The Hive Life

by Thorax

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Changelings, Original Character, Comedy, Queen Chrysalis
Length: 11204

Two Hundred years before the crazies, there were some Changelings in a cave.

The Changeling Hive located deep beneath the Equestrian Badlands a bustling haven for all Changelings of Equestria.
Life was good; the ponies had forgotten their existence and it would remain that way for another two hundred years.

However, just because they're safe from outside threats, it doesn't mean they're safe from themselves. These stories will follow three young Changelings as they seek out adventure and other ways to kills time.

Their names? Mandible, future captain of the Changeling Royal Guard. Cocoon, future Queen of the Northern Changeling Hive. Finally, we have Thorax, future..... well let's be honest, I don't see much of a future.

{Set Two Hundred Years before Equestria's Crazies}

Published 2013-02-26 19:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-18 21:01:35 UTC

Episode 1: The Gang

{Authors Note: This story follows the Canon of my previous stories. However, they are not required to enjoy this story. Though several characters such as Queen Chrysalis follow the personality established in those previous stories}

Two hundred years before the return of Princess Luna and the revival of the Elements of Harmony, Equestria was a much darker place. Princess Celestia, the living embodiment of the sun did her best to maintain the peace between her ponies and the many other inhabitants of her world. However, war was common and threats were everywhere in the ever expanding territory of her little ponies.

Griffin Warlords and Dragon Kings waged battles against each other, for the rights to gold and jewels. Pony villages and towns getting caught in the cross fire. The Sun Goddess found herself in a constant state of bargaining in hopes of bringing peace to not only her Ponies, but all the creatures of her world.

However this is not the story of a war torn land, or the story of ponies. No, quite the opposite, this is the story of a thriving race. A race in an almost perfect state of peace, the knowledge of their existence lost to all but the most ancient.

Deep beneath a forsaken area of Equestria, known as the Equestrian Badlands, the long forgotten Changeling Empire continued to flourish. Led by Queen Chrysalis, this species had remained hidden for the past five hundred years, feeding off the love brought in by their top soldiers stationed throughout the surrounding countries.

“General Scarab, it’s good to see you back so soon.” The Changeling Queen stated happily as she returned the Changeling’s salute.

“All is well in the outlining Hives my Queen.” Stated the General as he retrieved several scrolls from his husk woven saddle bags. “The excess magic gathered from operative “Neightoven” alone is enough to feed every Hive for the next three months. Those ponies throw their love at musicians so freely, that if we may be able to bring some of our other operatives home sooner than expected.”

“This is good news, the Hive mothers will be glad to hear their children will be home sooner than expected.” Chrysalis finished as she closed the scroll and stood up from her throne, before making her way towards the large balcony, the General following close behind.

“Look at it Scarab” Chrysalis happily said as she pointed to the small “Village” below. From the surface no one would ever know about the sprawling alien world far beneath the surface. Green fields of grass flowed from the Changeling Castle all the way to the outer most walls. Forests of “trees” blew in the unearthly breeze as the world below was lit by its own sun.

“Scarab? The Changeling Queen repeated as she waved a hoof in front of the stunned Generals face.

“M-m-my Queen” stammered the Changeling as he pointed to one of the “Husk Houses” in the town below, a large pillar of smoke billowing from one side. “Is that not Prin-“

“Yes” Chrysalis stated flatly “That’s Princess Cocoon’s nest.” She finished with a facehoof “Go gather some of your troops and tell them to bring water, I’ll meet you there.”

Meanwhile down in the now smoking nest

“I thought you knew what you were doing!” Shouted Mandible as he threw another bucket of water at the blazing fire before them.

“No, I said I had no idea what would happen.” came the returned shouts of Princess Cocoon as she searched through her spell book.

“Why did I volunteer for this?!” cried Thorax as rolled about the floor, doing his best to put himself out.

The three Changelings had been attempting to create a new spell to synthesis “Love” out of the natural magic. Well more or less Princess Cocoon had been attempting to create a new spell; the other two Changelings had found themselves the victim of poor job choice.

The first Changeling, Mandible, or Private Mandible was assigned the position of Royal Guard to Princess Cocoon. This was just the kindest way of calling him “Personal Servant” to Princess Cocoon. Mandible was one of the latest recruits to the Changeling guard his “Father” had been a nest builder, long before the Hives retreated below the surface.

The second Changeling, Thorax was nothing but ordinary. He had served as a Hive servant to the royal family from which Cocoon had descended. When the Princess had decided to train under Queen Chrysalis he had been sent along to make sure all her needs were met. Sadly for him, those needs usually ended with him on fire.

“Cocoon, Thorax, I think it’s time to get out of here.” Mandible stated in panic as he showed his completely empty bucket.

“You don’t hear me arguing” retorted the Changeling Princess as she opened the door.

“Hello my faithful student” greeted the Changeling Queen as she smiled at her student.

“Uh oh” mumbled the Princess

Several minutes, a dozen buckets of water, one flaming Changeling and some awkward stares from on-lookers later, the fire had been put out, but sadly the nest was unsalvageable. After some quick treatment for some minor burns, and receiving the rest of the day off Mandible and Thorax and wandered off.

However, Chrysalis and Cocoon remained, both silently sitting on the grass, staring at the charred remains of the house.

“So” The Changeling Queen began as she nuzzled her student “Seems like you’re having a rough day. Mind telling me what you were doing to burn down… what is this? The seventh nest?”

“Ninth” Cocoon mumbled sadly as she shifted her gaze towards the ground.

“Oh Cheer up Sad shell” Chrysalis spoke attempting to cheer up her student. “You’ve always done everything in your power to make things better for everyone. Sure a few nests are burned down every once in a while but nobody is ever hurt. So why don’t you tell me what you were working on?”

“Well you remember those reports you sent me a few weeks ago?”

The Changeling Queen paused as she sorted through her thoughts. In between all of her work and other “Project” Chrysalis had begun training Cocoon for when she would reach the maturity to takeover one of the many outlining Hives. However, over the last few weeks she had lost track of her lessons.

“Wait, are you talking about the Gathering Reports?”

“Yeah, well I was reading through them and I noticed how many of the other Changelings were sent outside of their Hives and I thought if I found another way to gather food for us, we wouldn’t need to send so many out.” Cocoon finished a faint bit of sadness in her voice as she remembered her failure.

Chrysalis gave a smile as she stared at her student.

“A very noble cause” She said as she patted Cocoon on the head. “Sadly though, I don’t think there are any such spells. However, I do have something that will cheer you up. Before we came to check up on you, we received news that several of those Changelings will be returning early.”

Chrysalis carefully picked herself up from the ground as she began to stretch.

“Let’s head back to the Castle, there’s something I want to show you and there are a few things we need to talk about.”

Elsewhere in the Hive

Mandible and Thorax continued on their way through the village. Stopping several times in order to gather the necessary items for their night of “forgetting” in their line of work, forgetting was a very nice thing to do.

“An entire weeks pay” Scoffed Mandible as he glanced at the barrel on his back. They had just finished picking up the most important item for their night, the finest brew in any of the Hives.

“You know Mandy” Thorax began

“I told you before, call me that and I will kill you.”

“Fine, you know Mandible. I hate my job, I hate it so much.” Thorax paused as he examined his burn mark on his hoof, one of many.

“Oh you hate your job?” Mandible began mockingly “I was promoted to Royal Guard and ended up being stuck as one of Cocoon’s test dummies. I mean, I love her as much as any other Changeling; she’s our Princess and our friend. But it’s kind of embarrassing… and painful.”

Thorax gave a forced laugh as he began counting his old burns.

“You think that’s bad?” Thorax began as he fell to his flank “I’ve been a servant to the royal family for the past two hundred years. Princess Cocoon was only the latest in the long line of my tormentors. When she was younger I was forced to take part in her games.”

“Oh no, the mighty Thorax was forced to play game with a foal Princess.” Mandible mocked “How is any of that torment?”

“She forced me to play dress up!” Wailed the Changeling as all the repressed memories came flooding back. “She would dress up as a pony called “Queen Celestia” and make me pretend to be her evil sister “Nightmare Moon” then she’d make me run from her throughout the castle.”

Mandible did his best to hold in his laughter, but it was rather hard when someone’s darkest moment was playing dress up with a foal.

“You know what the worst part is?” Thorax asked as he attempted to open the barrel directly

Mandible shook his head, fearing that if he tried to speak his laughter would betray him.

“Changeling Servants are bound to their duty for life. You can't get a promotion, or even change your job if you want. I’ll be stuck in this never ending cycle until something finally kills me.”

“We’ll don’t be so glum; maybe if you’re lucky you’ll get stationed with Queen Chrysalis.”

Mandible waited for an answer as he stared off at his Queen’s sun. Within the next few hours it would begin to dim and eventually go off completely. “Thorax, are you going to answer me?” After several more seconds of silence, Mandible turned to face his friend and was stunned by what he saw.

Thorax had at some point managed to pry the barrel open and had begun downing its contents.

For the next hour, Mandible did his best to keep his possibly alcoholic friend from killing himself. It was a losing battle, but when the alcohol finally kicked in, Thorax was easily subdued and dragged back to his nest.

Back in the Changeling Castle

Queen Chrysalis and her student made their way through the hoof carved halls. Several statues of different Changelings and creatures their identities lost to time. However, as they made their way to end, they came to a stop at two specific ones.

“Cocoon, can you tell me who these two Ponies?” Chrysalis pointed to the first one, a large and imposing Pony adorned in armor. All Changelings were taught about the creatures that lived on the surface. However, this pony was different from the ones she had learned of before. The Pegasi had wings and the Unicorns had horns. However this pony had both.

“Well it looks like the pony from the story Mom use to tell me.” Cocoon answered as she continued to circle them “If that’s Queen Celestia, then is that Nightmare Moon?”

“Well you’re close, that pony is Princess Celestia” Chrysalis stated as she pointed towards the first pony. “The second one is her sister, Princess Luna. Now, I know you’re probably confused as to what this has to do with you.”

“Is this another History lesson on the outside world?”

“Not this time, my faithful student. Not everything can be taught, something’s have to be learned and if you are to one day rule a Hive, you must know of the outside world.”

The Changeling Princess felt a surge of joy as her mind put the pieces together.

“Does this mean you’re going to be taking me to the surface?” Cocoon had seen it only once, during the trip from her home Hive to this one.

“Well, yes and no. You will be heading to the surface to get a true understanding about life on the surface. However, I won’t be accompanying you. Though I would love to be the one to show you all the beauty of the surface and make sure you’re safe, I cannot.” Chrysalis finished as she pulled Cocoon into a hug.

“So I’m to go alone?” the joy in Cocoon’s voice beginning to fade.

Chrysalis let a devious grin spread across her face as she went over her plan once again.

“No, I had a better idea. I want you to pick anyone from the Hive to accompany you. Tomorrow I’ll be sending you to the surface, just for a test run. So do you have anyone in mind to accompany you?”

A grin to rival Chrysalis’s began to grown on the Changeling Princesses face as one of the most sick and twisted thoughts began to run through her mind. She knew exactly who she wanted to bring and she couldn’t wait to see how happy they would be to hear the news.

The next morning at Mandibles Nest

Thorax groaned as he pulled himself from the bed and onto the floor. His head was pounding and the taste of raw fish filled his mouth. He wasn’t sure what had happened the night before all he could remember was being set on fire.

*Knock Knock* came a pounding on the door.

Thorax gave a groan as he began to pull himself towards the door. Though it took him several minutes and the pounding of the door never ceased, he eventually made it to his target.

“Who is it?” Thorax groaned as he pulled the door open.

“It’s your Queen” Chrysalis answered cheerfully as she stared at her little Changeling floating on the edge of consciousness. Part of her wanted to spare him from the torment, but she had promised Cocoon she could take anyone, and these were her friends.

“That’s funny; now tell me the one about the Cave worm in the bar.” Thorax laughed as he rolled over to see his guest.

There was something about the look of pure terror on the poor Changelings face that the Changeling Queen found surprisingly funny.

“You and your friend are going on an adventure” Chrysalis said flatly a grin plastered on her face.

“Eeeyup…. That’s about right.” Thorax said flatly before passing out once again.

Several minutes later Mandible had woken up and was extremely confused to see his Queen attempting prodding Thorax with a large stick and dumbfounded look on her face as if Mandible had been the one doing something weird.

“Good news Solider” Chrysalis spook with a grin once again. “You’re going on an adventure.”

Chrysalis never did find out why both of them passed out.

Episode 2: One Job

{Authors Note: I apologize for the quality of these first two Chapters, I’ve been sick for the past few days and find myself unable to think properly. I did my best to edit these, but I’ll have to come back later.}

Crowds of Changeling On-lookers watched as their Queen and Princess made their way through the town, closely followed by a squad of the finest Changeling Soldiers. News of their Princess’s accent to the surface had traveled fast and many had gathered in hopes of glimpsing the surface. Many of them had also begun to question the two Changelings in the large cage; neither appeared to be prisoners and both appeared to be making the journey to the surface.

“Oh come on Cocoon, let us out.” Whined Mandible as he shook the bars.

“Are you going to try and escape again?” Cocoon answered as she waved to several Hatchlings who had begun following the carriage.

“If I may add” began the Changeling Queen “Your last two attempts were quite well executed. You managed to dispatch your commanding officer with only a wooden barrel.

“And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for those meddling hatchlings and their devourer.”

“Haha” groaned Thorax as he kept his eyes closed hoping the world would stop spinning “It almost ate your face.”

Several minutes of walking, another escape attempt and one extremely sick Changeling later, they had arrived at the gates to the Hive. The large wooden doors, which separated the world of the Changelings, had been opened in anticipation of their arrival.

“My Queen, the guards at the surface entrance have been notified and several scouts have been sent to your requested areas.” Spoke the armored guard as he resumed his position.

“Very good” Chrysalis spoke happily “I assume there have been no real disturbances?”

The guard shook his head as he removed a scroll from his saddlebag and began to quietly read through it. Eventually he closed it and returned it to its spot in his bag.

“There have been reports of a Hydra making a nest within the bog. However, that is outside of your designated areas, so the Princess and her escort shouldn’t run into any trouble.”

“This is excellent news.” Chrysalis began as she entered the door way, closely followed by Princess Cocoon along with her two extremely reluctant “guards” The doors slowly beginning to shut behind them. “I’ll be back within the hour” Chrysalis managed to get out as the doors sealed, locking them in the large stairwell.

The three Changelings and one Queen stood in silence as the stared up what appeared to be a never ending staircase in both directions. Cocoon and Thorax had only seen it once before, on their initial arrival to the Hive. Back in their home Hive they had never been so deep below the surface and overtime they had forgotten how deep they truly were.

Mandible however, had been born within the main Hive and had never even seen beyond the gates, let alone the surface.

“My Queen, where does that lead?” Cocoon asked as she pointed down the staircase.

The Changeling Queen remained silent as she stared down the stairs as she thought about the hell beneath the Hive. She had always intended to tell her people what was so very deep below them, but now was not the time.

“Storage” Chrysalis said with a forced smile “It leads to the water reservoir for the entire Hive.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

After several more minutes of discussion regarding the depth of the Hive and several other forced delays by two specific Changelings. They had completed their long ascent to the Surface and now stood at the final barrier between the hidden world and the surface.

“So, you all understand what is expected of you?” Chrysalis asked as she pressed her hoof on the door.

Cocoon and Mandible both nodded in the affirmative. Thorax however was shaking his head rapidly

“I woke up in a cage, I have no idea what’s happening.” The Changeling flatly stated.

Chrysalis gave a sigh as she prepared to give the speech. However, she was cut off as Cocoon began to speak before her.

“Queen Chrysalis wants me… us to learn first hoof about the Surface. In order to do so, she’s set up a “staging” area for us to explore on our own. We’ll be up there for an hour or so, on our own. When we’re finished we’ll return to this door and back to the Hive.”

Chrysalis felt a bolt of pride go through her as she watched her student take charge. She had explained the situation almost perfectly.

“Okay my little Changelings; it’s time for you to begin.” Chrysalis paused as she began going through her own saddle bag. “However, I do have a gift for you, before you begin.” Slowly and carefully Chrysalis removed a hoof sized glass orb and passed it to her student’s magical grip.

“What is it?” Cocoon asked as she examined the clear glass ball.

“A seer’s Orb” Chrysalis answered as she removed a second one and held it up to her face. “It’ll let you contact me, should the need arise.” With a flare of her horn, a green aura surrounded both balls. Cocoon was surprised when the face of her Queen appeared on her own orb.

“If you have any problems, or need any advice all you need to do is give the orb a jolt and I’ll be there to help. When you’re ready, open the door and follow the trail.” Chrysalis finished as she nuzzled her student and began making her way back down the stairs.

“Oh Shi-“echoed Chrysalis’s faint cry, followed by the loud thuds as she tripped down the stairs. After several seconds of waiting for any sign from their Queen there was nothing and the three Changelings began to worry.

“I’m alright” came a groan from right beside them.

“My Queen?” Thorax and Mandible asked in unison trying to find the source of the voice.

“The Orb” groaned the voice.

Cocoon quickly removed the orb from her Saddlebag and was surprised to see the upside down face of her Teacher. “Are you okay my Queen?” she asked trying to tilt her orb the proper way.

“I’m fine Cocoo- Oh Gods here we go again.” Cried Chrysalis as she began plummeted down the stairs. The three Changelings watched from the orbs perspective as their queen bounced down the stairs behind it. With a final thump the orb cut out, leaving the three Changelings to themselves.

“Well this has been an eventful day; we better go make sure the Queen is safe.” Mandible quickly blurted out as he darted towards the stairs. However he was quickly stopped as a green aura enveloped him. “Stupid Hive mother magic” he hissed as he tried to break free from her grip.

“Not so fast, the Queen gave us a mission and we’re going to complete it.” Cocoon spoke as she pulled Mandible back to the door. “Now if you and Thorax” it was only then that she noticed the missing member of her group. “Where is Thorax?” she blurted as she searched the small platform.

“Out here” came the missing Changeling’s voice to their horror, the voice was coming from outside the door way. “You guys have to come see this.”

Without thinking the other two Changelings quickly made their way through the door and were promptly blinding by one of the brightest things in existence.

“Oh Gods” Mandible as he dropped to the ground “I can’t see! I’m blind, oh what a world.”

Thorax and Cocoon silently watched their friend as he rolled about the ground in apparent agony. They had forgotten to tell him not to look up and apparently that was the first thing he did. Meaning the very first thing he had seen on the Surface was the Sun.

“Guys are you there?” Mandible waited for a response from his friends, but received nothing “Oh Gods you’re dead aren’t you? I’m blind and everyone’s dead. This was the worst idea ever.”

“Oh stop being such a Hatchling” groaned Cocoon as she pulled her friend up off the ground. “You’re not blind, and we’re not dead.”

After several seconds of rubbing his eyes and groaning, his vision slowly began to return and the world around him became clearer.

“It’s a miracle!” Mandible shouted “I can see again, praise Chrysalis!” Mandible slowly began to notice the all the things around him, he was no longer in his nice safe Hive. Now, he was in the most dangerous place he knew of, the surface and that realization set in as he dropped low to the ground.

“You okay buddy?” asked Thorax as he patted his friend on the back. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not worried” Mandible answered with a forced laugh. “I’m just trying to get a better view of everything. By the way, where’s the ceiling?”

Cocoon gave a laugh at her friend’s joke, several seconds later a few awkward stares she realized it wasn’t a joke. “There is no ceiling, that’s the sky.” she stated flatly “We’re outside, there’s no ceiling, or walls.”

Slowly and cautiously Mandible picked himself back up off the ground and shifted his gaze towards to the “Sky” carefully shielding his eyes from the object that had blinded him earlier. To him, it was appeared to be an ocean in the air, dotted by white blobs, which slowly floated atop the sea.

“Okay then,” Cocoon began “Quick rundown, the Sky is the blue thing, the clouds are the white things and the Sun is the light that blinded you. Now if that’s everything, we’ve got a job to do.” The Changeling Princess finished as she pointed towards the faint trail recently made for them.

“So how do we know when we’re done?” Thorax asked as he played with a small bug.

Cocoon remained silent for several seconds as she removed a scroll from her saddlebag and began to silently read after finishing she returned it back to her bag.

“Queen Chrysalis told me, that all we have to do is follow the path to its end and come back home when we’re done.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Mandible asked as he quickly made his way down the trail.

Thorax and Cocoon quickly made their way after their extremely anxious friend. When they finally did catch up to him, he had come to a dead stop in front of a small winged creature. The clueless Changeling had prepared himself for its possible attack and had grasped a large branch in his mouth.

“Mandible, what are you doing?” Cocoon asked as she approached her sheltered and apparently uneducated guard.

The Changeling Guard dropped his branch to speak, never taking his eyes of the threat. “Stay back Princess, it’s my Duty to protect you from any possible threats.” Mandible finished as he gave the creature a hiss.

Cocoon gave a sigh as she pulled the branch away from her guard

“First, don’t call me Princess, it’s weird. Secondly, you know very well, that I’m the one protecting both of you.”

“Hey” shouted Thorax as he pulled a squirrel off his face. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.” As if the universe was attempting to disprove his claim several other squirrels joined in on the assault. “I see you’ve been preparing for this battle Mr.Chippers!” He growled as he threw two off his back. “You beat me ten years ago, but this time I’m ready.”

“Go get em Thorax” shouted Cocoon as she turned back to Mandible who was still readying to fight the menacing bird. “Poor fool is probably going to die.” To her stunned amazement, the bird made its move.

“Back foul demon” Cried Mandible as the small creature began its attack. The poor Changeling was now defenceless he flailed his hooves in the air in his best attempt to scare the creature off. “Cocoon, Thorax, help!”

The Changeling Princess face hoofed as she retrieved the Seers orb from her Saddle bag. She wasn’t sure how her teacher would feel, but she knew this wasn’t what she had planned to happen. With a flare of her horn she sent a jolt of magic into the orb and several seconds later the face of her Queen was staring back at her.

“Oh, Cocoon, I hadn’t expected hear from you so soon.” The Changeling Queen spoke happily as she rubbed the bandages around her forehead. “I hope everything is going okay.”

“Yeah, about that” The young Princess spoke as she rubbed the back of her head. “Everything was going well, until the wildlife showed up.”

“How bad is it? Are any of you hurt?” The Queen asked as she prepared to send out some of her medical staff.

Cocoon didn’t answer; instead she shifted the orb so that it first faced Thorax who was currently being thoroughly beaten by several squirrels who had apparently summoned reinforcements.

Chrysalis was stunned “Is that Mr.Chippers? I thought you said he was one of your servant’s paranoid delusions.”

“I thought he was making it up, but the way he’s yelling and the way it’s chattering, I believe Mr.Chippers has been waiting a long time for this moment.”

Chrysalis groaned as she face hoofed. She had expected years of peace to cause her Children to lower their guard and combat capability. However, she had never expected them to be outmatched by Squirrels.

“And what of your guard?” She asked, hoping that maybe he was faring better. Sure the guards had never seen real combat, but they had been trained for it.

Sadly for her, when Cocoon shifted the orbs gaze once again. She was met with the image of a Changeling Royal Guard having its flank handed to itself by what appeared to be a song bird.

“Oh for the love of the Hive, Cocoon, get it off of me!” cried the slightly wounded Changeling as he continued to run in circles in a vain attempt to get away.

Chrysalis gave a sigh as she realized how bad her soldiers were at being… well, soldiers. She knew if the time ever came where she needed to lead and assault or go to war. They’d most likely be pretty bad off if this was the standard. However, she shook the thoughts of war out of her head. She hadn’t expected her student to take soldiers with her anyways; she had hoped her to bring friends.

“Well my faithful student, you’ve done well so far. You and your friends did leave the confines of the Hive. Though, I had hoped your group would make it to the finish. I understand that this is a lot to ask from all of you. Why don’t you go save you friends, and make your way back down.”

“Are you sure my Queen?” the young Princesses asked a look of worry spreading across her face.

“Yes, you’ve done quite well today, we can try again later.” Chrysalis answered, doing her best to ease her student’s fears. “I’ll meet you back at the entrance; we can get you and your friends some food.”

Cocoon placed the orb back in her saddlebag and began liberating her friends from each of their captives. Several minutes later she was dragging their unconscious bodies towards the entrance of the Hive. Though their wounds were less than minor and at least Thorax’s pride remained intake, they agreed to never speak of that embarrassing event again.

Sadly for both of them though, this was just the beginning of so many painful days to come. They still had much to learn about the surface, and so far they hadn’t even made it ten minutes from the Hive.

Episode 3: Round Two

Cocoon and Chrysalis watched from the Changeling Castles as the Royal Guard gathered in the courtyard below. Word had spread through the Hive quite quickly that some horrid creature had taken control of the Hive's main exit.

"Do you think any of them are aware it's a squirrel?" Chrysalis asked as she adjusted her spyglass to get a better look. The squad of roughly twenty-four of the Hives best-trained soldiers had taken the rumors to heart and had volunteered to take on this menace.

"It's not just a squirrel." The Changeling Princess answered as she went over the events of the previous day. That small fuzzy critter had prepared a militia during its ten years of waiting. Once she had put the orb away, that's when the real war began. First it was more squirrels, but it quickly escalated to swarms of birds circling above. Finally, the snakes began their attack, attempting to cut them off from their escape.

"Cocoon," came a faint voice, "Cocoon!" Chrysalis repeated as she tapped the Changeling Princess, snapping her out of her traumatized state. "What do you mean, it wasn't just a squirrel?"

"You'll see." Cocoon answered flatly as she jumped from the balcony and slowly made her decent towards the gathered Changelings below.

"Thorax, you need to calm down." Spoke one of the three robed Changelings that stood at the front of the crowd.

"You don't understand! We need to strike now, before Mr.Chippers can return with the rest of his unholy brethren!" Shouted the Changeling as he tried to rally the others for support.

"Ah, yes." The first of the three robed Changelings began as she took a step forward. "We've examined all the evidence of this 'Mr.Chippers'," the Councilor added in some air quotes, "and the council has decided that there isn't sufficient evidence to send our soldiers into uncharted land on such wild accusations."

"Uncharted land?!" Hissed Mandible. "They're already at our front door. How can you deny the evidence? Even the Princess has seen the threat Mr.Chippers poses."

"The council has taken the Princess's testimony into consideration. However, we believe that she wasn't fully aware of the events that occurred yesterday. With all the stress you two put on her, I'm sure what was a simple encounter with the wildlife was twisted into something far from the truth."

"Ahem." Cocoon cleared her throat as she landed next to the three Councilors. "Are you questioning the mental health of your Princess?" The Changeling asked, a smug look on her face.

"N-no, No I was just telling these foo-"

"That's good, Councilor. I wouldn't enjoy reassigning you because of a communication error."

"Ooh, she's good." Chrysalis muttered proudly to herself as she continued to watch from the balcony above.

Back on the ground below the Councilors had quickly made their retreat for fear that they'd be reassigned. Thanks to the scene created by the arrival of Cocoon several more Changelings had gathered in the courtyard. Many of them had just been passing by at the moment, a select few having been members of the surface scouts.

"My loyal Changelings," Cocoon began only noticing how many Changelings had gather as she prepared her speech. "Uh..." It was only at this moment did the poor Princess remember she wasn't good with crowds. "Wh- What Thorax and Mandible says is true. Outside of the Hive waits a threat, the likes of which the Hive has never known."

"Is it the squirrel again?" Asked one of the scouts, a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

"If by squirrel, you mean 'Mr.Chippers, blood god of the forest', then yes." Thorax answered flatly.

At that sudden piece of news several of the scouts began to awkwardly poke at the ground, many of them slowly beginning to make their way towards the courtyard exit.

"I just remembered, I've got other things to do.... at the Hydra pit." The lead scout spoke as he rapidly shifted his gaze back and forth. "Very important stuff, really!" He blurted as he bolted out of the courtyard, leaving the remaining guards and other Changelings feeling more nervous than ever.

"Now, I know you might feel nervous," Cocoon began as she tried to reassure the crowd, "but you are the Hive's mightiest warriors! With all of you at our side, I'm sure we can defeat this evil. Now who's willing to stand with us?"

-Three Minutes Later-

"So, it's Thorax, Mandible, new recruit Carapace, General Scarab and myself." Cocoon finished listing as she turned back to her Queen.

"Excuse me, my Queen?" Asked the latest recruit.

"Yes?" Chrysalis answered.

"I'm not actually a new recruit. I was making my way towards a meeting for Changeling artists and Thorax conscripted me into the army."

"Is this true?" Chrysalis asked as she turned to face the now nonchalantly whistling changeling

"I would never, my Queen." Thorax answered as innocently as possible "Cara is just nervous about this whole thing. She's secretly wanted to join the Changeling Army since the day she hatched. I think she's just a little nervous."

"Well, if that's the case, I wish you all good luck." Chrysalis stated proudly as she took off back towards the castle.

"No! Save me, my Queen!" Shouted the poor Changeling as she was left to her fate.

"Welcome to the team!" Thorax stated happily.

"I hate you." Carapace stated, glaring at her fellow Changeling and only slightly contemplating murder. "I hate you so much right now, it's not even funny."

"I love you too." The oblivious Changeling stated as Cara did her best to keep her hooves from strangling Thorax.

"Attention, everyone!" Cocoon stated loudly as she looked at her army of five. She knew it wasn't much in the way of an army. But in the end, deep down inside she knew Mr.Chippers was just another squirrel, a squirrel with tiny acorn trebuchet and the tactical genius of a military General. "I know you're all itching to get this over with. However, we need to have a plan of attack."

There was an awkward pause as Mandible raised his hoof.

"Yes, Mandible?"

"Can we bring the Hydra?"

"No, no, we can't bring the Hydra. It might be evil, but it's still just a squirrel."

Mandible let out a sad sigh as his dreams of gloriously riding a Hydra into battle were quickly crushed.

"Any other questions?"

This time it was Carapace's turn to awkwardly raise a hoof.

"Yes, recruit?"

"Can I go home?"

"No, we need every Changeling possible.'

Cara let out a sad sigh as she realized there was no way out of what Thorax had signed her up for. She'd release a few Chaurus into his nest when she got back. It would be great.

-Twenty Minutes Later-

The five Changelings once again stood at the top of the massive spiral staircase, though it had taken longer than expected. Both Mandible and Thorax had apparently 'tripped' several times on their way up. Strangely enough, both Cocoon and Carapace had a rapidly growing friendship. Finally, the last member of the group, General Scarab had been voluntold by Queen Chrysalis to join this little expedition. The two of them had a secret bet going whether Cocoon's servants would make it back or not.

"Are you ready to go?" Groaned the Changeling Princess as she looked back at the group. "We've rested for the past five minutes and we haven't even gone outside. If you took any longer, we'd have to sleep up here."

"What do you mean? We're moving as fast as we can!" Hissed Thorax as he rubbed the bump on his head.

"To put it in perspective," Carapace began as she made her way to the large door, "if our life was a story, this would be the chapter where the author rambles on about things that don't matter because they don't know what they're doing."

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Cocoon stated happily. "Now, let's get this over with." And with that, she signaled for the scouts to open the entrance and the group slowly made their way back outside.

After several seconds of paranoid blindness as the group waited for their eyes to adjust, they found their surroundings unnervingly peaceful. The path they had seen the day before remained, however their original takers were gone. There were no other sounds but their own breathing. From what Cocoon could tell, this was roughly the same time as their last expedition and yet it seemed like a completely different world.

"I don't like this, Cocoon." Mandible nervously muttered as he picked up a rather large stick with his magic. "Where are they? There were so man-"

"Shhh!" hissed Thorax as he placed his ear to a tree. "They're beyond that bush." The Changeling stated as he pointed towards a large row of shrubs, their height obscuring what could possibly rest behind them.

"Thorax, you're being stupid. How does placing your ear to a tree tell you where a squirrel army is hiding?" Scarab asked skeptically. "I've trained soldiers for over two hundred years and I've yet to see something as ridiculous as this."

"Shhhh!" Thorax hissed once again. "We have the element of surprise and we can't waste it." The Changeling continued as he donned his helmet. "If we strike now, we can take down Mr.Chippers before he even knows we're here."

"Hold on just a minute." Cocoon stated flatly. "I'm in charge of this missio-"

"Carapace, I want you get into the tree tops and make your way towards the other group. Once above them, I want you to wait for my signal."

"I'm not doing this." The poor Changeling found her protests unheard as Thorax continued explaining his plan.

"Mandible and Scarab, you're with me. Once they've spotted us, they'll start firing immediately and if any of us fall, the others must continue."

Scarab let out a sigh and face-hoofed. "Thorax, it's just a squirrel, it's not some demoni-"

"Attack!" Shouted the idiotic Changeling as he blindly charged through the bush.

The four remaining Changelings silently waited and listened for the inevitable end to their friends foolish assault. After several seconds there was a loud scream and the sounds of twigs and branches snapping. Finally, the curses of one rather angry Changeling began to echo about the forest.

"Do we have to save him?" Cara asked reluctantly. "I'm sure the Queen wouldn't mind one missing Changeling."

The Changeling Princess gave a sigh. "Sadly, you're my responsibility, meaning I've got to go save him whether I want the squirrel to eat him or not."

"Well, then." Mandible began as he retrieved his own helmet, "what's the plan?"

-Several Minutes Later-

The four Changelings carefully peered through the bush at their enemy. Several creatures had gathered beneath their captured comrade. From what Cocoon could remember from her studies, all of the creatures that had gathered ate plants, not meat. Meaning, there was no reason for their previous hostilities.

"Carapace, I need you to trust me." Cocoon whispered.

"Why do I know I'm going to regret getting up this morning?"

"II need you to walk out there and try to make contact. I don't think they're hostile, I think Thorax is just an idiot."

Carapace gave a sigh. "You know what, why not? It's the best idea I've heard all day." Carapace finished with another sigh as she slowly climbed to her hooves and made her way out of the bush. "I swear, if they eat me, I'll strangle all of you when I get back." She muttered quietly to herself.

At first, Carapace's approach seemed to go unnoticed by the creatures gathered around Thorax. They seemed more interested in the helmet that had fallen off his head than the Changeling himself. However, as she drew closer, the creatures one by one became more aware of her presence. She found herself relaxing as the creatures seemed to regard her with curiosity instead of fear or malice. However, with the arrival of one specific squirrel all of that changed.

"Oh, by the gods!" Carapace cried as the fluffy critters followed their leaders' commands and engulfed her in a torrent of fuzzy death.

"Hmm, apparently they're hostile." Cocoon whispered to her two remaining soldiers. "Well, then it's time for a full on frontal assault. We rush in, grab Thorax and Carapace and we get out of there. We'll have to send in a squad to capture Mr.Chippers. Let's do this!" Cocoon finished as she stood up and prepared to charge.

-23.2 Seconds Later-

"I hate all of you." Cara and Cocoon spoke in unison as all the Changelings dangled from the large oak tree.

"I'll get you someday, Mr.Chippers." Thorax hissed as he stared down at the squirrel. His only response was a quick chatter and an acorn to the face.

"Hey, Scarab?" Mandible groaned as he once again tried to escape the rope that hung him from the tree.

"Yeah?" Answered the tired General.

"When we get out of here, you want to go get a drink? Possibly a lot of drinks?"

"You know it." The General answered flatly as he waited for someone else to escape.

"Mr.Chippers, I don't know what you want, or what you're planning, but I'll stop you." Thorax hissed once again as he continued to struggle. Once again, Mr.Chippers prepared an acorn. However, nature is a cruel, cruel mistress. Mr.Chippers learned this the hard way, in the form of a hawk.

"My gods, it ate him." Cocoon muttered a hint of disgust in her voice.

"I win." Thorax stated bluntly as he watched the hawk devour his ultimate enemy. Nature was truly a fascinating thing.

After a few minutes of hawkward silence Carapace was the first to speak.

"So, anyone know how we get down from here?"

Author's Note

Sorry about the extreme delay in chapters. College is currently beating me up, so I've written this for all of you.

[Edited by IceOfWaterflock.]

Episode 4: Not doing stuff

Authors Note: Writing whatever I want to try and break writers block. Don't expect much plot in this chapter... or direction.

Deep within the Changeling Hive, two average Changelings sat on a small bench and stared out at a small green pond off in the distance. The two of them had spent little over an hour in silence, as they stared out at the water.

"You ever get the feeling we're supposed to be doing something?" Thorax asked without taking his gaze off the pool of water.

"Every moment of my life" Mandible answered flatly.

"No, I mean at specific moments, do you ever get the feeling that somewhere out in the hive someone or something is waiting for you to do a very specific thing." the Changeling shifted his gaze from to town back towards the nest filled town in some vague hope that maybe that someone would be standing there, ready to tell him what he had to do

"You sure you're still not tuned into the hive mind?"

"You know how much I hate the hive mind" Thorax answered a bit of bitterness in his voice

"Everyone is so snooty there with their "We have come to consensus" and always trying to get everyone to agree with them."

"Well then" Mandible began as he slowly stood up "I don't know what to tell you other than, you strange little bug who believes imaginary Changelings are waiting for him to do something somewhere. But I think I might know something that might take your mind off it."

"What's that?" Thorax asked as he picked himself up off the bench

"Food, I hear Harbinger has been working on some new combinations of Surface food and love. Maybe we should go see if it's any good."

Thorax's eyes narrowed in suspicion "What kind of surface food are we talking about here? It's not going to be another one of those foul "Lemons" is it?"

Mandible let out a laugh at the memory; they had both decided to try some of the new surface food that Harbinger had shipped in from one of the nearby griffin settlements. The two of them had decided they would try some new food. Mandible himself and enjoyed his "Apple" greatly. Sadly though, his friend hadn't shared the same experience with the "Lemon" he had chosen apparently it was too sour for his liking.

"No lemons, I promise" Mandible finished with another chuckle

Meanwhile in the Changeling Castle

“You ever get the feeling you’re supposed to be doing something?” Chrysalis groaned as she rolled about in her throne unable to find a comfortable position.

“Well seeing as you’re the Queen, you should probably be doing something.” Scarab stated flatly

“Oh is someone still a little grumpy that a squirrel managed to defeat them?” The Changeling Queen said jokingly with a light chuckle

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The General once again stated flatly

“Fine, be that way" groaned the Queen as she slowly slid from her throne and onto the floor. "I didn't feel like bugging you anyways." Chrysalis paused as she thought about what she had said "Ha-ha, "Bugging" the boredom had made even a simple bug pun funny to her.

"Gods above we need to get you doing something" Scarab stated with a facehoof as he stared at his Queen who was still sprawled on the floor chuckling to herself. "Up you go!" grunted the Changeling as he hoisted his Queen off the ground and onto his back.

"See it's funny because we're bugs and I was bugging you!" Chrysalis stammered in between her growing fits of laughter.

"Yes, very funny" he said with a forced chuckle as he struggled under his Queen's weight

"There's no need to be sarcastic with him" Chrysalis forced out between laughs "I'm not trying to Antagonize you" there was a slight pause as Chrysalis stared the general directly in the eyes as she did her best to hold back her laughter

"Bahaha, get it! ANTagonize you!"

Scarab did his best to keep his balance as he proceeded to facehoof.

Gods above, I hate my job

Elsewhere in a far off Changeling Nest

"Just hold still Carapace" The Changeling Princess insisted as she continued to mix different beakers and vials together.

"Shouldn't I be wearing one those suits too?" Carapace asked nervously as she pointed at Cocoon's Hazard suit. The Changeling Princess was unrecognizable in her Carapace suit, the faint glow of the Changelings eyes passing through the tinted visor.

"Don't be ridiculous" Cocoon stated flatly "I need the suit to protect me from any possible effects of these chemicals."

"But what about me?!" Pleaded the other Changeling as she watched one of the beakers slowly begin to foam and bubble.

Cocoon let out a light chuckle "How are we going to test these chemicals if you're in a suit?"

"But I should be out building some nests" Carapace stated awkwardly she took a slow step back "It is my job after all" she finished with a forced chuckle

"Don't worry, I pulled some strings and one of my personal servants is taking your place."

"That's very thoughtful Princess" Cara forced a tone of gratefulness "But maybe you should get your servant to do this instead while I go back to work."

Cocoon removed her suits helmet as she placed the beaker back on the counter with the other bubbling concoctions

"It's no trouble" she said with a smile "Thorax and Mandible were supposed to help me today, but I can't seem to find them. So I decided I'd get you to help me instead, we didn't have much time to talk while hanging from that tre-"

"Forgive me Princess!" cried Carapace as she dived out the nest's window and quickly buzzed off.

"Why does nobody want to help me science?" The Changeling Princess asked herself sadly.

Roughly 200 Years later

A lavender Unicorn and a purple baby dragon sat in a tree house library together, not sure what they wanted to do on this fine day.

"Spike, you ever get the feeling that someone, somewhere at some point in time wants to do Science?" The lavender mare asked as she lazily flipped the page in her book

"Nope" the baby dragon answered flatly as he continued to munch on jewels.

"I'm sure someone wants to do science, but they're unable." the mare stated a slight hint of sadness in her voice

Back with the original group of Changeling - 200 years in the past

"So what do you want to do now Mandible?" Thorax asked as he wiped some crumbs from his face

"Maybe we should go see if Cocoon needs us for anything?" mandible answered as he thought about what possible horror their Princess had waiting for them.

"I'm sure she doesn't need us today" Thorax stated awkwardly as he shifted his hooves about. "Besides, if she needed us I told her where we'd be." The changeling continued his lie. Thorax didn't enjoy lying, especially to royalty, but every once in a while he needed a break from having horrible things happen to him. However the fates decreed that on this day, bad things would happen to him.

*Thud*

Thorax groaned as he rubbed his head and slowly picked himself up. A look of horror slowly spread across his face as his world stopped spinning and the face of his "attacker" became clear.

"You" hissed Carapace as I she stared at the dazed Changeling

"Oh hey Cara" Thorax chuckled nervously "What brings you to this side of the hive?"

"Cocoon is trying to perform experiments on me!" growled the changeling mare "You didn't show up, so she decided to use me as her test subject."

"I don't know what you're talking about" Thorax lied once again "I told Cocoon where we wou-" Thorax cut off by the faint echoing of a familiar voice and the faint buzzing of wings.

"Carapace wait up, I'm sure we can work something out!" Rang the voice of Princess Cocoon "It's for the good of the Hive"

"Run" hissed Cara as she bolted, quickly followed by both Mandible and Thorax.

The three ordinary Changelings knew they weren't a match for any properly trained Changeling, let alone someone from the royal blood line. However, the three of them held one advantage and that was Cocoon inability to full control her Hive connections. Where Chrysalis could track them with a single thought, Cocoon could only contact them if they were willing.

"We can't keep running" painted Mandible as they the group continued to flee from the Changeling Princess

"We need to buy ourselves some more time!" Cara responded as she turned her gaze towards Thorax "This is for sending me on a squirrel related suicide mission." shouted the mare as she stuck her hoof out.

"I regret nothing!" cried the Changeling as he was tripped and sent rolling off course

"Why would you do that?!" cried Mandible as he continued to gallop

"If I recall correctly you were part of that little squad that got me mauled by woodland creatures. It was either you or him, so stop complaining!"

"Fair enough"

Several yards back

The downed Changeling could hear the approaching buzzing of Cocoon's wings as he slowly continued to his crawl. He might have been downed, but he could at least pull himself to some form of hiding place.

"Carapace!" came every approaching voice "Please don't make me pull rank, but in the name of Science I will!"

Thorax knew he was doomed, there was no way she wouldn't see him if he didn't get into a building he'd have no chance of survival, and then it would be back to testing.

"As your Princess I command you to stay where you are!" The voice was mere seconds away.

And then Thorax saw it, his favorite bar. Maybe I can have a drink before I die he groaned as he put all his strength into making in into the large husk building and with seconds to spare he managed to push the door open and shut it behind him.

"I gave you a chance for easy science" rang the faint voice as it passed the bars entrance "But now we're going to have to do science the hard way!" Cocoons voice slowly faded it.

Thorax let out a sigh of relief as he looked up from the ground and at his new safe haven. However instead of the Changeling filled bar he had hoped for, he was met with a rather strange sight. Instead of dozen of Changelings enjoy a drink during their time off, there were only two all too familiar faces sitting at the bar counter.

"My queen? General Scarab?" Thorax asked in complete confusion.

"Who's there?" Slurred the Queen as she lifted her head off the bar counter and searched the room "Oh Drone #626" the drunken queen stated happily "Wh-what bring you to this fine establ- establis- Bar this glorious morning!"

"Uh" The confused Changeling was about to begin, but decided it was best to spare his intoxicated Queen the truth. "Oh, I'm just waiting here in case Princess Cocoon needs my help."

"Oh is she still bugging you" Scarab spoke, quickly placing a hoof over his mouth after realizing his terrible mistake.

Chrysalis once again broke into a fit of laughter "You get it Drone #626! Bugging, because we're bugs!" the drunken queen continued to laugh between the odd hiccup.

"Is she okay?" Thorax asked in confusion

Scarab gave a long sigh "She's been like this all day, it only got worse once we got here."

Chrysalis did her best to hold back her laughter as she attempted to speak, the odd chuckle managing to break through.

"I'm sorry Scarab, why didn't you tell me, I was Droning on?" The queen finished just in time for another fit of laughter.

Scarab just facehoofed.

"I think I'm just going to head back outside" Thorax spoke awkwardly as he took a few steps back.

"Don't flea!" Chrysalis slurred as she held back another fit of laughter.

Scarab facehoofed for the 30th time this morning.

"Get it!" stammered the drunken Queen, "Don't FLEA!" with that she fell back into a drunken mixture of laughter and passing out.

"You know what" groaned Thorax "Just give me a drink."

Back outside

"That didn't even slow her down!" cried the extremely exhausted Changeling as he struggled to keep running, only the fear keeping him motivated.

"I don't know, maybe she burned through Thorax faster than I had thought, maybe she's just out for all of us." cried Carapace as she contemplated surrendering. However, the thoughts of those smoking and bubbling beakers kept her running.

The two Changelings knew they couldn't go much longer, unlike Cocoon whose royal blood could keep her going for days on end. At the same time however, they couldn't just surrender to the Changeling Princess and her insane science experiments. If the two of them wanted any hope of surviving they'd have to find a hiding place.

"Into the pond!" shouted Mandible as he dived into the greenish water. Carapace hesitated and eventually decided that it was probably her best hope of survival.

"Ugh, gah, I-I go-t some of it in my mo-outh!" gasped Mandible as he tried to get the foul tasting pond water out of his mouth.

Meanwhile on the edge the pond

The Changeling Princess stood at the edge of the water and stared at the two flailing Changelings before her. She wasn't sure what either of them had hopped for seeing as the water was little more than two or three feet deep, and yet both of them seemed to be on the verge of drowning in the shallow pond.

"Up you go!" Cocoon stated flatly as she grasped the two Changelings with her magic and pulled them out of the water.

"Hello Cocoon" Mandible said with an awkward laugh

"Fancy meeting you here, here I was looking for Carapace and found myself a second volunteer." The Princess finished speaking with a smug smile. Sadly for Carapace and Mandible, Cocoon had yet to release her magical grip, leaving them unable to flee.

"Now, if you had waited a few more seconds, this would have all been avoided" The Changeling Princess spoke as she retrieved two green vials from her saddle bags. "All you have to do is drink these and you're free to go."

The two Changelings continued to shift their gaze back and forth from each other and the vials they both now held in front of them. Each of them hoping the other would be the first to down the vial concoction. Eventually they came to a silent mutual agreement and both downed their drinks.

Mandible was the first to stifle his gag-reflex "That stuff's foul, it tastes like Chaurus dung"

The Changeling Princess quickly took down some notes and turned her attention to Carapace.

"Well that's not good" she stated in slight concern as she stared at the unconscious Changeling. "I was just trying to make a new beverage." she finished as she continued to take notes.

Mandible just stared in stunned silence.

Back in the Bar

"You know wh-what I think" stammered the drunken Thorax

"Whut" groaned the Changeling Queen, now lying on the floor.

"I think, I think we shoul-" And then he passed out.

Scarab silently stared at the unconscious Changeling and his Queen who was teetering on the edge of consciousness.

"Gods above" he groaned "I'm a glorified larva sitter."

Author's Note

Look a this pile of poop, look at it!
I hope you're all willing to forgive me for this god awful chapter.

It's currently 2:57AM and I've spent the last three days working on this chapter and my god do I feel like a failure

Edit: I forgot to thank Toku for ALL the bug puns anyone could never want

Mini-Episode 1: Oh Gods

"Touch it" Mandible said nervously as he crouched behind a rock

"This is a terrible idea" Thorax hissed back as he stood in front of the monstrously large sleeping beast.

"We're getting paid to retrieve some Widowmaker venom, if we go back without it that means empty stomach for us."

"We're getting paid by Cocoon" Thorax whispered as he decided against it and moved back to the hiding spot with Mandible. "That means it's a suicide mission in the name of "science" and I don't want anything to do with it."

Mandible gave a sigh "I don't like it any more than you" he spoke as he peaked over the rock back at the sleeping arachnid. "But it’s either getting paid for going on a suicide mission, or get ordered to go on a suicide mission.

Widowmakers the largest type Arachnid in all of Equestria and other abominations lived beneath the hive in the forbidden lower levels. However their venom made one of the best healing powders so every now and again a squad of highly trained Changeling soldiers were sent into the lower levels to gather some. Sadly neither Mandible nor Thorax were those trained soldiers.

"This is a terrible, terrible idea" Thorax whispered as both he and Mandible once again stood in front of the maw of the sleeping arachnid "Wait" a look of horror slowly spreading across the Changelings face. "How do we get the venom?"

Mandible was about to answer as a slow rumbling sound came from in front of them, right where the Widowmaker was sleeping.

"Oh pooh" the Changeling muttered as the arachnid slowly pulled itself up off the ground. The beast gave a low growl as it stared down at the two much smaller insects.

"What do we do now?" Mandible whispered as he locked his gaze on the Widowmaker's glowing yellow eyes

Thorax didn't answer, instead a ring of green flames washed over him leaving a much smaller Widowmaker in his place.

"Mama!" he shouted at the larger beast, in hopes that maybe, just maybe his disguise would work and he wouldn't. The sudden roar that echoed throughout all layers of the Hive served as a sign that it did not work and they would soon be dead.

Meanwhile in Chrysalis's Castle

"Did you hear that?" The Changeling Queen asked as she lifted her head from her couch and peaked out the window.

"Yes my Queen" Scarab answered from his guard post at the door. "Sounds like a Widowmaker..... About to eat two really stupid Changelings."

"I should go save them shouldn't I?" Chrysalis sighed as she pulled herself off her couch.

"Probably" Scarab answered flatly

The Changeling Queen gave another sigh as she lazily lifted off and slowly started on her way towards the forbidden levels of the Hive "Maybe I'll get a snack first" Chrysalis's muttered to herself as she slowly buzzed through the air.

5 Minutes ago in Cocoon's nest

Cocoon remained unshaken as a some unseen creatures roar echoed through the house. Silently she put down her beaker and the other chemicals she was currently mixing, before turning her gaze towards Carapace who had been recruited as her assistant.

"One job" Cocoon stated flatly "I gave them one simple job."

"I say we leave them." Carapace answered with a smile "I mean, it you said it was a simple job, we can't always be there to bail them out."

"Science does demand sacrifices" The Changeling Princess answered as she thought about leaving them. "But getting eaten by a Widowmaker seems a little harsh."

"I guess" Carapace said with a bit of sadness hinted in her voice.

Back with the two morons

"I think we lost her" Thorax wheezed as he tried to catch his breath.

"I think the Leviathan ate her!" Mandible shouted back with a look of horror. As his mind still tried to process the horrors he has just witnessed. They had heard tales of Leviathans giant unholy abominations the size of mountains but they didn't think such creatures could possibly exist.

"That thing was huge, did you see it? I remember them talking about those things, but I thought it was a myth. That thing could swallow our Castle whole, in fact I think it could just swallow the Hive" Mandible took a deep breath as he fell on his flank.

"I just want to go home" Thorax answered as he finally slumped to the ground. "I miss when the only thing trying to kill me was a squirrel. Now it's abominations and world eaters."

As if to add insult to injury the familiar clacking of claws rapidly began to fill the air as their friendly neighborhood Widowmaker peered its head over the rock that served as their hiding place.

"Oh come on" Both Mandible and Thorax groaned in unison as they stared up at the creature about to devour them.

The two Changelings closed their eyes as they prepared to embrace whatever horrible death was about to come.

"Bad Girl" came the familiar voice of Chrysalis; causing the two other Changeling's to open their eyes. A look of stunned confusion washed over their faces as they watched Chrysalis scold the beast. "That's a bad girl Buttercup; we don't eat mommies’ minions." The Widowmaker started shamefully at the ground as Chrysalis continued to lecture it on why eating Changelings was bad.

A few minutes later Chrysalis finished her lecture and sent the creature on its way. Afterwards she turned her attention to the two fools who apparently thought entering a forbidden place was a good idea.

"Oh gods, you two again?" Chrysalis sighed as she realized who she had just saved. "You two couldn't even deal with a squirrel."

"I dealt with that squirrel" Thorax shouted in response.

"No you didn't, a hawk did." Mandible retorted.

"Yes I did..." Thorax whispered to himself. "Besides Cocoon made us do it."

Chrysalis gave a facehoof "You two are just lucky that was a baby, the adults don't play with their food."

*Thud* *Thud*

Chrysalis wasn't too surprised at the sight of not one, but two unconscious changelings.

Author's Note

Just a mini-chapter to show that this story isn't cancelled or forgotten. I've got a lot of stories on my plate and no real idea on where to take them.

I do apologize for anyone waiting for new chapters, but if you're willing to give it a shot