting lost. The lower you go the higher the chance of encountering dangerous creatures, though. We try to keep the main routes cleared out, but there are very few of us ranked changelings stationed in the hive, usually fifteen or fewer.”

“What? Fifteen?” Gloom raises her voice in genuine shock, “The entire hive is fifteen changelings and a hundred or so drones?”

“No, it’s not that bad. Most ranked changelings are on love-gathering missions to feed everyone here. Still, there aren’t many changelings at all, that’s true, but that’s the price of being stable and not starving.”

“There are more changelings in Canterlot according to the census than here…” mutters the Nightguard.

“It’s easier to get fresh love, I suppose,” 2119 shrugs as they reach a set of spiral stairs and descend sharply, “Careful, there are a lot of branching paths here.”

“In case I get lost, do you have any tips for me?”

“Sadly, not really. We orient ourselves using a hive mind map in our heads. My best tip is to try to find one of the new-style tunnels and stick to it whenever it leads upwards. If nothing, they mark the safer sections of the hive.”

“And those tunnels are…?”

“Any tunnel that looks like this one - smooth walls, anti-slipping ridges in the floor, high enough so that the Queen can walk through. Frankly, you really shouldn’t leave the new tunnels in the first place. Other than danger or depleted mineral shafts there’s nothing to find outside of those.”

“Thanks for the warning, it’s better than nothing.”

***

The entrance to the node point is just a hole roughly a quarter of Gloom’s height. In fact, it’s so small that not even a drone would get through without crawling. 2119 stops next to it, leans down, and says:

“Come out, 99732. There’s someone who wants to see you.”

Moments later, the small head of a drone peeks out of the hole.

“Hiii, little guy,” says Gloom softly and reaches out.

“Eee! A fluffer head!” the drone’s eyes open into a full, excited OO.

Gloom smiles from fuzzy bat ear to fuzzy bat ear immediately.

“Eep! A toothy fluffer head!” the drone’s muzzle immediately retracts back into the hole.

“Aww, I don’t bite.”

“Hey! I’m not one of the smart drones, but I know that’s what those big teeth are for,” the drone looks nervously at 2119.

“Miss Gloom will be staying in the hive for several days, 99732, and she’d like to have a look around. I’m taking over your shift, so you show her to the HSC,” explains the infiltrator, “If it worries you, as far as I know, bat pony teeth aren’t for biting changelings.”

“Plus, I wouldn’t dream of biting a cute drone like you, I mean,” Gloom kneels down by the hole to see eye to eye with 99732.

The drone measures her for a moment through eyes narrowed with suspicion from the safety of its hiding place before shrugging.

“Okay, I can’t run and I haven’t been crunched so the story checks out!” it finally crawls out of the hole where Gloom sits up, picks it up under forelegs, and raises it face to face.

“I am length…” muses the drone as if seeing itself stretched for the first time.

“So, little guy, how about you lead me to the High Score Cavern?”

“You’re a pony! How do you know about that anyway? Do ponies know about High Score too?”

“I’m a Nightguard like 65536,” Gloom pulls out the ace in her sleeve, “It told me a lot about your home.”

The drone points at her in an amazed realization as several pieces of information it’s heard over its short life click into place.

“I KNOW YOU! YOU’RE MISS GLOOM!” it exclaims as if it wasn’t just told the same thing a moment ago.

2119 clears his throat.

“HSC, 99732,” he repeats.

“Will do!” 99732, still completely fine with being held like a kitten, says, “Miss Gloom, we kinda have to walk slow or my squishy bits will start leaking out again.”

With chill suddenly running down Gloom’s spine, she puts the drone down with utmost care while simply saying:

“2119, I didn’t just make 99732’s wounds much worse, did I?”

“Not by letting it hang like that, no. You’ll see why down in the HSC. For context, 99732 got recently badly crushed by a cave-in. We don’t have medicine as such but we think it’s recovering. We never needed doctors, because-” the infiltrator stops himself, but Gloom knows the answer.

Because you either healed using love and shapeshifting or you ate any of your kind who were deemed too wounded to be worth the love spent saving them. And drones? Unable to work - recycled immediately.

“I know,” says the bat pony coldly after the infiltrator drifts off, “65536 told me everything about how life here used to be. Keywords - used to. I know things are slowly changing. I know you’re trying.”

“My squishy inside stuff was trying to escape from all my holes and cracks!” reports 99732 in a way too chipper tone considering the grim subject.

“I have a better idea then,” Gloom winks at it, “How about you ride on my back?”

“GASP! IMMA RIDE A FLUFFER PONY!”