Twilight moved down the trees at a pace that kept her from jostling her bloated belly too much, picking the apples off in her magic and depositing them in the baskets. It was quick work and she managed to finish both hers and Mac's sections before Applejack came to check on her. She was glad the illusion of being Twilight hid her swollen body.

"Hey, Twi, how's it goin'?"

"I just finished."

"Ah really can't thank ya enough. You seen Big Mac?"

"Yeah, he finished up and collapsed underneath a tree." she said, lying through omission.

Applejack smiled, "Well, lemme treat ya to dinner. It's the least ah can do fer all yer help."

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I have to get to Zecora's for those supression herbs."

"Alright. Well, don't let me keep ya, then." the farm pony said, giving her friend a hoofbump before wandering off to find her brother.

'Lying to the element of Honesty? And succeeding?'

'She was never good with picking out that she wasn't being told all of the truth, so it works out.'

'I also know you're not going to Zecora's. You don't need those herbs anymore.'

'True, I'm going to find a place to build a hive, and I think I have the perfect idea...'

Some time later, the new queen stood before an ancient stone ruin, much of it having crumbled with age and still more having been destroyed during her first trip to them almost three years ago. Fluttering her wings with a grin, she wandered until she found a stair descending into a darkened tunnel. Much of it was collapsed, but a path through was still available. Reaching the end, she opened the door to a large underground cavern. Weapons and armor were strewn about. Training dummies rotted on their posts.

"Welcome to the training grounds, Chryssy. Celestia's private army trained here, and now the conditions are perfect for a hive."

'Buried deep underneath the old castle, where Tia and Lulu will never look. Brilliant, my dear!'

Twilight nodded and began to lift some things out of the way, "I'm going to need to get some supplies..." she muttered to herself before groaning and falling over, her distended abdomen squirming disturbingly, "Already?!" she shouted as the first egg fell free of her body.

'Given how much love you've consumed today, and how much seed the stallion donated, I'm surprised you made it here first. These first drones will be your strongest and smartest, perfectly suited for royal guards.'

The process was surprisingly painless, and soon she sat next to a group of eight glistening eggs, their occupants squirming already, "How long until they hatch?"

'At least a day... Wait, Twilight, what are you thinking?'

"I can't be here all the time, you know that as well as I. I need some way of controlling them."

'I have a spell for that, actually. I've used it before when I sent sub-swarms out on extended missions. I call it...

Harbinger...'

Author's Note

Another one of those "Short but because of commercial break syndrome" chapters.

If you can't guess why Chryssy's spell is called that, then I'm sure someone else in the comments can tell you.