Love Me

Chilek reluctantly followed Rainbow Dash to the reservoir. She could hardly do anything else, it would arise suspicion if she deliberately disobeyed one of Princess Celestia's Main Six and let Cloudsdale down at the same time. She soon found herself amongst a large crowd of pegusai.

"Most of you know what to do, you spiral around in a tight circle and then if enough of you do it, it creates a tornado that will turn into a waterspout and thus deliver the water to Cloudsdale. Let's roll. Do it for Celestia, do it for Equestria, do it if you want any water to drink in your Cloudsdale houses and have baths," Rainbow Dash told them. The pegusai, Chilek amongst them, took up their positions and spun around and around, faster and faster in an ever-tighter spiral. To Chilek, nothing either inside or outside the Hive, not even the one week a year that all Changelings not undercover practiced military maneuvers in case of war, had trained her for this sort of tight formation flying that was now expected of her. Changelings could certainly fly in formation, but apart from outright war (and her Hive had been at peace for decades) and for welcoming a new Queen at her coronation (and Changeling Queens had lives measured in centuries) it was not done.

If this goes on much longer, I think I'm going to pass out and crash.And if that happens I'll lose my false shape and be revealed in my true form. And what will happen to me then? Not execution, Equestria has no capital punishment in peacetime, but I'll end up in Foalsom Prison and wither away from lack of love, whilst Diamond Tiara will be at Silver Spoon's mercy. There was a loud gurgle and a sucking sound and the water whirled up into the tornado and from there to the Cloudsdale reservoir and an exhausted, dizzy and wet Chilek was able to at last stop spinning in circles. Rainbow Dash now had a huge smile upon her face. "Excellent, we did it the first time around this time. Fluttershy, you in particular have much improved since the last time you did this. Everypony, as a special reward you will have the rest of the day off unless an emergency breaks out. We could not have provided Cloudsdale with water without you."

Chilek made her way to the Ponyville mansion of the Spoon family. Even without Diamond's help she most likely would have found it as it was one of the largest places in Ponyville. But she found every window and every door had been shut and locked so there was no easy way in. Clearly Silver Spoon was no fool and had taken precautions against being kidnapped and replaced. Most houses at at least their small windows open in summer;not this one. She considered trying to get down a chimney but thought that even with her shape shifting abilities the chance of either getting stuck or injuring herself was rather high. She would wait for a chance to get Silver Spoon when she went to school or otherwise went outside. Surely Silver Spoon could not stay in her mansion forever. She decided to fly back to Diamond Tiara and tell her what had happened and her new plan to get around it, but on the way she saw Silver Spoon trotting along...with three other ponies.

One was clearly a servant, but the other two were fillies her own age. Her own age? I didn't think she had any other friends her own age apart from Diamond Tiara. This will make it a lot harder to slip into her life quietly, I think I'll need help from the rest of the swarm, but where are they?

She flew back to a worried Diamond Tiara and transformed back into Silver Spoon as soon as she had safely landed, feeling the love radiating off her girlfriend. "Bad news, Silver Spoon is on the watch. She so far has not gone out alone and I can't get into her mansion either as she's got it locked down tight. I'm going to need help from my fellow Changelings but first I will have to locate them. Whatever happens, I will be back and I will find you." She gave Diamond Tiara one last tender kiss on the lips, turned back to Pegasus form and flew out of the window, searching for the rest of the swarm. It would be a long flight that would take days but it would be worth it to help the love of her life.

*****
It had been three days since Queen Chrysalis and all her swarm, minus those left behind to guard the grubs and the Hive, had been thrown out of Canterlot by love magic. The Queen was not royal for nothing; she had been able to regain control over her body before she hit the ground and splattered. Most of her swarm was not so lucky...a few dozen had hit a lake and were unhurt;as many again had landed in trees and escaped with broken limbs or cracked shells but with their lives intact. For those who hit hard ground or rocks however, their broken bodies in deep pools of blood would never rise again.

This is an utter disaster...I've lost most of my swarm and a great food source in one go. And if the Queens of the other Hives find out...it'll be even worse. We Changelings do not often war against each other, but if a swarm suffers catastrophic losses from some other cause, it's not unknown for other Changeling swarms to take over the damaged swarms Hive, grubs and territory. So many dead or dying with nothing I can do for them as the love stocks are so low. And the grubs...the poor grubs, we won't be able to feed them all properly. There was the buzzing of wings and another Changeling flew over, landed, and bowed low. "Your Majesty, I discovered a rich love source, one of the rarest kinds. She found me when I was injured and near death and knowing I was a Changeling she went and healed me."

The Queen came over and tasted the smallest sip of the love Chilek had brought with her. Even as a Queen it was one of the best things she had ever tasted. She thought off the urge to drink deeply of it;she was a Queen, and she had a responsibility to her swarm and to the badly injured members most of all. She told Chilek "Use the love that you have brought to heal the dying and the most injured of the swarm, they need your love a lot more then me." Chilek waled over to a Changeling who was lying there in extreme pain, it's back cracked in several places and close to death. As she fed it the love, the cracks healed, and the pulverized internal organs healed up, such was the quality of the love that she brought. Seven more Changelings were healed in the same way before the love was used up.

"Who is this love source,who does not hate or fear Changelings?" the Queen asked.

"Her name is Diamond Tiara, and her father is one of the richest ponies in Ponyville. And her former best friend, Silver Spoon has started blackmailing her and wants to force her to do all sorts of things for her, some of them illegal, others deeply humiliating. But she is always around other ponies so I can't take her place."

"I grant you this, that you can take the Changelings that you healed and overpower this Silver Spoon and her friends. Take the cocooned bodies back to the Hive, we need all the love we can get now. Ask Diamond Tiara...if she would like to live unmolested in our Hive. We would protect her, keep her amused, find a way to keep her fed, and her love for you will feed the grubs without her needing to be cocooned. And perhaps I can siphon off a bit of that love too from time to time."