Five for the Hive

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Five for the Hive

by HypnoticGemini

It was one week after the royal wedding, and Twilight Sparkle’s life had pretty much gone back to normal. Princess Celestia was recovering nicely from her battle with Queen Chrysalis, her brother and foalsitter-turned-sister-in-law had left on their honeymoon (Shining Armour had politely turned down her #1 assistant’s offer of a bachelor party, much to the dragon’s chagrin) while Princess Luna took over as temporary Captain of the Guard in his absence, and she had received her share of congratulations for her key role in stopping the changeling invasion.

All was well, so why did she feel uneasy?

At first, Twilight dismissed the feeling as herself feeling bad for letting a changeling invasion mess up her BBBFF’s wedding. But, she managed to convince herself that it wasn’t her fault, and that nopony could have known. In fact, it was because of her finding the real Princess Cadence that the changeling threat was even discovered at all. However, that feeling just refused to go away.

She lay on her bed, reading a book as she always did, when Spike came trundling up the steps carrying a feather duster.

“I dusted all the shelves and sorted all the books, Twilight. Anything else on your list that needs doing?” he asked.

“Nothing else for now, Spike,” replied Twilight. “Thanks a lot.”

Normally, Twilight would compile a long checklist of things that needed to be done and a tight schedule to do them. However, for the past week, Twilight had been somewhat... different. She often seemed lost in thought, and was often seen with her face buried in books... well, more often. Having been around Twilight for his entire life, Spike knew Twilight like the back of his claw, and he knew that something was bothering her. However, if he voiced his concerns, the conversation would surely end as soon as it started.

“So,” Spike began, trying to find something to talk about. “Whatcha reading, Twilight?”

Twilight looked up from her reading. “You see, Spike, ever since we came back from Canterlot, there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

“Well, what is it?” Spike inquired.

“The changelings,” Twilight sighed. “Somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that we haven’t seen the last of them.”

“Come on, Twilight, you saw Shining Armour and Princess Cadence!” exclaimed Spike, trying to cheer Twilight up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they blew the changelings all the way to Las Pegasus! After getting served so badly, they probably won’t even be coming anywhere near here again for a long time, much less give us any more trouble!”

“Maybe,” said Twilight thoughtfully, “but they can disguise themselves as regular ponies, so what’s to say that they’re not hiding among us and biding their time?”

Spike put a claw on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about that, Twilight. After all, the Royal Guard did scour Ponyville for changelings at least twice in the last week. Everypony’s bound to be watching their steps. Nothing’ll happen, you’ll see.”

Twilight smiled. “I hope you’re right, Spike.”

The peace and quiet of the library was shattered by the sound of the door bursting open, heralding the arrival of a certain pink party pony.

“Guess what Twi? We have new ponies in town!”

***ONE WEEK EARLIER***

Many miles south of Ponyville, a mountain stood against the horizon. The hillside was covered in thick foliage, and the air was filled with the cries of birds and insects. To anypony that may be passing by, it seemed quite peaceful and tranquil.

But only on the outside.

Inside the mountain was a natural maze of caverns and tunnels. There are several colonies of changelings, each led by its own Queen, and in days gone by, one such colony had discovered the mountain and made it their home, digging more passages into the rock to make themselves comfortable. As such, the labyrinthine passages were often literally buzzing with activity. However, on this day, there seemed to be more going on than usual. Under the watchful eyes of the larger Taskmasters, changelings busily flitted back and forth inside the passageways, some clearing rock, some investigating reports of blocked tunnels, and others busy reinforcing tunnel ceilings using the sticky secretions often used to capture unfortunate prey. One of these many changelings was Pyralis.

Pyralis was larger than the average changeling and possessed a relatively long horn, and his black, chitinous carapace was reinforced in places like his shoulder and torso by thicker, green plates. His eyes were rather like those of a pony, with greenish sclera, lime-green irises, and pupils, unlike the uniformly-coloured blue ones of a drone. These physical features marked him as a Hive Guardian, an elite warrior tasked with maintaining order in the hive, separating him from the common worker drones. As such, he normally would not have willingly consented to this type of menial labour, but recently, the hive had been hit by a series of cave-ins, and the increased workload meant that every changeling was expected to pull their weight. Of course, being a Guardian meant that he was given a squad of drones to supervise, so he would only have to step in to deal with particularly large or troublesome chunks of rock while the drones dealt with most of the wall of rubble blocking the passageway he had been assigned to clear.

“I can hear them on the other side. Stand back!” ordered Pyralis in the series of clicks, chitters, and hisses that made up the changelings’ language, his horn glowing green.

The drones did just that as Pyralis fired a bolt of magical energy, blasting a sizeable hole into the wall of fallen rock. Once the dust had settled, he climbed through the hole to meet up with the other team assigned to the passage. The changelings there had either taken several steps back or flattened themselves against the wall, having heard his warning and knowing what he was about to do. However, a few of the slower ones were coated in dust and struggling to their hooves among the debris on the ground, evidently having been blasted backwards by the force of Pyralis’s spell. Standing in the middle of them was Pyralis’s eldest sister Anopheles (changelings considered each other siblings if they hatched in the same brood of eggs), who was dispelling the barrier she cast to protect herself from the blast. She possessed an iridescent green carapace, which marked her as a Taskmaster, and had a notch in the tip of her horn, which set her apart from the other changelings.

“We’ve cleared and reinforced the passage,” said Anopheles. “Let’s report back to Stinger.”

***

“Come on, you lazy excuses for drones! Hurry up, those boulders won’t shift themselves!”

When Pyralis and Anopheles showed up, the Taskmaster Stinger was busy doing what he did best. Every changeling had a job to do, and some of them had the job of making sure that the others did theirs and motivating them to do so if necessary. These were the Taskmasters, and the one in charge of the rest was Stinger. A rather large changeling with a thick, steel-hard carapace, any changeling who had the misfortune of becoming Stinger’s sparring partner could confirm that, in their words, he had quite a “sting in the tail.” He turned to face the two siblings and their worker drones as they approached

“We’ve cleared the south passage to the egg broods, sir. What’s next?” asked Pyralis.

“Anopheles, I need your team and Pyralis’s team to get to work on another passage on the south side. We’ve got a couple of Guardians trapped by a rockfall. Get moving, you’ll receive further instructions on the way.” Stinger commanded, in an authoritative voice that was obviously used to being followed.

Anopheles dipped her head as a sign of acknowledgment and took flight, as did the drones under her command. Pyralis was about to follow them, but was halted by Stinger’s voice.

“Pyralis, stay here. I’ve got something to tell you.”

Pyralis and Anopheles exchanged a glance. Both of them were thinking the same thing: This is either really good or really bad.

“Go on ahead, Anu,” Pyralis called, addressing his sister by her nickname. “Don’t wait. I’ll catch up... hopefully.”

“Good luck,” Anopheles called back as she and the drones flew off, “you might need it.”

Pyralis turned his attention back to Stinger. “What is it?”

“It’s the Queen. She has specifically requested your presence.” Stinger replied impassively.

Pyralis was stunned. Being talked to one-on-one by the Lead Taskmaster was one thing, but the Hive Queen? He couldn’t believe his luck, though he still couldn’t figure out whether it was great or terrible.

“I see... Did Her Majesty mention what this is all about?”

“Why the Queen wishes to see you is none of my concern, Pyralis,” replied Stinger. “You’ll have to find out for yourself. Now, if I were you, I’d get a move on. Surely I needn’t remind you that Her Highness does not appreciate being kept waiting.”

“No, of course not.” Pyralis spread his wings and prepared to fly off, but was stopped by Stinger’s hoof.

“Her Majesty told me that you might need this,” he said, producing a teal crystal pendant, shaped like a changeling’s head, on a chain. Given only by the Queen herself, these pendants allowed the wearer to freely enter or exit the inner sanctum, which was normally only accessible by the Queen herself and the Royal Guards.

“That would help.” Pyralis took the pendant and draped the chain around his neck, then flew off.

Stinger turned back to the drones, some of whom had stopped what they were doing to try and eavesdrop.

“Who said you could take a break? GET BACK TO WORK!”

***

It was difficult to find one’s way around near the heart of the caves, due to the many false passages and branching tunnels intended to conceal the location of the inner sanctum. With the recent cave-ins, doing so was even more taxing than usual. However, the Hive Guardian Gemini was often stationed in the area, so he knew how to navigate the area like the back of his hooves. He deftly flew through the tunnels, his keen red eyes roving around and searching for the paths he needed to take. The red hourglass marking on his left flank – in the exact same place where a pony would have their cutie mark – was only visible as a blur as he hurried through the tunnels, carrying in his forelegs a number of greenish, glowing crystals, which were used by changelings to store the emotions collected from ponies for later consumption. As he emerged from one of the narrow tunnels into one of the larger caverns, he noticed a changeling land in his path...

“Coming through! Watch out – Oof!”

Pyralis had just enough time to register the dark shape flying at him before it bowled him over. The two changelings hit the ground in a tangled heap, scattering crystals all over the ground. Pyralis quickly extricated himself and got back onto his hooves, aware of the many pairs of eyes watching them. He reached up with a hoof to make sure that the pendant was still around his neck.

“Uh, Gemini? Whatever happened to ‘watch where you’re going?’ That’s got to be, what, the fifth time?” said Pyralis, addressing the changeling on the ground.

“Well, why did you land in my way then?” asked Gemini indignantly as he pulled himself up and dusted himself off.

“Sorry ’bout that, just trying to find my way around. Navigating the place is a pain in the thorax even at the best of times. Are you in a rush to get somewhere?” Pyralis’s horn lit up as he gathered the scattered crystals into a neat pile. “Nothing to see here, you can get back to work now!” he called to the onlookers.

“Thanks for that, Pyralis,” said Gemini, indicating the crystals. “Gotta get these to the Taskmaster on the double. Say, you don’t show up much down here. Something going on?”

“Well, apparently Queen Arania wants to have a word with me one-on-one.” Pyralis responded, indicating the pendant he wore.

“Some luck you’ve got,” Gemini remarked, as he gathered the crystals in his forelegs. “Dunno if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“Yeah, I know. I mean, of all the changelings in the hive, why me? I don’t even know what this is all about!” Pyralis let out his thoughts on the matter. Of all the changelings in the hive, Gemini was one of the few with whom Pyralis was open to communication.

“You don’t think it’s got something to do with those Diamond Dogs you kicked out a few days ago, do you?” asked Gemini.

“Probably not. It’s too trivial. We Guardians deal with Diamond Dog intrusions all the time, and they don’t seem like the type to make threats against the Queen.”

“And why’s that?”

“Too stupid.”

“Whatever. Still, not every changeling can say that they’ve beaten an entire pack of those things without backup.”

“Well, that’s only because they never tried. Anyway, shouldn’t you be going somewhere?” asked Pyralis, reminding Gemini of how they ran into one another in the first place.

“Shouldn’t you be going somewhere?” Gemini countered. “The Queen doesn’t like waiting.”

“You sound just like Stinger. All right, I’ll see you around.”

“Catch ya later, Pyralis!” Gemini flew off down a side tunnel, this time at a slower speed. Pyralis stayed for a second longer to watch him go, then continued on his way towards the Queen’s chamber.

***

Pyralis didn’t have to go far before reaching a tunnel guarded by two Royal Guards stationed on either side of the opening, which lead to the inner sanctum. As expected, the guards moved together to block the tunnel.

“State your purpose,” hissed one of the guards in a low, emotionless voice.

Pyralis wasn’t intimidated; he knew that this was them being nice. If an outsider attempted to gain entry, the guards would attack first and ask questions later.

“I have been summoned by Her Majesty, Queen Arania,” replied Pyralis. He removed the pendant from his neck, draped it around a hoof, and presented it to the guards.

The guards nodded and parted to clear the way, waving Pyralis through. “Proceed.”

Pyralis placed the pendant back around his neck and stepped into the tunnel. As he proceeded through, the buzzing of changeling wings died out, to be replaced by an eerie silence. He emerged from the tunnel to find himself in a high cavern, illuminated by torches burning with magical green fire that hung from brackets on the walls. Unlike the surrounding passages, the inner sanctum was rather simplistic: six caverns, like the one Pyralis was in, were arranged in a ring around the Queen’s chamber, connected by tunnels and routinely patrolled by Royal Guards. Pyralis proceeded straight forward, towards a passage on the other side of the cavern covered in a silken veil, flanked by another pair of Royal Guards.

“Pyralis, I presume?” one of the guards greeted Pyralis as he approached.

“Yes.” Pyralis replied, indicating the pendant.

“The Queen’s been expecting you. Go on.”

The guards lifted the veil, and Pyralis stepped past them. He found himself in a tall cavern, lined with glowing green crystals and lit by the same torches present outside, with six entrances covered by veils. In the middle was a pillar of stone that ran all the way to the cavern roof, with a small ledge sticking out near the top, marking the location of the Queen’s chamber. Most changelings would have to access the chamber by flying, but not a Hive Guardian like Pyralis, who could simply scale up the column like a spider – which is exactly what he did. In no time at all, Pyralis found himself standing on the ledge at the entrance to the Queen’s chamber.

“You have summoned me, my Queen?” Pyralis said in a voice of solemn reverence, bowing his head in respect.

Hive Queen Arania turned to face him. Like other Queens, Arania towered over the ordinary changeling, despite the fact that she was beginning to show her age. She wore a golden crown on her brow, and her horn had multiple bends and curves. She scrutinized Pyralis with her blue eyes. “Ah, good, you received my message. Please, enter. And lift your head up, that’s bad for your neck.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Arania turned away and strolled into the centre of the chamber as Pyralis came in. Like the rest of the hive, the chamber was hardly decorated. However, there were mushrooms and cave fungi, considered a delicacy by the cave-dwelling changelings, growing out of the corners of the chamber – the only place they were grown, aside from the caverns designated as farms. As well, there was a ledge sticking out of one of the walls with sheets made of silk that served the Queen as a comfortable bed, whereas most changelings slept on the ground. Another rock slab stood in the centre of the room, serving as a table. The walls were lined with green-flamed torches that bathed the room in a bright glow. There were small ledges hewn into the walls for the Queen’s few possessions (mainly scrolls), but they stood empty, while the objects they held had been swept into a cocoon lying on the ground. This struck Pyralis as being slightly odd, as did the fact that he still did not know why he was here.

“Pyralis, I understand that you still do not know why you are here, or why my possessions are packed away.”

The fact that the Queen could read her subjects’ minds was one that had registered in Pyralis’s mind long ago. “I can hide nothing from you, Your Majesty.”

“Well, before I tell you,” said Queen Arania, still with her back to the Hive Guardian, “let us wait for your friend Gemini to come in. After all the bribing he’s done to get this far, I would hate for him to feel left out of the conversation.”

Gemini’s head appeared over the ledge, and he climbed on. He shuffled into the room with his head bowed.

“How’d you get past the guards?” whispered Pyralis once Gemini was in earshot.

“I didn’t give all the crystals to the Taskmaster,” Gemini whispered back. “Even the Royal Guards need to eat, you know.”

“Rise, Gemini,” said the Hive Queen. “Now, the reason I have summoned you here, Pyralis, is because I have a mission for you. However, since Gemini managed to make it all the way here, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for him to hear what I have to say as well.”

“Secret mission, huh?” Gemini whispered with a grin. “I’m starting to feel glad for coming.” He then addressed the Hive Queen. “My life for the Hive, Your Majesty. What is our mission?”

“That’s exactly the kind of attitude I appreciate seeing, Gemini,” said Queen Arania, turning to face the two Guardians, “but the circumstances are grim.”

“What’s happened, Your Majesty?” asked Pyralis.

The Hive Queen turned away once more and began pacing the room. “First, let me ask you: What do the two of you make of the recent increase in cave-ins?”

“They are starting to get slightly bothersome, Your Majesty,” Pyralis answered, “but I assure you, the colony is working as hard as they can to clear the caves.”

“It’s nothing we can’t deal with,” Gemini agreed. “After all, there have been occasional cave-ins for as long as I can remember. This shouldn’t be much different.”

“Your confidence is appreciated, my little changelings,” said Queen Arania, “but I’m afraid that you do not grasp... the gravity of the situation. You see, I have done a personal inspection of the cave system’s integrity, and I must confess, things do not look good. Our ancestral home is beginning to crumble.”

Both Guardians had to pick their jaws up off the floor.

“Y... Your Majesty...” Gemini asked weakly. “Does this mean that... the Hive will collapse?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“But there must be something that can be done!” Pyralis exclaimed frantically, now beginning to pace the room himself. “I’ll get the drones to double their efforts to hold up the roof! This is our home. I’ve been trained to defend it at all costs, and that’s exactly what I’ll do!”

Arania smiled at her subject’s fervour. “Your spirit is admirable, Pyralis, but there is simply nothing that can be done to stop the collapse.”

“If that’s the case,” Gemini spoke up, “then why are we still reinforcing the ceiling?”

The Hive Queen stopped pacing. “The fortifications won’t hold,” she explained, “but they will buy us time. I have decided that it is time to order the colony to evacuate.”

“Abandon the Hive? But this is our home! Where will we live?” Pyralis asked incredulously.

“Deep breaths, Pyralis... Breathe in... Breathe out... In... Out... Better?”

“Yeah, thanks Gemini... So, um, where will we live, Your Majesty?”

“That’s why you are here.” Queen Arania’s horn lit up as she levitated a pony-drawn map onto the table and unfurled it. “A short time ago, I have sensed a large flux of positive emotion from about... here,” she said, indicating a point on the map a good distance north from their location. “The amount of love there should be able to keep the colony fed. Your mission is to scout the area as a possible site for a new Hive.”

Pyralis examined the map. “I don’t believe any of our scouts have gone that far north, Your Majesty. That’s uncharted territory for us. But... I never back away from a challenge.”

“I’m ready to move too,” Gemini piped up. “We’ll be going then...”

“Not yet,” said Arania. “There’s something else.”

She used her magic to pull aside a curtain covering an opening in the wall. Behind it was a changeling cocoon. Through the translucent shell, one could see a creature curled into a fetal position with its eyes closed, halfway between a grub and an adult changeling in appearance: a changeling pupa.

“Have you met my daughter, Princess Elytron?” asked the Queen.

Gemini nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty, I believe I’ve had that honour before.”

“I have now, Your Majesty,” said Pyralis.

“Very well, Gemini,” said Arania, turning to the changeling in question, “you must know of her... fascination with the upper world?”

“Too well,” Gemini sighed. He had never seen another larva that could jabber on for so long about surface-dwellers.

“Then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, before her pupation, she expressed a desire to venture outside of the Hive – mingle with some surface-dwellers, if you will – and lately, I’ve been contemplating whether to humour her.” The Hive Queen had begun pacing again.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Pyralis interrupted, “but I personally don’t see why any changeling would take interest in prey.” Pyralis had seen enough ponies (mainly ones inside cocoons) to mark them as inferior creatures. After all, every changeling had wings and could channel magic through their horns, some better than others, while ponies only had one or the other. Or neither. He also noticed that they lacked the protective carapaces that all changelings possessed, instead having a layer of fine bristles called “fur,” and just by looking, he could tell that fur only provided very limited protection. It was little wonder to Pyralis why ponies were the prey and changelings were the predator.

Arania stopped in her tracks. “Your opinion is respected, Pyralis,” she replied with a shrug, “but the Crown Princess clearly does not share your opinion on our primary food source.”

“If I may say something, Your Majesty?” began Gemini.

“Speak.”

“I think – and this is just my opinion – that some fresh air would do her a lot of good. Maybe she’ll get the chance to try that little experiment of hers.” Gemini and Arania exchanged a significant glance, which did not go unnoticed by Pyralis.

“Um, am I missing something?” he asked Gemini.

“You’ll find out later,” came the nonchalant reply.

“I suppose you’re right, Gemini. After all, we’ll all be leaving shortly anyway.” Arania nodded. “Very well. You will be taking Crown Princess Elytron with you on your expedition... and I take it that Anopheles will be coming along as well?”

Pyralis opened his mouth to reply, but Gemini beat him to the punch. “I suppose so, Your Majesty. She’ll find out about this conversation from Pyralis sooner or later anyway.”

“Probably sooner,” said Pyralis with a dejected sigh.

The Hive Queen gave a slight smile, which quickly faded as her voice became authoritative, as it always did when giving a royal command. “Then you, Hive Guardian Pyralis, and you, Hive Guardian Gemini, along with Taskmaster Anopheles and Crown Princess Elytron, are tasked with the scouting mission to reconnoiter a possible location for a new Hive. I have spoken!”

Both changelings bowed to their Queen. The command was now set in stone; going back was no longer an option.

“Hive Guardian Pyralis hears and obeys.”

“Hive Guardian Gemini shall not let down the Hive.”

“Good. Rise.” The two Hive Guardians raised their heads. “Now, fetch Anopheles. I will go over this with her as well.”

The two Guardians turned to leave, but before reaching the door, Pyralis turned around, the question that had long been bugging him resurfacing. “One last question, Your Majesty: of all the Hive Guardians, why me?”

Arania smiled again. “I would have thought that after taking care of a dozen Diamond Dogs single-hoofed, a simple scouting mission would be no problem at all.”

Gemini grinned. “Told you so.”

Chapter 2

“Nicely done, drones. We’ve cleared this passage. Now let’s rescue some Guardians!” Anopheles said to her worker drones. The tunnel her crew was working on was clear; all that was left to do was to get the trapped changelings out. She could hear hooves and horns scraping against stone as the drones and the trapped changelings on the other side tried to make a hole in the rubble. Soon, a horn poked out from the other side.

“Taskmaster, look!” called one of the drones.

“Good. See if you can make a hole big enough to pull them out.” Normally, Anopheles would have done what her brother had done for the previous tunnel and just blasted the wall down with magic; however, the tunnel ceiling wasn’t holding up well enough for that.

“All right, you three, I need you to mortar up the crevasses in the crawlway with secretion, got that?”

The drones in question only stood there in confusion.

Anopheles spat a glob of green resin-like substance onto her forehoof and smeared it onto a cracked wall section. “Seal the cracks!”

The drones quickly complied.

“Surely I’m not the only Taskmaster to use big words? Anyway, I hope Pyralis is doing okay...” Anopheles wondered aloud. She turned around and, as if on cue, Pyralis and Gemini came trotting up the tunnel.

“All right, Anu, this is your lucky day,” said Pyralis. “You might be getting out of these tunnels sooner than expected.”

“Oh?” Anopheles cocked a hypothetical eyebrow. “Why is that, is something about to go horrifically wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing really,” said Gemini nonchalantly. “Well, there is just one tiny problem: the entire hive’s about to cave in. No big deal.”

Anopheles froze for a second, and the two Hive Guardians could have sworn that they heard the clang of her jaw hitting the floor.

“Told you she’d take it well,” Pyralis said coolly.

Gemini scratched his head. “Did I break her?”

Gemini took a few tentative steps toward the transfixed Taskmaster. He waved his hoof in her face, checking for a response – and was promptly levitated into the air by his hind legs and shaken back and forth like an oversized rag doll in the jaws of Cerberus.

“WHAT?! YOU CALL THAT A TINY PROBLEM? THAT’S ABOUT AS BIG AS PROBLEMS GET! HOW CAN YOU BE SO NONCHALANT ABOUT THIS?!”

“Changelings, you can’t fight here, this is the war room.” Pyralis cast a brief barrier spell between the two, causing Gemini to hit the ground head-first. He then turned to Anopheles. “Don’t worry about it too much, the Queen’s got it all figured out. If you want the details, then Her Majesty is up for a little private chat with you.” Pyralis tossed a pendant at Anopheles, managing to wrap the chain around his sister’s horn.

“Cheer up, Anu,” said Gemini as he rubbed his head, “you get to come with us!”

“Not a very reassuring argument, Gemini,” Pyralis said wryly, ducking under a swing from Gemini’s hoof.

“Wait... where am I going with you?” asked Anopheles.

“Like I said,” replied Gemini, “a little private chat with the Queen should set the record straight.”

“Alright, I’m going.” She turned to the drones. “Keep working, drones, I’ll be gone for a bit. Don’t screw this job up, you hear?”

“Don’t worry about it, Anu, Pyralis and I will take over here,” said Gemini with a grin. “Right, Pyralis?”

“Do I have to babysit these guys?”

“I knew you’d help. Go on, Anu, the Queen’s waiting.”

Anopheles nodded and spread her wings. “Alright, I’ll leave you two in charge here. Just don’t do anything stupid... er than usual.”

***

A squad of Royal Guards patrolled the inner sanctum. They marched with their hooves tapping against the stone floor in perfect unison. With one exception.

In the back of the pack, a young Royal Guard trundled along behind the rest. Unlike the steady march of the other guards, Dorylus moved at a quick trot; for every one step the other guards took, he had to take two. Dorylus was only a week out of training, and already he often wondered to himself why he had to do this job. In the beginning, he was motivated by pride and loyalty, but soon the monotony took its toll. Dorylus wasn’t particularly large, powerful, or prominent, and as such, he soon found himself swept aside and mostly ignored. He didn’t particularly mind, but every now and then, part of him wanted to be noticed. That part of him desired a chance to prove himself a worthy member of the Hive. However, the Royal Guard was rarely ever called into action, since intruders never made it too far, but as with most changelings, Dorylus never questioned an order, nor did he ever voice any complaints, and any ambition was quickly squashed by ingrained loyalty.

The leader of the Royal Guards held up a hoof, and the squad stopped in unison. Not watching where he was going, Dorylus bumped into the changeling in front of him and hit the ground on his rump. The changeling turned to him and glared, causing Dorylus to swallow nervously as he got back up. As quickly as he turned to Dorylus, the changeling in front snapped back to attention. Dorylus reared onto his hind legs to see over the Guards in front of him to see what had gotten their attention. He stifled a gasp; it was the Queen herself.

Slowly and deliberately, the Queen strode towards the back of the squad. The Royal Guards stood to attention as stiff as ramrods with their chins up, looking towards the cave ceiling. Dorylus quickly dropped to all fours and did the same. After several intense seconds, he noticed in his peripheral vision that the Queen was right next to him. She slowly paced out of Dorylus’s field of vision, and a second later, he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

“Come with me.”

Dorylus swallowed. He immediately regretted ever wanting to be noticed.

***

Queen Arania hovered in midair in a particularly large cavern that she used as a sort of meeting hall for the Hive. She had summoned her Hive Guardians and Taskmasters with a pheromone signal, and they now lined the walls of the chamber, waiting anxiously to hear what their Queen had to say. Near the back, next to a tunnel entrance, Pyralis and Gemini sat together with Anopheles and Dorylus, who had both been briefed on the mission they were about to undertake.

“My loyal subjects,” the Hive Queen began addressing the massed changelings, “I have summoned you here to deliver a dire message...”

“Okay, um... what’s his name again... Praxis? When do we leave again?” whispered Dorylus, who had been relieved of his armour by Arania. Although his heart rate had slowed down significantly from when he was hoof-picked by the Queen, he was still having a hard time thinking straight. Not only would this be the first time he leaves the Hive, but he was going on a mission with three changelings he barely even knew – quite a nerve-wracking experience for the young changeling.

Pyralis didn’t even bother turning. “First of all, the name’s Pyralis. Get that into your head. Secondly, I’ll tell you when to get up. Third, don’t ask the same question three times in five minutes. It leaves a bad image.” He then leaned in close to Anopheles and lowered his voice. “Honestly, do we have to bring the rookie?”

“I don’t usually allow rookies on missions like this,” Anopheles replied, “but the Queen insisted on sending a Royal Guard on the job. Apparently, Dorylus here wasn’t satisfied with just wandering around the inner sanctum, so that worked out.”

“Fair enough.” Gemini shrugged. “I just hope we don’t have to drag anyone else along.”

“...and I have come to one inescapable conclusion: our home will soon be no more.”

A frightened hubbub rose among the massed changelings as the Queen’s last few words sank in. They turned to each other, chattering frantically, and soon the clamour rose into a din of screeching and chittering as panic began to take hold.

“Your Majesty! Can’t we do anything about it?!”

“What are we going to do?!”

“We’re all gonna die!”

Pyralis rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah... I’ve already heard them all.”

“Repent! The end is nigh!”

“It’s a cookbook! A COOKBOOK!”

“Never heard those before,” Gemini commented. “Who’s Nye, anyway?”

“SILENCE!” shouted Arania, magically amplifying her voice. Simultaneously, she sent out a pheromone wave to calm the panicking changelings. The tumult subsided just before complete pandemonium broke out.

“There is no need to panic,” the Queen continued when the chamber was quiet once more. “The roof will hold for long enough to allow us to evacuate the colony to the surface. My orders to you are as follows...”

She paused and turned to her chosen four. She gave them a small, almost imperceptible nod before continuing her address.

“That’s our cue,” Pyralis remarked.

The small entourage rose and filed through the nearby exit, unnoticed by any but the Queen.

***

The four changelings soon found themselves in a small, empty chamber, where they had been instructed by Arania to go during their last-minute briefing. Just like the Queen said, there were two cocoons lying on the ground in front of a tunnel entrance. One, of course, was Princess Elytron. The other was much smaller and filled with Eciton gems – the green emotion storage gems, named after the brilliant changeling who first forged them. Between them was a scroll. Pyralis unfurled it using magic; it was the map that the Queen had shown him.

“So, my little changelings, are you ready to go?”

The Hive Queen emerged from a side chamber. The four changelings immediately turned to her.

“Raring to go, Your Majesty!” Gemini said eagerly, giving a quick salute.

“I am prepared,” said Anopheles with a nod.

“Can’t wait!” said Dorylus, straightening up to his full height on all fours.

“Good to go,” said Pyralis.

“Excellent,” said Arania. “Good luck to you all. I await your news.”

“Glory to the Hive!” the four changelings said in unison, as the Queen left the chamber. Then, Gemini clapped his forehooves together. “All right, let’s get this show on the road. I call dibs on the gems!”

Anopheles shook her head. “No, we’ll let Dorylus carry everything.”

“Come on! How come I have to be the workhorse?” Dorylus complained.

Anopheles took a deep breath and burst into speech. “One: you’re a Royal Guard, so taking care of the Princess is your job anyway. Two: the rookie is always the workhorse. Three: it’s good communication. As a Taskmaster, I communicate by telling you what to do and you, as my subordinate, communicate by doing what I say. Right now, what we have here is a failure to communicate, so I expect you to rectify that by communicating well. Savvy?”

Dorylus looked as though someone had thrown him a punch to the face which had not yet registered in his mind. “Uh... Wha?”

Gemini leaned in close. “What I heard was: if you don’t do it, she’ll kick your thorax,” he murmured so that only Dorylus could hear.

“And four: if you don’t do it, I’ll kick your thorax,” added Anopheles.

“Oh, you’re good,” Dorylus whispered to Gemini.

“So, that’s settled,” remarked Anopheles as Dorylus began attaching resin to the cocoons and affixing them to himself. “Let’s get going.”

She strode into the tunnel, and the other three followed (with Dorylus grumbling audibly). The tunnel itself was wide enough to comfortably accommodate Dorylus and his cargo, but it was too narrow for flight and it was a fairly steep climb all the way up, so Anopheles had to back out and let Dorylus go first. The other three followed, so that they would be able to catch him – or at least cushion his fall – if he lost his footing. After twenty minutes, the tunnel leveled out and the exit was in sight. It opened into a large cave, and for the first time, Gemini and Dorylus saw the light of day.

“Ahh! The light... It burns!” cried Gemini, covering his eyes.

“What is that?!” exclaimed Dorylus, turning his head away and raising a hoof protectively.

Anopheles and Pyralis shielded their own eyes with their forelegs and kept their heads lowered. “Boys,” announced Anopheles, “welcome to the surface world.”

“Your eyes will adjust,” said Pyralis. “Besides, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

The four changelings made their way to the mouth of the cave, with some difficulty in the cases of Gemini and Dorylus as their eyes took longer to adjust to the light. However, when they had adjusted, they gasped in wonder at the scene that greeted them. The cave opened onto a cliff, and the side of the mountain and the ground below were blanketed in green as far as their eyes could see. The songs of birds filled the air, the blue sky stretched upwards and outwards without end, and the sun bathed the entire scene with its radiant glow.

“Wow... where’s the ceiling?” For once, Gemini was speechless.

“Quite a different world from the one we know, isn’t it?” asked Pyralis. The few times he had been outside the Hive were all punctuated by the same sense of awe that Dorylus and Gemini were surely feeling now.

“Amazing...” said Dorylus. “This is what we’ve been living under all this time?”

“Well, one thing’s for certain,” added Anopheles with a smile, “you’re not in Kansas anymore!”

"There's just one thing bugging me," said Dorylus. "What about the blue ceiling? What happens if that falls on us? It looks so high up..."

"That's the sky, Chicken Little," explained Anopheles. "It's just air. It won't fall on us, there's air all around us anyway."

"Alright," Pyralis cut in, "that's enough sightseeing. Time to move."

"Of... of course," said Gemini, regaining some of his composure. "Let's go! For Nerub! ...I mean, for the Hive! Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Chapter 3

Author's Note: I wanted to get this chapter up much sooner, but between a) my internet being cut off, and b) teachers from Tartarus, it got a bit delayed. Anyways, here it is.

For the last six days, changelings buzzed about inside the Hive, collecting anything that was worth salvaging. Grubs, Eciton gems, pupae, everything had to go. And in six days’ time, the colony had collected it all. Carrying these heavy burdens, the changelings were herded along the tunnels by Hive Guardians, Taskmasters, and Royal Guards, doing their best to get everyone out before the tunnels collapsed, which could happen at any time. The Hive Queen and egg-laying Broodmothers had been evacuated a long time ago, and being tasked with seeing that the evacuation went smoothly, Stinger watched on as the endless stream of black filed and flew past him. He then felt a tug at his leg.

“Sir?”

Stinger identified the changeling by voice. “Ah, Cotesia. How is the roof holding?”

The female Hive Guardian dipped her head in respect. “It’ll last three days, at the very least. Maybe up to five or six, if we’re lucky.”

“Good. That’s good to hear.” Stinger nodded in approval, his back still to Cotesia. “But I wonder, is that all you came to say?”

“Well, there is something else,” Cotesia admitted.

Stinger turned around. Despite their confident glow, Cotesia’s yellow eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness, which did not go unnoticed by the Head Taskmaster.

“Well, don’t just leave me hanging. Spit it out.”

Cotesia took a deep breath and began to speak. “I can’t help but wonder... what will the surface world be like?”

“Well, you’re about to find that out, aren’t you? Don’t let me spoil the surprise,” Stinger replied impassively. In truth, he didn’t quite know either, having spent most of his life underground; however, he wasn’t about to let her know that.

Cotesia knew, intuitively, that Stinger no longer wanted to continue the conversation. “So, what shall I do now?” she asked, changing the topic.

“Traffic control.”

Cotesia nodded and flew off into the crowd. Stinger returned his gaze to the crowd of changelings.

The exodus had begun.

***

“Okay, okay, how about this: Ahem... Greetings, fellow agricultural engineers...”

For what must have been the umpteenth time in six days, Anopheles applied a hoof to the centre of her face. She found it surprising that she hadn’t yet given herself a concussion or a similar form of brain damage. “Ugh, how many times must I remind you that the word is farmer?!” she growled at Gemini in irritation. After ascertaining that their destination was a small settlement, Anopheles and Pyralis agreed that the four of them should practice making conversation, in order to blend in with the ponies. However, it wasn’t going so well.

“All right, all right,” said Gemini, rolling his now-blue eyes and pushing his golden mane aside. The four changelings had all taken pony disguises to keep a low profile, since settlements were becoming more and more frequent; Gemini had opted to become an orange pegasus with a flashlight cutie mark. “Okay, maybe this: Err... Yeah, I got nothing.”

“That’s it?” asked Dorylus, who was tending their campfire. He was now disguised as a grey earth pony colt with a mirror cutie mark. “That seems kinda short...”

“I’m trying to think here!” Gemini shot back. “You guys aren’t helping, you know. Wait... Try this...”

He transformed into a beige unicorn stallion, dressed in a tux and sunglasses. “The name’s Mane. Con Mane.”

Anopheles clocked him over the head.

“Okay, okay... Just a suggestion...” Gemini reverted to his previous form.

“Let me demonstrate,” Pyralis piped up, trying to take the attention off of Gemini. He was disguised as a tan unicorn stallion (he had to do a lot of thinking about whether he wanted to give up flight or magic) with a balance scale cutie mark. He cleared his throat and spoke in a cheery voice. “Hey there, everypony. How’re you doing? Anyhow, my name’s Level Scale. Nice to meet you all.” He then turned to Anopheles. “”How was that, Anu?”

“Pretty good,” she replied, now transformed into a pale violet unicorn mare with a pinkish mane, “but from now on, you’ll have to refer to me as Caduceus while I’m a pony.” She indicated her namesake cutie mark with a forehoof. She then turned to the other two. “Maybe you should just let the two of us do the talking.”

Dorylus nodded. “You’re the boss. But I’ve been wondering: what about the Princess? I mean, ponies don’t usually run around with cocoons on their backs.”

“I’ll think of something,” replied Anopheles. “There are a lot of ways to conceal a cocoon. But for now, let’s get some shuteye. We should get there sometime tomorrow.”

“All right,” said Dorylus, stretching and yawning. “Right now I just wanna... Zzz...”

Tuckered out from a day’s hard marching, Dorylus trailed off as he spoke and was sound asleep in ten seconds flat.

“I’m not tired yet,” said Pyralis, reverting to his natural form and walking to the edge of their small campsite. “You guys get some rest, I’ll take first watch.”

“G’night, Pyralis,” Gemini called over his shoulder as he extinguished the campfire, before lying down to go to sleep beside the pupal Princess Elytron. A series of shuffling noises told him that Anopheles was also turning in for the night. He laid a forehoof on the cocoon.

“Hear that, Princess?” he whispered to the cocoon. “We’ll be among ponies by this time tomorrow.”

Though pupae were supposed to be blind, deaf, and immobile, Gemini could have sworn that he felt the cocoon throb in anticipation.

***

Pyralis awoke with a yawn, just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Of course, the sun wasn’t visible from underground, so he didn’t know that this was considered waking up early. As he sat up, Anopheles turned around and gave him a nod. Halfway through the night, she had woken up to stand watch, so that Pyralis could get some sleep.

“Good morning,” she said. “Slept well?”

“Naturally,” Pyralis replied. He could get by with as little as three hours of sleep a day, so he rarely ever woke up tired.

“We’re getting closer,” he remarked. “I can feel it.”

“So can I,” said Anopheles. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this much love coming from one place. That should keep the Hive well fed.”

Anopheles tossed him an Eciton gem. Pyralis caught it on the fly with both forehooves and touched it to his horn. As he held it there, the green glow of the gem seemed to be flowing into him through his horn as he re-energized himself with the emotions stored inside. Putting down the gem, which was now glowing much more faintly than before, Pyralis went over to Gemini and gave the sleeping changeling a swift kick.

“Oi! Wake up!”

“Huh? Daytime already?” came Gemini’s voice groggily.

“Come on, the sun must’ve risen about 15 minutes ago! We should be moving by now!” interjected Anopheles, a hint of impatience in her voice.

“All right, I’m awake... Just five more minutes...”

Meanwhile, Dorylus had already gotten up.

“I’m awake and ready to go!” he announced, grabbing the Eciton gem on the ground.

“Good to hear,” said Pyralis. He then pointed to Gemini. “Now you get to wake him up.”

Dorylus smiled wryly. “Well, I have been holding something in all night...”

Gemini scrambled to his hooves as fast as he could. “Okay, okay, I’m awake!”

After feeding themselves with their Eciton gems, the four changelings resumed their disguises and set off once more. However, the forest soon became darker and more sinister. The tree branches themselves seemed to be gnarled into claws, as though reaching out to try and grab the changelings and drag them to... well, wherever it was that evil trees dragged stuff. Pyralis felt himself growing more and more uneasy. Something about the place didn’t seem right.

“I don’t like this place at all...” Dorylus’s voice confirmed his suspicions that the other three shared his sentiments.

“Pyralis, are you sure that we’re still going in the right direction?” asked Anopheles, trying not to sound nervous.

“Fairly sure,” replied Pyralis. Despite the gloomy aura of the forest, he could still sense the love of ponies, and he guided himself toward it like a moth to a flame. But suddenly, a howl rang out through the trees.

“Oh, great, timberwolves,” muttered Anopheles. “Let’s get a move on; I don’t want to end up as some creature’s side dish.”

As if on cue, half a dozen timberwolves jumped out from the trees, surrounding the changelings. Gemini turned to Pyralis, who had already assumed a combat stance, and sighed.

“Still think we’re going the right way?”

***

The encounter with the timberwolves had been relatively brief, partially due to Pyralis’s remarkable combat skills. Mostly, however, it was because the timberwolves were unable to break through the changelings’ tough carapaces and escaped in order to avoid Pyralis’s wrath. At Anopheles’s suggestion, the changelings pressed on, in case something more unpleasant came along.

Hiding in the trees near the edge of the forest, the band of changelings surveyed the scene before them: a small, idyllic town, whose pony inhabitants had every appearance of being happy and carefree.

“Now this is more like it!” Gemini grinned, licking his lips in anticipation of a decent meal.

Pyralis was impressed. He had never felt so much love in the air in one place – not even in the much more populated large cities that they had passed. There was enough, perhaps, to keep even a changeling colony fed. This might be worth my while after all, he thought.

Anopheles placed a hoof on Gemini’s shoulder. “Now hold on for a second, Gemini,” she said, “we can’t just waltz into town without knowing how they’re going to react to seeing our kind. We need a plan.”

Gemini’s eager grin turned into a disappointed frown. “But I’m hungry...”

“Um, ‘scuse me,” Dorylus interrupted, “but shouldn’t one of us stay here and guard the Princess? It might look kind of odd if we took her into town. Just saying.”

Pyralis nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, fine. Anopheles, you and Dorylus stay here and watch our stuff. Gemini and I will do a little recon.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Anopheles shot back. “I’m going with you. I thought we agreed that I would handle first contact. And don’t even think about stopping me, I’d like to see you try.”

“But...”

“No buts. No ors, yets, or howevers either. We only have one shot at this, and by the Queen, I want to make sure that we make it count. No screw-ups, no blown covers, got it?”

“...Fine.” Pyralis sighed. Anopheles could be so stubborn sometimes.

“What about me then?” asked Dorylus.

“Well, you’re the Royal Guard, so why don’t you do your job?” Anopheles asked dryly.

“Keep your head down,” said Pyralis.

“And and hope that no timberwolves show up,” added Gemini.

“That’s not very reassuring,” Dorylus said to himself as his three superiors headed off into town.

***

Anopheles took a deep breath to calm herself as she trotted into town, flanked by Pyralis and Gemini. “Okay, here goes nothing,” she said to her companions, “just stay cool and try to act natural.”

“Uh-huh.” Pyralis seemed rather calm, but his slight nervousness was betrayed by his stiffer-than-usual gait. He just hoped that it wouldn’t make anypony suspicious. Gemini, on the other hand, was the very definition of the word “twitchy.” He was practically salivating at all the love the ponies had to offer.

“This place’ll make for some good feeding, eh guys?” he asked.

“Gemini, don’t say things like that,” Anopheles hissed, “it’ll make the ponies suspicious, and that’s the last thing we need.”

As they approached the town, a pink pony with a poofy mane and tail bounced along the path in front of them. As she crossed paths with the three changelings, she stopped and gasped.

Anopheles quickly stopped and verified that her disguise was still intact. Pyralis did the same. After a couple of tense seconds, Gemini spoke up.

“Uh... can we help you?”

The pink pony blinked... then burst into speech and began bouncing around wildly.

“OhmigoshareyouponiesnewtoPonyville?Wellofcourseyou’renew’causeIknoweveryponyintownandIdon’tknowyousoyoumustbenewtoPonyvilleanywaysI’mPinkiePieandIwannajustsayWelcometoPonyvillelikeIdotoeveryponythatcomestoPonyvillethiscallsforoneofmysignaturePinkiePiepartiestowelcomeyouandI’mgoingtoinviteeveryponyintownit’snicetomeetyoubye!”

And she dashed off, leaving behind three dumbfounded, slack-jawed ponies in her wake.

“What in the name of Queen and colony was that?” asked Pyralis, once he picked his jaw up off the ground.

Anopheles slowly shook her head in amazement. “Of all the ponies on all the streets in all the cities, we had to run into that one...”

***

“Guess what Twi? We have new ponies in town!” announced Pinkie Pie happily as she burst into the library. “And you know what that means, don’t you? Of course you do! There’s going to be a really big party (well, because there’s three of them) and you’re invited!” She ended off her tirade with a cloud of confetti from nowhere.

Twilight closed her book and set it down, descending the stairs in the library. “New ponies you say?”

Pinkie nodded rapidly. “Uh-huh! Isn’t it exciting?”

“Gee, I don’t know...” Maybe it was because of what was on her mind lately, but Twilight somehow had a bad feeling about these visitors, even before she met them.

“I know what you’re thinking, Twilight,” Spike spoke up, “but how will you know unless you meet them?”

“What are you thinking, Twilight?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Are you thinking about cupcakes? Because I have to make enough for everypony who’s going to be there, but if I invite everypony, I might not be able to make enough. But I’d hate for anypony to feel left out, so I guess we’re just going to have to share a few. After all, you gotta share...”

“I think you’ll be able to make plenty to go around, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted, before yet another one of Pinkie Pie’s self-composed musical numbers became stuck in her head. Again. “Okay, I guess I’ll go and meet these new ponies in town for myself.”

“So... You’ll be at the party?”

“Yes, Pinkie, I’ll be there.”

“Yay! Great! See you later, Twilight!”

As Pinkie raced out the door, Twilight shook her head and smiled. She may not understand what goes on in Pinkie’s head, but there was no denying that the pink pony never failed to make her smile. “Spike, do you want to come?” she asked the baby dragon.

“Well, I don’t have anything else to do, so why not?” he replied.

As if on cue, a bookcase toppled over with a crash, causing Twilight to wince.

“On second thought...” said Spike dazedly, poking his head out from beneath a pile of heavy volumes; Twilight could practically see the stars orbiting his head.

“Okay then, Spike, I’ll leave you to it,” said Twilight, as she levitated a quill to her to-do list. “New item on the list: ‘fix bookshelf.’”

Twilight left the library, closing the door and hanging a “closed for maintenance” sign from the knob. Now to find the newcomers. Pinkie Pie had failed to specify which direction they were coming from, but it was likely that they were already a fair way into town anyway, and having been here as long as she had, Twilight knew pretty much everypony in town, so all she had to do was find three ponies she didn’t recognize. Fortunately, they weren’t difficult to find; she immediately noticed the pegasus and two unicorns, looking rather uncomfortable. The pegasus and one of the unicorns were obviously trying to blend in, but failing miserably, while the unicorn in the middle was speaking to the other two in a hurried whisper. They looked quite out of place, even a bit suspicious... but they probably weren’t changelings, right? After all, she herself had been equally uncomfortable on her first day in Ponyville. They were probably just nervous. Deciding to make conversation with them, Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat.

“Ahem...”

The unicorn mare immediately stopped talking to her colleagues and turned to face Twilight. “Hi, uh, how are you today?” she said with a small smile.

“I’m doing just fine,” replied Twilight. “We’re having lovely weather today, aren’t we? Looks like the pegasus weather team’s doing a great job. My name’s Twilight Sparkle, town librarian, and I’d like to welcome you to Ponyville.”

“Twilight Sparkle? That’s a nice name,” the mare said with a nod. “You can call me Caduceus. This is Torchlight, and this is Level Scale.” She indicated the pegasus and the other unicorn respectively as she gave their names.

“Charmed.” The voice of Level Scale, the unicorn stallion, carried no inflection of emotion.

“Yeah, pleased to eat – I mean, meet you,” said Torchlight, promptly receiving a glare from the other two. “Sorry. Slip of the tongue. ”

“I suppose you’re hungry?” asked Twilight.

“Well, we have come a rather long way to get here,” replied Scale, just as Caduceus opened her mouth to reply. He seemed to be weighing his words carefully.

“‘A long way’ is rather abstract, if you don’t mind me saying.” Twilight now had her guard up. “If you could be so kind as to clarify?”

“Las Pegasus,” said Torchlight. “You know, to the south?”

“I see,” said Twilight with a nod. Was it just a coincidence, or was Spike that intuitive? “Any preferences in terms of food?”

“Well,” replied the pegasus, “I don’t mind some good mushroom soup from time to time.”

Twilight nodded again. “Uh-huh. Now, if I may...”

Her horn lit up, and a wave of magical energy radiated from it, washing over the three ponies before her. Nothing happened.

“What was that about?” asked Scale suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized. “It’s just that there’s been a recent changeling invasion in Canterlot, which isn’t that far from here, and I believe I speak for the whole town when I say that I don’t want to take any chances. That was a spell for lifting disguises, so I guess you three are in the clear.”

“I see,” Scale nodded.

“So, what brings you all the way out here?” Twilight inquired. Now that her suspicion of the newcomers being changelings was alleviated, her curiosity took over.

“All I can say is that we’re just ponies who’ve fallen upon hard times,” Scale began with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Torchlight piped up, “stuff happened, one thing lead to another, and now, we’re wandering around looking for a new home, because we don’t have homes to return to. We’re forever alone...”

“I’m sorry I brought that up,” said Twilight sympathetically, “but you can stay here for as long as you like. You’ll find that the ponies here don’t take too badly to visitors, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find accommodation in the hotel. Would you like a tour of the town?”

“No thank you,” said Caduceus, “we’ll do that on our own time. But if you would be so kind as to direct us to the hotel?”

“Of course. This way.” The lavender unicorn turned and strode off down the street, oblivious to the collective sigh of relief and hushed discussion of the three ponies following her – as well as their true identity.

“That was too close,” murmured Gemini. “Good thing you put that anti-magic spell on us, Pyralis.”

“I just knew it would be useful,” replied Pyralis. “We should probably get out of here ASAP. If this area was recently attacked by another colony, they wouldn’t exactly welcome us.”

“That’s not an option,” whispered Anopheles. “Princess Elytron’s metamorphosis is almost complete. If we leave now, we won’t be able find a sheltered place for her to break out of the cocoon, and moving her right after molting isn’t safe. We’ll just have to stay undercover until ecdysis is complete.”

“So, I guess we’re stuck here then?” growled Pyralis.

“Pretty much. Isn’t it great?” said Gemini.

“Brilliant... Just what I needed...”

“Well then, you’ll just have to suck it up,” Anopheles shrugged. “And this goes for both of you: Next time, don’t interrupt my carefully scripted ad-lib responses.”

Gemini grinned. “Isn’t that exactly why we didn’t let you talk?”

Chapter 4

A/N: I meant to finish this a lot sooner, but I've been rather busy what with exams and... well, a lot of stuff. Okay, I also procrastinated a little (DotA, why you so addicting?!) Next chapter probably won't take so long...

Twilight and the three disguised changelings stepped into the main lobby of the hotel. The unicorn receptionist behind the counter on the far side looked up and smiled warmly at them.

“Ah, Miss Sparkle. Have friends of yours come to visit?” she asked.

“You could say that,” Twilight replied. “Room for three, please.”

“Four,” corrected Caduceus. “We’ve got a friend holding our stuff, waiting for us to call him.”

“Very well. And how long do you wish to stay?” asked the receptionist, jotting down notes with a quill.

“Until further notice,” said Level Scale. “We’re not sure yet.”

“I see. Now, normally I’d ask for the payment up front, but I suppose that you could pay for each day in the morning. For tonight, that’ll be sixteen bits.” The receptionist set down her quill and extended a forehoof.

“Umm... bits?” asked Torchlight in confusion. Pyralis, alias Level Scale, mentally facehoofed. He hadn’t expected Gemini to say something that stupid, and judging by her look of disapproval, neither did his sister.

“Well, yeah,” said Twilight in a tone of voice which suggested that she was stating the most obvious thing in the world (which, for non-changeling ponies, it probably was). “How else are you going to pay for your room? You three do have some bits, don’t you?”

“Okay... do you take these?” Torchlight pulled out several glowing green crystals. Both the receptionist and Twilight stared at them, and it took Pyralis all his willpower to not maim Gemini then and there. It was perhaps a good thing that the lobby was otherwise deserted, since the crystals would likely have drawn the attention of any other ponies that happened to be nearby. And if one of them happened to recognize one as an Eciton gem...

“These?” the receptionist looked at the gems in confusion. “Well... I don’t think so. What are they?”

“Never mind. That’s all we had.” Gemini quickly withdrew the gems. Pyralis breathed a mental sigh of relief.

“Then I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that you won’t be able to stay,” said the receptionist with a shrug.

“That’s all right,” said Caduceus. “Have a nice day. Come on, guys.” She strode out the door, and her two companions followed, with Twilight quickly following suit.

“Wait a sec, where are you going to be staying, then?” Twilight asked once they had left the hotel, placing a hoof on Caduceus’s shoulder.

“We’ll improvise,” Scale replied curtly. “We’ll camp in the forest or something.”

Twilight shook her head. “Oh, no you’re not,” she said sternly. “The Everfree Forest? That’s way too dangerous! There’s no way I’m letting you camp there. How about...” She paused to think. “Maybe you could stay at my place? There’s plenty of room.”

Pyralis tried not to smirk. As soon as he laid eyes on this Twilight Sparkle pony, he could tell that she was a possible threat that he needed to keep an eye on. But now, he no longer had to worry about that. “I don’t know... are you sure that you’re comfortable with letting three random ponies into your home?” he said, pretending to relent.

“Well, would those three random ponies be comfortable rooming with Princess Celestia’s student?” replied Twilight. Now Pyralis knew that she was a liability – one that he couldn’t do much about. He made a mental note to remind the others to tread lightly, if they didn’t get the message already. Which was rather likely, considering how foolish Gemini’s little maneuver with the gems was.

“Well, it’s quite an honour...” said Anopheles, giving her brother a “we-are-in-so-much-trouble” grimace. Pyralis nodded; for once, they agreed on something.

***

Dorylus paced back and forth, constantly alert. He had been entrusted with the task of guarding their princess, and he would do with his life. Come Tartarus or high water, nothing could make him leave her side. Nothing could break his focus. There was no distracting him from his sacred mission, not even...

“Gemini!”

Dorylus fell backwards in surprise as he turned and suddenly found himself face-to-face with the red-eyed changeling, landing unceremoniously on his rump. Gemini smirked.

“‘Nothing can break your focus,’ eh? I didn’t know you were into monologuing.”

If changelings could blush, Dorylus’s face would have matched Gemini’s eyes. “I wasn’t monologuing! I was, uh, narrating. To myself. Hence the third person.”

Gemini nodded. “Mm-hmm. So, you have that feeling too, huh?”

“What feeling?” asked Dorylus, tilting his head in genuine confusion.

“Just a strange feeling, like someone is watching your every move and writing it down for the whole world to read? Know what I’m talking about?”

“No clue.”

Now it was Gemini’s turn to feel embarrassed. “Ahem... never mind then. Anyway, we’ve found ourselves a place to stay. Just get the princess and follow me.”

Dorylus loaded the cocoon onto his back. “Okay. Lead on.”

“One second.” Gemini raised a hoof, stopping Dorylus in his tracks. His horn began to glow. “Lemme just...”

***

Pyralis and Anopheles looked up at the tree before them with fascination. At least, it looked like a tree, because in their experience, trees usually didn’t come with windows and doors.

“Here we are,” Twilight announced proudly, “home sweet home.”

Anopheles forced herself to nod. “Well, what a, um, unique home you have, Twilight... May we go in?”

“Sure thing, Caduceus,” replied Twilight, opening the door. “Make yourselves at home.”

Pyralis and Anopheles entered the door and found themselves in a rather wide room. It was much more spacious inside than the two changelings expected, considering that they were standing in a tree trunk. The walls were lined with bookshelves, one of which lay in splinters on the floor with its contents strewn all over the place. Most changelings would not recognize said contents as books, as they weren’t very common in changeling hives. Anopheles was one of the few exceptions. Having gotten her hooves on a few during outings, she knew that they were meant to be read by ponies, mainly for the purpose of absorbing knowledge. However, being unable to decipher their contents, she did not know what kind of knowledge they held. She concluded that it was probably nothing important anyway. In the middle of the mess was a small purple dragon who was sorting the books into piles, while a small bird that the changelings did not recognize helped him out.

“Sorry about the mess,” Twilight explained apologetically, “but as you can see, we did have a bit of a mishap with one of the bookshelves. Now let me introduce you to my number one assistant, Spike.”

The baby dragon – whom the changelings assumed was Spike – turned around to face them with a curious look on its face. Pyralis immediately sensed the strong – almost parental – bond between the unicorn and the dragon; it would surely provide plentiful sustenance. He helped himself to a small sample, absorbing some of their love through his horn, as Spike spoke. “Huh? I don’t remember ever seeing you two around Ponyville... I suppose you’re those new ponies that Pinkie was talking about?”

“I suppose so,” replied Anopheles, “unless anypony else just happened to show up at the same time as us.”

As if on cue, a pegasus stallion entered, followed by an earth pony colt carrying a pile of luggage on his back. Pyralis and Anopheles instantly recognized their cohorts beneath their disguises – as well as the cleverly disguised cocoon – but fortunately for them, Twilight and Spike did not.

“Well, what a coincidence!” remarked Pyralis, not even bothering to feign surprise. “About time you two showed up.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” replied Gemini, alias Torchlight. “Thanks for letting us stay, Twilight. This is our buddy, Mirror Match. Mirror, meet Twilight Sparkle.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Twilight, extending her hoof towards the colt, who began looking rather wary.

“Take it,” Anopheles hissed into his ear. Dorylus, alias Mirror Match, complied immediately, only to have his foreleg wrung rather forcefully. The pile of items on his back fell to the ground with a thud, prompting a wince from the four disguised changelings which did not go unnoticed by Twilight.

“Whoops... sorry. Did I make you drop something fragile?”

“Well... Guess that’s one way to put it...” said Dorylus, casting a worried glance at Pyralis and Anopheles, who looked somewhat less than amused, and at Gemini, who rushed over to inspect the damage. Of course, he couldn’t blame them.

"Any damage done? Please say no, please say no..." said Anopheles in a worried murmur.

"It's hard to say," replied Gemini. "We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's just hope that the cushioning did its job."

"Can I take a look? Whatever it is you're so worried about, I'm sure I can help you fix it," Twilight offered, taking a tentative step toward the pile of luggage, but Gemini raised a hoof to stop her.

"Um, I'm not sure that's such a good idea..."

"Why, Torchlight? What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah! What are you trying to hide?!" demanded Spike.

Anopheles smiled, a bit defensively. "Oh, nothing really... Don't worry about it..."

"What's the matter, Caduceus?" asked Twilight, leaning in closer. "Why are you being so defensive all of a sudden? Come on, let me take a look!"

"Incominnnng!"

At that moment, a hole was blasted into the wall next to the door. Pyralis was the first to recover; lowering the hoof that he had raised to shield himself, he noticed that the cause of the destruction was, surprisingly for him, a pegasus pony with sky-blue fur and a multicolored mane. He was, however, thankful for the distraction from the “cargo.”

“Ehehehe... sorry?”

“It’s okay. I was about to open a window anyway,” replied Gemini.

The pegasus pulled herself onto her hooves and brushed her mane out of her eyes, while Twilight shook her head.

“Rainbow Dash, are you breaking holes into the library on purpose?”

“Not really, it just tends to happen. Besides, you know how excited I am about that new Daring Do book, don’t you? And... hey, who are your friends?”

“Oh boy...” thought Pyralis, as Twilight ran through the introductions. Her companion grinned.

“Looks like Pinkie’s party is for you guys then. I’m Rainbow Dash, Best Young Flier and fastest pegasus in Equestria! Of course, I do believe my reputation precedes me...”

“Sorry,” Pyralis said dryly, “all I understood from that was ‘just another pony that I’ve never heard of.’”

Rainbow looked both surprised and a little offended. Before she could retort, however, Twilight stepped
in between the mare and the disguised changeling.

“Well, there’ll be plenty of time for us to get to know each other better. Let’s go down to Sugarcube Corner and see what Pinkie Pie’s prepared for you,” she suggested diplomatically.

“Which would be what exactly?” asked Gemini.

“Well,” said Rainbow, raising a hoof to her chin in mock thought, “considering it’s Pinkie Pie, I can’t be sure. But whatever it is, you guys are going to love it! Especially the food. You guys are hungry right?”

As though responding to her question, Pyralis’s stomach growled.

“So that’s a yes?” asked Spike, as Gemini and Rainbow began to snicker.

If looks could kill, Pyralis would have struck the three of them dead then and there.