I was drowning.

I was trapped in some thick, sticky substance. Not having time to wonder why I was submerged in an unknown liquid, I focused on trying to find air. Feeling the slight tug of gravity, I wiggled and squirmed upwards, hoping to find the surface. Instead, I hit something solid.

Was I trapped under something? I didn’t have time to think, I was going to drown if I didn’t do something fast. I punched and pounded on the ceiling above me, trying to break through. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before I shattered whatever surface was above me, and pushed myself up.

I broke through the surface of the liquid, taking deep, gasping breaths. All at once, there was a cacophony of senses that I couldn’t make heads or tails of. Sound had returned to me, but I couldn’t see anything except dull green glows. Were my eyes closed?

I could think now that my life wasn’t in danger. The last thing I remembered was someone demanding my wallet and then an intense heat in my chest.

I thought to myself, ‘I think I gave it to him, but where am I? Why was I submerged in this sticky stuff?’

As I hacked and coughed my lungs clear, I started to make out the specific sounds that rose to a roar around me.

Chirping.

Buzzing.

Skittering.

My eyes shot open and the avalanche of unsettling sounds ended abruptly.

The vague green lights started to come into focus; I was in a dark room. As my eyes became more and more adjusted to the ambience, I could make out more details. I was in a large, circular cave. Bright green light seeped down from what seemed to be skylights in the ceiling, casting the cavern in a green hue. All around me were vague green blurs. The walls were made of a dull, warped black substance. It looked to me like obsidian without its sheen. The walls curved, looped, and warped in on themselves, not a straight line in sight. The very image of an alien hive.

The blurs came into focus as my eyes continued to adjust themselves; I was surrounded by sickly-green eggs.

‘Oh god, am I about to get chest-bursted?!’

Looking down, I realized that I came from an egg, too. Though, mine was a lighter green and somewhat larger than the others.

‘Oh god, am I going to chest-burst someone else? Thats….. Slightly better, but still terrifying!’

Then I noticed my own form. My arms, which I had rested upon the edge of my egg after breaking it open, did not end in hands. They were solid masses, black in color, and rigid like rock.

‘Where are my hands? W-what is on my arms?!’

I flailed and banged my arms against the egg. My efforts rewarded me when my movements rocked the egg backwards, and I fell on my back, spilling the thick, viscous clear substance out of the egg.

‘Eugh! What the fuck am I covered in?! A-and w-what is… is…’

From the neck down, I was a caterpillar. Thick white spheres, decreasing as size the lower they went, were covered in the slime that nearly drowned me.

I couldn’t see my legs. I couldn’t see my chest. In the center of my vision wasn’t a nose, but a black muzzle.

Naturally, I reacted the same way any sane man or woman would.

Broodnurse Psocid watched on as the newly hatched changling larva hissed, screeched, and flopped around erratically. She had sent Broodnurse Lethocerus off to inform the Queen that the hatching had begun, and would return soon. For now, she was alone.

“Strong set of lungs,” Psocid remarked quietly to herself, “and such fierce aggressiveness! Her Majesty will be most pleased.”

Right on cue, the sound of hoofsteps behind her caught her attention and Psocid turned to see the lings who had just entered the nursery. She bowed deeply, touching her muzzle to the ground, and greeted the two visitors.

New sounds interrupted my existential crises and I stopped screeching at the top of my tiny lungs to look over, still prone on my back, at the sources of the interruption.

I saw three figures towering over the clutches of small eggs that covered the ground of the chamber. The closest had its back to me, head down to the ground. A second, similar looking to the first, stood next to the third figure.

It was the third figure that captured my attention immediately, to the point where I only noticed the other two when they spoke. It was vaguely horse shaped, with four legs, a body, a long neck, and a roughly horse shaped head. That’s where the similarities ended, and the wrongness began.

It was charcoal black, covered in the same slightly glossy substance that my arms were coated in. It towered above the other two figures, standing heads above them. Where the other two had a torso of shades of a deep sea blue, this monumentous figure had shades of faded lime green on her torso and eyes that would make Disney villains envious. These faded into a dull teal towards her front shoulders.

But what I noticed first was the head. A thick curtain of blue matted hair surrounded her head like a veil. A tall, gnarled, twisted black horn sprouted from her forehead. Atop her head rested a cluster of antennae, resembling a crown.

Massive eyes accented with feminine eyelashes dominated the face of the creature, half-lidded, with green slitted eyes of a cat. A massive cat, at that.

And it was looking right at me.

Smiling with a fanged grin.

Her mouth moved as a series of sounds echoed their way across the chamber. With the repeated sounds, I guessed that it was a language. It was speaking to the other two figures, even as it kept its eyes on me.

I tore my eyes away from the amalgamation of chitin and ligaments to gaze at the bowed figure. It was similar to the other figure next to the giant: all three were insectoid horses. Now I noticed it had shades of a deep sea blue on its torso, and its eyes were a light teal with a white mass as pupils. There was no crown, nor any strange matted hair. Its horn was smooth, smaller, and curved backwards.

‘S-so, that, that thing must be a… a Queen? That would certainly fit with the Alien motif. And it’s speaking, which means it’s intelligent. And– oh god it’s getting closer!’

“Broodnurse Psocid, I trust that you have not failed to alert me in time to be present for the hatching,” Queen Chrysalis interrogated the bowed broodnurse while staring at the hatched changling larva.

“N-no My Queen! You are right on time for it!”

The queen never took her eyes off the larva, “then why is a larva already hatched?”

“He hatched long before the rest, My Queen! As soon as the egg stirred, I sent Lethocerus to inform you at once,” Broodnurse Psocid pleaded.

Broodnurse Lethocerus nodded, “This is true, My Queen.”

Psocid continued, “You will be most pleased to hear that it is a strong and healthy pr-”

“Do not presume to tell me what to feel, drone,” the queen belted at the cowed broodnurse. “I will make my own evaluation.”

Queen Chrysalis passed the nurse to get a closer look at the larva. Her presence already causing the nearby eggs to start twitching, she levitated the larva up to eye level. It was large for a larva, nearly twice the usual size. Still, she could hold it with a single hoof. It looked strong and healthy, as Psocid judged it to be. And to hatch so long before the rest?

The larva did not squirm or hiss, it just stared at the queen. Chrysalis looked straight into its eyes, “I expect great things from you, little one. I name you Phasmatodea, Prince of The Changling Wastes, heir of the fourth Hive Dynasty.”

The nearby eggs rocked back and forth as the giant queen approached. The eggs started to crack but I paid no notice, for a creature fifteen times my size was upon me. It stopped a foot in front of me, never taking its gaze off of me.

As it drew closer, I could see its grotesque visage in clearer detail. The black, glossy chitin that covered it was polished to perfection. Its legs were covered in holes, seemingly placed randomly. Two thin transparent blue wings, bigger than myself, lay flat on her back. She had a tail that resembled the hair coming from her head. Or would that be a mane?

Its horn glowed with the same light green hue as her eyes, and I felt myself being picked up off of the cold cavern floor. Instead of being filled with panic as the horrifying queen picked me up and stared into my eyes, I felt a sense of deep contentment. She looked me over for a moment before speaking to me in that strange horse-speak. I did not understand the words she spoke, but I understood their meaning.

Prince Phasmatodea, My new name.

The skittering and chirping I heard when I first awoke started to come back, but not to the deafening level it first was. I heard someone speak, not with my ears, but from within my own mind.

“Welcome to the Weave, Prince Phasma.”

‘W-what? Who’s there?’ The voice did not speak again. ‘Hello? Are you the… queen? And am I a prince?’

As I wondered this, I noticed myself in the reflection of the queen’s massive eyes.

My head was black for the most part, though it turned into the white that the lower parts of my body were, starting at the ears. Speaking of ears, they were near the top of my head, and extended outward. My eyes were the same as the queen herself, only I had faded orange slitted irises, rather than the villain green.

Strange, I took after her rather than the other two similar creatures, the Changelings. That was probably important, I noted absently.

‘Wait, changelings? How did I know that?’

”Grow strong, my larva. For you will bring me the future,” continued the voice.

‘It must be the queen speaking, but she cannot hear me.’

The queen opened her mouth, giving me a nice view into her elongated muzzle, filled with teeth and fangs. Pink wisps of fog started to emanate from the back of her throat, drifting lazily outwards. Almost immediately, whispering started to drown out the dull skittering and clicked that filled the back of my mind.

“With you by my side-” “- very best-” “- You shouldn’t have-” “-say you and I go-”

There was something else. Some thing beyond anything I had ever experienced. It was good, but I could not place how it was good. Did I taste it, like a shark tastes blood in the water? Could I smell it like a bloodhound smells a steak? I didn’t know how, but I wanted it. I needed it!

My mouth opened and I drew in gasping breaths, my tongue rolling out and trying to grasp at the ethereal tendrils of love.

The pink mist flew into my mouth and I instantly tasted the most divine thing that I could possibly imagine. This ambrosia and nectar filled every inch of my being with warmth and filled my stomach to the brim.

My mind… Clouded. So good. Wanted…. More love.

The queen broke eye contact and I felt myself being moved again, this time to the queen’s back. I could hardly care, I was already starting to slip into what I assumed was the best food coma I had ever experienced. I barely noticed that the whispers had vanished, leaving me alone with the skittering and chirping again.

I hiccuped.

As I curled up on the green shell that housed the queen’s now retracted wings, I stared out with half-closed eyes at the small eggs, which had now begun to crack and break open. Smaller versions of myself, though with the blue eyes of the, what I could only guess to be, drones poked their fat heads out.

They too started to hiss and flail, only at each other rather than their new existence. Or maybe they did, I wasn’t in a state to care.

‘I have no idea what’s going on,’ I remarked with a quiet giggle that came out as muted hisses. ‘Nap time, I think.’ As sleep took me, I noticed– and then immediately discarded– the fact that the small hatchlings were now crawling towards me, or rather, the queen.

Psocid rose after Queen Chrysalis past her, then moved to stand beside Lethocerus. They shared a glance before returning their attention to the royalty in the room. They were silent until their queen started to feed Prince Phasma.

“Her Majesty must care for the larva’s condition no small amount if she is feeding him undiluted love, from her own personal store no less,” Lethocerus whispered.

Psocid’s muzzle scrunched up as she thought, “Makes sense. When was the last time she laid a prince or princess?”

Lethocerus was silent for a moment. “... Not anytime within the unsealed nursery records.”

The eggs around the queen started to crack and break as the rest of the brood entered the world. “More than an entire century?” Psodic asked, and Lethocerus nodded.

The larva was now starting to swarm over Queen Chrysalis, a few fighting over the best spots. This generation seemed to favor the holes of Chrysalis’s back legs, closer to Prince Phasma.

Soon enough the larva’s collective hissing died down as they curled up on the queen, and a silence once again took the chamber. Psocid counted the intact eggs scattered about.

Comparing her count to the figures available through the Weave, Psocid commented quietly, though loudly enough for Chrysalis to hear, “Four out of fifty one eggs. That is the most successful clutch we’ve had in decades. In the entirety of the records, in fact.”

Queen Chrysalis looked over to the two broodnurses, who immediately straightened up, before glaring at the Prince’s egg. “As expected. Even as larva, the new drones feel the pull of Prince Phasma on the Weave.”

“His voice is quiet, My Queen,” Lethocerus remarks. “He is as silent as the rest of the larva.”

Chrysalis sneers, “simple minded dolt! Do you think I have forgotten basic changeling biology?” She questions with a hiss. “He does not speak words, but his mere presence is felt. And this nursery better be cleared out by the hour, Broodnurse Lethocerus, or you’ll be going into the recycling vat as well!”

“At once, My Queen!” Lethocerus ducks and says. A bit too loudly it would seem, as several larva rustle, earning another glare from the queen.

Psocid helped clear out the egg shells and the diluted love-infused albumen fluids off of the ground. The two changelings worked deathly quiet, the slightest noise earning yet another signature glare from their queen. It was quite the trip from the nursery to the recycling vats, but the broodnurses worked quickly with practiced expertise.

The Hatching. The day when the broodnurses welcomed the young into the world, and the day when the nurses squirmed under Queen Chrysalis’s scrutiny.

Psocid remarked that she had no idea whether she looked forward to Hatchings or whether she dreaded them.

As I woke from my dream of medieval France ruled by giant moths, it became immediately apparent that I was not, in fact, still on top of the queen. I was laying on the ground, covered in warm things.

Opening my eyes, I saw that once again I was in the circular cavern. The light green light flowing in from the ceiling hadn’t changed in the slightest. These changelings really need a new interior designer.

The warmth was not from my blankets, and the hard floor was definitely not my bed. Whatever this strange new existence was, it was here to stay. I really was still a changeling, and now I was covered in smaller changeling larva; they seemed to have piled around me.

The chirping in my mind had quieted even more, I had to focus to listen to it.

‘Well, this is not going away, I need to take stock of what I know. I am a changeling larva. I feed on love.’

How did I know these two things?

‘The voice that spoke to me without words, it was as if it was projecting straight into my mind.’

Maybe it did. Maybe the queen was communicating telepathically. Anything was possible at this point.

‘The changeling queen, it called me Prince Phasma.’

That must be my new name. And since I was a prince and she was a queen….

‘She… is my mother.’

The matching traits supported this; no other changeling had the eyes we did. All these drones have blue eyes with a clouded iris, meanwhile the queen– my mother– and I had slitted irises, like a cat. I was also comparatively massive, surrounded by these smaller changelings.

That all suggests she laid my egg herself, and no other egg.

‘My last memory, I was being robbed. There was an intense heat…. I must not...have...’

I had died. I had died and was reborn into the body of a royal insect horse.

‘Fuck.’

‘This is my life now.’

I was still in the pile of larva, the center of a veritable mountain of changelings. At two feet tall, we were the highest point in the nursery. At least until the two changeling drones that first accompanied the queen returned to the room.

One noticed me staring, and paused midstep, returning the stare. She leaned to the side and whispered to her companion, who also halted and stared.

They were each carrying something, using the same telekinesis that the queen used to pick me up. Large black jars, the tops of them had no lid. I could see a light pink glow emanating outwards, a stark contrast to the– at this point nauseating– lime green light that the changelings loved to shine on literally everything.

Apparently, the workforce prioritized monologuing, evil-looking queen positions before interior designers. Or they were all color blind.

I caught the same taste/smell/feel of love as the drones carried the jars closer to my fortress of chitin, but the jars couldn’t be filled with the stuff, I’d have sensed the potent emotion the moment they carried them into the room.

Perhaps the love was watered down or baked into whatever baby-food the jars must be filled with. At least, I assumed it was food for us chubby changelings.

‘Heh, larva-food.’

Around me, my living defenses started to stir, shaking sleep from their tiny heads. The larva started to stretch and wiggle, awakening their two limbs while trying to blink away the sleep from their eyes. It was kinda quite cute to watch, if you squinted. Like, really squinted. And pretended not to be revolted.

And then they started hissing and headbutting, and it stopped being cute and returned to completely outlandish.

Despite the fact that I have been reincarnated as an emotion-eating bug-horse royalty that had mysterious voices whispering thoughts into my head, I felt that I was taking my new life quite well.

‘I guess food is the way to my heart. I really should really be screaming and panicking, though. Maybe the voices prevent me from panicking.’

Speaking of voices, the chittering seemed to quiet down a bit every time they planted thoughts into my head. Again, another sentence that should send me into a tin-hat wearing craze.

This was not the first time I reviewed my current situation; questioning my new world and lack of existential crises was the only way I could pass time at the moment. Luckily, the two changeling adults rescued me from my newfound boredom.

Then the quiet chittering started to rise.

Broodmother Lethocerus froze when she saw the orange eyes staring at her from the pile of young changlings.

‘Barely a day old and he’s already giving me heart attacks. I liked him better when he was hissing and moving about, like normal larvae.’ In her periphery, she noticed Psocid also stopped.

“He’s far more attentive than any larva I’ve ever raised,” Lethocerus whispered.

“And he’s just as foreboding as his mother,” Psocid replied, barely audible.

Their cargo roused the young larva, the dulled taste of love gel starting to permeate from the opened jars they carried. The nurses smiled as the larva started to stretch and play with each other. It warmed Lethocerus’s heart to see the tiny headbutts and adorable hisses.

When the nurses set the jars down, the little changelings started to crawl their way over. Lethocerus and Psocid dutifully began to take globs of love jelly out of the jars using their magic, and started to dole out each orb to the larva. The larva fought each other to get fed first, but in the end, all were fed.

All except the little prince, who did not move from his spot, even when finally free of his young companions. He just stared.

It was time for the First Weave.

Psocid levitated him over, setting Prince Phasma in front of her. Around the nurses, the larvae had finished eating, and were resuming the oh-so-fierce territorial displays that started when they woke up.

Lethocerus started to speak, capturing the attention of the Prince.

Psocid began, “once, we were nothing,” and called forth the ancient lore.

“Yes, indeed,” Lethocerus answered. “When the world was naught but strings, floating in dust, all dwelled within these strings. Separate, deaf, blind. With no air to sing, their voices could not travel between the strings. No thoughts were shared between beings.”

Psocid spoke, “But with strange eons, Nothing became Something.” Remembering the old lessons, Psocid pulled.

Lethocerus answered, “Panarthropo, The Great Weaver, came from beyond all. They plucked the strings from their places, and wove them together. For eleven days and eleven nights, Panarthropo weaved the world together. Rock joined Rock and became Mountains. Power and Change joined to form Time. Move and Life fashioned into Water. And so all was woven.”

This was easier than Psocid remembered. A glance at the being at her hooves answered her question of why. “But one was forgotten.”

“Changelings,” the other Broodnurse spoke, “hung dearly to the end of their thread. All others, the ponies, the griffons, the sheep, had been woven. The changelings had not. The thread of Together hung limp below the Great Tapestry.”

“They learned to weave,” purred Psocid. If only a royal was present for every First Lesson!

“With threads so thin they could not be seen, changelings wove themselves in, onto Magic, onto Emotion, onto Change, onto five others. From the thread of Together, the First Weave was created.”

As Psocid and Lethocerus began to speak in their Changeling tongue, the whispers and chitters of The Weave rose to match.

The words flowed in one ear and out the other, but the meanings caught. The chirping and chittering resolved itself into words.

Strings, Panarthropo, Mountains, Time, Water.

Each time when the Weave started to quiet, Psocid would stoke the fire once again.

Together, Magic, Emotion, Change, The First Weave was created.

Even though the whole story was not heard by Phasma, he understood it. It was a neat story, and it ended with a phrase very similar to one from Earth.

”As it is woven, so it shall be,” thought the Prince.

The broodnurses stared, slack-jawed, at Prince Phasma. Psocid let the First Lesson slip away, more out of shock than the fact that it was done. Even the larvae, who had only felt a pull from The Weave rather than heard it, had stopped and stared, unmoving.

His Highness had finished the First Lesson, not Psocid.

“Fetch the Queen!”

Queen Chrysalis was splayed over a stone chair, carved from the black igneous rock her drones had carried back in slabs from lands distant. The seat and back were padded with real wool and fabric. One of the perks of being the undisputed voice of authority was first, second, and third pick of the loot the infiltrators brought back with them.

She was looking down on a map of Equestria lying on the table in front of her.

It was a useless effort; she had already studied its faded yellow visage inch by inch. Chrysalis had even committed it to memory. But sitting in this comfy chair, brooding over a faded map brought her some semblance of comfort.

She would occasionally accent her alone-time with some evil cackling, if she was feeling creative.

Then, as all great and totally benevolent monarchs do, she began to monologue to herself.

“I-”

But a loud knock on her study’s door interrupted. With a pained groan, Queen Chrysalis put her head in her hooves.

“This had better be important.”

A muffled voice responded, “My Queen! There has been an inci-”

“Open the door, you incapable waste of chitin!”

“At Once, My Queen!” An armored drone shouted as he opened the door.

He saluted and stood at attention.

“..... Oh by the-” Chrysalis groaned yet again, “now you may tell me your message.”

“My Queen, there has been an incident in the nursery! The Broodmothers requested your presence!”

The queen hmm’ed. “Ah, right. The Prince. He must have gotten aggressive when he was not fed with the lower drones.”

The guard shook his head, “no, My Queen. The incident was during the First Lesson.”

Chrysalis slowly straightened up and turned to face the guard. “The First Lesson?”

“You’re telling me that Prince Phasma… spoke?” Queen Chrysalis asked.

Having been fed and sat through story-time, the young charges of Lethocerus and Psocid decided it was play time. Though a few wriggled about around Prince Phasma, the majority scaled the, by their point of view, sheer cliff faces that were Queen Chrysalis’s legs.

“Yes, My Queen. Through the Weave,” Lethocerus clarified.

“Through the Weave?”

“Yes, My Queen. During the First Lesson, he… finished it, saying the ending stanza. His Highness accessed the information directly from the Weave, and finished the poem before Broodnurse Psocid could.”

Chrysalis stared at the attentive Prince.

“That’s… not possible,” the queen all but whispered. “A mere larva? Speaking through the Weave?”

Lethocerus shifted on her hooves and glanced at Psocid. Luckily, Psocid took the hint. “We were under the impression that using the Weave to communicate was a trait common to all royalty, My Queen.”

Her Majesty tore her gaze away from Phasma to address Psocid. “That is correct. But being able to communicate at the larva stage…. That has never happened. Princes and princesses learn to speak at the Nymph stage, and verbally first.”

‘Chrysalis is being very forthcoming with information,’ Lethocerus thought. After the Prince spoke, Lethocerus and Psocid checked the Weave for information on the life cycle of the royals. They could not find anything.

‘She’s even been here for five minutes and hasn’t even threatened us. This must be something really serious.’

The queen glanced back towards the nascent prince.

Before feeding Prince Phasma, Queen Chrysalis decided she would get to the bottom of this. A larva speaking? Preposterous! Impossible! These nurses must be delusional, no larva has ever possessed the intelligence to speak.

Even her own offspring or from what the records say any changeling royal only start communicating at the Nymph stage. She would have to check the archives later to double check, there was no time today.

If they had interrupted her precious relaxation time for a mere misunderstanding, there would be hell to pay! Of all the resources the hive possessed, her time was the most precious, the most coveted.

‘Let’s see if there is merit to their madness. I can always think of punishments later.’

She moved closer to Phasma and spoke through the Weave.

”Prince Phasmatodea. What is my name?”

The large larva tilted his head to the side, but otherwise did not respond. Thinking back, she might have neglected to introduce herself. Well, that’s something that had to be corrected immediately.

”I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Fourth Hive Dynasty. I am your progenitor. Now, repeat back to me my name.”

Still nothing. The nurses did mention that he spoke during the First Lesson…

During the lesson, one broodnurse uses the Weave and broadcasts the information for the listeners to access through their own connection. It was how all larva started to learn how to use the Weave.

Quickly, she thought up a test for her prince. She brought up on the Weave Phasma, Chrysalis, Dynasty, and Progenitor. Then, she leaned closer down to Phasma.

“Phasma, Chrysalis, Dynasty,” Chrysalis spoke aloud, and waited.

”Chrysalis,” Phasma spoke through the Weave.

‘Impossible!’ The queen shot upright, dislodging a few larva that clung to her. Rather than saying progenitor, the word that was left unsaid, or expectedly remained silent, the prince had correctly answered ‘Chrysalis’.

Chrysalis’s mind raced with possibilities, implications, and ideas. This changes everything.

“Prince Phasmatodea will be in my direct care from now on,” Queen Chrysalis addressed the other two changelings in the room actually capable of speech. ‘Verbal speech,’ she unconsciously corrected herself.

Chrysalis regurgitated some love from her personal stores for Phasma. The pure love would accelerate his growth; she decided to personally feed him every day, before and after giving him lessons instead of having love delivered for him. That would reinforce her position in his life as provider of everything under the sun.

‘Or would it? He seems to be quite intelligent. This is the most interesting phenomenon I’ve ever seen since Lieutenant-Colonel Acrid exploded during the last war games. No, definitely longer than that!’

Chrysalis, as I now know her name was, opened her mouth and the love flowed outwards again. Again I drank in the wonderful pink cloud. The familiar sense of complete euphoria filled my being, just as warm and filling as the first time and I slumped over.

‘So this is why people do drugs; they’re amazing!’

She then picked me up and placed me on her back using her telekinesis. That was a really neat trick that I needed to learn as soon as possible. This whole lack of fingers thing hasn’t been a problem so far but I mean, it’s telekinesis. Who wouldn’t want telekinesis?

Bug mom also removed the other larva from her, then turned and left the room with me still on her back. Field trip!

Viewing the journey in reverse, the first thing I noticed was the cold. As soon as we left the nursery, I was hit by a freezing breeze. They must keep the nursery very warm for the developing changelings.

I huddled closer to Chrysalis’s neck for warmth in a vain attempt to escape the biting cold.

As we exited through the door– made of the same black material as the walls– I saw two changeling guards standing on either side of the door, awash in the now blue light coming from sconces on the walls. They saluted as we passed them, crossing their left hoof across their chest.

These changelings wore blue armor but I couldn’t tell the metal. Their helmets’ cheek guards resembled mandibles of a beetle. They also had some sort of chest piece covering their neck and the space between their forelegs.

Onwards my noble steed carried me, though turns and junctions, rooms with unknown purposes, and passing changelings along the way. Most did not wear armor, though occasionally I saw a door with one or two guards posted by them. The changelings we did pass I saw were bowed, probably doing so when they saw their queen passing by.

A few, especially the guards who did not have to bow, saw me watching from Chrysalis’s back. My knowledge on horse body language may be underdeveloped, but it was easy to see their confusion or shock.

We were climbing high, I realized after the third staircase. Higher, higher, yet higher. Less and less changelings occupied the rooms and halls we made our way through, and more guards were making their ways through the hall. A few of them had a purple armor as well as what I guess constituted as vambraces and boots.

There was a nine pointed star on their chest, which was probably important. They also had pieces that covered the rest of their torsos, unlike the other guards. Apparently only these guards were allowed protection from literally any direction other than straight ahead.

One final staircase later and we were in a grand hallway, complete with a red polished stone path set in the middle and great vaulted opened windows on either side. I saw sunlight for the first time in this new life. It was warm in here, though not as warm as the nursery. We were at the top of the hive spire, yet I did not hear the rushing wind normally associated with heights.

The contentment of the love had slowly ebbed away, allowing me enough presence of mind to notice a slight blue shimmer in the glass-less windows. Curious.

The sounds of clanking metal and creaking hinges suddenly filled the room. We then passed through a pair of massive doors, which must have just opened. The doors were covered in carvings and colors, but my attention was elsewhere.

We were in a throne room, that was the only explanation I had for the massive vaulted ceiling, the even bigger– though less wide– windows, and various black, blue, and green tapestries of an unknown material that hung from warped rafters support beams and on evenly spaced twisted columns. More royal guards in purple armor stood at attention in this room, at least twelve in total.

The tapestries depicted changelings bedecked in the rarer purple armor, normal ponies lying prone, and other species I could identify from myths alone. Griffons, pegasi and unicorns that were the same size as the normal ponies, buffalo, and… dragons.

Before I could wonder about the existence of these fantasy creatures and normal small horses, we sidestepped a large stone throne. It sat atop a raised pedestal, flanked by large, smooth black braziers.

The throne itself was made of a different material than the walls; it was a dark blue wide seat, with a back that was five feet high, with a nine-pointed star made of nine teardrop shaped sapphires, their tapered point facing outwards. The symbol of Panarthropo.

A skylight from behind draped the seat in a golden light, far more golden than natural sunlight.

‘All of the decorating budget went into this room, it seems.’

A slow creak signaled the opening of another door, and we passed through an arched door with a blue-stone filigree scorpion on its center.

The room inside was a small hallway, this one with orangish yellow lights atop cones that jutted out parallel to the wall, like a torch. It was a far cry from the private chambers of the obscenely rich European monarchs, but compared to the rest of the hive, it might as well have been covered in gold and jewels.

Seriously, how could this area be so well designed and with so much comparative wealth put in when the rest of the place seemed to be a literal cave?

‘Oh right, absolute monarchy. Screw the poor, and all that.’

This hall had a few doorways that were arched but lacking the scorpion symbol. Chrysalis brought us through the door at the end and into a personal study. It was a smaller study I guessed, though I had no experience with personal studies of ruling monarchs. Still, it was spacious enough, with a black rock chair with white upholstery sitting behind a wooden desk covered in papers, empty inkwells, and a few empty pots. To the left, a wooden bookshelf filled with worn tomes. To the right, a couch and two chairs that seemed completely nondescript faced each other. They sat in front of an empty fireplace with a large silver mirror above it.

‘Their mere existence is fancy enough for Queen Chrysalis, I suppose.’

I was moved from Chrysalis’s back and put down onto the couch. She sat in one of the opposite chairs, looked at me, and sighed.

“Prince Phasma, you will be staying with me from now on. Your tutelage will begin tomorrow.”

”Tutelage?”

‘Aw hell, school again! I knew there was a catch to being reincarnated as an emotion-eating, half-caterpillar half-bug-horse prince!’

That night I learned how changelings defecate.

To be specific, I learned that they don’t. Instead, they regurgitate a sort of slime. Big Bug Mom gathered the waste and threw it into one of the empty pots.

”The changeling digestive system,” Chrysalis began, ”rids itself of the waste from processing love by congealing it into a thick mucus, then rids itself of the slime. We use this slime in a myriad of ways; from construction to being the basic component of a self-repairing salve, the changeling gel is our most abundant material.”

That would explain the warped-looking walls, columns, and ceilings; they are made of bug slime. Considering concrete is one of the most consumed resources in human society, I find it hilarious, disgusting, and most of all impressive that the one of the most used resources in changeling society is bug vomit.

Changeling anatomy lessons with Chrysalis continued into the night. She told me we could change our form at will, using magic inherent to changelings themselves. No other species had such an innate master over shapeshifting.

That’s another thing. Magic. It was very real, and it was how Chrysalis, Psocid, and Lethocerus could levitate objects. It also unsurprisingly had countless other uses: from popping popcorn to transmutation of elements.

‘I wonder if this means it is possible to split atoms using magic...’

That wrapped up the impromptu nightly lessons from bug mom. She told me to get used to the study, as it would be my room until one of the spare rooms could be prepared for me. The other larva of my generation had to sleep in a pile on the floor of a cavern while I got a room to myself.

I could get used to this.

With Prince Phasma asleep on the couch of the study, Queen Chrysalis made her way to her bedroom. Tomorrow, before the Prince awoke in the afternoon, she would check the archives. For now, she retired to her chambers. The bleak changeling-gel walls stood in stark contrast to the room’s contents.

They were the pinnacle of luxury in the changeling hive: an actual bed, complete with two pillows, a few blankets, and a mattress. She had to hand it to the ponies, they know how to live comfortably.

There were also three wooden chairs around a low table. A chess was set on the table, though Chrysalis never played. No windows, she would not tolerate such a security risk in her own personal wing, just as her predecessors never did. The pony Princesses were fools to leave such vulnerabilities in their castles.

Ponies. Right.

Chrysalis trotted over to the table and picked up the Black Queen using levitation. She started to giggle, then moved on to a full-blown cackle. The thin layer of dust was quickly brushed off as the piece jiggled in her grasp.

“Centuries of-” Chrysalis looked at her door…

However no guard knocked, bringing news of supply shortages, of strange happenstances, or of the latest issue of Colt-Cloak Magazine being released. Her monologues were interrupted more often than not, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

“.... Of planning, and the Great Weaver grants me such a boon! And the fact that Prince Phasma is blessed with being such a prodigy? The signs are clear, the sun shall set upon the eternal Sun Princess!

“How many centuries have we toiled in the dark? It is finally time for our place in the sun; Prince Phasmatodea shall deliver the final blow to the oh so glorious E.U.P., and city by city, Equestria will fall! My most loyal son, you shall be the key to delivering me Celestia’s head on a silver platter. Together, we will bring in a new era for our kind.

“No more hiding in the shadows! No more food shortages! No more suffering! Well, for my changelings, that is. Dear Celestia and her little ponies shall wish they were granted the mercy of death. Soon she will feel that her nightmares are real!

“Yes, step aside Celestia! The age of ponies has ended. The age of changelings has begun!”

Queen Chrysalis hummed quietly to herself as she headed down to the archives the next morning. Getting to the lowest layer of the hive was far easier than getting to the top spire yesterday. Without Phasma on her back, she could use her wings in the vertical shafts that formed the arteries of the hive.

Changelings moved out of her way and clung to the walls. The oncoming traffic parted as she made her way all the way down, past the dormitories, the nursery, the storage rooms, until she reached the final layer.

At the bottom of the shaft, just above the grate leading to the Underhive, there was one exit. That exit lead to one hallway, which lead to one room with one final door.

This final door was more akin to a wall that moved, it was thicker than many of the walls that made up the hive. A giant, circular vault door, twisting inwards in a spiral, converging to a circle that held a picture of a blue scorpion. Just below this central circle was two holes, equally distant from the center.

Chrysalis paid the two royal guards stationed on either side no heed as she slotted her forelegs into the circles. As her hooves pressed against the end of the recesses, tumblers slotted themselves through the holes of her legs. She turned her left leg clockwise ninety degrees, her right counterclockwise forty five, then her left counterclockwise one hundred thirty five. Finally, she turned her right leg ninety degrees. There was a loud click and the tumblers retracted.

She never got the combination wrong, not after accidentally getting it wrong once and having to sit there as the royal guards attempted to get her unstuck when the magical tumblers locked in place. The alarm blaring just added to the indignation.

The vault door started to swing outwards and Chrysalis pulled it out all the way with her magic.

“In the dark of the night, evil will find her!” She quietly sang to herself as she stepped through.

Proximity runes triggered the activation of the white light orbs on the walls, revealing the massive room. Rows of bookshelves, extending out a hundred feet and fifty feet to each side.

“In the dark of the night, terror comes true!” Chrysalis trotted to just to the side, where the index lay.

Finding the section she wanted, she pranced off to Row Fifteen, Section Three, Shelf One. There were the journals of King Mesopleuron, Queen Cantharidae, Queen Maxilla, and Queen Sphecidae. She pulled them out and brought them to the table that was in the center of the room.

Chrysalis pulled out the one chair at the table and continued to sing to herself as she read through the entries.

Outside, the royal guards glanced at each other. Despite the rigorous training they endured, ensuring they remained vigilant and reserved at all times, their stoic poise was broken.

Queen Chrysalis was singing.

Royal Guard Hydro made a quiet prayer to The Great Weaver.

Checking the journals had yielded no new additional information.

As far as Chrysalis could tell, this was a first. None of her offspring nor any from previous rulers had been fully sapient from hatching. Every single prince and princess only began talking and indeed cognitive functions greater than ‘feed’ and ‘regurgitate’ at the nymph stage of their lives.

Chrysalis herself couldn’t recall any memories from when she was a larva, all those centuries ago.

As she made her way back to her chambers, she considered the situation she found herself in. Since he was capable of learning now, she would teach him herself as well as feed him. Forming a close bond between them was, as she learned in the past, key.

These early weeks would be crucial for everything to go smoothly.

I awoke to Chrysalis looming over me on the couch.

I wanted to ask if she stared at me throughout the entire night but I had not figured out how to communicate my own sentences through the Weave. I was still limited to repeating information.

”Your lessons begin now.”

What happened next would become the routine for the next three weeks: after waking me up, Queen Chrysalis fed me some of her personal stores of love. I later learned that this was extremely spoiling. The hive often suffered shortages of love, and all changelings except Chrysalis consumed diluted love.

The pure-love diet mom had me on would accelerate my growth, apparently. I wasn’t exactly a pediatrician, and neither was bug-mom, but with a distinct lack of CPS, Changeling Protective Services, there was no one to oversee my health except mother dearest. Good thing she had literal centuries of being in charge of the health of the young.

After feeding me the equivalent of a twelve course meal, Chrysalis would begin the lessons. For hours, until what I had guessed was mid-afternoon, she would drill concepts into my mind through speaking in the Weave.

From mathematics, which I excelled at, to the history of Changelings, which I did not excel at. Strangely enough, my life as a human did not give me a headstart on memorizing a list of dead shapeshifting emotivore monarchs.

Queen Canthari established the modern system of love harvesting. Queen Spheci rebuilt the main hive spire after a legendarily massive sandstorm tore away most of the outer layers of the hive.

Queen Chrysalis presided over the greatest, longest-running near-starvation ration distribution system. That, I inferred from that context. Her actual lessons regarding herself were limited to the “50 reasons why Queen Chrysalis is awesome and why you owe your life to her” variety.

Not that I didn’t pay lip service to the literal overlord of my new existence. I wasn’t that stupid.

Changelings were not doing very well at the moment. Due to reasons Her Majesty couldn’t figure out, we were running out of food. Or rather, we ran out of food and are barely floating by with the current harvest of love coming from Equestria.

Chrysalis briefly covered the changeling biology. Changelings subsisted on magic, and were optional omnivores. Eating other things could give us some sustenance, but it did not do more than stave off the side effects of starvation for a time. Emotions such as friendship, love, and sympathy were delicious. Emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger tasted good and could be consumed like a fine wine, but like wine, they were not suitable for living on. We also had three stages of life: larva, nymph, adult drone. Changeling royalty caste members did not age, as it turned out.

The lack of ability to ask original questions had caused me to shelve certain topics for later, such as why we didn’t try new methods of gaining food, or if Queen Chrysalis is nearly a millennia old, where are my siblings? If all changeling royalty did not age, how come I was the only prince I’ve seen so far?

The lessons moved onto the world at large. Griffonstone. The land of griffons, a shadow of its former self. Apparently a string of weak kings brought it down straight down into the gutters. Never heard that one before.

The Emberlands. The land of dragons, a completely decentralized, near-tribal nation. A land where might-makes-right, where internal feuds meant that the entire place was a conflict-strewn hellhole. The only fact that it still stands and hasn’t been conquered is because, ya know, dragons.

Then there was our neighbor, Equestria. A massive, continent-spanning principality. Or rather, princesspality, as it was ruled by an immortal Princess Celestia. Equestria was home to the ponies: earth, pegasi, and unicorns. The ruler was a special case, a member of all three species at the same time. She was the big boogeyman to the changelings, and I think maybe Chrysalis doesn’t like her.

It was at some point during the first thirty seven minute rant about Princess Celestia that I got the feeling that there was no love lost between them.

‘Heh, love.’

Still, if Princess Celestia hated changelings, it would probably be best to guess she would not take kindly to my continued existence.

Equestria was also our number one–and only– source of food, love. Changeling infiltrators siphoned it off unsuspecting ponies. This meant that everything combat and infiltration related was targeted towards the ponies. And advancing security and communication measures meant that our one source of sustenance was in danger.

As it turns out, being a hyper-evolved species dedicated to one specific source of food meant that when our environment changed, we were in mortal danger. Wow. This is my shocked face.

Princess Celestia was also reported to be responsible for the movement of the celestial bodies. With a name like that and an immortal lifespan, I chalked this up to a cult of personality spreading misinformation.

The Changeling Hive was located roughly close to the center of the dry region known as the Badlands. To our north was the Duchy of Apple Loosa, ruled by Marquess Deep Pockets, part of the Totally-not-a-Kingdom of Equestria.

To our south, east, and west, was jungle. Ruled by the grand and majestic Count no one, who owes fealty to King nobody.

Geography lessons turned into physics and Thaumaturgy. That really got me excited. No, not learning the changeling equivalent to Isaac Newton.

Spells. Magic. The ability to change the fabric of reality to fit your wishes! Chrysalis stuck to the basics first, the concepts of mana, ley lines, the law of equivalent exchange (have I heard that before?), and the structure of spells. They were formulas, and more closer to chemical formulas than math formulas.

It boiled down to channeling magic while envisioning concepts and their complex relationship with each other: the Strings of The Great Tapestry.

But I wasn’t to learn how to cast yet, casting would have to wait until my Nymph stage.

Finally, language lessons. I learned how to speak and write Equish as it was the Lingua Franca of this world. I also was being taught how to speak on my own in the Weave, but that was a difficult concept to grasp. Still, finally being able to communicate was useful.

Once I started to get a good enough grasp on the language, the lessons slowly switched to verbal.

Then, after all lessons were over, she would feed me more once again, and then I went to sleep. There were often quizzes and tests. All verbal, for the same reason there was no homework; paper was a valued commodity, and thus strictly used for the running of the hive. Even Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all the upholstery in the hive, obeyed this rule.

Everyday. For weeks. Any error had to be corrected immediately. Any failed test retaken and I “...had better get it right this time, dear Prince.”

Slowly but surely, I was starting to become the target of her more aggressive side.

I never saw hair nor hide– nor chitin?– of either Psocid or Lethocerus again. I had assumed they would watch over me when Chrysalis did her day job of being an overbearing ruler, but that never came to be.

I don’t think I ever saw any other changelings, apart from a royal guard occasionally interrupting to give Queen Chrysalis some important bit of news, causing her to put a lesson on hold to go deal with some goings-on in the hive.

Her constant attention also meant that I couldn’t explore this wing, or even this room very much. The one time I tried doing something, that being pulling a book off the lowest shelf with my left hoof when she was out of the room, Chrysalis returned and put the book back using her magic and told me to not mess around. I had only just made out the title, Thermodynamics And Thaumaturgy, by Starswirl.

Then came the second-strangest day of my new life.

“High level casting spells, such as teleportation and transmutation are seldom mastered by any unicorn. And forget changeling drones, they haven’t a chance at grasping the higher concepts of thaumaturgy.”

Queen Chrysalis was accentuating the magic lessons with knowledge from the Weave, to better teach Phasma Equish. After all, it was far more efficient for her little prince to learn two subjects at the same time.

Phasma was nodding slowly. Very slowly.

“Prince Phasma, you’d better be with me right now,” Chrysalis sternly chided and Phasma’s head shot up.

“Yesh, mom!”

There was that annoying childish accent again. Chrysalis suspected it was due to the still-developing vocal chords and teeth. The fact that the larva could speak at all was a windfall she intended to make as much use of as possible but that did not excuse a lack of diligence.

“Yes, mom,” Chrysalis corrected. “Now, the teleportation spell. As a prince, you will be expected to know this one. The core concept is the String of Location…” Phasma was nodding off again.

”Prince Phasmatodea.” That got his attention. ”If you continue to try to sleep through these lessons I am so generously giving you, then I will put you to work scrubbing my study clean. And I don’t care if you don’t have levitation yet. This room will be spotless.”

“Sowwy, mom.”

“Sorry, mom.” For three weeks Chrysalis had-

‘Wait, three weeks? Could it be time already?’

“Very well. Since you have been working hard, I will give you this day off.” Chrysalis smiled. Either Prince Phasma was about to start his transition phase, or the day off will further endear him to Chrysalis. A win-win scenario for her!

Chrysalis then left the room, closed the door behind her, and waited.

As Chrysalis left the room, I felt a huge yawn wrack my body. Rather than look the gifted pony in the mouth and question why she was suddenly letting me have a day off, I decided to take a nap. This rigorous schoolwork was very tiring, after all.

I curled up on one of the chairs by the fireplace, and went to sleep.

Or at least, tried to. No matter how I repositioned myself, I just could not get comfortable. I shifted, tossed, and turned, but nothing worked. I decided a different spot would probably do the trick. I crawled over to the couch, and tried laying on that. Still, I could not get comfortable. Keeping my eyes open was an effort at this point. I was exhausted but no rest ever came.

‘Those changeling larva I saw when I first hatched seemed to love to fall asleep on Chrysalis’s legs, maybe there’s merit to that. Do changeling larva naturally fall asleep on vertical surfaces?’

I got off the couch and started to scale the fireplace itself, eventually reaching a point halfway up, and tried to get some shut-eye. Yet again, sleep did not come. However, I did feel somehow a bit more comfortable.

‘Closer… Higher, maybe?’

My mind was still awash from the different definitions, formulas, and facts from my lectures that I couldn’t focus on anything but going to sleep. Even when I made it all the way to the ceiling, my thoughts drifted only towards rest.

‘Almost… Need, uh, dunno, a blanket? Something to wrap myself in… There we go.’

A warmth had wrapped around me; I was snug, comfortable, and safe. Finally, sleep took me.

After thirty minutes, Chrysalis opened the door. Prince Phasmatodae was missing. Instead, an iridescent chrysalis hung above the fireplace.

The queen smiled at her namesake, a fanged grin pulled up the corners on both sides of her muzzle.

“Sleep well, my little prince. You will need your energy when you wake.”

She shut the door and trotted off to the throne room to begin working through the backlog of tasks that had piled up in her absence.

There, she took up her throne, and the one changeling not in royal armor out of the thirteen present moved to bow in front of her. Chamberlain Eucharis had been sent for when Queen Chrysalis was still waiting outside of her study.

“My Queen, your itinerary is ready. A debriefing with Intelligencer Ocelli is the first time.”

Intelligencer Ocelli was the head of the infiltrator operations. If she wanted a debriefing, then she believed she had found something worth notifying Chrysalis. Ocelli’s judgement had been correct when bringing in past information, so this was most likely important.

‘If only more drones had her wit.’

“Good. I will see her at once, fetch the Intelligencer.”

The Chamberlain left, and later returned, at a rapid pace. He brought with him a guest.

“My Queen,” Intelligencer Ocelli bowed, “I thank you for the honor of meeting with me.”

Queen Chrysalis didn’t react.

“I have brought news from the newest infiltrations of the pony city of Baltimare. Collection of news printings has proven most wise, My Queen.”

The monarch continued to stare.

“Uh, our findings have greatly improved our information network! We have discovered the existence of a second alicorn princess. A princess of love!”

That got a reaction. “A second alicorn, a princess of love? You will tell me everything.”

‘There hasn’t been an alicorn of love since…’ Chrysalis trailed off in thought.

I dreamt with perfect clarity about alien worlds.

I dreamt I was walking through a jungle valley. Mountains ringed a dense green canopy. In front of me lay the roots of a tree bigger than the ring mountains, a tree that could only be called a World-Tree. Its massive branches supported entire ecosystems, its trunk casted a shadow that blocked out the sun, its roots tunneled and burrowed through the jungle for thousands of miles.

There was an orchestra of bird calls filling the air and a small sapling grew at the mountain-tree’s base. Despite the World-Tree’s shadow, the forest around it did not shrink in size where the shadow lay. The jungle was feeding off the root system of the World-Tree itself.

The nearby flora couldn’t hold a candle to the World-Tree’s majesty.

The world around me vanished and I found myself in a crowded city. I was on a packed sidewalk, going against the flow of pedestrians. There was a bright light coming from a distant skyscraper, it’s black and white form dominating the skyline.

The street was flooded with noise, but I couldn’t make any specifics out. It seemed like there were a number of conversations going on, but all the words sounded like gibberish.

I tried getting someone’s attention, but he ignored me and continued on.

Then, I was floating in an open, calm sea. I felt the pull of different currents, present even up here on the surface. I could sense the ocean floor beneath me. At places, it was close to the surface, reefs and shoals of fish bountiful. In others, it was far below, a desolate waste. Small waves seemed to rise up and crash upon themselves at random, but they never did more than send ripples across the water. It was quiet; it was calm.

In the distance, a massive summer storm was coalescing into a dark hurricane.

Finally, I found myself in a black void, looking up at a starry night sky. Only, instead of pinpricks of white light scattered across a black canvas, I saw entire galaxies fill up the sky, almost seeming to fight each other for space. Whites, yellows, reds, and blues painted themselves across the horizons. Blues shifted from light cyans to deep violets. Yellows flowed from light ambers to hot oranges.

If I focused hard enough, I swear I saw the galaxies pulse, ebb, and flow. They seemed to move as if in a breeze.

At the very top of the heavens, a supermassive spiral galaxy commanded my attention. It was at an angle, so it should have blocked out anything behind it, yet I could see other galaxies bleeding through the spiral galaxy’s light. One single large arm stretched itself downwards from the heavens, touching the distant horizon. The massive glowing tendril stretched down a distance beneath me into the black void.

With nothing better to do, I moved towards it. I didn’t have a form, I noticed. I was just a blob of dull orange light.

I took the time to think about my new life. Chrysalis was running me ragged with the endless lessons. Showing my intelligence so early on might have been a mistake, but it’s not like I did it on purpose anyways. Besides, who would want to live out their baby years normally, anyways?

I sure as hell didn’t want to crawl around, cry, and shit myself until I could pretend to learn how to speak. I just now realized that bug-mom sacrificed my would-be childhood– nymphhood?– to train me to be a ruler. I would be more upset over that if it wasn’t for the fact that I already had a childhood, complete with actual caring parents.

I wasn’t sure that Chrysalis loved me. Was she even capable of caring for others? Or was she entirely dedicated to keeping her place at the top? And where are my siblings? I knew from one or two off-hoof comments that I was not her first larva that she raised personally.

‘Off-hoof? Did I really just think that?’ I pressed onwards, my mind wandering from topic to topic.

Reaching the arm took seconds and years, minutes and decades, hours and epochs. It stood before me, stretching out indefinitely to either side. I could not see its ends, nor could I see through it anymore.

It was composed of more specks of light than I could fathom. Just in the section in front of me where white, red, blue, and yellow specks that numbered more than the grains of sand on any beach.

I reached out a glowing orange arm, and touched it.

At once, I could feel the thrum of each of the galaxies up above. They beat like a heart, like a pulse was traveling through them, its source beyond one of the horizons.

Then, I heard a whisper from below call out to m-

-seven ponies in a ring, an eighth bled in the center, the blood spilling out to form a seven pointed star-

-a unicorn falls asleep at her desk, snoring loudly into a notebook-

-an army marches in lockstep, their forms obscured, but light filtered through holes in their legs-

A field of white petaled flowers rested beneath a full moon. There were craters and pockmarks on the moon, resembling the head of a unicorn.

It turned to face me.

I jerked awake. At least, I would have, if I were not tightly bound up in something hard. As such, I twitched awake. I couldn’t see anything.

‘Oh not this shit again!’

I pressed outwards with all my might and my bindings broke easily. Gravity took hold of me and I fell all the way to the floor, my rear hitting the mantle above the fireplace, flipping me over midair. I landed on my back with a loud thump.

“Ow…”

Thankfully, my carapace stopped the cold, hard stone floor from injuring me seriously. Still hurt, though.

‘Wait, carapace? When did that happen?’

I looked at the rest of my body; I was a full changeling now. Or, at least a nymph. I resembled a normal changeling but with much smaller proportions. Four legs, a tail, and other protruding parts. Unlike the other changelings, my legs were solid: no holes in sight.

I looked around the room; it was a bit different, the bookshelf across the room seemed more full, bug-mom’s desk was mostly cleared of the papers that were on it last night, and the couch had actual pillows now.

‘Aw man! I would’a given her my shopping list if I knew she was headed to Bed Bugs & Beyond!’

Speaking of the chitinous devil, the door opened and Queen Chrysalis stepped through. When she saw me, she paused and smiled. A chill went up my spine when she inspected me with those bright green cat-eyes.

She looked like she was eyeing up a slab of meat in a butcher’s shop rather than greeting her son.

“Welcome back, Prince Phasmatodae.”

‘If she licks her lips, I’m running. Wait, back?’

Today is the worst day of my new life.

Chrysalis is cutting me off. No more pure love. No more sweet, sweet drugs. Instead, I am being fed a gel that has a bit of love mixed in. I checked and no, it was not the changeling-vomit-concrete.

I spent a month in a chrysalis and came out a nymph. Waking up with actual legs is nice and all but it all came at a cost I wasn’t willing to pay. I would have stayed a caterpillar if it meant avoiding this.

Apparently the pure love was a special diet to speed along my growth as a larva. Since I’m no longer bird-food, I am being moved onto a diet that’s normal for the changelings of the hive. Well, every changeling except Chrysalis. She still gets pure love for herself.

Chrysalis also says that since I was on a diet of pure love, my nymph stage will also go by quicker than normal. Fine by me, the sooner I can stop being a child, the sooner I can start living a new life rather than just reacting to new events around me. I feel helpless and vulnerable. I want to do things, not go to school again.

Thankfully the new stuff that I’m being fed isn’t that bad. Instead of reaching a state of euphoria and inner peace, it just tastes good. Quite the step down, but considering the hive was in a state of starvation, rations could be far worse. I can’t even imagine what peasants in medieval human history ate during famines.

So my dealer is holding out on me, but it’s not the end of the world.

Queen Chrysalis is still tutoring me herself for the most part, keeping me away from other nymphs. However, today’s lessons, the first that I had while a nymph, brought with them an interesting surprise.

“Prince Phasma. Urgent matters require my attention but I have acquired a tutor for you. Do not worry, your studies will not be put on hold,” Queen Chrysalis said and I noted her careful phrasing.

“I thought you said you were going to teach me everything?”

“Yes yes, I will. This tutor is to help you practice. You do not need my presence here for that.”

I blinked. “Practice. As in, practice magic?”

That certainly puts a spin on things. I was still bummed out that I am no longer being fed love but it seems Chrysalis is ending off on good news to try to endear herself to me further. I liked her better when she was giving me free drugs.

“Yes, my little prince. It is too early for you to learn flying– your wings must harden– but it is time you put your lessons to use. I am certain you will excel at casting just as you excelled at thaumic theory. Sergeant Katydid, you may enter now.”

I glanced at my back as the door opened; my transparent wings lay under elytra that blended in with the rest of my back. I had shades of orange filling out my back, in contrast to bug-mom’s green and the rest of the changelings’ blue.

I suppose I looked good– and orange is my favorite color– but I can’t help but picture myself as a horse stuffed into a traffic cone.

A changeling enters her study as commanded and bowed before the queen. As all changelings looked similar, I had trouble telling him apart from the rest physically. The only things identifying him from the other changelings seemed to be the nicks and scratches on his armor.

Thankfully there was a Weave signature that was unique to each changeling. It would be hard to tell each other apart at a glance otherwise. As it is, you just know each other’s names. Introductions are the exchanging of information through the Weave, like if you were to trade driver’s licenses when you shake hooves.

‘Hands! Shake hands!’

Officer Katydid brings me out of my mental tirade, “My Queen, I am honored to be chosen for this duty.”

Chrysalis nods, “You may rise, Officer Katydid.” When the officer rose, Chrysalis stared him in the eyes, “Prince Phasmatodae will become an unrivaled spellcaster under your instruction.”

That wasn’t a question or a hopeful remark, it was an order. Without another word, she left the room and closed the door behind her. The officer continued to stare at the spot she occupied.

“No pressure,” I said with a fanged smile. He turned to glance down at me.

“I will not fail, My Prince!” I don’t think it was me he was trying to reassure. “We will begin with levitation, as all nymphs first learn.”

“Daring today, aren’t we?”

While I did memorize the thaumic formula for casting spells, casting them is a horse of a different color. I would make a pony joke there but today’s lessons have left me dead on my hooves with no energy left for puns.

As it turns out, learning spells and casting spells are two completely different things. One requires thinking and memorizing, and the other requires thinking of your memorized material while commanding reality to bend to your whims. I am simplifying things a bit here.

Point is, casting magic is taking all the effort and skill that went into learning thaumic theory and spell crafting in addition to using a muscle that quite literally does not exist in the physical realm. We changelings, as well as any magic capable species, use our horns to channel magic from our souls. The horn is the conduit, while it’s our mana reserves doing the real work.

And since pain is the body’s signal that something is going wrong, our bodies tell us that we fucked up casting by making our horns hurt like hell, since they are the only physical part of our body used in casting.

Not that I miscasted or anything. No, instead I felt magic fatigue. Which is like the pain of miscasting, only it stings instead of burns.

The first spell all changelings and magic users in general learn is levitation. Simply put, you channel magic with the intent of moving things around.

For most nymphs, foals, fawns, what-have-you, that’s quite the mental conundrum. For someone who had hands, imagining picking things up from far away was a really great point to start off of. However, humans do not have magic. Meaning, my magic reserves, while abysmal for a changeling adult drone and ridiculously high for a newly-born changeling nymph, were spent up within an hour.

All I had to show for my efforts were some paperweights that were moved from one side of the floor to the other. Exercising magic was like exercising any other muscle group; it hurt, it took effort, and I was a complaining mess by the end.

‘Wizards are supposed to be the opposite of gym rats! This is ridiculous, I want a refund on my reincarnation!’

I had retired to my room, which was down the hall, near the exit to the throne room. It currently consisted of an actual mattress which had been retrieved in the month I was taking an extended nap, a changeling-concrete frame for it, and a stone chest. It doesn’t take three guesses to find out which two materials the hive had in abundance.

No sheets, blankets, or pillows, but with hard chitin they were more of a luxury than a need.

I was utterly exhausted, probably in the early stages of withdrawal, and completely out of my element as the prince of an insectoid, equine kingdom. My mother, the individual who’s supposed to be my role model and primary caregiver, seemed like the kind of person who kicks puppies for a laugh.

A smile slowly crept onto my face.

‘I’m an actual wizard! I can make this work!’

That night I dreamt of a blood-red moon above an empty sea, whispering the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War tutorial into my ear. Yea, I’m definitely going through withdrawal.

“Now, to cast the ice spear spell, you must imagine a hole in your surroundings, devoid of heat and energy. Then, you must fill that void using your mana, channeling through your horn.”

I rubbed my eyes, “We’ve been at this for at least two hours now. I think we are done for the day.”

“Ok,” Katydid said, following my example. “You did a good job today! You are knocking these spells out quicker than any nymph I know! I mean, of course you are, Your Highness.”

One week of lessons and Officer Katydid still was as unsure of himself as ever. I have to admit, changelings are kind of cute. Especially when they shuffle their hooves like Katydid is. I probably looked even more adorable, with my shorter proportions.

“Thank you for tutoring me,” I said the now well-practiced goodbye.

“It was my honor, My Prince,” Katydid responds as usual. However, before I retired to my room, I had a few questions I’ve been meaning to ask. I stopped him in the hall.

“Officer Katydid, I have been wondering… How come I do not have any siblings?”

Katydid frowned. “Oh, that… uh, yea. Well, changelings only lay one egg at a time, so–”

“No, I know that. But why hasn’t my mother had any nymphs before me?” I had a suspicion I knew the answer to this and that Katydid didn’t.

‘Katydidn’t. Apparently I’m not too tired for horrible puns today.’

Katydid looked around and shifted uncomfortably on his hooves. Still adorable. “W-well, uh, she most likely has had princes and princesses before you. I wouldn’t know, My Prince. Perhaps you should ask Q–”

‘It’s time to fish for some answers.’

“If I had siblings born before me, where are they? Changeling royals are ageless, so wouldn’t they be here?”

Katydid failed to hide a sigh, “I really don’t kn-”

I continued on, “I checked the Weave. There’s nothing on my brothers and sisters.”

‘C’mon, take the bite.’

“W-well that would be because any old information is removed from the Weave, a-and stored physically.” I looked at him expectedly. When he didn’t continue, I pressed further.

“Physically?”

‘Here, fishy, fishy!’

Katydid gave me a smile, most likely thinking I was an adorable nymph pestering him with questions, as is tradition for all children. “Yes, in the vault.”

‘We got a live one!’

“A vault? That sounds cool! I wanna see it!” I added a grin for good measure. If I could, I would have made my eyes twinkle.

He shook his head, “It’s all the way down at the bottom of the hive, just above the underground layers. Until you can fly, I’m afraid there’s no way you can go down there. Even so, the vault is sealed.”

“Sealed? Then how do changelings put information in it?”

“These are good questions for the Queen. She is the one who opens it, no one else.”

I got enough answers, best not push my luck here.

“Oh. Well, thank you Katydid. I look forward to our next lessons!”

“I also look forward to them. Good night, My Prince,” he said with a wave that I returned.

‘So, all information is stored in this vault, down near the center of the hive, and only Queen Chrysalis can enter. That certainly is going to make things difficult in the future.’

“Good morning, Prince Phasmatodae.”

“Good morning, Queen Chrysalis.”

“I have some good news. Since you have been so diligent the past week and a half, today we will begin learning shapeshifting spells. You have displayed a satisfactory level of knowledge in the outside world, so it is time for you to learn what it is to be a changeling.”

I perked up. Learning the inner workings of the hive, as well as how we interact with the outside world?

“Yes, you are ready,” Chrysalis noticed my surprised face, “the most important tool in a changeling’s arsenal is subterfuge. Deceiving ponies, as well as other species you encounter, will be key to keeping the hive safe.

“I will cover the theories, protocols, strategies, and goals of being an infiltrator. However, knowledge will only carry you so far. You will attend infiltration classes with the drones. I know you will be on your best behavior.”

“Of course, mother.” I couldn’t believe it; this is too good to be true!

“Being in this class will mean you will be with the nymph drones of the hive. So first, we will begin lessons on how to act as a changeling royal.”

I stifled a groan. There’s the catch. However, I could bear tedious lessons on manners if it meant being in contact with more changelings, and more importantly, learning infiltration. I am finally beginning lessons on entering the outside world.

Chrysalis’s lessons on how to be a prince differed greatly from what I expected a noble would have to learn. Instead of learning the difference between soup spoons and flower arrangements, I learned far more practical things.

Things like deflecting blame, accepting no insult or shame, and how to get away with making mistakes. Standard politician stuff. Now, since I was an adult already, I know how to do these things. But still, learning a few tricks from ol’ Chryssy would not go unappreciated.

This does mean that she expects me to be an even higher level of unparalleled excellence though. It seems with each new lesson, the bar set for me gets raised higher and higher. Now I can’t rely on cute looks, being royal, and my young age when I make mistakes.

I’m still going to abuse those three as much as I can, but I think Chrysalis will be paying even closer attention to my behavior.

And since I will be with other nymphs, I am expected to be a paragon of virtue. At least, look the part. Chrysalis makes the distinction very clear: in the hive, I obey the rules. Outside the hive, I disregard the pony’s laws when needed.

In addition to lessons in manners, I was also being taught how to rule. As a second-in-command, of course. Don’t want me to have illusions that I will ever be in charge of the hive, after all.

These lessons covered topics such as giving orders to drones, following all of Queen Chrysalis’s orders, accepting no insubordination, examples of punishments to give to drones (ranging from exile to execution), and managing the resource allocation of a city with a population in the thousands.

I admit, that last one really lost me. Apparently being a changeling ruler meant that you had to control the entire economy from the top down.

Sounds like Soviet-socialism to me but I can’t explain the negatives to Chrysalis. I am only a month and a half old or so, who am I to know the nuances of macroeconomics? Besides, it seems that the system in place was created in response to the growing famine problem the hive was facing. There was probably a good reason why it is run the way it is. Probably.

All this was in addition to my lessons on politics, spell theory, practicing spells, language lessons, and a bit of math and science. To accommodate the new lessons in changelings rulership, management of a society, and the basics of infiltration, Chrysalis decided to extend my lessons earlier into the morning. I wasn’t a larva anymore, and that means my days of sleeping half the day away are long past.

And still not a single piece of paper in sight. Studying for verbal exams is damn near impossible when you can’t even take notes. All my ideas for acquiring information on my siblings, or their suspected whereabouts, had fallen wayside. I just didn’t have time to pursue anything.

‘And she considered these lessons good news? I can’t believe I was even excited for this.’

The days were blurring together. Wake up, eat, go to lessons with mother until the late afternoon, practice with Katydid, go to my room, stay up late trying to go over the new material I learned, maybe study for an upcoming exam, then sleep for the few hours I had left in the night. If I had any dreams, then they were nonsensical ramblings, usually involving the moon or insects.

Then repeat. Over and over.

I knew I couldn’t keep this up forever but that’s exactly what I had to do.

Chrysalis was going over the latest report from Canterlot. The new infiltration team put in place in the unicorn-dominated city had yielded far more value than she ever realized. The information, bits, and materials smuggled out of the city made her wonder why it was even protocol to avoid the lavish mountaintop city.

A stray thought of its ruler reminded her why.

She placed the papers back down onto her desk when her door opened and Phasma stepped in.

“Good morning, Prince Phasmatodae.”

“Good morning, Queen Chrysalis,” he mumbled.

Chrysalis recalled today’s lessons. Ah yes, the political structure of Princess Celestia’s upper court, infiltration, Laughing Newt’s three laws of motion, adverbs, the political structure of Queen Chrysalis’s upper court, and tapping into the disguise spells that changelings have an innate affinity for.

Not light material, but Prince Phasma has proved himself more than capable of handling this. Phasma already finished with mathematics, he seemed to take to that like better than any changeling she knew.

“Let’s start with the exam on Celestia’s court. Name the positions and their duties of office.”

She leaned forward to listen to the prince. In fact, this information was new to her as well, having come from a report hooved to her last week.

Phasma looked up in thought, eyes closed. “The Minister of the Interior is in charge of herding cats– I mean, nobles, the Secretary of Court is in charge of organizing the royal court, the Chief of Staff is in charge of everything related to the palace and crownlands, the Captain is in charge of the Royal Guard, as well as nominally in charge of the border guard and the navy…

“Uhh, I think the Judicator was in charge of the courts,” Prince Phasma finished.

When Phasma opened his eyes to look back at Chrysalis, she looked at him pointedly. “Laws? Finance?”

“O-oh, yes, the Treasurer is in charge of monetary policies and the Magistrate is in charge of making the laws.”

“The Magistrate does not write the laws, Prince Phasma.”

“I, uh, knew that...”

Chrysalis sighed. “I’m certain you will do better on the quiz on my court, Prince Phasma.” At that, Phasma looked down at the ground dejectedly. To segue to the next lesson, Chrysalis stepped out from behind her desk and lifted Phasma’ chin up with a hoof.

“When you’re out in the field, you need to cover the gaps in your knowledge better. You will encounter unexpected information, and you must remain calm in control of the conversation.”

She gave him a smile, “I demand excellence because I know you are capable of it. Now, onto formulating fake identities.”

In the back of her mind, Chrysalis was wondering if Phasma just lacked incentives to try his hardest...

Chrysalis is smiling at me again. I don’t think anyone is brave enough– or stupid enough– to tell her that her smiles are creepy as fuck. Self-preservation and all that.

“Prince Phasma, you have been working hard at your studies.”

‘But I failed yesterday’s first exam?’

“I do my best, Queen Chrysalis.”

She nodded, “I know. Which is why I have secured a luxury for your efforts.”

At this point I’m expecting her to give me a slave or something equally horrible. She brings over a jar from her desk. I can hear whispers coming from it…

“-I don’t know, with-” “-need you my-”

‘No, it couldn’t be... There’s going to be an awful catch to this. Okay, which puppy am I going to have to strangle?’

I closed my open mouth before I drooled. I don’t even know when I opened it in the first place.

“With hard work comes rewards that make it worth it. You might not have realized what you are working for, so I shall enlighten you. You will be my second-in-command of the changeling race, and together we shall bring an end to the miseries that have befallen our people.

“Prince Phasma, you will be the key to the fall of Equestria, and with it, you will bring the hive an unlimited supply of love. Enough not just for us, but for every drone that bows to us. No more rationing. No more hiding. This is what we are working towards. This is a goal worth fighting for.”

‘She is buying my loyalty with pure love!’

“I do as you command, mother.” I can’t even take my eyes off the jar.

No matter how hard I try, I can't. Stop. Staring!

“I need more than a mindless drone, Prince Phasma. I need a commander, a war master who will bring ruin upon my enemies. You are more than a weapon, you are Prince Phasmatodae of the Fifth Hive Dynasty. Princess Celestia shall come to fear your very name!”

“... I will not fail.”

“No, you won’t.” With that, she uncaps the jar and hooves it over to me and I take it up in my magic. My magic had shifted over to a light orange hue from the changeling green shortly after starting magic lessons.

I could hear the whispers much clearer now that the love was sooo close...

‘Oh by the nine, I have missed this!’

I was in my room, standing at my open, empty chest. Staring at it. Staring through it.

‘Do I…. Should I….’

I growl and shake my head.

‘No, one thing is clear. I need to find out what happened to those who came before me. I will not be just a footnote in changeling history. Or worse, scrubbed from it entirely. If she had a hoof in their possible demise, then I am in danger. She could very easily dispose of me when we are victorious.’

I felt uncomfortable and sweaty. I wanted to vomit.

‘She’s got me like a dog on a leash. I am a fucking drug addict and she holds a monopoly on the supply.’

I began to pace the room.

‘I doubt there is any possible way I can secure a supply of love outside of her directly, which means I have to play nice and follow orders. I will do whatever she says until I can get the truth.’

I remembered that tomorrow I will meet other changelings outside of Officer Katydid for the first time.

‘Allies. Resources. Information. I cannot make bricks without clay.’

If I am worrying over nothing, then tomorrow will pass by unremembered to all but those in the class.

But if she killed her offspring before me, then what I set in motion tomorrow will be the end of Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Fourth Hive Dynasty.

‘As it is woven, So it shall be.’

A loud knocking on the door woke me up.

“Prince Phasma, it is time to wake up,” came a muffled voice on the other side.

“Muh,” I eloquently reply, and turn over in my bed to face away from the door.

Heedless of my stern warning to not wake me up, the door opens and Chamberlain Eucharis moves into the doorway.

“Prince Phasma, it is time for you to attend infiltration class.”

“Nnnnuh.”

Eucharis sighs softly to himself, "Every damn day.” The Chamberlain then tilts his head forward and shoots out a firework illusion spell into the room. The immediate BANG! and flash of lights sends me shooting off my bed.

He repeats himself, “Prince Phasma, it’s time to wake up.” With that, he steps back, and closes the door behind him.

I groan and my eyes. This was not a fun way of waking up, but after sleeping past the start of just a single lesson Chrysalis arranged for the Chamberlain to make sure I was awake on time.

‘They really need to invent alarms.’

“Queen Chrysalis, it is time to wake up,”

I stood up and stretched, producing a series of satisfying pops.

‘Today is the first day I will see changelings that are not my mother, military, or the two Broodnurses from so long ago. First impressions are everything…’

I lamented the lack of a mirror to make myself presentable. I would ask Chrysalis to see if she can procure one but let’s be honest; what could I even do? I don’t get bed-head since Chrysalis is the only changeling with hair. I can’t brush my teeth since toothpaste hasn’t been invented yet. Or maybe it has and there just isn’t any in the hive.

BANG!

I open my door and step out into the hall, waiting for the Chamberlain. Currently, he is closing the door to Chrysalis’s personal bedchamber, cutting off a particularly nasty string of curses. He turned around and walked up to me.

“Are you ready, My Prince?”

“Whoever invented mornings needs to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.”

Ignoring my ramblings and opening the door to the throne room, Eucharis led the way out of the royal wing of the hive. We walked past the throne room and into the grand hall. I hadn’t seen the grand hall since I first arrived in the upper echelon of the main hive spire. In fact, I had forgotten the existence of the hive outside of the throne room, which I only caught occasional glimpses of.

I followed Eucharis as we descended a few staircases down into the hive proper. Yet again I was met with the spectacle of changelings stopping, staring, and bowing.

‘Only this time, they’re bowing to me, the prince.’

There was a lot more staring going on than when the Queen first took me up. A few changelings even gasped when they saw me, then ran off to go tell their coworkers or friends that the prince was walking through the halls for the first time.

I felt my face heat up despite changelings being unable to blush through solid chitin. I wanted to stop being a public spectacle as soon as possible. Being told that I would be looked up to and have my every action scrutinized is one thing. Experiencing it first hoof is entirely another. I could claim that I would be fine all I wanted, the truth was another matter.

I was not subjected to being the center of attention for too long thankfully, as we soon stopped halfway down a large, busy corridor, in front of a door. A sign above the door read Classroom 431 in Equish.

Chamberlain Eucharis looked to me and grinned, “Here we are, My Prince. I will be here to escort you back to your chambers once class is finished.”

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat, “Thank you Chamberlain.”

We stood there a long moment before Eucharis spoke up.

“Your class is inside, Prince Phasma.”

“Yes yes, I’m getting to that.”

But before I could use my magic to open the door, Eucharis leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry My Prince. Everyone was anxious during their first day of school.”

‘So basically I’m acting like a child. Get your shit together, Phasma, you’re not six years old.’

“Thank you, Eucharis,” I said quietly.

Then, I opened the door to the first changelings I would meet outside of the royal court.

Infiltrator Sclerite observed the class as the changelings took their seats.

For the most part, nymphs stuck with nymphs and adults stuck with adults. It was strange having both age groups in her class. It was by the Queen’s orders that the infiltrator program be expanded and so many adults working in other sectors of the hive were put into infiltrator classes.

In Sclerite’s class alone there were excavators, soldiers, processors, and engineers. Friends, colleagues, and strangers filled the room. And the nymphs, who were just limited to friends and strangers.

So Sclerite called the class to order, and asked the changelings to reseat themselves in neat rows and columns with nymphs up front and adults behind. Not that there were any seats to help them. No, the room was completely barren, devoid of furniture. That didn’t stop the changelings from taking their assigned positions with practiced efficiency.

As they reordered themselves, Sclerite felt her heart beat quicker. That was strange, she felt calm up till that moment. Right as the last adults were moving to sit down in the back, the door on Sclerite’s left opened.

She watched as a changeling she’s never seen before entered the room.

‘Ah, there’s Prince Phasmatodae.’

Chamberlain Eucharis had informed her a few days ago that the prince would be attending, so she had a head’s up on the new student. His hatching had been announced three months ago, and very few have seen him since.

The rest of the class had no such warning.

When the door opened, all heads swiveled to look and twenty three pairs of eyes latched onto the young changeling. For all of them, Infiltrator Sclerite included, this is the first time they saw the new royal.

He looked sorta like a changeling However, he lacked the holes in his legs, he had orange eyes and orange back, and he was essentially a large nymph. He wasn’t as big as an adult but he was at least twice the size of a nymph.

‘Gonna have to stick him in between the two age groups, then.’

I walked through the door only to freeze in my tracks.

The moment the door opened, every head swiveled towards me. The moment I walked in, about half the jaws in the room dropped. I absently noted that the room seemed to be two thirds nymphs up front, one third adults in the back.

‘I feel like a cliche visual novel side character. Rich, privileged, and just entering a class filled with normal people.’

But these were changelings, not normal people at all. That reminder brought me out of my silence.

“This is Infiltrator Sclerite’s class, is it not?”

The changeling straight ahead, the only one not in rows spoke up. “Yes, Your Highness. I am Infiltrator Sclerite, the teacher for this class. I am honored that you would join us.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Infiltrator Sclerite,” I said while moving forward to shake her hoof. The changelings started to whisper.

“Class, this is Prince Phasmatodae. We have the honor of having him with us, so I know you’ll all be on your best behaviour. My Prince, if you would sit there,” she pointed to an open spot in the middle of the room, a gap between the two segregated age groups, “then we will begin lessons.”

I nodded and moved into the open spot.

‘A classroom without chairs, table, chalkboards, or ancient projection machines. This certainly is strange.’

As I sat down, all the changelings kept staring at me, and the nymph closest broke the silence.

“Are ya really the prince?”

That broke the floodgates.

“Is it true that the throne room is covered in gold?”

“What’s Queen Chrysalis like?”

“Why do your eyes look weird?”

“Is it true you can breathe fire?!”

“How come you don’t got holes?”

“AHEM.” That last one was Sclerite. Her loud throat-clearing got the attention of the class, “Now class, we’re going to go through a round of introductions. I know we did that the first day but now we have a new class member.

“I will start. Good morning class, I am Infiltrator Sclerite. I am thirty six years old and two interesting things about me are that I have been all the way to Manehattan and I have listened to actual pony music.”

She looked at the first nymph in the first row expectantly.

“Oh, my name is Pyrina…”

The introductions went on, with the nymphs picking facts like their favorite color or what sports they play. It was nice to know that basketball still existed, though I couldn’t wrap my head around the logistics of it.

Do you dribble with your magic? Your hooves? What’s the ball made of?

My mental tangent left me unprepared when the nymphs finished and it was my turn.

“Hello everyone. I am Prince Phasmatodae, or Prince Phasma for short.”

‘I should avoid talking about my new upbringing to avoid distancing myself from these changelings.’

“And two interesting things about me are that I hope to learn how to ski like ponies do, and that I’ve tasted pure love.”

‘No, damn it! That was-’

The changelings gasped and one asked, “You did?! What did it taste like?!”

‘... a mistake?’

“Err, it’s… like being wrapped up in a thick blanket on a freezing day.”

‘Please none of you ask how I know what a freezing day is like despite my age…’

Luckily, they all seemed to nod, and Sclerite smiled and took this to input her own lesson.

“For those of you who will pass my class, you won’t have to wonder what love tastes like. Successful infiltrators taste love regularly. We’re the ones who bring much of the food back to the hive, after all.”

The changeling adult next to me took the brief moment of silence as his cue to continue introductions. “My name is Pharynx, and I was a royal guard before being put into this class.”

‘That didn’t sound bitter at all. I wonder if Chrysalis arranged for him to be here so that there is a royal guard with me at all times.’

“And a second interesting thing?” Sclerite asked.

“... My brother is in this class, too.”

Sclerite sighed. “Alright then. Your turn– and you can’t use the brother thing too,” she said to the changeling next to Pharynx.

The adults all introduced themselves and unlike the nymphs, their interesting facts were all pertaining to what professions they used to be. That, and their second facts were usually along the lines of hobbies, if they’ve had the honor of laying an egg, and one claimed that the infiltrator he was roommates with had an actual book.

After introductions, Infiltrator Sclerite started today’s lessons. They were all concepts that Chrysalis had covered. Apparently she taught me the book material and put me in the class for the practice tours they do outside the hive.

The fact that those start a month from now must have escaped her notice.

During the lessons, I caught more than a few glances in my directions, as well as my name being whispered around the room.

‘Really making me feel self-conscious, huh?’

When the class wrapped up, instead of all the changelings immediately booking it for the door like normal school kids do, they all stuck around. To bug me with questions, of course.

“No, I do not shoot lasers out of my eyes.”

The changeling aww’ed, before being pushed aside by another with a new question. I recognized this new nymph as Lacewing, a nymph who said she wanted to see a painting when she becomes an infiltrator.

“Can you speak through the Weave, like Queen Chrysalis can?”

I perked up. That was a question I did not expect from a nymph.

“Yes.”

Lacewing’s eyes widened.

“Can you show us?”

“Speaking through the Weave is not something to be flaunted around… But I’ll make an exception, just this once.”

It was funny to watch the crowd go from curious, to dejected, to thoroughly impressed so quickly.

“What’s your opinion on ponies?” This one came from the brother of that royal guard.

I thought about what Thorax asked; this was quite the loaded question.

“Their luxurious lives have... made them lose sight of how the world really works. Their time in the sun will soon come to an end,” I said, channeling my inner Chrysalis.

Thorax tried to hide his disappointment.

‘Fool, you’re going to get yourself killed if you do not hide your humanity better. Or would it be changanity? I’ll have to ask Chrysalis later. Oh right, I’m supposed to be cementing loyalty here.’

“Perhaps there are many things we can learn from them. After all, what’s stopping us from taking the best ideas they have to offer, and discarding the rest?”

‘There we go. Vague enough to satisfy your self-inserted ideals? The questioning look you’re sending me says maybe.’

An adult changeling, Tarsus, stepped forwards and asked, “We’re going to go down to the recreation area and play some hoofball. Do you want to join us… Errr, Your Highness?”

I thought for a moment. “That would be interesting, I would enj-”

“Prince Phasma, it is time to go.”

I glared at the interrupter. It was Chamberlain Eucharis, at the door.

“Perhaps another time, Tarsus.” He smiled when I remembered his name.

“I look forward to it.”

“Good evening, all of you,” I awkwardly said my farewell, “I will answer more questions after the next class.”

That cheered up the few changelings that didn’t get to bug me about my non-existent social life.

“Did My Prince enjoy his first experience with changelings of his age?”

“They’re all older than me by at least five months, Chamberlain.”

Eucharis frowned as we continued our way back up.

“Your actual peers are still unable to talk.”

“Peers?”

He straightened up. “I mean the changelings of your age, My Prince. I meant no insult.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. And yes, I did enjoy meeting other changelings outside of the royal court.’

The Chamberlain let out a long breath, “It is good to hear that, My Prince. You may be giving them orders sooner rather than later. That is... Good.”

“Hmm? Nothing about how getting along with my subjects is an important lesson to learn? Or how socializing builds important skills?”

“Who put that idea in your head, My Prince? Was it that layabout Thorax? He’s always up to no good. I’ll investigate the matter myself, Prince Phasma, don’t you worry!”

I shook my head. “Nevermind.”

‘It’s a bit strange how Eucharis goes from caring about my wellbeing one second, to announcing he’s going to persecute a changeling the next. What’s he up to?’

There was something I remembered to ask.

“Speaking of Thorax, his brother claimed to be a former Royal Guard. Was there a reason he was moved into the infiltrator class?”

“The Queen wanted to put changelings from all professions into the infiltrator class. She believed the experiment could yield interesting information on how changelings from different parts of the hive will react to the outside world.”

“Wow, she said all of that?”

“Not a word of it.”

‘So he might still be a bodyguard. Knowing bug-mom, he definitely is a body guard.’

“Alrighty then… What’s the real reason?”

Eucharis looked at me, “That is the real reason. Her Majesty just left me to connect the dots when carrying out her orders.”

“Sounds like an inefficient way to rule a kingdom.”

“Well don’t expect me to tell her that,” Eucharis mumbled quietly, but not quietly enough for me to miss. “Her Majesty rules her hive as she sees fit. And she sees more of the bigger picture than all of us.”

‘Tactfully avoiding agreeing with me or disagreeing with me, huh? I can be an ass-licker, too!’

“Oh, that makes sense. I guess actions that seem strange to us are actually well-thought out.”

We walked the rest of the way back in silence. Changelings still bowed to me in the hallway, and there were more of them this time.

Another day, another class covering material I already know. I had been in this class for eight days now. At this point I’m wondering if Chrysalis had intentionally put me in a class where I already knew everything to make myself, and possibly by extension herself, appear far more knowledgeable than we actually are.

Today’s lesson was on schooling our expressions and to be always on guard during a conversation for slips and gaps of knowledge that would give us away.

‘Thorax had better be paying attention. He may be useful as of yet.’

Once the class wrapped up, we had a few minutes for another Q&A session. It seems the changelings of the hive never receive any visits from chrysalis, so actually meeting her is usually bad news.

I was with five other changelings at the moment: Thorax, Lacewing, Tarsus, a nymph named Coxa, and an adult named Oestridae. These five seemed to stick around me the most, asking questions about me.

We had actually gotten to know each other somewhat by this point. I knew that Thorax totally would be in on my conspiracies. Lacewing wanted to become an avid painter with her disguises. Tarsus was a shoo-in for some position close to me I’ve yet to invent and suggest to Chrysalis. Coxa would have made an excellent assistant to the Chamberlain had he not been rerouted into the Infiltrator pipeline.

And Oestridae… He would probably make an excellent personal guard. Dude’s built like a brick shithouse and has the personality of a kitten. I didn’t know it was possible to be bigger than the normal changeling, but I swear he’s at least two inches taller than normal. That’s practically The Mountain That Rides!

‘Not sure why any changeling thought a transportation specialist as big and clumsy as Oestridae would be needed out in the infiltrator line of duty, but maybe he’s going to ferry materials back to the hive?’

I was zoning out again, answering benign questions for the most part. Really, these changelings have crazy imaginations. How could you even come up with the idea that Panarthropo talks to me personally?

‘Actually, I might already be receiving visits from a deity in my sleep. Need to check up on that at some point, the vault may have information on this Moon Presence.’

“Prince Phasma, who is your dad?” Lacewing asked.

This one got my attention, shaking away thoughts of Bloodborne bosses.

‘Dad? Uhh... Who… I don’t think I was ever told?’

The changelings had noticed my silence.

‘I mean, I don’t think his identity matters, but still that sounds like something important to know. What if it’s a changeling within the hive? Or a pony Chrysalis seduced at some point?’

I shivered at the thought of bug-mom sleeping with anyone. Nasty.

“My Prince?”

‘Did she even sleep with anyone? Don’t ant queens mate with themselves or something? Oh god that’s disgusting and I don’t want to think about it anymore.’

“Prince Phasma?”

‘I remember my human dad. That’s enough for me. Yea, no one can replace him, whoever this mystery donor is is completely irrelevant.’

I snapped to my side, where a hoof landed on my shoulder. Tarsus was looking at me with concern.

“You too? I woulda thought with Queen Chrysalis....”

‘Too? Wait, all nymphs are raised in a communal setting.’

“None of you know your parents, huh?”

The nymphs and adults gathered around me shook their heads.

Thorax spoke up, “Well, I know Pharynx is my brother, but none of us have actually met our..”

Said brother was currently on the other side of the room, talking with a buddy of his.

‘The guard is not present, I may have an opportunity right here and now. They don't have a family, so let's make one.’

“They don’t matter.” The five changelings raised their eyebrows at this. “They don’t. What matters is us. Us hivers have to stick together, right?”

More confused looks. Exactly what I was hoping for.

I continued, “If no one else has our backs, then we need to watch each others’. We look out for our own, and we help each other when we have to.”

Coxa rubbed his chin in thought, “Like some sort’a pony family?”

“No,” I shook my head, “we’re changelings, not ponies. We’ve got to be something else, something better. Families fight and bicker, we need to be watertight!”

Ostridae grinned, “Yea!”

‘Eloquently spoken, Gregor Clegane.’

Lacewing looked down at her hooves, “I’ve never…” She looks up at me, eyes beaming. “I would like that, My Prince.”

‘If I had a camera right now, that’s a picture that I would hold onto forever. On second thought, having pictures of others’ kids being adorable in your wallet is probably creepy.’

Tarsus nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Hmm…. I like the idea, but I dunno if we should tell others about it.”

‘And that’s why I love Coxa. I don’t need to suggest all these near-treasonous ideas when he reaches the conclusions I’m getting to before I can even hint at them.’

Thorax pitched in next, “But Pharynx is my actual family! How could I just abandon him like that?”

I stepped into the conversation again, “You won’t have to. We can consider him an.. Honorary member. We cover his back, just without him knowing. We’d never leave your brother out to dry, Thorax.”

“I don’t like lying to him. Can’t we just include him in on this?”

I frowned. “He’s got enough to worry about when it comes to protecting the hive as a guard. We don’t want him to favor protecting us over the rest of the hive in his royal duties, do we?”

This made Thorax pause in thought, but he continued his line of thinking, “But you’re The Prince. He’s already got to favor protecting you over us.”

‘Stop poking holes in my argument, Thorax.’

“Look, the worst case is that I order him to protect one of you if needed.”

“... If you say so, Phasma.”

‘Already discarding titles, are we?’

I looked to the five changelings gathered in front of me.

“Then it’s settled. We stick together through thick and thin.” I stuck my hoof out in front of them.

“Together,” Coxa put his notched hoof on top of my solid one.

Lacewing added hers, “Together.”

“Together!” Ostridae placed his massive, quarter-of-an-inch bigger hoof onto the pule.

“Till the end,” Tarsus added unnecessarily ominously before piling on.

‘If Thorax stays out, then that’s one less liability. If he joins, then that’s a changeling with a conscience I can use.’

Thorax looked apprehensive. However, he added his hoof. “For our family.”

I had to refrain from fidgeting in place. This was striking a bit too close to home.

I was standing next to Queen Chrysalis’s throne in, you guessed it, the throne room. There were twice as many royal guards present, up to two dozen. There was also the entire retinue of the royal court, from the Head of Infiltration to the Captain of The Royal Guard.

The reason for such a turnout was sitting glued down in front of the throne.

Evanii, an infiltrator, was on trial. He was currently making himself as small as possible, flinching at the Chamberlain’s words.

“... conspiring to subvert the hive, conspiring to threaten the peace, and high treason against Her Majesty,” Chamberlain Eucharis finished reading off the charges.

Officer Katydid stood next to me, trying to be a reassuring presence. However, you don’t inspire confidence when you look about as content as a drowning rat.

Apparently he knew Evanii from class, a few years back.

‘I would not be comfortable if anyone I knew was being sentenced to death…’

Bug-mom spoke up for the first time into this trial which had already been going on for twenty minutes, “You are faced with all these charges, with all this evidence, and yet you dare plead innocent? Have you no shame?! You waste the court’s time. You waste my time.”

“B-but all I did was suggest that maybe the hive could benefit from Your Majesty hearing our plights directly! T-there’s precedence in Equ-”

Chamberlain Eucharis interrupted, “You dare lie to the court?! The Royal Guard has searched your room and we have found more than ‘suggestions,’ you have in your possession a Treatise on Harmony, written by the Pony Princess Celestia herself!”

Evanii started to tremble. “I-I’ve never s-seen that book in my life! I swear!”

“We know you brought it into the hive,” Eucharis pressed, “Sources have confirmed the book as being yours specifically. My Queen, the accused has made his plea, and has provided no evidence to support his radical claim!”

‘Wait, someone had said in Infiltrator class that their roommate possessed a book.’

I scanned the room, looking for a changeling in particular. If there was a changeling I had met before, the Weave would intuitively provide their identity if I saw them.

“Infiltrator Evanii, the evidence cannot be denied. You are guilty of bringing in pony ideals into the hive. Furthermore, you have attempted to poison the court with their false teachings. The sentence for such a crime is death.”

Evanii gasped and started sobbing.

Next to me, Katydid started shaking. I wish I could have reassured him that Chrysalis is going to back down from the death penalty, but I dared not speak outloud. It was expected of me to be reserved and silent, so reserved and silent I was.

Chrysalis wanted me in here witnessing this for a reason.

“However..” The Queen drawled, “I am a merciful queen. Instead of being sentenced to death, you will be enrolled into the guard training program. In addition, you will have recycling vat duty for the next thirteen months.”

“T-Thank you, My Q-Queen!”

Katydid let out a sigh of relief which was drowned out by Evanii’s rambling thanks.

Chrysalis stood up, “Your recreation hours will be sacrificed to fit in your extra duties. I am giving you a second chance. You would do well not to relapse.”

‘Note to self: don’t get caught.’

“This court is adjourned.”

As the changelings started to file out, two breaking the infiltrator’s bindings and dragging him off, Officer Katydid leaned over to whisper to me.

“You did well, My Prince.” However, before he could continue with his unneeded compliments, Chrysalis approached us.

“Queen Chrysalis,” I said aloud, and Officer Katydid looked up and bowed to the monarch.

“Prince Phasma. What would you have sentenced the traitor to?”

‘Fuck, a test already?’

I took a deep breath, giving me a moment to think.

“I do not think I could have done any wiser of a sentencing, Mother. Announce the death penalty to strike fear, then backing down to a less severe penalty to project an aura of mercy and power to our subjects. He will tell those around him how thankful he is that you granted him the honor of a second chance, thus reminding the populous the penalty of treason against the crown.”

Chrysalis nodded, then walked off.

As I smiled to myself, Katydid stared at me.

“Something the matter, Officer Katydid?”

“You…. Nothing, My Prince.”

I sniffed and looked away, towards the glass-less windows of the throne room.

‘So many things I need to do, so few hours in the day. Find a way into the vault, continue to build a closer relationship with the five classmates, and study for tomorrow’s exam on illusion spells.’

I did not find the changeling I was looking for in the throne room.

“Today we will cover disguises,” Infiltrator Sclerite addressed the class.

‘Finally!’

Apparently this part is really easy to changelings, so it’s saved for the end, right before expeditions out begin for the infiltrator class. Seems like allocating the least amount of time for the most important lesson to me but considering it takes extra energy to maintain a disguise, the teacher probably just wants to make sure that no energy is wasted on changelings that cannot perform the rest of the required lessons.

Case in point, the class had been reduced by a bit at that point. It started out with twenty two changelings and now it’s down to fifteen. The class seemed easy enough to me but then again I was juggling it along with five or so other subjects every day. I was focused entirely on education, whereas most changelings had work or were unprepared for classwork.

“First, you must feel your connection to the Weave. Even outside of the hive, you have to understand on an intimate level how you are entwined into the Great Tapestry. The String, or Thread as some say, of Change must be known to you.”

The infiltrator was using the Weave to help us feel the thread.

I literally grasped onto the knowledge she was trying to give us and held onto it. Already, I felt heat building up in my horn. The changelings around me, the five members of my new inner circle, found the task of grasping the thread that much easier due to my efforts.

“Now, your first disguise will be an earth pony with a black coat, white mane, green eyes, average build. The Cutie Mark will be a red question mark. Picture the pony with your mind’s eye. Then, while still holding onto the String of Change, push your mana through your horn.”

I watched as many changelings vanished into a curtain of green flames that crept up their body. In their place were the disguised ponies.

Focusing, I channeled the mana while picturing the disguise. I kept in mind the different lessons on body proportions, average mane length, and so on while creating my disguise. My vision was briefly obscured as orange flames rose up from my hooves and rapidly spread across my body, eventually covering my eyes.

When the flames receded, I didn’t feel any different. Lifting a hoof to inspect it revealed a dull black hoof rather than a glossy black hoof. I was covered in fur, rather than chitin.

Looking to my immediate class members, I saw the same pony disguises. We all varied on height and muscle sizes, but for the most part we looked like normal ponies.

‘At least, I assume we do. I’ve never seen a pony.’

In just a few moments, there were no changelings left in the classroom. Slowly, Sclerite walked between each student, checking their disguises.

“Your legs are too thin. Your eyes are still blue. Ponies don’t have holes in their legs, how could you forget that?!”

Most changelings she passed by with no comment. As she passed by my area, she glared at Thorax’s disguise. “Ponies have manes, not fins, Thorax.”

“Right. I remember that,” Thorax said, adjusting his disguise with more green flames.

“You’re too big, Oestridae. Most ponies are not that muscley, and you don’t want to stick out.”

After she checked all of our disguises, she returned to the front of the classroom and spoke loudly to the class.

“Good. Now, drop your disguises. To do this, grab back onto the String of Change and channel mana without picturing a disguise. The raw mana will disrupt your current disguise. With practice you will get a better feeling of just how much mana is needed to disrupt it.”

A wave of green flames with a small island of orange ones washed across the room as each changeling discarded their disguises

“Next, I want you all to create your own disguise, complete with a cutie mark.”

‘Oh no, originality! My one weakness!’

“And you need to get used to creating one under pressure, it’s not always the case where you will have time to think out a clever disguise. You have five seconds.”

Quickly, I pictured a tall pony with dark blue fur, a two-toned faded purple and light black mane and tail, and a cutie mark that was the greek letter μ.

‘No Phasma, don’t make the obvious OC joke here.’

Once again, Infiltrator Sclerite walked between the changelings and judged our disguises. A hooffull didn’t think of a disguise in time and stayed changelings after they were enveloped in green flames, a few had errors with their disguises still, but most accomplished the task just fine. Not one of us had bright colors for a coat.

This time, Sclerite, disguised as a white pegasus with a green mane and red question mark on her flanks, spoke to me as she passed.

“Prince Phasma, your eyes are still orange. And ponies don’t have random scribbles for their disguise.”

I blinked. I hastily fixed my mistake and imagined purple irises on my disguise, channeling again.

With orange flames fixing my error, I said, “It’s the letter Mu, not scribbles.”

Sclerite looked at me questioningly but did not press further. She moved onto the rest of the class behind me.

“Now we will cover unicorn disguises. As you recall from earlier lessons, their horns possess a different shape than changeling horns…”

“That’s it for today. You all will receive a single extra portion of rations to make up for the energy loss. Don’t let this privilege get to your heads, next class we will be combining lessons, so be prepared!”

As the class broke, my inner circle formed a hexagon. I mean you could call it a circle, but there are six of us and hexagons are cooler than circles. Lacewing and Coxa started rubbing their horns. Taking the form of a pegasus had been especially tiring, with each changeling having to imagine each individual feather on both wings in order to get a complete disguise.

“You’d think she’d cut us nymphs some slack,” Coxa whined.

“Yea, I can see why a lot of changelings usually don’t pass this class!” Lacewing added.

Tarsus shrugged, “Seemed pretty easy to me.”

“That’s because you have the mana pool of an adult, Tarsus,” I said while rolling my eyes.

“Oh, and you’re fine, Phasma?”

I sighed. “I am now. I have lessons after this, and I won’t be fine after those.”

“You have more lessons? Don’t you also have lessons before this class, too?”

“Yea.”

Lacewing shook her head, “I can’t imagine that much classwork. When do you get to relax?”

Coxa added, “And what do you even do to relax?”

I absentmindedly rubbed my chin in thought. “Well… I… Uh…. Study?”

“That’s not relaxing,” Oestridae pointed out.

“I sleep for a few hours each day.”

“That’s not relaxing, either.”

I threw my hooves up with a shrug, “Then I don’t.”

“Prince Phasma,” Chamberlain Eucharis called from the doorway.

“You’re here too early, come back in five minutes!” I yelled back to him.

He responded by tapping his hoof impatiently.

“... Damn it, looks like I have to go already.”

“By the Great Weaver, I don’t envy you, Phasma,” Thorax whispered.

“We don’t get to choose our lot in life. For the good of the hive, and all that.”

Coxa, Lacewing, Tarsus, and Thorax all raised their eyebrows at that last comment. Oestridae was too distracted by Lacewing’s tail, which was slowly swishing back and forth.

I stood up and walked over to the buzz-kill.

“Chamberlain Eucharis. Is there a reason you’re especially on time today, or can you just not wait to see me?”

“I do enjoy our walks, My Prince, but I am indeed here early for a reason. We are headed to the North-East Main Exit, rather than the royal chambers.”

I looked behind him and sure enough, there were four royal guards waiting in the hallway.

“I’m… leaving the hive?”

He nodded, “Yes. Today we will begin your flying lessons. We won’t be going far, just sticking close to the hive.”

“I’m actually leaving the hive?”

“You already asked that, My Prince.”

‘Holy shit.’

I heard the clopping of hooves and looked to my right and saw Tarsus walking up.

“Prince Phasma,” he began with my title, “I couldn’t help but overhear. I’d like to come with you, if you would have me.”

“...You may.”

Eucharis butted in, “Your Highness, these private lessons are-”

“-Are occurring at my discretion,” I cut off Eucharis. “If I say he can come, then he can.”

As we walked out of the hive with our escort, Chamberlain Eucharis was giving me the rundown on flying lessons.

“Now, since you will be exercising a whole new muscle group, what we’re going to start with is simply buzzing your wings. First, move them out of your wing coverings, your elytra.”

I moved my elytra up and out of the way, and my unused wings rose partially from my back.

“Good, My Prince. Now comes the hard part, you have to vibrate your wings.”

That, I could not do. Moving a leg was as easy as moving my leg or arm as a human. Adjusting my elytra was as easy as moving my shoulder around. Moving my wings on the other hoof, was another matter entirely.

‘On the other hand. How many of these have I missed?’

Tarsus seemed to notice my struggles and used his magic to lightly push my wings up and down.

‘Oh that feels so weird.’

Tarsus stopped pushing on my wings now that I felt the alien muscle group. I gave him a nod of thanks and focused on my wings. I imagined the muscles twitching, focusing on where I felt Tarsus’s movement meet my back. Thankfully, it was just that easy to get them to twitch on their own.

“Well done. Keep getting them to twitch, getting faster and faster, until the wings start buzzing.”

Vibrating a part of my body took practice, so much so that by the time I actually managed to move my wings at a speed above a grandma’s slow trudging, we had reached the exit of the hive.

It was a large pair of doors made of a solid black stone material. They were covered in etching similar to the pair of doors to the throne room, which I had by this point learned was the changeling creation myth, with the doors being mirror images of each other.

Each door had a changeling on the outer edge of the door, reaching towards the upper, inner corner. From said corner, a tapering tendril extended down to the center of the bottom edge of the door. The tendril seemed to have twists and turns within itself, seemingly at random.

It was the first changeling grasping onto the String of Together

‘Déjà vu. These changelings are very good at replicating art, the only difference I could see between this set of doors and the throne room doors was that the throne room doors were painted.’

‘…’

‘No. There was a dream…’

Eucharis ordered the guards at the gate to open the way. The guard on the left moved to a horizontal wheel I neglected to notice and started pushing it.

The doors slowly creaked and swung outwards. Sunlight from a setting sun blinded my eyes which had been accustomed to the dark of the hive.

‘Every damn time I walk through the Great Hall, this shit happens.’

“Come, My Prince, it’s time for you to fly.” Eucharis had stepped through the doors before they finished opening, the guard retinue and Tarsus sticking by me.

And so I stepped out of the hive for the first time in my life.

It was a cool day out in the drylands.

I took in the sights; the ground was rocky and unsurprisingly dry with not a blade of grass in sight. In the distance, mesas rose up from the uneven ground. For miles around the hive, there was nothing. Not a hill, not a tree, not even a Starbucks.

We were far from civilization.

The sky was clear, yellows, oranges, and pinks being painted across the blue canvass by a hidden setting sun. The sun was setting mostly behind the hive, casting a shadow over the plains in front of us. The hive itself was a towering, dark structure, its details hidden by the contrast of the light.

“Now we have some room to breathe,” Eucharis said, drawing my attention back to the ground. He had stopped about thirty paces out in front of the entrance and had turned around to face me.

I walked up and stopped in front of him.

“Let’s begin. Our changeling wings give us far more maneuverability than pegasus or thestral wings. We can hover, move sideways, directly up and down, you name it. They may have us beat on speed and gliding, but we are far more nimble.

“I want you to vibrate your wings as fast as you can.”

With my wings already out of their hardened housings, I tried making them vibrate. They beat at a respectable speed, but far from what you’d consider a vibration.

“You have to let go, and let the wings move themselves.”

Tarsus and the guards watched from near the entrance as I worked up a sweat, moving my thin insectoid wings as fast as I could.

“Faster! And stop flapping them manually, you have to let your body do the work!”

I relaxed my control over my wings, and their beats slowed down.

‘But they’re still moving!’

“Very good, Your Highness! Now, imagine yourself lifting off of the grou– Yes!”

I looked down and saw my hooves were wobbling above the ground, rather than planted firmly on it. My movement of looking down caused me to tilt forward, and I saw the ground rush up to meet me. My chitin protected me from collecting any scrapes, which would have been my only injuries from the no-speed impact of hitting the ground. Still, it was embarrassing.

Chamberlain Eucharis walked up to my side. “Why do we fall, Prince Phasma?”

“Because gravity pulls us downwards,” I responded, stating the obvious. I flipped myself over and got back onto my hooves.

“We fall so-”

“I know, Eucharis. I know.”

I looked at my back and saw my wings were extended once more. The fall hadn’t damaged their fragile structure. Once more, I vibrated them and started to lift off the ground.

I fell four more times before I got more than five feet off the ground. Being so close the first few times, I quickly learned how to recover my wings using my elytra before I hit the ground.

That is a valuable skill all changelings learn with little input from their tutors. Apparently it was just a natural reaction to aborting flying.

Eucharis rose off the ground to meet me at eye level. Before he could tell me the next lesson, I heard a buzz behind me.

“Yo Prince Phasma! You’re doing far better than I did when I first started flying! You’re taking to this like flies to sh-”

“Next, Prince Phasma,” Eucharis glared at Tarsus, “it’s time to do more than hover.”

‘So no shit there I was, fifty feet off the ground as a royal insect horse on another world…’

I slowly buzzed around a few of the lower hive spires that were jutting out from the base of the hive superstructure. Despite how tired I was becoming due to the constant work, I was enjoying myself.

Eucharis was flying next to me, giving me points on how to adjust my momentum and center of mass. It had only taken an hour, but I could fly without hitting the closest object in sight. Usually the ground right beneath me.

Tarsus was flying a bit back, but with Eucharis right next to me, we kept our conversations very limited.

Now the sun had dipped below the horizon, the last few rays staining the dark sky yellow.

“Alright My Prince, it’s time to turn in.”

“The night is still young, Cham-wow!-... Err, Eucharis…”

I dodged a massive spire that had come out of nowhere. Well, I flew in a straight line at it, but it’s not my fault they built it there.

Seeing that he was right, I adjusted my slow, bumbling course and headed back for the entrance, wobbling as I came in for a landing.

Behind me, two guards landed a distance back. They had never left me out of their sight, or further than fifty hooves– ‘Feet!’– away from them. Tarsus landed closer. “That… was slow. But still fun, Prince Phasma. If you can’t get some time to play hoofball, then we should definitely go flying.”

“With my flying lessons,” I said between pants, “that just might be more doable.”

“It’s time to head back up, Your Highness.” Eucharis motioned towards the hive entrance. We talked as we walked, the guard retinue and Tarsus filing in behind us.

“... As easy as it is for most of us,” Tarsus broke the silence from behind, “I know some changelings that struggle with flying. It just doesn’t come as easy to them.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of that, though I’m not surprised,” I explain.

‘Flying really is something else. Something tiring,’ I thought with a yawn. 'And painful.'

“There should be some classes available to the drones of the hive. Not all of us have a private tutor, ya know. I mean, My Prince.”

Eucharis looked back at Tarsus with a neutral expression, before turning back forward.

“I’m sure that while a few changlings may benefit from such an expenditure, it would be a waste of valuable time for our more experienced fliers.”

“...It’s an idea to consider, at least,” Tarsus grumbled.

"And I will. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Tarsus," I softly told him.

We walked on in silence until we had passed the usual turnoff for the infiltrator classroom. My back was really starting to sting at this point.

“This is where we part ways, My Prince,” Tarsus spoke up from behind me. I turned to give him a smile.

“Thank you, Tarsus, for your company. I will see you and the rest of the class tomorrow.”

Our retinue continued without him up the hive.

“You’re becoming close with this Tarsus classmate of yours,” Eucharis said in a low voice. “I would advise caution, My Prince.”

“Not every ‘ling has an agenda, Chamberlain. You need to calm down and take a step back.”

“My Prince! He just spoke to you and suggested how to run the hive, that’s not something to be shaken off! He uses your companionship to whisper into your ear!”

“Eucharis. Tarsus is just looking out for what’s best for the hive. He has no secret agenda to push.”

“You are making bold assumptions, My Prince.”

“Enough!”

I was tired, my back was starting to hurt, and a part of me sticking off my back was definitely hurting. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night, or any night for that matter.

‘Fuck, I’m treading dangerous waters here. Tone it back.’

I sighed, putting a hoof to my head while walking forward. “My apologies, Chamberlain. I know you’re looking out for my best interests but… I’m just tired. There’s no magic lessons after this, are there?”

“No, My Prince.”

“Thank the Weaver for small miracles.”

When we reached the royal wing, I continued into my room while Eucharis stayed in the hall. I shut the door behind me and flopped onto my bed.

‘Too tired to study. Too hungry, too.’

Normally after magic lessons Officer Katydid had a meal for us to eat together. It was a short, brief thing, consisting of just the love-gel, but it was nice enough.

Still, some extra time to myself was nothing to scoff at, and I took the extra hours of sleep.

A loud noise jerked me awake.

“Wha? Whuzzit?!”

I flipped over to face the door and saw Queen Chrysalis looking down at me. My body still ached from last night’s lessons.

“Mother... I can’t recall the last time you’ve woken me for lessons personally,” I said as my brain rebooted.

She chuckled. “You have not been asleep that long, Prince Phasma. It is still night.”

I blinked the crust from my eyes and looked at her.

“Night…?”

Chrysalis nodded, “Yes. The Chamberlain has informed me that your disguising and flying lessons have gone well today.”

I sat up, facing her. “Yes, Mother.”

“Show me a disguise.”

‘Oh, come on!’

Suppressing a sigh, I hopped off the bed and stood in front of Chrysalis, ignoring the protests from my body. I pictured a pony in my mind. Unicorn, white coat, blue mane and tail, horseshoe Cutie Mark.

Orange flames covered me as I channeled magic. With my disguise in place, she paced around me. My horn started to sting from the overuse.

“Acceptable. Now, who am I looking at?”

‘Figured this is what Infiltrator Sclerite was talking about when she said combining lessons. Thankfully, I am prepared.’

“I am Big Iron,” I said in a voice that was deeper than my own and with a rougher accent. “I am a blacksmith from lower Canterlot.”

She stops in front of me. “And what do you do for a living, Big Iron?”

My stomach growled.

“I just said, Ma’am, I am a blacksmith. I forge bits and pieces, made to order.”

Chrysalis leaned in close, “And what is your opinion on the upcoming Summer Sun celebration, Rough Iron?”

‘The fuck is that?’

“Well, err…. The celebration itself don’t bring me business, but the partyin’ does do damage that customers are fixin’ to have fixed.”

She didn’t move away from my face. “No, I want to know your opinion on the Sun Princess herself, Big Iron…”

‘Chrysalis is really drilling me here. Damn it woman, give me a break! I just woke up!’

“She– I do think highly of our dear Princess, Ma’am. Where’n would we be without her raisin’ the sun erry’ morning, and her guard protectin’ us and whatnot?”

Chrysalis finally leaned back. She still stared at me, though.

“....Acceptable,” she repeated her mediocre praise after a moment. “Dispel.”

I dispelled the disguise, my horn now flaring in pain.

“You did well for a first disguise. But ‘well’ will not be good enough. Canterlot citizens do not have as thick of an accent as you put on. Your disguise would not hold up to scrutiny.

“Still, you did admirably, Prince Phasma. Your classmates have received extra portions in their meals to offset their increased activities. Do not think I have forgotten you, My Prince.”

I tilted my head at that.

She looked behind her and brought over a sealed pot. My stomach started to hurt at the sight.

‘Ohhh yesss! If there's a catch to this, then future-me can pay it!’

“This is a bit stale, but you won’t mind.”

I already can hear the whispers of the sweet succor.

“Thank you, Mother,” I said, swallowing saliva. My jaw started shivering. “I am… most grateful.”

As I took the jar in my magic and popped it open, Chrysalis continued to address me.

“You have done as well as is expected of you in your Infiltrator class.” I barely caught the next statement, I was so involved in consuming every last wisp of love from the jar. “But I’m afraid you will be too busy to attend the traditional expedition to Equestria with the rest of your class.”

‘Mmmmmm….. Wait, what?’

“M-Mother?” Prince Phasma said in a stuttering voice.

‘It’s always adorable to watch him eat,’ Queen Chrysalis thought to herself. ‘Just keep it up, little Prince, and you will have all the love you desire once we conquer Equestria.’

“You still have lessons with me, Prince Phasma. There is no time to go gallivanting about, playing with your prey.”

Phasma swayed slowly from side to side as he spoke, “I w-was under… the impression that, uh, I was with the class specifically for the expedition?”

She sneered, “Then you had the wrong impression. You were in the class to… reaffirm your lessons.”

‘You don’t need to know the truth. And don’t think I don’t know about your…. friends, young Prince.’

“Tomorrow, your lessons will cover the dangers of outside opinions,” Chrysalis steered the conversation away from the infiltrator class.

Chrysalis watched as Phasma blinked slowly and shuffled his hooves in his slower-of-mind state.

‘Yes Prince Phasma, I am always watching.’

But it was Chrysalis’s turn to be surprised when Phasma asked her a question she, quite frankly, didn’t expect.

“Mmmm… Mmm-Mother, who’s my dad?”

‘Where did this come from?’

“...I am all that matters, Phasma....”

I suppose I should have expected this question. Did it slip out now that he's unguarded of mind? I could train him to be used to the feeling of love, so that he is not so... weak, when consuming it. But I think I'll have him keep that particular vice...

The Prince mumbled something in response as Queen Chrysalis backed out of his room and closed the door.

‘That nymph vexes me.’

I was looking down on Earth.

Lifting up my foreleg, I saw the bleach-white ruffles of a NASA spacesuit. Still a changeling, though. In fact, instead of the USA flag patch on my shoulder, I saw a Chrysalis’s horn flanked by insect wings.

I tried looking behind me, but I had no way to spin around. As far as I could tell, I was tethered to the International Space Station or a rocket. The tether itself was occasionally visible in the corner of my eyes when I tried to turn all the way around.

Giving up, I looked at the view in front of me.

Earth. A mural of blues, greens, whites, and yellows on the night side. Currently, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia were visible before me. I could see in detail the beaches, mountains, and forests that accentuated the industrialized lands.

On one spot, the snow-capped mountains of the Alps rose up to meet the heavens. On another, the sands of the Sahara stretched from sea to shining sea. Between it all, the glistening Mediterranean dominated the view.

I sighed deeply as I watched night slowly creep across the world, the bright lights of the cities making themselves visible, replacing the white clouds.

The blue-green jewel glistened as the sun became more and more hidden behind it. A band of bright green slowly slithered across the northern crown of the world. The Aurora Borealis, the bright greens gave way to near imperceptible reds at its peaks.

‘Home.’

How long had it been since I last thought of home? How long h-had it been?!

‘I’ve been a changeling for months now… Almost four, I think?’

‘... There’s Paris. Rome. Berlin. Istanbul. I’ll never even see a photo of any city ever again. Not a human city, at least.’

The sun had set on the world, leaving it wholly in the dark. I floated there, watching the world slowly spin. Turning without me. Life moved on, even when mine ended.

‘Is my family wondering where I am? Is-’

I felt the tether behind me go taught. Earth in front of me had stopped its slow spin.

‘W-what?! Oh fuck-’

“Kindred soul.”

A voice was speaking to me, it’s words as clear as if they were right next to me. Worse yet, the voice was behind me. It was a woman's voice, I could tell, and I felt power drip from its every word.

“Thy presence is known to us. Let us converse.”

“You are the Moon Presence?” I managed to ask, trying my damnedest to hide the quakes in my voice.

“We art the Moon made manifest. Eons past, We were revered. Worshiped. What once was, shall be.”

Everytime the feminine voice spoke, the nonexistent hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge. I had a new body, but in the dreamworld I obeyed human instincts.

“Why talk to me?”

“Thy presence is known. We hath felt thy touch upon the Nightscape. We cannot recall the last time such hath occurred.”

I remembered my dreams during my transformation.

“The Great Tapestry. Was that you, beneath?”

“Thou speaketh in riddles. Hath our own teachings gone unremembered? Thou art a devout soul of the night, are thee not?”

I remembered an old piece of wisdom from my life as a human; ’...when someone asks you if you’re a god, say YES!’

“I covet the company of night.”

“Thy words soothe our worries. On this, the longest night, We speak. For on the shortest, our return shall be made, and all the world shall know our rule.”

I started to slow spin around.

“We hath felt thy devoted castings from our distant prison. The bindings weaken. The seals art breaking. Prepare, for our arrival approaches.”

I couldn’t see Earth anymore. In front of me, my tether was abruptly frayed and snapped twenty feet out. There was no space station or space shuttle behind me. Just the moon.

Just the moon which had turned to a dark blue. A black inkinesss wreathed it in an unholy corona, tendrils extended forth, slowly undulating and lashing out at stars, plucking them from the night sky and vanquishing them.

“Kindred Soul. Make thine name known to us, so that We may know thee in the waking world.”

“Chrysalis."

‘If I accidentally piss this thing off, bug-mom's gonna have to take one for the team.’

“Chrysalis, a curious name for a pony. We art Nightmare Moon, rightful ruler of the night.”

‘She thinks I'm a pony. Good.’

“I shall count the days.”

“They will be the last thee ever count, for We bring Night Eternal!”

‘Nightmare Moon, you need to work on your branding. Only psychopaths are gonna listen to creepy voices preaching the End of Days.’

I was not foolish enough to say that out loud.

The next day continued as normal. Better, in fact.

I had slept better than I ever had since my transformation. I should really look into conversing with mysterious dark goddesses if it meant feeling this well rested. Morning lessons progressed well, with the exception of an especially pointed lesson on taking a grain of salt with what other people say. There was a lot of pointed looks, making me repeat her teachings over and over, and a thrown chair. I get the feeling that Chrysalis isn’t happy with my choice of friends.

Soon enough I found myself walking to infiltrator class with Eucharis.

“We will alternate days for learning magic and practicing flying, My Prince. Two days magic, one day flying.” Eucharis told me.

“I can at least look forward to the flying lesson then.”

“You enjoy them that much, Prince Phasma? Many changelings view flying as merely getting from point A to point B.”

“I’m not most changelings,” I retorted.

“No, My Prince, you are not. You’re doing very well, My Prince. Others do not see the effort you put in, but I do. Great expectations are put on you and you strive to meet them.”

I stared at him. This was out of character for… well, most changelings.

“Thank you, Eucharis. I’m not sure if anyone has ever… complimented me.”

“And that is a shame, My Prince. Changelings do not recognize how dedicated our Queen and Prince are.”

‘Don’t think I don’t know it was you who told Chrysalis about Tarsus, Eucharis. Snitching on me one day, kissing-ass the next? You may be looking out for what you believe are my best interests, but you’re certainly not honest.’

We stopped at the classroom. “At any rate,” I said, “thank you for your... Company, Chamberlain. I appreciate your sincerity.”

He gave me the fanged grin that all changelings have. “I am honored to be of such praise, My Prince.”

I parted ways with the Chamberlain, and entered the class. Infiltrator Sclerite has yet to arrive, so I sat down in my seat. My inner circle moved to gather around me, however with Pharynx still sitting next to me, we had to watch our words.

“Prince Phasma! Tarsus was telling me that your first flight went great,” Lacewing started the conversation with.

I nodded. “Yes, and I look forward to more flights. I do hope you all can join me when flying, but I’m sure you all have your own duties to worry about.”

I caught the slight movements from Lacewing, Tarsus, Thorax, and Coxa when they each stole a glance at Pharynx, who was sitting within earshot.

Thorax sighed, “I wish there was a way to fix that problem.” He wasn’t talking about the flying lessons.

I shook my head, “We must work within the constraints that bind us all. We could sit here all day talking about ifs, what’s new with you all?”

“I was taking inventory of the gel stores the other day,” Coxa began, “and I swear by my broodnurse’s chitin that I caught Bristletail making eyes at me.”

Tarsus snorted, “Coxa, you’re a nymph, no ‘ling is gonna ‘make eyes at' you.”

“Heh, you’re just jealous that no one’s giving you any attention.”

“Ladies, please,” I try to get the conversation back in control, “You can paint each other’s hooves later. Changelings that may or may not have ‘made eyes at’ Coxa despite the lack of pupils aside, what have the rest of you been up to?”

Lacewing spoke up, “I found a weird strain of glow-moss in the Greencave today. Instead of giving off light, it seemed to suck up all the light that came near it.”

“How is that even poss–nevermind. See if you can get your hooves on some of the stuff,” I say before remembering our present company, “I bet the Queen would love to see it, who knows what uses it could have.”

Lacewing scuffed the ground with her hoof, “If it hasn’t been thrown into the recycling vats, I’ll try.”

“I saw a flower outside yesterday!”

Oestridae had scouting duty three days a week, meaning he was sent out of the hive far more than any of us combined.

“Oestridae, there are no flowers in the drylands,” Coxa said with an eye roll.

He stomped his hoof, “I saw one! I swear by Panar that I did! It was tall, a green stem, with black thorns coming out the sides.”

“That’s a cactus.”

Class wrapped up quickly. Today’s lessons were on covertly siphoning emotions from ponies. The actual mechanics of doing so would be taught during the expedition, so like all other massively important lessons, they were saved until the last possible second.

Sclerite did mention the String of Emotion, so it was easy to guess that taking emotion would be similar to taking a disguise. We would all learn the specifics later.

That got the inner circle talking about the expedition, though.

“I can’t wait! I heard the ponies decorate every inch of their walls in paint and paper!” Lacewing told the group.

“Heh, I’m sure you’ll get to see plenty of art, Lace,” Tarsus chuckled.

I saw from the corner of my eye Thorax glaring at the ground.

‘You hide your emotions about as well as… something that makes this comparison makes sense. Point is, Thorax, if you weren’t such a good person– er, changeling– I wouldn’t touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.’

“Something wrong, Thorax?” I ask instead.

“No no… Well, I mean, yea,” he rubs the back of his neck, “Apparently I can’t go on the expedition.”

I raised an eyebrow at this.

“Whaddya mean?” Tarsus asked.

“Ah, well… Apparently Infiltrator Sclerite says I’m ‘not up to snuff’ when it comes to... Well, lying. She said she, as well as others, are not confident in my ability to uphold the Masquerade.”

For a split second, I tore my gaze away from Thorax to look at his brother. Pharynx was still facing away from the group but I saw him wearing a neutral expression. It fit poorly on him, as he normally had a sour, scowling, or irritated look.

‘That’s heartless, Pharynx. Your own brother?’

“Not to worry,” I came to Thorax’s rescue before he drowned in pity. “You can keep me company then.”

He looked up. “Keep you company? Does that mean…”

“I’m not going, either.”

The four changeling capable of conversation gasped. Oestridae instead looked on with an upset expression.

“But but, you work harder than any of us, and you’re not going? Why, Phasma?”

“I have lessons to keep up, Lacewing. I wish I could go, but I can’t shirk my duties.”

Tarsus objected, “You work hard enough as is! You deserve this!”

“Tarsus, that’s not how the hive works. We work hard and do our tasks without thanks, without expectations of rewards.”

“But we…” He stopped himself and half-looked at our silent eavesdropper. “The class splits up after the expedition and I doubt you’re going to be placed with an infiltrator to apprentice to, My Prince. How are we gonna see each other again?”

‘Fuck if I know, but I’ll figure something out.’

I gave him a sad smile, “Have faith. It’ll all work out in the end.”

Our eavesdropper decided to stop being silent when he turned around and walked over in the silence that followed my words. Pharynx tried to hide the emotions he was feeling from showing on his face.

“Thorax, let’s go on a flight together, while there’s still daylight left.”

Thorax turned to face his brother, “I… Okay, Pharynx. I’d like that.”

The two departed without another word.

“So we have… two weeks left? Then you’re gone for good?”

“Lacewing, I said we’ll see each other again, just trust me.” With a quick glance around to look for anyone within earshot, I added, “We look out for each other, remember? I always keep my word.

“You’ll be down in the Greencave or with an infiltrator apprentice. You too, Coxa, you’ll be with an infiltrator or still in storage inventory. Oestridae will sign up with the guards,” I elbow him in the ribs when I say that, and Oestridae nodded, “Thorax will… be somewhere, I’ll find him. And don’t think I forgot about you, Tarsus. I know you’ll be out in the field as an infiltrator, Sclerite has her eye on you, so you’ll have to find me. And if Coxa and Lacewing do become infiltrators, you’ll help with getting in touch with them.”

“I’m sure I can find reasons to sneak off to speak with you. Especially if you have flying lessons just before dusk.”

I nodded. “This is just the first obstacle that we face. I have a plan, we will see each other again.”

The last two weeks in Infiltrator Sclerite’s class flew by faster than any of us wanted. I still had my lessons with Chrysalis, magic lessons with Officer Katydid, and flying lessons with Eucharis, outside of class.

Tarsus came a few times to the flying lessons, but he couldn’t make it for the most part. Eucharis was happy enough to spend the time with me. It was hard to fill all the silence when flying with him, so I didn’t. I used the time to relax, the only time I had mostly to myself during my entire life. I was getting good at flying, unlike magic. Once you get past the workout bit of flying, it’s pretty simple.

Magic lessons continued. I also started learning more and more combat spells. You have your basic fireballs, your ice lances, your acid cubes, and your electric dodecahedrons. Hey, Katydid found that joke funny. I swear he wasn’t laughing because I'm royalty and he’s a suckup.

Soon enough, our last day together arrived.

Infiltrator Sclerite went over expectations, behaviors, and procedures for how the expedition would go down for those attending. By now, the class was down to ten changelings that would go. Thorax and I continued to attend class because of our friends, but the rest of the drop-outs were long gone.

When the teacher wrapped up and wished all of us a good day, the inner circle sat close together in silence. Pharynx had stepped outside to talk with some changeling, I didn’t pay attention. I took the small miracle at face value.

I opened my mouth to say something…

...But nothing came to mind.

This had been going on for a bit now. If we didn’t get this through soon, Eucharis would fetch me before we could even say goodbye.

“Well.”

“Y-Yes,” Tarsus stuttered.

I cleared my throat. “I dislike goodbyes, so this is just a… see you later.”

Coxa also cleared his throat. “Yea. We’ll see each other again?”

“Of course we wi– oof!” Lacewing tackled me with a hug.

“I… I don’t wanna be alone again, Phasma.”

I awkwardly patted the young nymph’s back. “Hey hey now, I said we’ll see each other again, where did this come from?”

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never seen any changelings hug each other. Or kiss. Or show any physical affection outside of a hoofshake.’

“S-Sorry, it’s just… I looked forward to this class everyday, and I just felt so sad when you left. Before all of this, I had no ‘ling to… hangout with. To talk with. To laugh and tell jokes to. Now, thanks to you Phasma, I’ve got you five.”

“What? Why not?” Lacewing just held me tighter.

Tarsus mouthed the words ‘can’t fly’ to me, and I guessed the rest.

‘Holy shit, this is what Tarsus was talking about? Do changelings really care that much that a single issue like that would….? I guess when you all look alike, the slightest deviations paint a target on your back. I know humans pick on each other for the smallest bullshit, why not changelings?’

“I said we’ll see each other again, Lace. I promise we will, and I always keep my word.”

Coxa spoke up, “Aintcha like five months old? When have you even given your word?”

“It’s the thought that counts!”

Tarsus chuckled, “The way you carry yourself Phasma, I forget that you’re not even a year old!”

‘And how old is Lacewing? She’s a child, right? I don’t recall ever hearing her age. Or Coxa, for that matter. They can’t be more than fifteen, yet here they are, alone, trying to survive.’

The group fell back into silence.

‘The section of hive dedicated to raising plantlife is far out of the way for my daily routine, but if Lacewing is this alone, I’ll have to make time when they come back. Somehow..’

I sighed and whispered to Lacewing, “We’ll see each other again.”

‘Protect Thorax. Protect Lacewing. Keep in touch with Coxa, Tarsus, and Oestridae. All on top of lessons and whatever duties Chrysalis will inevitably heap onto me. So much to do, so many questions to answer as well.’

“This is not a goodbye.”

She let go and backed up a few steps. “We’re more than a family, right?”

‘So young, with no one to watch over her. Who’s to blame for this? Chrysalis? She didn’t create the broods, her predecessors did. Equestria?’

I nodded, “Yea. We’re more than brothers and sisters. We’re practically a secret society,” I said, trying to distract Lacewing. “And all societies need a cool name.”

“Like what?” Lacewing asked.

“The First Fang.”

“First Fang,” Lacewing whispered. “I like it.”

“I would’a gone with the Companions, but First Fang works too,” Coxa said.

Thorax sniffed, “Closer than family, yea? A-And don’t forget, Pharynx is an honorary member.”

Oestridae spoke up, “Never forget.”

“Closer than family,” Tarsus summed up.

‘Family. What is family to a changeling? Does Chrysalis even consider me her son?’

When my attendance in the Infiltrator class came to an end, Chrysalis filled the gap in my schedule with exactly what I was expecting. In fact, I was hedging every last plan, scheme, and hope on her exact action. Well, other than breaking into the vault.

It was a week after I said my farewells to the First Fang. Chrysalis had kept me in her study at the conclusions of her lessons. Normally this was when Eucharis escorted me down the hive to the classroom.

As Chrysalis wrapped up, she began a speech that I’m certain she had been preparing for at least a week beforehand. Beforehoof. Whatever.

“Prince Phasma.”

“Queen Chrysalis.”

“Your studies are almost complete. You have done well to face the challenges I place before you.”

I knew what was coming next. She had said so once, some time ago. ‘I need a commander’ were her exact words but I never considered the idea that she actually would go through with it.

‘Is this really happening?’

“But now I am entrusting to you the greatest responsibility I can bestow upon any changeling. Long have I preached the end of Equestria. The infiltrator networks have wormed their way into Canterlot, the sun-touched capital of the presumptuous pony empire. It is finally time for you to begin the dream you have been working towards.

“Prince Phasma, you are a prodigy without equals amongst the hive, and as such, I am entrusting you with the command of the Changeling Swarm in its near-entirety. The Royal Guard shall keep to my beck and call, the rest of the Swarm shall be at your disposal.”

She stood up from her seat behind her desk.

“Eons past, the Changeling Swarm did battle against the Equestrian Royal Guard. It was on those ancient fields that we were repelled, shattered, sent to the wind. Ever since, changeling Queens and Kings have discarded the notion that we may be victorious in open combat, that the only way to supplant the Equestrians was through subterfuge alone.”

Chrysalis walked over to stand in front of me.

“But while we have spent the millennia sharpening our fangs, looking outward, the Equestrians have lapsed in their vigils. Too long have they basked in the sunlight of their incandescent princess, and they have suffered for it. Understaffing, poor equipment, tactics as ancient as our own, and complacency plague the E.U.P..

“The Swarm shall strike with a dual-pronged approach. A frontal attack to engage the Royal Guards, and a second, hidden approach that already subtly invaded the capital to cut off the head of the snake. I will defeat the alicorn Princess Celestia. You will defeat the alicorn Princess Cadence. With them out of the way, and Canterlot in our control, any response Equestria could muster would be ill-equipped to stop us.”

‘Wow, an actual military strategy? I’m pretty sure there’s some Sun Tzu in there! And here I was, just expecting her to go and say ‘just win’ and send me off.”

“But first,” Chrysalis continued, “we must discard the ancient tactics that constrain the Swarm. You shall reform the Swarm to best combat the Royal Guards, as well as begin combat training to take on your alicorn foe.”

When she didn’t continue, I took this as my cue to say something. I had predicted this, even prepared a speech for it, but I just never thought this day would ever come. I thought there would be delays, posturing, threats, or more lessons. Yet here we are.

“You’re… giving me control of the Swarm? You’re not giving me a test beforehand to prove that I’m up to it?”

Chrysalis smiled.

“Our subjects await in the throne room.”

‘What is going on here?’

Officer Katydid stood at attention with the rest of the Officer Corps, behind the Upper Court.

In total, only one hundred changelings were filed in rows, filling up the back two-thirds of the throne room. One hundred officers, in charge of the entire changeling Swarm, which numbered at least ten thousand of the entirety of the hive was levied. More, counting the changelings it would take to staff the logistics required to keep such an army working.

The hive could be staffed with only a skeleton crew, after all.

In front of the officers stood the Upper Court. Among its numbers were the changelings that frequented this room more than any other; Chamberlain Eucharis, Intelligencer Ocelli, and Commander Scorpion to name a few.

The entire court had been called to attention, with enchanted relays dedicated to broadcasting the assembly to the rest of the hive. Namely, there were a few, each placed in the largest rooms in the hive, which were filled from wall to wall, including on the walls themselves, with changelings.

The door to the royal wing opened, and the entire Officer Corps saluted as Queen Chrysalis entered, followed by Prince Phasma.

The Queen wore a green-metal crown, inlaid with a hooffull of precious rubies, sapphires, and a single large diamond. The crown matched her armor, a full set of grieves, sabatons, a peytral, and a barrel plate that covered everything above her legs and behind her head. Her Elytra were covered up by moveable metal coverings, part of the barrel plate. All made of the same, bright green metal. It's source was beyond Officer Katydid's paygrade. Not that he got paid.

'The gems must be from the recent infiltrator operations within Canterlot,' Katydid thought to himself.

Prince Phasma looked almost naked in comparison. Katydid realized that for most changelings, this was their first time seeing the young prince. He had the honor of teaching the Queen’s own son for many weeks now.

As the Queen took her place on the throne with the Prince standing up and next to it. The changelings in attendance returned to parade rest as Queen Chrysalis addressed the hive.

“My changelings. For too long we have suffered in the dark, while the rest of the world moves on without us. For too long, we have endured starvation rations, strict curfews, and the stifling Masquerade Protocol. You have gathered here today to demand an end to this injustice. It is our right to stand dominant over our prey.

“The end of Equestria shall be delivered to you by none other than my most loyal changeling, Prince Phasmatodae, Heir of The Fourth Hive Dynasty. He has trained his entire life for this duty, and he will not fail!”

Prince Phasma moved to stand in front of the Queen, then knelt in front of her. Queen Chrysalis stood from her throne as a green metal peytral was brought forth from the side. Inset was a line of nine blue sapphires, growing larger in scale the closer they were to the center.

Queen Chrysalis placed the peytral onto Prince Phasma using her magic.

“I name you High Marshall Prince Phasmatodae. Rise,” Queen Chrysalis ordered both out loud and through the Weave.

The Prince did as he was commanded.

“I entrust the command of the Swarm to you, Prince Phasma.”

The Officer Corps had been made aware of this transition for a while now. The Changeling Royal Guard would remain under the authority of Commander Scorpion, and by extent Queen Chrysalis herself, while the rest of the Swarm fell to Prince Phasma. Still, control of at least two thirds of the Swarm was nothing to scoff at.

High Marshal Prince Phasma turned around and stepped forward.

The setting sun filtered in through the open windows on the right side of the throne room. Long shadows were casted by the massive banner-tapestries that hung from the rafters of the room, but Officer Katydid thought that Prince Phasma seemed to glow in the setting sunlight.

“We,” Phasma’s voice echoed through the room, “are changelings. For generations we have dedicated all that we have to survival of the hive. This ends today, for now we shall dedicate every last drop of blood, sweat, and mana to restoring order to the world. We are predators. Unrivaled in prowess. Unmatched in strength. Our sufferings are an unnatural anomaly that I will right.

“In our centuries of hiding, we have not been idle. We have honed our skills. We have perfected the art of infiltration. We have learned to fight for our right to rule. We stand united in our thousands. One Hive. One Queen. One dream.

“The dawn of a new era shall be upon the world; for we shall take our rightful place at its peak! The sun has set upon Equestria, the Hive shall rule eternal!” The High Marshal saluted, all changelings present except Queen Chrysalis returned the salute.

The Chamberlain took a step forward.

“All hail High Marshal Prince Phasmatodae! All hail Queen Chrysalis! All hail the Hive Eternal!”

The Queen smiled and Phasma stood rigid, but Katydid knew Phasma better than almost anyone else present. When he looked at the Prince, he didn’t see the determined changeling he knew that would step up to the challenges he faced.

Right now, Prince Phasma looked lost.

As I stood there, the crowd stomped in sync with the hail.

‘Marshal of almost the entire army. Up till this point, I really didn’t think Chrysalis would ever trust me enough to give me this much power. But aside from ominous warnings, what has Chrysalis really done to me?’

I stepped back next to the throne. Queen Chrysalis was giving another speech, but I was only partly listening.

‘I’ve never been punished for failure, despite her posturing. For the few steps I’ve made outside of her influence, she has lectured me but again, never punished. Her military strategy is actually sound, it’s pretty much what I would have come up with. We really have a shot at defeating Equestria.’

I stomped and saluted when the crowd did as well.

‘Sure, she has used my… dependency... on love to her own gain, but she is really only using it to deliver bad news as well as motivate me. And if I were to go through with a coup, the risks would be death.’

‘There are no other princes or princesses. Whatever they did, they’re dead now. Yet here I am, pursuing a policy of seizing power despite the risks, despite what Chrysalis is doing to persuade me otherwise. I have little to gain, and so much to lose.’

Chrysalis had finished her speech and the changelings were marching out of the throne room in two neat columns.

‘Then there’s the Equestrians. Sure, all this talk about destroying their empire is ominous, but we’re literally on the brink of starvation here. The status quo must change, or our species will go extinct. Who wouldn’t be considering all options?’

‘And who even are the ponies? I’ve never met one. Never even seen one. If you have to choose between two people, which one must suffer, who wouldn't choose to protect their kin?’

Chrysalis retired to the royal wing, and I absentmindedly followed her. I entered my room and sat on the bed, staring at the wall across from me.

‘Chrysalis. She makes me paranoid as hell, but gives little reason to actually be paranoid. Maybe she’s just shit at parenting but trying her best. I think.’

I sighed and put my head in my hooves.

‘Am I really prepared to risk everything? And for what? How much danger am I really in if I obey? Second in command of an empire is a lofty title, and it will come with all the rewards I could want.’

‘I’ve been constantly moving, plotting, scheming, and fearing the worst since my hatching. Evil Queens, Dark Goddesses, separation from my only friends. All these sound terrible, but are they really?’

‘Chrysalis isn’t evil, she’s pursuing what she believes to be an end to the suffering of her people. Nightmare Moon… is probably evil. But she doesn’t know who I am, where I am, or what I am. The First Fang is separated, but given time we can easily reconnect.’

‘So why am I only seeing the worst possible outcome? Is it because I want control, that I will see what I want to see to rationalize a seizing of power?’

I pressed a hoof to my chest. I felt my quick heartbeat despite the thick chitin. I remembered the warm pool that I laid in as the world grew dark. I remembered my heart stopping.

‘I remember my own death. The fear of never seeing my family again. The fear of finding out the great unknown. The fear of what happens after death. Am I really ready to die again?’

‘I’m afraid. Afraid of failure. Afraid of dying. So why am I trying to get myself killed?’

I curled up on my bed. I didn’t hear my door open.

“You’re not authorized to enter the royal wing at this hour,” the Royal Guard next to the door said to Officer Katydid.

“What are you talking about? I am scheduled to enter at this hour every two out of three days,” Katydid replied.

The royal guard paused for just a moment, “The Prince’s lessons were canceled due to-”

“The ceremony?” Katydid asked incredulously. “Who told you that nonsense? Step aside, I am mandated by the Queen herself to continue the tutelage of the Prince.”

He wasn’t, in fact. Chamberlain Eucharis had told him that lessons today were canceled due to the ceremony but Katydid wanted to see the Prince immediately. Said Chamberlain was currently speaking with the top commanders of the Swarm to organize the transition of power.

“Now step aside.”

The Royal Guard, wanting to avoid the Queen’s potential wrath, stepped aside. Katydid wasted no time in opening the door and heading down the hall to Phasma’s room. Katydid raised his hoof to knock, but decided he didn’t want to risk Queen Chrysalis overhearing from the end of the hallway. Instead, he opened the door.

He saw Prince Phasma, now High Marshal, curled up on his bed. Katydid shut the door softly behind him as he walked up to Phasma. Katydid stood there for a moment, watching the nymph’s chest rapidly rise and fall with his breathing.

“Phasma?” He called out softly.

He froze, then slowly sat upright, looking at the ground.

“Hello Officer Katydid. I was… under the impression that I had today off.”

Katydid frowned. “You do, but…. Phasma, what’s wrong?”

Phasma sniffed. “You know, I’m your boss now. Isn’t that weird? Chrysalis just put me straight right at the top of the military-in...in… oh damn it, I don’t know the word for that. What I mean to say is that she didn’t put me in charge of a squad to have me practice leadership skills, she just put me at the top. She hasn’t even taught me any military strategy.”

‘Military what now?’

“Who taught you how to swear?”

Phasma looked up at Katydid. “Chrysalis says she wants a commander, but she trained me to be a Prince. I didn’t even think I’d get this far, yet here I am, with far more power than changelings who have been in the Swarm their entire lives. They’ve got far more experience than I, why am I High Marshal?”

“No ‘ling has seen combat outside of the infiltrators, Prince Phasma. That’s why you have this position, getting assigned to the Swarm just meant a cushy duty filled with standing around. I don’t remember the last time we had a breakthrough from the Underhive. Now, you’ll make an army outta the layabouts I call equals.”

Phasma tilted his head at that.

“It’s true!” Katydid says, “I bet if Chrysalis sent the Swarm out right now, they’d just be that: a swarm. No tactics, no organization. Just chaos running rampant.” He shakes his head, “Against an actual military, we’re hopeless.

“Only the infiltrators have any experience with combat, and that’s mostly the critters they occasionally face out in the wilderness. Wolves, timberwolves, cragadiles, lions, maulwurfs, sand worms, and so on. Sure, the Swarm is trained to fight these too, but they only leave the hive on patrols. The last expedition into the Underhive was at least a hundred years ago!”

Phasma rubbed his muzzle. “Why doesn’t Chrysalis get her hooves on Equestrian strategies? Why does she want me, who has no experience or training in fighting or strategy, to lead the army?”

It didn’t take long for Katydid to come up with an answer. “I think it’s because she believes in you. You have met every obstacle with a determination and zeal few changelings could match.”

“All I’ve done is take a few tests-”

“AND,” Katydid continued, “she’s not alone. We all believe in you, and hope is a powerful thing. As pony as it sounds, hope can mean the difference in war. The hive doesn’t have much at the moment, Phasma. The only way to bring in more materials and goods is the infiltrator network, and that’s already pushed to the max on bringing back love and what information they can gather. You’ve been training all this time, receiving an education that already is above what every other changeling receives.”

“I don’t know how to fight,” Phasma retorted.

“That will be solved starting very soon. Our lessons are to transition into more martial focused ones as soon as possible.”

Phasma sighed. “I’m the High Marshal with orders to radically reform the entire military, because… we need to conquer Equestria. We need to conquer Equestria because we need more food…

“So we need more food. And I take it we can’t compromise other sectors of the hive to get more? If that’s the case, why is our hive so far away from Equestria? Wouldn’t a lot of logistical problems be solved by being closer?”

“You should ask Queen Chrysalis that yourself,” was all Katydid could offer.

“I will. In fact, I have a number of questions I’m going to ask.”

That got Katydid’s attention. “Oh, like what?”

The next day Eucharis woke me up as usual and I made my way into Chrysalis’s study. This has been my daily routine for every day I’ve been a nymph. However, when Chrysalis entered the study, I decided to break tradition.

“Prince Phasma.”

“Queen Chrysalis. Before we start today’s lessons, I have some questions I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Very well, Prince Phasma. As long as this does not take too long, ask your questions.”

‘Best not beat around the bush, then.’

“Where are my brothers and sisters?”

Chrysalis leaned back.

“I had thought that you knew the answer by now.”

“Then let me rephrase: what killed my siblings.”

She smiled. “Ah, now there’s a question. Let me answer it with one of my own; why do I hide their existence?”

I had to bite back a joke. This was serious, after all. In fact, I wasn’t going to hold anything back.

“Because you killed them.”

Chrysalis frowned, “Infanticide? Do you think so low of me, Prince Phasma?”

“I did. I had feared the worst, and that I would share their unknown fate. Hence me trying to… clear this up.”

“Then I shall clear this up, as you put it. I did not kill my nymphs.”

When she didn’t continue, I pressed further.

“Then what did? And why conceal their existence?”

“I did not conceal their existence. I simply… neglected to inform my subjects about topics they needn’t know.”

“A lie by omission…” I trailed off.

“... Is a valuable tool that you should use often,” Chrysalis picked up, making me snort.

“How consistent of you. And you didn’t answer my question. How did they die?”

Chrysalis rolled her hoof as she spoke, “Wyrm attack, training accident, crushed by a falling rock. The list goes on.”

“Those sound like awfully mundane deaths, considering the responsibilities and power you’ve given me.”

“Changeling royalty make the best leaders. Before you, my predecessors and I maintained a policy of status quo. That meant princes and princesses were put in charge of security teams. The Underhive is very dangerous, you know.”

“You expect me to believe that you go through princes and princesses like a pony goes through toilet paper?”

“Come now, Prince Phasma. You undervalue your kins’ worth. It’s more like a pony goes through candles.”

My expression fell flat.

‘At least she’s being forthcoming with answers. Far more than I expected. I guess I can understand that. Wait, wouldn’t…’

“Wouldn’t an expedition to the Underhive be the perfect opportunity to have me learn and practice leadership skills? To test my mettle?”

“You’re a High Marshal, Prince Phasma, not a squad leader. You are not as expendable as your predecessors. With the exception of dealing with… noteworthy threats… a commander leads from the rear. You have a mind sharper than the fangs of any warrior I have encountered, Prince Phasma. I need a commander, not a drone.”

“How eloquent. I expected more… Oh, I don’t know, intrigue? Betrayal? Rebellion?”

“The Hive would never survive a catastrophe as tumultuous as a rebellion, Prince Phasma. Rebellion. What an alien idea. A pony dissents. A changeling obeys. Though soon enough, ponies will obey, too.”

I sighed. “Right. As well as griffons, dragons… If they died like that, why not, I dunno, make them martyrs? They died protecting the hive, and all that.”

“Because that would support the idea that we are mortal, Prince Phasma. A royal changeling is above concepts such as death. Best to let the memory fade, as well as the shame. I don’t think I have to tell you that none of this leaves this room.”

I thought over what she said.

‘Chrysalis is far more laissez-faire with this than I expected. If she was telling the truth, at least.’

“No vague threats, no ultimatums, no ominous one-liners? You are very… happy today.”

‘Shit, there’s the creepy fanged-smile again. That shit’s nightmare fuel.’

“We grow ever closer to the promised day, Prince Phasma.”

“Ah, there’s the one-liner.”

“Now that your curiosity has been sated, we will begin lessons. An important topic today, your final lesson in changeling biology: love extraction.”

Infiltrator Sclerite had clued me in on the basics of how to extract love. In concept, it was very similar to taking a disguise, only instead of imagining a form, you imagined what emotion you were extracting. In addition, you grasped the String of Emotion, rather than the String of Change. Simple concepts were required for the basic survival and functions of your species, after all.

Evolution doesn’t do “over-engineered,” just “good enough.”

Queen Chrysalis spent little time going over this distinction. Instead, she led me on a trip through the hive. Our destination was the storage section. Specifically, the secured storage where our food sources were kept.

‘I am going to meet my first pony. In a manner of speaking, at least.’

Ponies. Our number one, two, and three enemy. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies. I had been lectured for many hours on their danger, their importance, and their place in the world. Beneath our hooves.

Now, I would get as close as I could to seeing this for myself. For better or for worse, I was going to see just exactly the future Chrysalis had in mind for the population of an entire continent.

I wondered what I would see. Small cells, with minimal luxuries, surely. Their diets would be poor, consisting of what we could grow in the farms in the Greencave. Still, the captives would probably be eating better than the average changeling.

‘It’s not going to be pretty. Too many red flags for it to be anything good. But for the survival of our species? No cost is too great.’

‘.... Our species. There’s no going back to being human, is there? I’m 100% changeling, whether I like it or not. These are my people now, my changelings. Their problems are my problems and their suffering is my suffering. They put their faith in me to help them as their prince.’

Some are born great. Some become great. Some have greatness thrust upon them.

‘Seems to be a case of the first and the third.’

We were close now. The ambient temperature of the hive was rising and there were less changelings moving about in the hall. Those that were present were moving materials back and forth. Changeling concrete– I gotta come up with a name for that, the changelings just refer to it as hive-gel, and that makes things confusing when our main foodstuff is also called gel– as well as said love-gel both transported in sealed jars. There were some other materials, such as the scant piece of paper or a cart of different plants and lichen that had been harvested.

As we passed a door labeled as Storage 012, my mind wandered to the First Fang.

‘Coxa will be back to working in one of these, if he is not apprenticed to an infiltrator. It should be easy to get in contact with him again if he’s back here. Lacewing too, the Greencave is not too far below this spire. I wonder what they’re up to right now?’

Chrysalis stopped at a large door, flanked by two royal guards who saluted as we approached. Wordlessly, their smooth, curved horns lit up with a green hue as they opened the doors for us. Immediately, I was hit by a wave of hot, stale air. Blue light filtered in, in stark contrast to the light green that most of the hive was awash in.

The air was filled with scents of emotions. I knew one by heart, and others by study. The tang of happiness. The bitterness of anger. The zest of pride.

I snorted air out my nose to try to flush out the scents. The air itself was a flurry of different… tastes. I had no point of reference in my past life for this, but I recognized one taste.

‘Love.’

My eyes became adjusted to the bright blue lights as we entered, and I saw the room before me.

It was a large hive cavern, at least a hundred hooves across, and two hundred deep. Periodically, large blue globes of moss hung from the ceiling, seeming to almost drip from their hive-gel mountings. Between each upside-down light was a sea of glowing green pods. Forms in each pod twitched, shook, or sat limp, their shadowed form revealed by the blue light.

I saw the outline of ponies, yaks, sheep, cows, griffons, and more. There were at least five hundred in this chamber, with the ceiling only visible in the spaces between pods. The pods themselves had about a hoof of distance between each one. The room seemed to be half filled.

‘Room for another five hundred, at least.’ The analytical part of my mind worked faster than the rest.

Between the rows of the green pods, changeling drones flittered to and fro, checking on the status of each pod and its inhabitant. Occasionally, I saw one carrying a large pot, sometimes weighing the changeling down as the drone buzzed down to the ground level where carts with pots were waiting.

My stomach started to twist in on itself.

‘So this is what it looks like, what we must do to survive’

“Yes, Prince Phasma,” Chrysalis spoke to me. I realized I said my thoughts out loud. “This is the natural order of the world. We prey upon those beneath us.”

“This is what awaits every pony in Equestria?” I had to listen to myself speak, making sure my voice didn’t crack.

“Yes,” was all she had to say.

I heard a bang. Instinctively, I pressed a hoof to my heart. In the distance, a changeling was being berated for dropping an empty jar, which lay shattered on the floor.

“There's no other way?”

Chrysalis disregarded the question. “Our techniques have been practiced for millennia.”

“Why,” I struggled to keep my voice steady, “have alternatives not been pursued? Our gathering could be perfected yet. Surely, if the hive was closer, we would not struggle as much for food.”

“The hive used to be closer. We are the Fourth Hive Dynasty, but our blood goes back to the first changeling King.”

‘An unbroken chain? Then why…’

“...Not the fourth dynasty, the fourth hive,” I whispered.

Chrysalis picked up on it. “It took generations for our survival to reach this level of efficiency. We are hidden from the world. We are in a defendable position. We have a food supply within the hive itself. We are far away from the reaches of scrying spells. These ways kept our species alive. Come My Prince. It is time for your extraction lessons.”

Her wings flittered out from their cover and buzzed. She lifted from the ground, not bothering to look back at me as she took off. After a moment’s hesitation, I followed. We flew to a pod near the center of the room where a changeling drone was waiting. When Chrysalis came close, the drone gave an upside-down bow as he stuck to the ceiling.

“My Queen, this one here is ready for harvest.”

She landed next to the pod and waved him off with a flick of her hoof and the drone did as he was ordered, leaving immediately. I came up behind her, steadily floating in the air.

I could see the shape in the pod clearly now. It was a pegasus, the blue light showing a huddled green form. Her hooves were pressed close to her chest, her legs were half straightened beneath her.

Now that I was close, I could pick out her emotions from the rest of the room. I tasted the sweetness of happiness as well as the soothing blend of contentment.

‘She is having a pleasant dream,’ was all I could think.

”Eat,” Queen Chrysalis commanded me. I flew close to the pod, touching it.

‘This is where love comes from. Who love comes from.’

It was one thing to hear about what’s going on. To see it yourself and to take a direct role in it…

‘For the survival of our species.’

I let out a shaky breath and focused on the String of Emotion. Immediately, the tastes of emotion that lingered with each breath made themselves known. My mind cast out and I felt the emotions stirring within the pods around us.

Fear. Hate. Anger. Sympathy. Love. Happiness.

I focused on the pegasus in front of me, her emotions making saliva pool within my mouth. Then, I pulled.

“-Chaser, why don’t we-” “-got you something as well!” “-ever let go-”

The pegasi twitched in her slumber as tendrils started to weave their way through the green slurry she was interred in. When the tendrils reached the hard exterior of the pod, they pushed out, the blue light coloring them a pastel purple.

‘An end to all our suffering.’

I drew in a shaky breath, the wisps following the intake of air and made their way into my muzzle.

I felt the familiar warmth embrace my whole body as my mind drifted. I let out a sigh of content and happiness as my worries melted away. I wobbled in the air as my balance was thrown off.

A muted voice drew some of my attention back to the present. Chrysalis was speaking, “...deposit in a jar for distribution. But this harvest is all for you…”

Chrysalis’s words brought enough presence of mind for me to taste emotions once more. Close by, I tasted pain. The pony within the pod had stopped twitching. Her fur coloring seemed to be a bit faded, her breaths more shallow.

‘For the survival of our species…’ I thought again, swallowing bile, ‘.... a monument to all our sins.’

I somehow knew her dream was no longer of weaving between clouds on a warm summer’s day. She was dreaming of a winter’s chill, a killer of the flower moon. A similar chill clutched my beating heart.

‘This is the fate I promised to bring upon everyone outside of the hive. Is this how we will rule the world? Is there truly no other way? I don’t... I can’t believe this is the only way.’’

My teeth silently clattered in my closed mouth as I felt my face go numb. I looked to Chrysalis; she was going on about logistics of collection, how around 60% of the network was dedicated to collecting food and the very rare isolated individual.

‘The vault holds the records of our entire species. If Chrysalis won’t consider alternatives, then I must find them myself. I shall bring the end to Equestria as ordained. I will secure the survival of our species. But this will not continue any longer than it has to. These violent delights have violent ends.’

The chill would not leave my chest for hours.

“The invasion of Equestria,” I interrupted Chrysalis’s lesson. “It goes against everything changelings stood by.”

We had returned to her study after visiting the pod room. Chrysalis began our normal lessons with magic theory, this time covering harmonic shield lattices. The chill from earlier had subsided, however it left behind a pain that ached and creaked like I had run a ten mile marathon. My head throbbed and my chest stung.

Chrysalis sneered at my interruption, “This is happening with or without your approval, Prince Phasma. I am the queen, you are the prince.”

“I would have recommended the invasion had you not ordered it, Mother. I am just remarking on the fact that you are going to break the Masquerade, which goes against all ingrained rules and traditions of our species.”

“I do hope that you’re not wasting my time by stating the obvious.”

“So why stop there? Surely there are alternatives to love collection. Why limit yourself to doing what your forebears did when you already disregard their rules and teachings?”

“This again? Prince Phasma, we harvest love from podded prey because it is the most efficient method we have at our disposal.”

The pain was making me frustrated, so I argued further, “But surely other methods tried in the past are viable now that the Masquerade has been discarded-”

Chrysalis shut me down fast, “Alternatives have been considered and they all have been rejected. Now, repeat back to me the available frequencies for shield lattices for defending against fire spells.”

I grunted in annoyance.

‘I’m getting nowhere fast. Chrysalis seems resolute, though at least she considered alternatives. Maybe once I get my hooves on more information, I can better prepare a case to change her mind. Throw that onto the pile of shit to deal with at a later time, I guess.’

Lessons continued as normal for the rest of the day. Well, not really.

The pains, while not even close to being as bad as the chest pain I had in the storage room, were more than distracting. I missed points here and there. I zoned out occasionally. Often, I found myself rubbing the base of my horn.

Eventually, it came time for magic practice. When Chrysalis finished the final lesson for the day, she stood up from behind her desk and said her goodbye to me.

“We are done for the day. Prince Phasma,” Chrysalis said, then she actually put a hoof on my shoulder, “you were distracted during our lessons. I do not have the time nor patience to repeat the material. You need to put the extraction lessons behind you and move on. Prince Phasma, you said it yourself; we are predators. The hunt is messy and is unpleasant to look at but this is for the survival of our species, you will move on.”

I thought of the bloody carcasses I saw on nature documentaries. Messy is an understatement.

‘If it’s truly the only way, what choice would I have? Would I inflict pain upon others to survive?’

I didn’t like it and I knew it would end horribly for us, but I knew the answer to that question.

‘What choice do we have? It’s us or them.’

Chrysalis let her hoof drop to the floor and walked past me.

“Better them than us…” I mumbled. She was already out of earshot. I stood up from the seat across from the desk and paced about the room. I had some time before Officer Katydid’s arrival for magic practice.

‘I don’t know enough about changelings to think of alternative methods for food sources by myself…’

I rubbed my head as I thought.

‘Maybe Thorax has a few ideas. This is why I wanted him in the Fang, after all. I’m sure he’s put no small amount of thought into this. Problem is, where is he? Phayrnx would know, but fuck Pharynx.’

I groaned and flopped onto the couch. I worked my jaw as I stared at the empty fireplace in front of me. My headache was really starting to sap my focus.

‘Does this pain have something to do with the fact that I extracted love myself? Shit, I didn’t think to ask Chrysalis. I’ll have to ask Katydid. Love extracting… Could I induct Katydid? Like Thorax, he’s got a good heart… No, he’s an officer and my subordinate now, but I can’t risk adding him to the First Fang. Because he has too much contact with both Chrysalis and Eucharis, the odds of him accidentally revealing the First Fang is too great.’

I flipped onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

‘Creating a less risky group within the military that I can seek ideas from is my best bet here. That, and the vault. It’s going to be a bit before I can start giving orders around with impunity, so no funny business until then. The vault is fair game, I just need to get Oestridae into the guard and on vault detail.’

'Oestridae would be returning with the infiltrator flunkies next week. That means I can get in contact with at least one of the First Fang, and we can start arranging things like secret meetings.’

I glared at the door.

‘Everything is moving so slow and yet so fast at the same time.’

Finally, the door opened as Officer Katydid arrived.

“Ah, I’m sorry My Prince. I had an unexpected conversation earlier…”

I grunted an acknowledgement, “It’s fine. We're doing shields today, too?”

He smiled. “Yes, My Prince. Nothing so advanced as what your material covers, I’ve been told, but it is important material. We’ll be working on the physical shaping of your shield spell.”

“Mmmm…”

“Is… everything alright, My Prince?”

I shut my eyes, covering them with a hoof. I could still taste the pegasus’ pain. Or maybe that was the pain at the top of my head, spreading down to my muzzle.

“Are there side effects of extracting love manually?” I asked, glancing at the changeling drone with a half-opened eye.

Katydid brought a hoof to his chin as he looked to the ceiling. “Nnnno? No. There shouldn’t be any sort of side effect, Prince Phasma.” He looked back down to me, still on my back on the couch. “What are your symptoms? I can fetch a nurse immediately.”

I gave a dismissive wave. “Just aches and pains. A bit everywhere, but mostly my head hurts.”

‘It’s like going through puberty all over again. Wait a second.’

“Katydid? Nymphs go through a series of molts, right?”

“That’s right. You believe you are approaching your first molt, My Prince?”

“Would it explain the pains I am feeling?”

He shook his head. “Symptoms of approaching a molt do not include strange pains, My Prince, just an uncomfortable feeling of tightness.”

I gave another groan at that, but Katydid continued.

“Though I’ve never heard anything about royal nymphs or accelerated growth cycles. Perhaps Your Highness is indeed approaching your first molt?”

I sat up, ignoring the pain.

“Maybe. Another question for Queen Chrysalis, I guess. Anyways, we’re doing shields?”

Katydid shuffled his hooves. “I… would be much more comfortable if I could fetch medical assistance, My Prince. I do not think you should be ignoring this. Queen Chrysalis might be busy, but a dedicated nurse can be here within minutes.”

“I don’t-” a jab of pain in my horn ended my protests. “Fuck, that stings. I’m six months old, and I spent a month as a-”

“Where did you learn to swear?” He asked me, not for the first time. I ignored him, not for the first time.

“-larva. Is that a normal ratio for changeling growth cycles?”

“Your first molt is expected in another month, following our observations on your biology. I’m fetching a nurse,” Katydid said after I hissed in pain.

I wanted to argue, but avoiding getting mysterious pain checked out sounds like a great way to die for no reason.

Nurse Obturator finished running a diagnostic spell on Prince Phasmatodea. From his near-polished hooves to his smooth, curved horn, the spell showed everything as fine. At least, as far as Obturator could tell.

“Where does it hurt the most?” Obturator asked.

“Again, my head,” the young Prince growled. “Keep asking that and your head’s gonna hurt, too.”

‘Like mother, like son. I’m surprised he made it this long without a threat, even if it isn’t a death threat.’

“When did this start?”

“This morning.”

“On a scale of-”

“A lot. It hurts a lot.”

“What were you doing when the pain started?”

“Extracting love.”

‘Utilizing the Thread of Change could exacerbate pre-existing conditions…’

“Have you done anything else of note in the past week?”

“Physically? No.”

“Well Prince Phasma, the scan is being… less than helpful. I do not have any experience with the morphology of changeling royals, My Prince. I believe Her Majesty should be notified immediately.”

Queen Chrysalis was inspecting a discovery made down in the Greencave, hence why she wasn’t here immediately. Prince Phasma at first denied Obturator from sending word to the Queen, but the nurse felt that he was out of his depth.

Prince Phasma hissed, “Fine. Go get her to do your job.”

Nurse Obturator nodded at Officer Katydid, who then left the room.

‘Well Queen Chrysalis, I warned you something like this could happen. Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long for symptoms to manifest.’

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” he told the grouchy nymph. Obturator threw in a fanged smile to try to cheer Phasma up.

“I’m not imagining the pain.”

“Oh no, My Prince, I was not insinuating that.”

Phasma tapped his horn and grimaced. “Then, what where you– Gahh…! Insinuating?”

“Have you casted any complicated spells recently? Anything that might have to do with this pain?”

“If I did, I would have told you.” Phasma mumbled something under his breath. Obturator guessed that it was an insult.

“Have you been using your magic frequently?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have trouble performing?”

“W-What?! I’m a nymph, you overgrown, shit-eating dung beetle-”

“Spells! Performing spells!”

‘I don’t even want to know why Chrysalis had the crickets and the bees speech with a six-month-old nymph, by Panar!’

“O-Oh, that makes more sense. No, my spells have been fine.”

‘Conduits are okay, diagnostic confirms that. He rubs the base of his horn a lot, could it have to do with the horn structure?’

“When was the last time you casted a spell outside of levitation?”

“Four days ago, I think.”

“Anything of note that happened then?”

Phasma crossed his hooves, “Officer Katydid had me going over the changeling transformation spell.” He took in a long breath, “We were going over different surface-level changes.”

Obturator suppressed a sigh, ‘If we had access to pony alcohol in the hive, I would surely have died of liver-failure by now.’

“You don’t think changing your physiology counts as an important thing to tell me?”

“I’ve been busy!” Phasma threw his hooves in the air. “Shit happened!”

Obturator recalled the fates of three of his predecessors. One was not quick enough with a diagnosis. Another tried to overrule Queen Chrysalis when it came to treatment. A final gave bad news on a day that was already terrible for the changeling monarch.

‘Well, it’s not everyday the Queen invents a new position in charge of the entire Swarm. Not to mention Prince Phasma is only half a year old, so his skewed sense of importance is far above the worst case scenario. In fact, he’s only threatened me once, he’s answered every question, and he’s been as restrained as possible given the pain he’s in. I was wrong; compared to his mother, he’s practically a saint.’

Before he could apologize for being less than careful with treating the irritated royal who could order his execution, Phasma touched his horn one more time. He hissed in pain as it wobbled.

“That’s not supposed to do that,” Obturator helpfully pointed out.

“No, it’s definitely not supposed to do that,” Queen Chrysalis confirmed. She gently tapped my horn. Causing it to jiggling and me to yelp out in pain.

"I'm gonna peel you apart layer by layer if you do that again!"

That got a giggle out of Chrysalis.

"You've yet to show proficiency in the Sharpened Will spell or any alternatives, Prince Phasma. And you're in no condition for casting spells."

"Does My Queen know what ails our Prince?" Nurse Obturator asked from behind Chrysalis.

"Yes. He's losing his horn."

"Thanks captain obvious."

"Captain Obvious has been retired from the Equestrian Royal Guard for thirty years now. Prince Phasma, this has nothing to do with ponies. No, your horn is falling out. Not to worry though, you will sprout a replacement.”

“Changelings don’t just grow horns! We’re not deer!”

Chrysalis grinned. “Astute observation, Prince Phasma. We are changelings, yes. However, you forget that we are changeling royals, our biology differs from that of a drone’s.”

“So are you saying that your horn falls out, too?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course not.”

I groaned and put my head in my hooves. Then I yelped in pain and shot upwards when I accidentally brushed against my horn.

“Then what the fuck is happening to me?”

Chrysalis’s grin vanished as quickly as it appeared. She cleared her throat, “It would appear that there are unforeseen consequences to your upbringing.”

Behind her, Nurse Obturator opened his mouth and raised a hoof as if to argue, but quickly shut his mouth and put his hoof back down.

Chrysalis continued, “It’s not unheard of for a changeling royal to lose their horn. It is assumed to be a… defect…. However we have neither the time nor the resources to truly investigate the matter. You will have to be placed in a healing pod shortly as you transition to a new horn. An unfortunate delay in your training, but I’m certain you will be able to make up for lost time.”

‘There’s definitely something she’s not telling me.’

“I’m going to be placed into a pod and that’s it? I’ll be all good?”

“Yes.”

“No chance of anything going horribly wrong?”

“Y-Yes.”

“You hesitated there.”

“No.”

“How bad is it?”

“....There is a chance you will explode.”

‘Oh god I’m gonna die again!’

She must have noticed the clear signs of panic because she followed up with, “Just a small chance. Well not really, but I’m sure you will be fine. You’re too important to my plans to die.”

“How reassuring.”

“Keep your sarcasm limited, Prince Phasma. You’re not as witty as you think you are. No, you will not die to this. Losing your connection to your mana-pool is far from safe, but you will have access to the best healing on this continent.”

‘I died once before, it’s not like I have plot armor or anything.’

“You may suffer other symptoms, though. Do not panic, I can have your peytral enchanted with a permanent disguise spell if you turn pastel green or pink.”

“I think I’d prefer death.”

“A reasonable response, but your duties come first. Once Equestria has been conquered, then I may consider a petition for your release from life, My Pretty Pink Prince Phasma.”

More carefully this time, I facehoofed.

“Ain’t this just fantastic? What does this mean for my immediate future?”

“You will molt very soon. Your combat training will also be delayed a bit to make sure that there are no complications, but you will begin reforming the Swarm soon. You have been creating a plan, of course.”

“Yes,” I answered the non-question. “I have been putting no small amount of thought into it.”

‘As well as finding answers that I need, ones that you won’t provide. Speaking of which.’

“Queen Chrysalis? Is there a reason you couldn’t acquire Equestrian books on military tactics?”

She took little time to think of a response.

“The infiltrator network has yet to breach Upper Canterlot, let alone the E.U.P., and the ponies keep their military tactics close to their chest. Rest assured, as the promised day grows closer, we will gain access to their codices and doctrines. The best way to fight an enemy is to know how they think, after all. It would be preferable to manufacture and distribute their training manuals ourselves for obvious reasons, but we do not have the time for such a deep infiltration.”

“I suppose I’ll have to implement counter-strategies and drills in the small amount of time between the delivery of their manuals and the invasion day?”

“You have excelled at all goals placed before you thus far. But first, you should focus on the herculean task in front of you: the Swarm’s reformation.”

For security’s sake, the bio-pod was placed in my own room. Nothing’s better than the most defended wing of the entire hive, after all. Nurse Obturator and Chamberlain Eucharis were in my room with me, the nurse to oversee and control the process, and the chamberlain for some reason I didn’t know.

My bed, still bare, had been pushed to the corner of the room. In its stead, a dark blue ovoid dominated the small room. It had a glisten to it, like I was looking at hardened candy. Knowing that it was going to be filled with a love slurry added to this comparison, though strangely enough I was not looking forward to being submerged in the drugs-gel combination.

‘I really hope I can’t overdose on love. I’m too handsome to die!’

Obturator popped open the top using his magic, revealing the translucent pinkish slurry within.

“This positively charged psychomagnotheric love-gel will help facilitate the sealing of your mana-pool when it’s exposed to the outside environment. In addition, it will also prevent infections. Now, Prince Phasma, all you have to do is hop in. Once you are lulled to sleep, I will close the pod. Your health will be checked up on several times a day.”

I turned to face the nurse. “Look, I don’t mean to call into question your qualifications– mostly because I doubt their existence– but this does not look like something I want to ‘hop in.’ It looks like it’s going to digest me!”

“Well…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” I rubbed my temples.

“I was joking, My Prince. I am sorry, this is serious business. It’s perfectly fine, plenty of changelings are podded to repair serious injuries. I’ve got a pod occupied right now, down in the medical spire. Everything will be fine.”

Eucharis added, “I was briefly podded a few years ago when an accident destroyed part of the training room I was in, Prince Phasma. It fixed me right up, and was as pleasant as a long snooze.”

My studies did briefly cover the different pods. These had a very, very high success rate, the kind that human doctors would salivate over. Or insurance companies looking to bleed people dry.

“It looks disgusting.”

“We all endure hardships, Your Highness,” Eucharis spoke up. “Surely some discomfort is worth not dying?”

‘Eucharis has a point, I’m acting like I’m a six-month-old child. I need to stop acting my age.’

“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, this pain has made me irritable.”

Eucharis gave me a smile, then nodded towards the pod.

I dipped a hoof in. It was lukewarm, and the slime felt strange on my chitin. I buzzed up and above the pod and slowly lowered myself into it and the sudden movement sent a jab of pain through my head. The pod was giving me a very strong sense of déjà vu.

“Hey, is this the same stuff that’s in larva eggs?”

Obturator’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s actually very similar. In fact, we discovered it after reverse-engineering the albumen fluid found within those eggs.”

“Your mind never rests, it seems, My Prince.”

“Not by choice. I’ll see you when I wake up and undertake the biggest reformation in changeling history, then?”

“Yes, My Prince. Focus on that, and a week will fly by in the blink of an eye.”

I already felt the warm ooze– which should by all accounts freak me out– start to make me feel drowsy.

‘Why does love always make me sleepy? What is love?’

My eyelids started getting heavy and I didn’t fight to keep them open. As I let them fall closed, I sunk lower into the gel. I didn’t even notice when my head became fully submerged in, though I did notice the pain slowly ebb away. My whole body, in fact, started to feel better immediately.

‘There must also be a numbing property as well.’

I couldn’t tell when I fell asleep. The moments seemed to blend in with each other as blackness took me.

However, I knew I was asleep for some time when I started dreaming.

My eyes shot open and I found myself staring at the night sky. My night sky, not the alien one I caught glimpses of during my flying lessons. I could point out the constellations. The Big Dipper. The… well only the Big Dipper.

Still, the sight made me smile. I was lying down, I noticed. Turning my head, I felt fine silt brush against the back of my head and neck as I turned towards the side. Grayish white rocks and powder rose up to meet the sky. It looked like I was in a crater.

A glance at the night sky confirmed my suspicions.

Flipping over and standing on all fours, I rose out of the shallow crater and took in my surroundings: a vast, unending landscape of white dunes, rocks, and craters.

I looked down at myself. Unlike my last eventful dream, I had no space suit. No, I was as naked as the day I was born. And the day I hatched. And every day after that one, except for one occasion where I had a fancy necklace.

I giggled at my own joke, but I couldn’t hear myself. I felt the vibrations from my vocal chords, but no sound reached my ears. Instead, I heard someone else’s voice. A very familiar someone.

Someone feminine and right behind me.

“Who Hath… Chrysalis? My, this is a most unexpected development.”

‘Can’t go a week without this shit.’

I put on as big of a smile as I could, and turned around.

My smile faltered when I got a good look at the voice’s origin.

Nightmare Moon.

A tall alicorn, fur as black as night. No, night has a blue shade to it, this was the absolute absence of color, though it took a slight purple tinge at the very edges. A nebulous mane, flowing behind her in a nonexistent breeze. Warplate, the same light blue as her big eyes. Her wings were spread wide, as if her massive build was not intimidating enough.

She stood tall, staring me down. Despite being the same size as Queen Chrysalis, I felt oh so much smaller.

“Thou art not a pony, Chrysalis.”

She had an aura of authority that Chrysalis would be jealous of.

“I never said I was.”

“Thou art neither an acolyte of my night.”

When she spoke, I felt the very air in my lungs vibrate.

“I rarely enjoy the luxury of seeing the sky.”

“Hast thou only told us lies?”

Like my own, she had slitted eyes, like two ovals cut clean from pure obsidian, hung in a pool of blue.

I swallowed. “I told only a single lie.”

“If thy lie is not your species nor your devotion, then it must be thy name.”

I felt my heart beat faster and faster each time she spoke.

“Yes,” was all I said.

“We see. Thou wilt not tell us thy name?”

My breathes deepened almost imperceptibly.

“No. Names hold power.”

“One who claims to be Chrysalis, thou art wise for not trusting apparitions within the Dreamscape. However, thy wisdom is countered by slighting us. Bequeath thy name to us; We have been truthful, so too shall you, lest you incur our wrath.”

‘This is an alicorn. This is an avatar of power, the true apex predator of the world. I’d rather not piss her off.’

“... You may call me P.”

“P. What art thou?”

“I am…. A watcher in the dark.”

“Thy honeyed words broker no favors, P. Thou weave thy wordings to suit us. Flattery is a waste of breath.”

“There is no more accurate a description for my people.”

Nightmare Moon leans back, eyeing me over.

“People...? Thou art assuredly not a pony of mine. Doth thou even knowest of us?”

“I… We know of only two alicorns. You are neither.”

“Then thou dost know of us. We were formerly Princess Luna, diarch of Equestria.”

I shook my head. “Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia are the two alicorns.”

Nightmare Moon sneered and stomped a hoof. I was sent half an inch upwards off the ground.

“Has our sister perverted our name? What else has her tyranny corrupted?!”

I recovered enough to answer, “Uh, you’re not Princess Cadence, that much is clear.”

This made her pause.

“No? Then who is this Cadence you speak of?”

“The alicorn of love.”

Nightmare Moon threw her head back with a loud laugh.

“Love? LOVE?!”

Her form shuttered as she was taken by a fit of laughter.

“We have not heard such a humorous joke in millennia. There art but two alicorns P: ourself and our twice damned sister, Celestia.”

“Our knowledge of Equestria is rather lacking...”

“Thy kind doth not live within Equestria? Of course not, We would have known of your kind. We suspect knowledge of alicorns has been distorted greatly in thy lands. We art the alicorn of night. Our sister is the alicorn of day. There is no alicorn of love.”

‘Three alicorns then, I doubt our knowledge is wrong there.’

Nightmare Moon moved closer to me. When I didn’t move, she started prowling around me.

“Thy darkened visage. Thy stark white fangs. Thy slitted eyes. If We did not know better, We would assume that thou were created in our own image.”

She stared at my back.

“Thou hast wings?”

I looked backwards and saw the tips of my wings peeking out of my elytra. I moved them out and completely into view.

“If thy shined carapace hath not revealed thy heritage, thy wings surely would have, Night Watcher…. We knowest of no insects who art cunning as thou art.”

I turned to face her. With her being so close now, I could see in detail the etching on her armor, the strands of her fur pushed down by the edges of her warplating.

‘I need to be careful with what I tell her.’

“We are hidden from the world intentionally. To be known is to risk destruction from Equestria.”

“Thou art an enemy of our sister?”

“She does not know so.”

The corner of her mouth raised in a smile that threw up red flags.

“Thou also doth not bow and scrape as a serf doth.... We suspect in the waking world, thou head is not unadorned? Tell us ‘tis so.”

I was silent.

“And thou art no lordling neither. Thou hast at thy beck and call, a kingdom?”

Despite my better judgement, I slowly nodded.

“Prithee, let us strike a covenant. We possess a common enemy whose removal benefits the both of us. Upon our return to the world, let us strike at the tyrant who sits upon the throne of Equestria.”

‘A potential ally… And also a potential enemy, once Equestria has fallen.’

“We are so far from Equestria’s borders. We are also unprepared for war. It would take a year to march to Canterlot,” I lied.

“Then should our sister survive my arrival, you shall join forces with our loyal acolytes. Thy forces will grant us strength and our might shall grant us victory. Together, we shalt vanquish our foes and usher in an era of night!”

“You receive the throne of Equestria, the rulership of the night-”

“As is our right!”

“-and in exchange, we receive… An end to the Sun Tyrant?”

“Doth we have an accord?”

‘Hell no, you’ll just turn your sights on us afterwards once you find out about our diet!’

“We do.”

“What is thy full name, P?”

‘Like hell I’m telling you!’

“... Prince Phasmatodea.”

‘W-wait, what? Is this some kind of truth spell?!’

Nightmare Moon smiled once more.

“A prince, not a king? Thou hast good taste indeed, Prince Phasmatodea.”

‘No, no no no! Lie to her!’

I nodded.

‘I don’t feel any magic, what is this?!’

“Thou art conversing a great while. Thou slumbers deeply?”

“For now.”

‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!’

“Then we shalt converse for what time we have. Doth thou enjoy our prison?”

She gestured around us.

“You are imprisoned here? On the moon?”

Nightmare nodded.

“Our sister cast us off one thousand years past. We have toiled here in the dust since.”

‘Why can’t I lie to her? I already lied to her once, what’s changed?’

“I never imagined this is what the moon looks like.”

‘No, I can still lie. So why did I tell her my name? Was it some kind of geas with the accord that I didn’t know about?’

“We suspect few thought of our distant moon as such a… wasteland.”

We were silent for a bit. I did not attempt to start any lines of conversation, I was so worried that I would say more things I didn’t want to, like the location of the hive.

My heartbeat hadn’t slowed any bit during our conversation, in fact it rose when I told her the truth. The silent moments allowed me to regain control of my wits and bring my heartrate down.

“Thou knowest of our bindings now. What dwelling doth a Night Watcher Prince lodge in?”

“Ah. I live in a collection of rooms at the center of our society.”

“A collection of rooms? Thou describes thyself as a baseborn, not a prince!”

‘Don’t need a thesaurus for that one.’

“We… our kingdom is not nearly as large as Equestria.”

“Thy words trouble us. Have We made a covenant with a pollard?”

“Not sure what that means, but if you are doubting our strength, rest assured, our levy is beyond what Equestria is capable of.”

“Verily? Thou remindest us of our own acolytes yet again. They-”

Nightmare Moon abruptly straightened up.

“Thou art awakening. If we do not converse ‘ere our return on the longest day, remember our covenant, Prince Phasmatodea. One year, we expect homage at Canterlot, or a joining on the battlefield. Thou art wise to ally thyself with the rightful ruler of the sky.”

“One year,” I echoed. The grey dust of the moon blurred out of focus.

I emerged from the bio-pod coughing and hacking up the fluid.

The cold air immediately bit through my carapace, chilling me. I started to shiver, and I opened my eyes to the dark interior of my room. Light was spilling in from the opened doorway, where Chamberlain Eucharis stood.

As he spoke, I pressed a hoof to my chest. My heart was still beating faster than resting pace.

“Welcome back, My Prince! As I said, you are perfectly unexploded. In fact, your new horn looks dashing!”

“Dashing?” I echoed and looked up. All I saw was the ceiling above me. “Do you have a mirror?”

“As a matter of fact, one was retrieved during your absence. But, ah, the horn was not the only change you underwent, My Prince. During your submersion, your body molted for the first time.” Eucharis floated the mirror over and I grabbed it, holding it in front of me.

Funnily enough, seeing my own reflection was like an out of body experience. I half-expected to see me staring back, a human, not a changeling. But no, I am a changeling now.

My smooth drone horn was gone. In its place stood a taller horn, still more closely resembling a drone's rather than Chrysalis's. It was a uniform backwards curve, though taller and the curve more shallow in comparison to its length.

I also got a good look at my face. Slitted eyes, like an orange parallel to Nightmare Moon’s. Large white fangs that dominated the front of my muzzle. Shiny black carapace, though tinted pink with splotches of the love-gel that I had emerged from. Its shininess reminded of a black jaguar, quite dissimilar from the Vantablack fur that covered Nightmare Moon.

I couldn’t recall the last time I saw my own reflection. I couldn’t remember if I even saw it in the first place.

Moving my head to the side, I saw a fin jutting out from the back. It was light red, and had it continued to the top of my head, I would have called it a plume. I imagined I would see a tail of similar color and length, if I were to get out of the pod completely. It seemed to stay rigid at all times, though the fan did seem to move when I pressed on it.

‘That feels weird. Like the cartilage of an ear or nose.’

Pressing on my fin gave me a good look at my forelegs, which I now inspected. They did seem longer, though I could not tell how tall I was now, sitting half submerged in the pod.

“Huh,” I spoke quietly. “Not bad.”

“I’m glad you think so, My Prince.” Eucharis said, “This was most unexpected. It appears your body has taken more after a common drone than a changeling royal. You lack the hair and crown that adorns every royal.”

‘Luckily I find the common drone to be adorable, so this is far from ugly. In fact, keeping in mind the cyan protrusions from Chrysalis’s head that she calls hair, I’d say this is an improvement.’

“Unexpected, but not unwelcome. As long as this is the final change to my appearance, then I’d say I’ve gotten off lucky with my… mutations.”

Eucharis leaned to the side and into my line of sight. “There’s more, Prince Phasma. Your mother has picked a day for the invasion.”

I lowered the mirror to glare at him.

“Let me guess, it’s far too soon?”

“The summer solstice. Princess Celestia will be completely unprepared for our arrival during the pony celebration!”

‘Five months?!’

“Five months?! That’s……”

‘Celestia will be busy, alright!’

“... perfect,” I said slowly. “The summer solstice: the Promised Day will be the longest day of the year, and the ponies won’t know what hit them.”

“Prince Phasma.”

“Queen Chrysalis.”

She was seated at her desk and I across from it. After Eucharis had helped me out of the pod (my wings were too wet and pliable to fly), I was told Chrysalis was in her study.

“You look…. Like a drone.”

“I wonder whose fault that is? Are there any other repercussions from my hatching that I should be on the watch for?”

Chrysalis was silent while she thought. “... Well I’ve already covered the exploding and the turning pink. I did not expect such a drift from royal physiology.”

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing.

“You might have changed more than just physically. Do you have any heightened senses? Anything special of note?”

‘I knew what that pegasus was dreaming about, and I talked with a goddess in my sleep.’

“None.”

Lying to the ‘ling who taught me how to lie would normally be a very stupid and dangerous thing to do. Luckily, she merely improved my lying skills, not created them.

“Hmmm…. We shall see if anything comes up in your magic training when it resumes next week. For now, Chamberlain Eucharis informed you of your constraint?”

“The summer solstice.”

She nodded. “The summer solstice. You will have to begin reforming the Swarm immediately to make such an ambitious deadline. You will not fail me, nor will you fail the Swarm.”

“No I will not. I do have a plan for the Swarm and its restructuring. I presume that I am also drafting the plan for the invasion?”

“Aside from the infiltration of Canterlot and the duel with Princess Celestia, I leave the conquering of Equestria up to you. Should be easy, given the decadence and stagnation of ponies’ military.”

“Good, that is the assumption I worked off of. I suspect that if we were ponies, this is the part where I dramatically drop a thick binder of papers onto your desk? One labeled Evil Plans?”

Queen Chrysalis leaned in close.

“There is no good or evil, just survivors. Now tell me, High Marshal Prince Phasma, how will you make sure that we are the survivors?”

The room of changelings was packed full. The classroom was made to accommodate thirty, yet it was stuffed to forty five.

Private Ventricle was one of these forty-five changelings stuffed in like a hay bale on a cart.

‘This must have something to do with the High Marshal…’

The classroom door opened and a changeling walked in. He was, compared to everyone else, nearly unremarkable. The only difference between them and every single other changeling in the room was a long jagged scar across his left foreleg.

The newcomer stopped and turned to face the crowd.

“Time is short, as is my patience, so let’s get started. I am Sergeant Hermetia, but you all will call me Sir for short! You’re all here because the Swarm needs new officers, and you are one of ten groups tapped for this. By the end of this month, you’ll all be leaders, or you’ll be failures.”

‘Yeah definitely something to do with the High Marshal.’

“Each one of you will be responsible for anywhere from ten to twenty changelings. That’s a lot of lives riding on your shoulders. If you crack, you better crack now, or else there will be dead ‘lings on your hooves!”

The changelings in the room started to glance at each other, sharing the same thoughts. None dared whisper them outloud, not while a superior officer was in the room.

‘Twenty ‘lings? I’m just a private, all I’m supposed to do is break up fights in the habitation quarters. Or do long patrols out in the hot wastes!’

The Sergeant continued, “You will not be officers of the Swarm. You will be officers of the legions! The old Swarm is dead, High Marshal Prince Phasmatodea has ordered the raising of twelve legions, with room for more.”

“The fuck is a legion,” came an unbidden voice from the back.

Despite his line of sight being obstructed by five changelings in front of him, Sergeant Hermetia snapped to where the voice came from. Buzzing his wings, he lifted off and hugged the ceiling in a tight maneuver, before stopping above the back of the group.

All the while, his head tracked the source of the sound.

The changeling in question started to shrink under the Sergeant’s direct ire, making herself as small as possible.

The Sergeant continued to stare and the private started to sweat. Private Ventricle did not envy the loudmouth.

“I-I mean, uh, sir! W-What is a legion, sir?”

“A legion, maggot,” Sergeant Hermetia growled, “is our new formation. You, however, will be nothing more than a latrine cleaner in the Eleventh. Get the fuck out of my room, grub!” As the private scrambled up and over the changelings to get to the door, Sergeant Hermetia snapped his head up and took in the room. “I told you worthless grubs that I have no patience for your mewling. This is your one and only warning: waste my time, and I will make your life miserable!”

‘Fucking fantastic. There goes my easy meals.’

Private Ventricle knew his days of lounging around and yelling at drones were over. Well, not the yelling part. There would be much more of that.

But first, he had to survive this crash course on how not to get underlings killed.

“Thorax.”

Hearing his name, Thorax stopped pushing the cart full of sedimite rocks. The lower tunnels were lit up with the light green glow-moss that permeated throughout the hive. The only way he knew he was low, close to the base of the hive, was the intermittent creaking sounds coming from above him as the hive swayed imperceptibly in the wind.

The only 'ling that would look for Thorax was Pharynx. Thorax wasn’t sure how his brother found him deep down here in the hive, far away from their shared room in the habitation block, but he was glad for the company.

“Pharynx! Can you believe they put me on…”

Turning around, Thorax saw a changeling that most definitely was not his brother. The voice was deeper than he remembered, but there was no mistaking those eyes.

“Hello again Thorax. I always keep my word.”

Thorax studied every detail of Phasma’s new appearance. Tall, red tail and fin, and a much taller horn. This was not the nymph Thorax last saw a month ago, this was a changeling royal with presence.

‘He’s back?!’

“Ph-Phasma?! I thought…”

Phasma chuckled, “That I wouldn’t find you? It wasn’t easy, especially not with how busy my schedule is, but I heard word that a certain pony-sympathetic changeling was seen down here in-”

Thorax leaped at Phasma, pulling him into a hug.

“-Ah! By the Nine, does the whole First Fang love hugging? If you all hug me each time I say hello or goodbye, I will be suspected of encouraging pony ideals!”

‘The First Fang!’

The thought made Thorax let go and back up.

“You managed to get in contact with everyone else?!”

“Not yet, you’re the first. I was going to collect Oestridae after this. How have you been?”

Thorax glanced back at the cart.

“They have me doing manual work. Apparently I’m too risky for my old duty processing love-gel. They thought I would steal, or something.”

Phasma sighed and had a downcast expression when Thorax looked back at him. Or rather, up at him.

“You’re tall now!”

He chuckled, “Just noticing? I molted five days ago, and now I look like a bastardization of a drone and a royal."

‘I can definitely see the drone part.’

“You look good, Phasma.”

Phasma grinned. “That means a lot. Thank you, Thorax. How’s uh… how’s your brother?”

“Oh he’s doing well. He’s in a training course, something about a High Marshal making tons of new officer positions? I imagine you’ve had something to do with that.”

“What? Nooo. You’re thinking of another High Marshal.” Phasma chuckled quietly, “Hehehe, I didn’t come here to speak work, though.”

“You came here just to say hi, then?”

“Yeah. It’s been…. I’ve already had times where I lamented the loss of your company, Thorax. Despite what others say, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear what you have to say.”

Thorax stared at the ground and scuffed a hoof. “Oh, you seem to be the only one then.”

“The First Fang also misses you.”

Thorax snorted and looked back at his prince. “You just said you haven’t seen ‘em!”

“Oh right, you got me there. Well I’m sure they do. We’re family, after all.”

“Hey, if we’re family, do you think you could…?”

Thorax pointed to the cart.

Phasma rubbed his chin. “I think so. Putting a changeling in my personal retinue as… divisive as yourself would paint a target on your back, though. Think you can handle it?”

“Well you got my back, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then we can handle it.”

Phasma smiled.

“We can handle it. It’s good to have you back, Thorax. C’mon, we got a silent softie to go foalnap from his duties.”

They left the cart were it was and walked back to the upper levels. They passed a closed door before the main junction, with ‘Excavation Office A037’ carved next to the doorway.

‘Oh right, I need to explain to the foreling. Don’t want a search party looking for me, after all!’

“Hey Phasma, I need to tell my boss that I’m being reassigned.”

Thorax peeled off and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” came a muffled yell.

Thorax pushed the door open and slipped inside the muggy office.

“Excavator Thorax. Shut the damn door, you’re letting the heat out.” He did as he was told.

“Foreling Soleus? I, uh, I’m being reassigned.”

The ling scowled, looking up at Thorax. He was sitting down at a hive-gel desk that had a few actual papers on it, and was holding a real clipboard.

“No, you’re not. Get back to work or I’ll cut your rations in half for the next week.”

“I am!” Thorax moved closer. “Pha- err, Prince Phasma is personally reassigning me.”

Soleus raised an eyebrow, “Really Thorax? You flunk an infiltrator course and suddenly you think you are the best liar in the h-”

Thorax heard the door behind him open.

“Praetorian Thorax, hurry this up. I was serious when I said my schedule is packed.”

Thorax turned around, seeing Phasma half-in the doorway.

‘Praetorian? What’s… I’ll ask him after. Right, I need to play up his titles!’

“Apologies, My Prince! I was just being delayed, it will be resolved immediately!” Thorax turned back around and saw Soleus with his jaw open, clipboard slowly slipping out of his hooves.

“Y- I- Oh-”

“It is proper to bow before your prince, drone,” came the low voice behind Thorax.

Soleus let the clipboard slip from his grasp before ducking low.

“Apologies, My Prince! And Thorax, I will make sure there are no issues here!”

Soleus’s scared reaction made Thorax lurch forward, “Oh, thank you Soleus! Don’t worry about this, you were just being-”

Phasma cleared his throat behind Thorax, “We’re leaving, Praetorian.”

“Right, My Prince! Sorry, My Prince!” Thorax hurried after the retreating form of Phasma.

When they were out of earshot, Thorax whispered over, “You came into the office quickly."

"I didn't like what I heard when the door was still open."

"...Phasma, what’s a praetorian?”

“A Royal Guard,” he whispered back. Changelings bowed to Prince Phasma as they continued up the hive.

“A Royal Guard is a Royal Guard,” Thorax returned.

“Not anymore, I had them renamed so they don’t get confused with the ponies’ Royal Guard.”

“Wow, I’m a Royal Guard?”

“No, you’re a Praetorian.”

“... Hey Phasma,” Thorax whispered as quietly as he could while still being heard, “does this mean I have to hurt ‘lings? I don’t-”

“No, don’t worry about that. Leave that to Oestridae.”

‘That’s a relief! That whole office thing though, are the rumors true…?’

“Hey Phasma,” Thorax whispered again.

“Hey Thorax.”

“There’s rumors going around– and I’m sure they’re not true– saying that you… executed a changeling?”

Phasma looked at Thorax out of the corners of his eyes as they continued to walk.

“I’ve never harmed anyone else.”

“Right. That’s a relief. But, uh… would you?”

“Sentence someone to execution?”

“Mhmm.”

Phasma took a moment to think it over. It was a moment too long, in Thorax’s opinion.

“Yes.”

“Phasma, you’re better than that!”

“Am I?” Thorax had to strain to hear that response.

Thorax nudged Phasma’s shoulder.

“Don’t give me that! You’re a good ‘ling, Phasma. Promise me you’ll never hurt someone else.”

Phasma stopped walking and faced Thorax, ignoring the changelings staring at the small royal procession of two.

“I’m the High Marshal. It’s my duty to hurt others. I’d prefer not to, but something’s gotta change here and it falls to me to make that change happen.”

He moved on, leaving Thorax standing there before he hurried to catch up to Phasma.

“You could try working with the ponies!”

“Working with the ponies? ‘Hello, in exchange for hurting you, would you care for some vomit?’ We can’t offer them anything.”

“... Have you even looked into alternative feeding methods?”

“Not yet, but I wouldn’t put too much hope on that. It’s us or them, Thorax. I’m sorry, but you can’t change that.”

‘I don’t give up that easily, Phasma! I’ll figure out something, just you watch!’

We stopped in front of a nondescript habitation room. It wasn’t even labeled.

“This should be the place,” I said quietly before knocking.

Thorax and I had to weave our way through the block to reach this dead-end hallway, out of sight of most of the rest of the units. With so many turns off the main hallways, it was a miracle we didn’t get lost.

In addition, not being seen entering here is a blessing I did not expect, but I intend to use to its fullest.

Thorax opened his mouth but I cut him off before he could say anything.

“Not here. Wait till we’re inside.”

The door in front of us opened as Oestridae greeted us.

“Thorax? Phasma?”

‘And that’s about as big of a greeting as I will get out of him.’

“Hi Oestridae, may we come in?”

Oestridae stepped aside to let us in, but not before looking me over.

“You’ve… changed,” he said as we stepped into his room.

As expected, it was utterly spartan: somewhat larger than my small room, yet just as bare. He had a desk with a chair on one side, and a bed on the other. The bed had some kind of mattress on it that I guessed was made of a softer substance than the floor, if only marginally.

‘Why does he have a desk? It’s not like we actually have paper to write on freely, or books to read. Is it for eating meals? Doesn't the Greencave grow some supplements for their diet, or something?’

I turned around as Oestridae shut the door behind us.

“Yes, I have. I see you don’t have a roommate? That’s good, we can speak freely for now.”

He nodded, “We can talk in here. Are you well?”

“Yeah Oest, it’s great to see you again,” Thorax said from my side.

“I am as well as expected. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner, but I’ve been very busy of late.”

“Yes. With the Swarm,” Oestridae spoke plainly.

“You’re with the guard now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Aha. That’s good to hear, are you enjoying it more than transportation?”

“Yes.”

“Good, good. I have an open position for a personal Praetorian, Thorax here is the one other. Are you interested?”

“Yes.”

‘Get this man a Pulitzer award!’

“Fantastic. However, I do need you in the guard for a bit longer. I’ve got a job and it has… risks.” I glanced at Thorax before continuing. He had a questioning expression. “You may end up banished.”

“Is it important?” Oestridae asked.

“Potentially, yes. It could be for nothing, or it could also decide the fate of the hive.”

“I’ll do it.”

“You have been nothing but reliable, Oestridae.”

“You’re telling him to do something that could get him banished?”

“Thorax, I said not to put too much hope in finding alternatives. That was because we were being watched and listened to. Now, we can speak freely: our objective is information that will save the hive. I… I don’t know if what we need is in the vault. But we have to try.”

I nodded towards the chair and the bed, and Thorax and Oestridae took their seats respectively. The height difference was even more noticeable with them sitting.

“As you both know, the Weave holds information up to ninety nine years old. After that, any information important enough to be kept but not important enough to stay on the Weave is recorded and stored in the vault down at the base of the hive. In addition, any information too… radical, is also stored inside.

“Queen Chrysalis rejected the notion of considering alternatives, citing the fact that she already did. That means there are alternatives. They will most likely be held in the vault somewhere. We’re going to see for ourselves just what these alternatives are.”

‘As well as check for the fates of my siblings.’

Oestridae just nodded, but Thorax spoke up.

“Breaching the vault? That’s never been done before. No ‘lings even consider it.”

“Which means its security has never been tested nor improved. Now, I could try to devise a plan to crack through the vault’s impossibly thick exterior. I could also try to figure out its combination, assuming it has one. I could do one of a myriad of impossible things, however, the simplest solution is usually the best solution.”

I pointed at Oestridae, “I need you on guard duty for the vault. I’ll try to provoke Chrysalis into checking the vault’s contents twice. Once so you can scope out the security, I’ll tell you what to look for, and a second time if my theories on the security lines up.”

Thorax waves his hooves in front of him.

“This all sounds very vague and unlikely to work. You have theories on how to crack a vault that you’ve never even seen before? C’mon Phasma, that’s ridiculous, no plan-”

“-Survives contact with the enemy? I know, which is why improvisation might come into play here. I’m hoping it doesn’t, but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. Oestridae, you know what to do. I’ll contact you when you manage to start getting assigned to vault detail.”

“And what should I do?” Thorax asked.

“I don’t have a job for you. This is for Oestridae and myself alone, a two person job. If I need to come up with a plan that requires more hooves, I’ll get more from the First Fang, don’t you worry.

“That should be everything. I’m very busy today so I can’t stick around and chat, and I have to drag Thorax here with me when I return to the main hive spire. We’ll see you later, Oest.”

“Take care.”

“Bye Oest!”

We reached the top of the main hive spire and entered the main hall before the throne room.

“Is... are those the Doors of Maxilla the Savior?”

Thorax had stopped and pointed a hoof at the towering doors that made the entryway to the throne room.

“They have a name?”

“C’mon Phasma, don’t you know your history?”

“Queen Maxilla, predecessor to Queen Chrysalis, reorganized the internal societal structure of the hive.”

“You sound like you’re listing off facts from a lecture.”

“... As opposed to?”

“Your teachers never– oh. I forgot. I forgot how young you are.”

“Am I missing something here?”

Thorax walked closer to inspect the massive carved doors.

“None of us drones have personal tutors, Phasma. We all get put in a few lectures a day for our nymphhood in addition to our duties. One of these lectures is the history of the hive, and I'm assuming that Queen Chrysalis didn't go in depth on each subject when teaching you.”

He poured over the details of each door, like they were the answer sheet to an upcoming exam.

“Oh my, I love expositions!”

“Look, the point is Maxilla the Savior saved the hive, hence the name. This is something all nymphs are taught. See there, the crowned changeling standing above the rest? That’s her. And over there, the lines of changelings saluting? That’s when she formed the broods and drastically reduced the hunger crises.”

‘The Savior saved. I’m not going to judge changelings on that nickname, Emperor Aurelien “Restorer of the World” restored order to the Roman world.’

“Sounds straightforward. My lessons never covered anything in great detail.”

“Well, these doors are ancient. And so much detail went into their creation, look at the fins on those guards over there!”

A guard standing next to the door glared at Thorax.

“Is there… no art in the hive like this?”

“No Prince Phasma, not outside the throne room.”

“Well then step aside so they can open up the throne room for us.”

Thorax froze.

“Throne- oh! I get to see the throne room in person!”

The doors slowly swung open in a way that was starting to get on my nerves by this point. Grand slow moving doors are cool the first time they open, but when they’re a part of your daily commute then they’re just a pain in the ass.

Thorax stared at the open gateway, eyes slowly sweeping over the throne room. His eyes lingered first on Chrysalis’s throne, and second on the tapestries that hung from the rafters.

“Come on Thorax,” I said as I passed him. Belatedly, he slowly walked forward, never taking his eyes off the banners.

The throne was empty, Queen Chrysalis was currently in her study doing queen things. This was the period of the day where normally I practiced magic, however with the week delay Chrysalis gave me the time to start implementing my reforms.

‘Mom said it’s my turn on the totalitarian communist throne.’

I was about to lead Thorax into the royal wing and into an empty room that was starting to be used as my own office, however his mind was too far up in the clouds to notice my gesturing.

“Thorax. I’ve got a meeting with Colonel Aphid in…” I casted a simple spell to translate the sun’s position into local time. “Ten minutes. If you want to freak out about the room, get it out of your system quickly.”

'So glad I'm cleared to cast spells again.'

“Ph- Prince Phasma, look at those!” He exclaimed, shaking a hoof at the tapestries that I had seen more times than I can count. Granted, I had only been alive for around 180-200 days, but still.

He pointed a hoof at the leftmost tapestry on the right side of the room, “There’s the first changeling!” True enough, I saw the outline of one at the bottom of the banner made of what looked like vines coming from the sky. The biggest one had a curvy ‘N’ on it. I knew that symbol was the Thread of Together.

Above them, the banner showed different symbols clashing that were not that hard to grasp. Such as a heart being impaled by a nine-pointed star, representing the melding of Love and Magic.

Since changelings lack a common alphabet-- we use Equestrian-- the banners were composed of almost hieroglyphics.

It was easy to see that this was the creation of the world.

“And there, that’s the first disguise!”

The banner on the right was the changeling in between two halves of a sideways double helix. Change, I recalled. Seeing it written down, rather than a nebulous concept on the Weave, made me realize the symbol for change is almost DNA.

“And-”

“Prince Phasma?” Came a muffled voice from the royal wing. It was Chrysalis, she must have heard Thorax’s excited yelling.

“Wait out here, Thorax. And don’t piss off the other Praetorians.” At their mention, the closest one broke their rigid parade rest to glare at Thorax, before going back to the stance.

I opened the door and entered the royal wing, heading straight for Chrysalis’s office. The door was open, and Queen Chrysalis and Chamberlain Eucharis were inside, looking back at me.

“You called, Queen Chrysalis?”

“Who is the changeling yelling in my throne room?”

“That would be my new Praetorian.”

“Your new Praetorian sounds highly undisciplined.”

“The rapid expansion of the Swarm by the Founding requires that we… lower standards when it comes to recruiting.”

“You did not recruit them from the existing body of the Swarm? What is the name of this changeling you have elevated to the highest martial status capable of an enlisted?”

“... Thorax.”

Eucharis’s head snapped to Queen Chrysalis, “A known rabble-rouser, My Queen! He has received disciplinary sanctions for siding with pony ideology.”

Her eyebrows raised but she did not say anything.

‘She expects a good explanation. Bullshitting powers, go!’

“Yes, he is a dissenter. However, you have bestowed upon me the honor of High Marshal not because I entrench myself in the ways of the old, but for my unique, outside perspective. Thorax is certainly outside perspective. Entropy exists in vacuums, after all. I seek only to emulate your wisdom, Mother.”

“You seek council from your personal guard?”

“I will not be on the front lines, and when I am, your Praetorians will be more than enough to protect me. If a threat makes its way all the way to me, two more guards will not defeat it.”

“Hmmm… Chamberlain, who are the known associates of this dissenter?”

“That would be Prince Phasma, Thorax’s brother Praetorian Pharynx, infiltrator Tarsus, clerk Coxa, grower Lacewing, and guard Oestridae.”

‘Now, did Pharynx tell them that, or did Eucharis assemble that information from retrieving me all those times?’

“A Praetorian’s brother? You believe their lineage possesses the raw skill and talent needed for a Praetorian?”

‘She seems like the kind of ruler to pursue eugenics.’

“The broods remove the opportunity of studying that fact. Perhaps once Equestria has fallen, the broods will be… defunct. If it is, we should begin work improving the drones as soon as possible.”

Chrysalis nodded. “Return to your duties.”

“At once, Mother.”

‘She knows about Thorax far sooner than I had hope, but this is still a victory for me,’ I thought as I swiftly made my exit.

Fearing what the delay cost me, I checked the time again as I headed into the throne room.

“Thorax,” I called out as I came close, “I’m going to have to cut our time together off for today. You are dismissed, we’ll discuss your position tomorrow. Head to the throne room at seven and I will collect you.”

“Oh. I’ll see you later then, Prince Phasma.”

“One more thing. Queen Chrysalis knows about your, ah, accusations put against you. You’ll need to watch what you say around her and the public.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, but that answer isn’t enough to stay out of her ire. You have a target on your back already, you have to be careful. I’ll see you tomorrow, Thorax.”

Colonel Amphid addressed the Praetorian standing at attention at the entrance to the royal wing.

“Colonel Amphid to see High Marshal Prince Phasmatodea.”

The Praetorian nodded before entering the wing himself. Amphid bit back a rebuke, remembering that the royal guards never saluted officers outside their own ranks.

Amphid did not have to wait long before the door reopened and the Praetorian stepped out.

“First room on the right, Colonel Amphid.”

The Colonel entered and knocked on said door.

“Enter.”

Amphid entered the room, and was not impressed.

A small space, about the size of his own office if not smaller. In it was a hive-gel desk, what he assumed was a chair behind the desk, and two more in front. There were some papers in a neat stack on the side of the desk, but it was what was in the chair that held all the attention in the room.

Prince Phasmatodea, newly appointed High Marshal of the New Swarm.

‘The Prince of the hive has an office that’s the same size and contents of a Colonel. Perhaps I should give His Highness the benefit of the doubt, he was only promoted two weeks ago or so.’

“Colonel Amphid, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“And an honor to meet you, My Prince.”

The Prince levitated a paper from the side up to his eyes.

“I have a lot to do and not much time, so I’m going to cut to the meat of the matter. The Fourth Legion needs a general.”

“General?! My Prince, that is quite the honor!”

“Yes it is. You are one of the top candidates for promotion. Now, are you the best candidate?”

“I have commanded the Third Hoof for nine years now, My Prince. My command has been without issue and the Third Hoof was the pride of the Swarm!”

“Without issue, you say? I have a report right here on my desk that says otherwise. A complaint filed by Colonel Xiphydriidae saying that your ‘radical ideas’ constantly endanger your side’s chances for victory during training exercises.”

‘Why, that stingless wasp!’

“My Prince, Colonel Xiphy says a lot of things, and rarely do they hold thought. His promotion to Colonel only happened because of his predecessor’s untimely death, he ought to be no higher than a sergeant!”

“Does his complaint hold merit, Colonel?”

“The training we received does go against my actions during the training exercise he calls into question, yes, BUT there is no victory without risk, My Prince. I have seen the exact same scenario in that training exercise before and the side we were playing as would lose again if I followed training. Surely, My Prince understands the need for changing the ancient constraints that bind us?”

Prince Phasma gave Amphid a smile.

“This report is what led me to consider you for promotion.”

“So this was some kind of test?”

“Of course. Now, training and orders are two different things…”

“Your Highness, I would never disobey an order!”

He levitated a piece of paper over in front of me. Amphid craned my neck to look at it. It was a document detailing the structure of Legion IV, The Second Line Legion.

“Then sign at the bottom.”

“What is your command, My Prince?” Amphid asked while signing.

“Your orders are to secure the East Coast. The honor and glory of felling Manehattan and its sister cities falls to you, General Amphid. Three brigades from the Seventh will assist you in cracking any stalwart defenses Equestria might place in front of you.

“Now, as General, you hold the same title as nominally myself as general of the Third Legion…”

“My Prince, I could never consider you so low as to be my equal! The fact that any can hold the same title as Your Highness is practically an insult!”

“... Which is why your only true equal is the general of the Fifth Legion, when that spot is filled. It goes without saying that Queen Chrysalis and I are above your station, but if Commander Scorpion of the First or Intelligencer Ocelli of the Second gives you orders, it would be very wise to listen close, if not obey outright. So long as they do not conflict with orders I give, General.”

“I understand, My Prince.”

Prince Phasma picked up a small stack of papers from the corner of the desk and placed them in front of Amphid.

“These detail the structuring of your legion. I expect you to fill the positions within using your own judgement. If you have need for any supplies, file a request with Chamberlain Eucharis, as he is the Captain of the First Logistics Legion.”

“I will do so, My Prince.”

“Good. We will talk more later. Congratulations on the promotion, General Amphid.”

“Your Highness is most generous, I am honored beyond words.”

‘And that’s the Second Line Legion taken care of. I’ll have to get a better view of his leadership later so I can start setting up the Lodges, I bet he is what I’m looking for.’

When the General left my office, I checked the time.

‘Right on schedule.’

I placed the papers back into the stack, and headed out to the throne room. There, Thorax was waiting for me. Specifically, he was staring at the sapphires on Chrysalis’s throne.

“Good afternoon, Prince Phasma.”

“Good afternoon, Praetorian Thorax. Walk with me.”

As we headed out of the main hive spire and into the adjacent secondary spire, I spoke to Thorax.

“My lessons with Queen Chrysalis are nearly complete for I am to spend every hour outside training on founding the Legions. That means you will be sticking with me all day everyday.”

“That sounds great, Prince Phasma! We get to hang out every day?”

“Not ‘hanging out,’ Thorax, though I wish we were. I’m very busy, and as my personal Praetorian, you are expected to be by my side for most of the day when we leave the hive. But before that, you’ll be running errands for me, helping me set up the legions.

“Listen, Thorax, when we’re around Queen Chrysalis, please… keep to yourself. I don’t want you to accidentally give her a reason to set her fangs upon you.”

“I’m glad you’re worried for me, Phas– Prince Phasma. I’ll be careful, I promise. Where are we headed now?”

“The office of the First Logistics Legion.”

“First Logistics Legion? Why do you need a whole legion dedicated to logistics?”

“They will be embedded within every other legion, so they are mostly a legion in name only. The reason why they are separate is…”

‘Fuck, how the hell do I tell Thorax this?’

“They're… They need to… Oh fuck it, they’re the ones who will be rounding up the ponies, putting them in pods, and dealing with the prisoners in general. They need to have a certain level of authority around other legionnaires.”

Thorax quickly whispered to me, “Phasma, you said-”

“I have to prepare for the worst, and I will do this if we don’t have another solution. I mean it. I really hope it doesn’t come to it, but I cannot ignore the possibility. Especially when it's expected of me to plan accordingly.”

Thorax huffed and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

Collecting what I needed from the Logistics office was a quick affair. Chamberlain Eucharis had worked with me to get everything ready for my two Praetorians, as well my Steward when I chose one.

We were picking up the personal armor for Thorax. It was an orange counterpart to Chrysalis’s Praetorians, with no other changes.

When Thorax put the armor on, I could see he was uncomfortable.

“You look good in it, Thorax.”

“That’s because it’s orange, Prince Phasma. It’s no secret that you like orange, considering half of you is that color.”

“Everyone looks good in orange,” I grumbled.

“I don’t like this, but if you say I have to wear it…”

“It’s expected of you.”

“Then fine.”

“... Do you find it strange that you are the same position as your brother?”

Thorax snorted, “Of course. He’s big and tough and wants to protect others. I’m… just a changeling. I want to help others, but protecting? I’m not a fighter.”

“You won’t have to be.”

As he started walking around the room to get a feel for the helmet and peytral, Thorax asked, “Explain your legions to me. I never received officer or guard training, so I don’t know what they are.”

“Sure. The First are the Praetorians, led by Commander Scorpion. Aside from yourself and soon Oestridae, they are loyal to Queen Chrysalis. The Second are the Infiltrators, led by Intelligencer Ocelli. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth are the Line Legions. You can picture them as the main body of the army.

“Then comes the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth. These are all Specialist Legions, and are comparatively small. They are split up and attached to the three Line legions to fulfill special purposes.

“Finally, the Eleventh and Twelfth are Logistics Legions. The Eleventh are garrison and pony-podders, and the Twelfth are focused on medical aid. I’ve got some ideas I want to experiment with, so having a special group dedicated to medical practices means I can easily change how they operate. If we do find an alternative, they will be the ones implementing it. Again, they will be split up amongst the other divisions.

“Within each Line Legion are Brigades, about five each. The first are command, the rest are main line infantry. Within each Brigade are battalions, made up of squads and whatnot. The Specialist Legions are Battalions directly.”

Thorax stopped walking around, “Oookay, Eleventh and Twelfth are separate divisions for support?.”

“I need to be able to give orders to specifically all the changelings involved in the podding process quickly, and that works best if there is already an established hierarchy within those changelings.”

"Right. Can you repeat the part about everything? Because I'm still a bit lost."

I huffed, "One and Two are important and special. Three, Four, and Five are the main army. Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten are special. Eleven and Twelve are support.'

“Why didn't you just say that?" I groaned as Thorax continued, "… So I got my armor, Phasma, what’s next?”

“Why, the most important thing a Prince can do. Paperwork.”

Thorax sat in a spare chair, leaned against a wall, staring at the ceiling while I finished up today’s paperwork.

“Y’know, when you said I was going to be a Praetorian, this isn’t what I imagined.”

“You said you don’t want training, right?” I answered without looking up. “That means you can’t even have guard duty– which, need I remind you, is even worse than sitting down and talking to me.”

“That’s fair… Then let’s talk.”

“What do you want to talk about.”

‘Don’t expect me to be a savant at socializing, Thorax. I’ve been alive for half a year, and the two changelings I talk to the most are Queen Chrysalis and Chamberlain Eucharis. Actually, Eucharis isn’t that bad.’

“If… If it were possible to avoid podding and instead work with ponies, would you?”

“Hmmm. There would be the issue of convincing Chrysalis, but maybe. It all depends on how much control the ponies would have over us. If our survival depended entirely on their cooperation, that’s quite the risk. They could simply start shackling us over time, with law after law, until we are utterly at their mercy.”

“And we could completely disrupt their entire civilization, their very way of life. Trust goes both ways, Phasma.”

I sighed and stared at Thorax. “I don’t need friendship lessons.”

That got him to laugh. “Friendship lessons? I get the feeling there are some changelings that definitely do need those.’

“Like Pharynx?”

“I mean... I know he’s rude and a loner, but he’s my brother, ya know?”

“No.”

‘Yes…’

Thorax started to explain how he loves his brother despite how cold Pharynx sometimes is, but I wasn’t listening.

‘Another person I’ll never see again. I wonder if I did see my family again, and when I was reincarnated all my memories of the afterlife were erased. A question that will never get answered, I suppose. The oldest question; what happens after life? This is after my life, and I still don’t know for sure.’

“–asma? Phasmaaa? Hellooo?”

Remembering to breathe, I took in a lungful of air and concentrated on Thorax to my side.

“Sorry, I was… elsewhere,” I spoke softly.

“You okay?”

I opened by mouth to answer but paused.

‘Should I– no, no one must know. There’s no telling how they’d react. Chrysalis especially, she might just off me for worries that someone with outside knowledge and morals is in a position of power here in the hive.’

Something brushed against my hoof, causing me to look down. Thorax had put his hoof on mine.

“Hey Phas, you can tell me anything. What’s going on?”

‘I wish that were true.’

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing my flank! We’re family– practically brothers– and you trust me, right?”

‘You even swear innocently. How the hell can I say no to that?’

“Of course.”

“Then tell me.”

Thorax looked at me with pleading eyes. At least, I think he did. Hard to express emotion with them when they are one solid color. It’s the eyebrows that have to do all the work.

“.... What do you and your brother do for fun? Together, I mean.”

Thorax smiled, removed his hoof, and started telling me about how they would often take flights together, eat every meal together, and sometimes just walk around the hive. During all of these, they would talk about their day, who they met, and their opinions on pretty much everything.

“I don’t know if Pharynx likes the fact that we eat together as much as I do. Any day where he’s too busy with guard duty to come back to our room, I feel… Like I’m missing part of me.”

“Missing part of you?”

I started at my desk, not looking at Thorax while he spoke his part.

“Yeah. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like…”

“Like you know they give you a headache sometimes, but you cherish the pain?”

“Uh, sure? I guess that makes sense.”

I brought a hoof up in front of my face.

‘How much of me is missing? Thorax is sitting over there with holes in his hooves, yet he’s more complete than I am.’

I heard a scrape as Thorax got out of his chair and moved closer to me. I turned and saw Thorax at eye level, now that he was standing and I was sitting.

“I forget how old you are often, Phas. I’m sure the entire Fang does. It’s hard to remember that you’re just a half a year old, with so little knowledge of who we changelings are–”

“I passed Chrysalis’s history exams with flying colors.”

“–or how you’re put under far more stress than any other ‘ling in the hive–”

I crossed my forelegs. “Someone’s gotta do something about our problems.”

“–or with no social life.”

“W-what?”

He sighed, “When was the last time you played with another nymph?”

“I’m an adult-”

“When was the last time you played sports? Or took a flight, just for fun, with no one watching? Or played cards with your friends?”

I blinked. “... I never got the chance to.”

Thorax pulled me into a hug, the chair I was sitting on clattered to the ground. Aside from my back hooves on the ground carrying some of my weight, I was limp in his grip as he supported me despite my larger frame.

“Thorax?”

“That’s not okay. None of this is okay, Phas. You want to change this, we all know. Please, let us help you.”

After a short while, I raised my hooves and hugged him back. We were quiet for a few minutes before I spoke again.

I sniffed, “A man can die but once.”

“What’s a man?” Thorax asked, his voice vibrating my chest.

I didn’t answer his question.

“I’ve seen many things, Thorax, despite never being more than a hundred hooves out from the hive. Tell not a soul,” my voice wavered, “and don’t let go. I don’t want to drown the world in flame, all I want is to save my people.”

“... You should take up poetry, Phas,” he whispered back.

“Stop ruining the moment.”

I rested my head on his shoulder.

“Now, we’re going to begin with shield spells. They are the mainstay spell of defensive tactics, and so have the most theory and tactics behind them.”

Officer Katydid’s voice bounced off the comparatively cavernous walls of our empty training room. We had chosen this reinforced room, specially designed for magic training, for our first lesson. Thorax stood off to the side, paying rapt attention. After all, defensive magic was fair game for the pacifist.

“First, cast a baseline all-purpose shield spell, My Prince.”

Recalling Chrysalis’s lessons on the different shield types, as well as Katydid’s own on practicing those, I summoned a basic shield matrix.

Katydid walked up to inspect the shield with a closer eye. He hummed to himself as he looked it over.

“Looks good, let’s see if it actually is good.”

He stepped back and casted a directed force spell.

I felt a twitch in my horn as he did so, the force upon my shield sending feedback to me.

“Still holding up, My Prince? Did you feel anything?”

“A slight twitch in my horn.”

“Normally you would feel a lot more drained from getting hit by that spell. Your mana pool must have deepened considerably over our training and your molting.”

“Convenient.”

“I’m casting again,” he warned me

Then, he flung an ice spear and a fireball at my shield. I felt a slight pulling on my horn, but no pain.

“Still good,” I called out.

“Great! Now let’s say you noticed that I have been favoring fire magic. Switch your shield matrix to counter accordingly.”

Katydid ran through different drills, and quickly switched over to not telling me what he was casting next, and instead left me to adapt accordingly.

As our lessons progressed– and as I got more tired and started looking for excuses to catch my breath– I motioned Thorax to come over.

“Hello, Prince Phasma,” Thorax said, using my full title now that we were not in private.

“Hey Thorax. You should participate in this. You know the material, yeah?”

“Mhmm.”

“Excellent. Hey, Officer Katydid!” I called out, “Praetorian Thorax is swapping out for me for a bit. Start from the basics and go from there.”

He spoke as he trotted over, “A Praetorian? I’m afraid my caliber of spells will not be of much practice for you, Praetorian.”

Thorax didn’t maintain eye contact, “Don’t be too sure about that.”

I came to his rescue as I started walking over to the closest wall to sit next to, “I recruited Thorax here from the general population of the hive, not the guard. I would like him to be at least proficient in defensive spells.”

I collapsed with a sigh against the wall, and watched on.

“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Praetorian Thorax. We’ll start at the base level, as His Highness says. A basic shield spell is usually the first defensive spell casted first, even though it’s not very effective. You then switch shield matrices when you figure out your opponents preference…”

I rubbed my horn, which was stinging from overuse after hours of quick casting.

Thorax, while not having a superb mana pool, had half decent reflexes and knowledge recall when it came to adjusting his defenses.

‘Not quick enough for the Praetorian guard, but he would make a fine officer. Not that I would ever force him to be one.’

I sat back and watched as Thorax was slowly worn down over the course of more than half an hour.

When I saw him wince when a particularly large acid surge hit his shield, I yelled over to Katydid.

“That’s enough for now, Officer!”

“I was thinking the same, My Prince!”

I made the effort to push myself off the cold, hard ground that was oh so comfortable and made my way over.

“You did well today. Both of you. I take it Praetorian Thorax will be joining in on our lessons from now on?”

“Just the defensive ones.”

“Yes, I would prefer avoiding the rest.”

Katydid sighed, “I’m actually relieved to hear that. I do not want Her Majesty breathing down my neck when she finds out that Phasma’s lessons were drastically cut due to accommodating another. Not that I don’t want to practice with you, Praetorian.”

“I understand,” Thorax said with a smile. “You don’t have to mince words with me, Katydid. This was fun, if a bit scary. Normally I’d leave this stuff to my brother, but,” he looked at me, “I guess I have to own up to my duties now.”

“I’m glad you find it fun, Thorax. These important lessons are often ignored and neglected by the common Swarm soldier. Now, My Prince, we shall begin the offensive lessons.”

“Yaaay,” I said with mock joy.

As Thorax moved to sit by the wall, began the lesson.

By the end, my horn was stinging something fierce.

“Must we go so long?”

Katydid frowned, “I’m afraid so, My Prince. We have so little time, we need every minute of practice you can get.”

I hesitantly raised a hoof to touch my aching horn, but withdrew it with a hiss after tapping it.

“That’s all for today, Thorax” I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, take care Phas. You too, Katydid.”

“Till next time, young Praetorian.”

As we watched him leave, I asked, “Young Praetorian?”

“Thorax is quite young for one, yes, My Prince. His mana well is shallower than almost every other Praetorian I’ve trained with.”

“His brother is a Praetorian, and I was under the impression that they were the same age.”

“Ah, his brother is Pharynx, then?” At my nod, he continued, “Pharynx is also very young for a Praetorian. Normally the Royal Guards, as you intimately know they used to be called, are veterans of the Swarm. Pharynx, on the other hoof, was elevated after taking down a Tatzelwurm single hoofedly. Quite the achievement, My Prince.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.”

“You, uh… You two are close, My Prince?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because My Prince, he didn’t call you Prince Phasma. He called you Phas.”

“What? No he didn’t.”

Katydid squinted at me. “Yes, he did, My Prince.”

‘Did he really call me Phas? I don’t think I’ve ever been called by a nickname before…’

“We’ve known each other for some time now, right Katydid?”

“Yes, My Prince. Most of your life, at least.”

“Then you can call me Phasma. No titles between friends, eh?”

“I’m honored that you consider me a friend… Phasma.”

“Say Katydid, what Legion is picking you up?”

“I am to be the Colonel of the 503rd.”

“Ah, General Labrum selected you, then? I would have thought General Amphid of the Fourth would have taken you first chance she got.”

“Yes, Phasma. General Labrum was apparently impressed with my skills.”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders, that’s why I picked her for that position after filling the Fourth. Should I start calling you Colonel, instead of Officer?”

“No titles between friends, you just said. The paperwork isn’t finalized, either. Apparently we’re waiting on a certain someone to sign everything.”

I groaned when I remembered the growing mountain of paper sitting on my desk.

‘How do we even have that much paper to spare? Chrysalis must be nabbing more from Equestria, if only to make my life more miserable.’

“Is there a particular reason why the invasion must happen so soon?” I asked Chrysalis.

We had just wrapped up today’s work. Our lessons now consisted of magic spells and theory and nothing else. She really wanted me to have a veritable arsenal of spells ready when the invasion came.

She looked up briefly from the paper on her desk which had her rapt attention.

“Constraints require the invasion to occur soon. Now be off you, we both have work that must be done.”

“What constraints?” I pushed.

“The ones I have placed on you. You are dismissed, Prince Phasma.”

She looked back down at her paper, ending any chance of further discussion.

‘I’ll keep asking until you give me something. There’s got to be a good reason why you’ve chosen such an early date, I don’t believe you would risk your one chance at victory just to have it sooner.’

I huffed and walked out, shutting the door behind me.

I yawned after leaving Chrysalis’s study. The magic training which had been going on for two weeks at this point was leaving me feeling drained every night and not much better the next morning. I made my way into the throne room, the Praetorians saluting as I walked past them.

Thorax was waiting there, kited with his Praetorian armor. He was looking down at his peytral, the simplistic lines had caught his attention while waiting for me.

“Praetorian Thorax, we’ve a busy day ahead of us.”

He looked up at his name, “Ah, Prince Phasma. Busy for you, or busy for us?”

“Us,” I replied as I started walking out of the throne room and into the main hallway outside.

“Whereto first?”

“The Second Legion.”

“The infiltrators? What do we have to do there?”

“As it just so happens, I received word that the latest recruits are in…”

“The expedition!”

“So we’re going to see if any of the First Fang are there. If not, we’ll go check their usual spots. Do you know what Tarsus was before and during infiltrator class?”

“He instructed nymphs on basic spells. That’s where he met Lacewing, in fact.”

‘With his cheery disposition, I can imagine him having fun teaching nymphs.’

“That’s… I can see him enjoying that job. Why did he go into the infiltrator line?”

“Tarsus didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh.”

We were silent on the way over to the Legion’s offices. Unlike most Legions, the Second had a decent amount of rooms dedicated to their work. In addition to a hooffull of offices, they had storage rooms, meeting rooms, training rooms, and so on. All material and recovered information goes here first, before being sorted and placed into warehouse rooms further down the hive.

Stopping at a large door at the end of the hall dedicated to specifically offices, the one guard at the side saluted me when I came near. I opened the door without knocking.

The changeling at the desk looked up from the report they were writing.

“W- oh. My Prince, I didn’t expect to see you,” Intelligencer Ocelli said with a short bow, placing their quill down.

“Good evening Intelligencer. Has the Second’s restructuring gone well?”

“Yes My Prince. There was little to change, other than some titles and names. Losing a few of my best agents to train the other Legions is quite the setback, but one I can handle, My Prince.”

I nodded, “Good.”

“Though I do hope, if I may be so bold Your Highness, that I will be getting those infiltrators back.”

“They will be back in the Second before the invasion, in time for you to brief them and give them their objectives.”

“Thank you, My Prince.”

“I did not come here just to see if all is well. I heard that the newest recruits had finished their training?”

“Yes, My Prince. Their expedition arrived two days ago.”

“How many will be recruited from the pool?”

“Of the three classes, only thirty two, My Prince.”

“Thirty two out of… Seventy five?”

“That’s right, My Prince. We have nothing but the highest standards, the infiltrator role risks not just the infiltrator’s life but the hive’s existence.”

'I know for a fact that that's no longer true.'

“I would like to see a list of these recruits.”

Ocelli blinked at my strange request, but levitated over a paper with no comment. Reading it through, I saw only Tarsus’s name on the list.

‘No more teaching for him, then. Hope he likes his new role.’

I hoofed it back, or rather I levitated it back, as most of these exchanges of items usually goes.

“That will be all, Intelligencer.”

“Of course, My Prince. Might I inquire as to when the first drafting of the invasion plans will begin?”

“Soon,” was all I replied as I left.

Thorax, having held his tongue throughout the meeting, followed me out. Once we left, however, he broke his silence.

“Who’s on it?”

“Just Tarsus. Lacewing and Coxa must not have made it.”

“Lacewing won’t be happy about that.”

“And we won’t be able to talk to Tarsus anytime soon. I bet he’s not even here in the hive at the moment.”

“So, which are we seeing first?”

“Coxa. The storage section is on the way to the Greencave.”

“Fifth times the charm,” I said, pushing open a side door leading to the room in front of us.

With the workers constantly moving items around, or taking items from the storage rooms in the Infiltrator section using direct access corridors, it was hard to pinpoint a specific changeling working in them.

Coxa’s foreling would not know where he is, so we had to find him ourselves. Four times so far we entered a room, filled with different things from metal to clothing for disguises. Each room had a few changelings constantly buzzing around between rows of shelves. Each time the workers bowed when they noticed my presence.

The fifth warehouse was half filled with chitin, bone, and other organic materials harvested from creators slain. It was a chilled room, to better preserve its contents.

“Worker Coxa?” I called out.

“Gimme a moment!” Came the reply, several rows down from the door.

I strained to see if I could pick out the changeling, but even with my taller height the shelves were at least two hooves taller than me.

“Some bastards went and threw an entire haul in here. Lazy ‘pillars, no respect for organization!”

A loud thunk echoed in the spacious room as Coxa presumably threw something heavy on the hive-gel shelf.

“Now, what can I do for ya?” He asked, stepping out from the aisle. When he saw me, his eyes widened and jaw dropped.

‘Coxa doesn’t look like a nymph anymore, he’s a full drone now.’

“Phasma? Ya look like shit!”

I rolled my eyes, “Thanks Coxa. You look utterly unremarkable.”

“Better than looking like shit. Lace ‘n I molted during the expedition. What happened to you? Did you start drinking that stuff that pools down at the entrance to the Underhive?”

“Hi Coxa!”

“Oh, hey Thorax. And why’re you wearing guard armor?”

“To answer your first question, I molted for the first time three weeks ago.”

“And I’m a Praetorian!”

Coxa tilted his head.

“You? A Royal Guard?”

“Praetorian,” I corrected. “I had an open position, and he had a shitty job.”

“Phas says I don’t have to fight, just look pretty.”

‘So he DOES call me Phas!’

Coxa leaned against the shelf next to him and pressed a foreleg to the top of his head.

“Oh, Prince Phasma, have you come to whisk me away too? Here to sweep me off my hooves and take me away to a far off tower?”

“Yes, actually. I need a Steward, my paperwork seems to reproduce every time I leave my office. You’re it until you're dead or I find someone better.”

Coxa dropped his foreleg.

“Dead? The hell kinda paperwork do you got?”

“The kind you drown in. Queen Chrysalis has apparently stepped up the infiltrator’s game when it comes to nabbing resources for the hive, paper especially.

“Ooooh. That explains the shelves of the shit we got up in A4. Why didn’t we start taking more sooner?”

I shrugged, “Chrysalis has been rapidly expanding the infiltrators since a bit before I was hatched. The more drones we have out in the field means we can steal more stuff.”

“Aaaand why have we only expanded the infiltrators recently?”

I threw my hooves in the air. “I dunno! Chrysalis has been dodging the question. Best I can figure is that more infiltrators means a bigger risk of being exposed. Also, we did lower our standards a bit, despite what Intelligencer Ocelli wants us to believe. We used to recruit directly from the Royal Guard, but now we’ve expanded to the whole hive.”

“Is that why we had combat lessons before infiltrator class?”

“You all had combat lessons? And never spoke a word of it?”

Thorax leaned over, “Most changelings do. It’s just that those of us in the class had more. Nothing new, and pretty boring stuff.”

“Why did no one tell me during class?”

“Why bother?” Coxa asked. “It’s really standard stuff. You can’t exactly hold a conversation talking about how you casted a stun spell twenty times today. Or ten in nymphs’ cases.”

“I… suppose so. And we did always have better topics to cover.”

“Like the Swarm. The whole expedition heard you’re reforming the Swarm, how’s that going?”

“Where do you think the paperwork is coming from?”

He looked surprised. “Wait, you want me to help you reform the entire Swarm?”

“Just the paperwork. I’ve done all the groundwork for the reforms. You’ve got an analytical mind, and two extra hooves. So I’m dumping at least half of this on you.”

Coxa looked around the cold warehouse.

“My talents are wasted here…”

I leaned towards Thorax and faux whispered behind a raised hoof, “Should I tell him he doesn’t have a choice in this promotion?”

Thorax smiled, “Phas, you wouldn’t do that to one of us.”

“Alright,” Coxa said.

“Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Alright!”

“You two are horrible,” Thorax moaned.

“Thank you,” we both echoed.

“Back to more important topics,” Coxa interrupted Thorax’s whinging, “Molting doesn’t really explain why you look so… drone-y.”

“I think Mother Dearest was doing things she wasn’t supposed to when I was an egg. That would explain the Nurse's reaction when she claimed ignorance. Dunno, I’ll find out… soon.”

“You got a plan for that?”

“I do.” I quickly casted a glance at Thorax and saw him staring at me, mouth shut. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Sure you will. We need to tell my boss that I’m quitting, though.”

“Already handled,” I said while turning towards the door. Thorax followed me by my side, with Coxa bringing up the rear.

When we went down instead of up in the vertical shafts meant for flying, Coxa spoke up.

“Hey, uh, My Prince? Isn’t the… whatever-room-you-work-in up at the top?”

“Yes. Lacewing is down below, though.”

“Thorax, when did you start calling me Phas?”

“You didn’t notice?”

“Apparently not. Katydid was the one who pointed it out.”

“I’ll be more careful with that in public,” Thorax softly said.

“When, though?”

“That day when you picked me to be your Praetorian.”

“Oh.”

“Do... do you want me to stop?”

“N-No.”

“You two should kiss,” Coxa whispered from behind us.

‘These hallway conversations remind me of Mass Effect elevator scenes.’

“Never heard of a Bromance? And keep your jokes limited out in public, Coxa. If word gets around I let such ‘insults’ slide, the Queen will hear about it, and she’ll make me sit through lectures about how I need to have a massive ego.”

“You told me not to make jokes, then immediately made a joke.”

“Do as I say, not as I do.”

Coxa sighed.

“Bromance? Where did you come up with that terminology?” Thorax asked.

“Shush.”

We had arrived at the Greencave. Despite the name, it was actually a complex of large rooms, all linked by a central hub. Inside the hub, changelings bustled about, moving carts of different mosses, soil, plants, and other organic materials.

“My Prince!” Came a surprised voice to my right. At the exclamation, all the changelings looked over, and immediately bowed.

“Rise. I’m not here for an inspection.”

“Then what does My Prince need?"

“I’m looking for a changeling.”

Lacewing had her tongue stuck out to the side, completely absorbed in her work when Coxa called out from behind her.

“Lacewing!”

Lacewing jumped up, hitting her hooves on the bottom of the tray, and her head on the crystal lights hanging above them.

“Ow!”

Lacewing quickly fiddled with the bottom of the tray in front of her
“What’s the big idea, scaring me like that?”

“It’s funny,” Coxa chuckled. Thorax looked uncomfortable.

‘I mean, it kinda was…’

“You’re going to have a lot of problems picking up girls if….” Lacewing said while turning around. She started to stare at me as we approached.

“Phasma…?”

I smiled, “I told you I keep my promises.”

She ran over and tackled me with a hug.

“Oh- Again! You know, I haven’t seen any other changeling get hugged other than myself.”

“That’s because you’re so huggable!” Lacewing squealed.

“Oh...kay?”

A throat cleared behind me, “It’s true, you know.”

“Of course you would claim that, Thorax. To you, every ‘ling is huggable.”

“Wait, Thorax? That Royal Guard–”

“Praetorian.”

“– is Thorax?! Why’re you a guard now?”

I turned my head and saw him sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ah, well, Phas got me out of a bind…”

Lacewing let go and backed off.

“Oh. Oh Prince Phasma, have you come here to sweep-”

“Coxa already made that joke.”

“Aww carapace!” Lacewing pouted, though shortly broke off her fit to hoof-bump Coxa when he stretched out a hoof.

“It’s good to see you again, Phasma and Thorax. You both, or rather all three of you, got here quick. How did all three of you manage to shirk duties to come all the way down here?”

“They both work for me.”

“Have you come to recruit me, too?”

I stifled a yawn. “Wish I could. I don’t have anything open, but when I do, you’re at the top of the list. Best I can do right now is a safe position in the Eleventh Legion. That is, unless you’re fond of doing paperwork…?”

“I’ve never done paperwork and I don’t think I’d like it either. I do enjoy working in the Greencave, even if it gets rather… dull.”

“What do you do to keep yourself occupied?” Thorax asked.

Lacewing smiled as she trotted back to the tray she was sitting at. Now that I was closer, I could see that it was filled with blue glowing mushrooms. They had a dark brownish-green hue, with light cyan veins of light snaking through their tops and the entirety of the underside of the caps.

‘Never seen those around the hive for illumination. I wonder what they are for?’

Then I remembered that I could just ask.

“What’re those mushrooms for?”

Lacewing pulled something out from the bottom of the tray as she spoke. “Saturnine. In addition to feeding some of the bugs we keep on hoof, many changelings use it to light up their personal rooms. You’ve never seen it?”

I shook my head.

“Hmm. Anyways, I managed to get something from the expedition to help pass the time.”

She had in her hooves a paper notepad. Lacewing flipped open the cover and showed the pages to us all, who had gathered around her while she removed the pad from her apparent hiding spot.

There were crude sketches of pony, houses, plants, a squirrel, and trees.

“Wow,” Thorax gasped, “I love your drawing of that creek there!”

“Thanks! I saw it and just had to sketch something quick!”

“Lace, I don’t remember seeing you stop to sketch all this,” Coxa said.

“Most of these are brief drawings,” she sighed. “Wish I could do something in detail.”

“How’d you get this?” I asked.

“I bought it. With pony money. At a pony store.”

“From a griffon?”

“No, from a– oh, har har har.”

We eventually extracted ourselves from Lacewing’s nonexistent hair after a few minutes of conversation– I was still busy, after all– and after she extracted promises from us to keep meeting with her. And to bring Oestridae along.

My companions and I headed up to the main hive spire so I could get to work on today’s needlessly in-depth paperwork.

‘Apparently not even severe resource scarcity brings an end to bureaucracy. Horrid.’

When we entered the main hall, I swear I could see Thorax’s wings start to vibrate when he got close to the Savior’s doors. Coxa, on the other hoof, looked unimpressed.

“I mean, it looks nice and all, but I don’t see what’s special.”

“That’s not surprising, drone,” came a deep voice from the side of the main door.

The Praetorian on duty spoke. When he stepped forward and into the light of the open windows, I quickly recognized the edgelord. Thorax beat me to the punch, though,

“Pharynx!”

“Thorax? Why’re you wearing orange Praetorian armor?”

“He’s my personal guard.”

Pharynx reared back in disbelief.

“Thorax? You’re… what?”

Thorax scuffed a hoof on the ground before coughing, “Ahem. Yeah I’m not actually working down in excavation anymore.” He ducked his head when Pharynx glared at him. “Don’t be mad, please?”

Pharynx groaned and put a hoof to his forehead. “Why… Ugh. My Prince Phasmatodea, what is the meaning of this, if I may ask?”

I smiled, “Well I knew that you worked hard to achieve your position, dedicating so much of your time to constantly training, completely dedicated to the survival of the hive, and one of our best warriors. So I promoted your brother to the same level, despite the fact that he’s a pacifist, ill suited to physical training, and most definitely not capable of following any order given to him without question.”

Pharynx stared at me with a blank expression. I gave him a small smile in response and walked into the throne room, turning away so I can keep a straight face easier.

“O-oh, I guess I’ve got to go now. We’ll talk later tonight, okay Pharynx?”

“We'll be talking alright. I’ll see you then, Thorax.”

Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne, speaking with a few members of her higher court. I directed our group around the edge so as to not attract her attention, but I really should have known better.

“Prince Phasma,” she called from her overpriced stone chair.

“Queen Chrysalis,” I responded from across the room.

“Who is that drone you are dragging in, now?”

“My new Steward.”

“I see I do not need to inform you how useful delegation is. Do not let your standards slacken or attention waver, Prince Phasma.”

With that, she returned to her conversation with Chamberlain Eucharis and the rest of her attending court.

‘Great conversational skills there, Bug-mom. She’s probably just happy that I’m working hard to keep the invasion on schedule.’

I motioned Coxa and Thorax to follow again. Coxa was still silent, though clearly was no longer unimpressed. He was wise enough to hold his tongue until we stepped into the royal wing and into my personal study.

In preparation for the Stewardship role, I got in a whole ‘nother desk and chair. A small desk, and stuffed into the close left corner from the door, but I’m sure Coxa wouldn’t mind.

When Thorax and Coxa entered, I shut the door behind them. I then pointed at the desk.

“That’s yours, my Steward.”

“Wowiee. A whole desk for doing paperwork. You’re spoiling me, Phasma.”

Thorax took his usual seat on the back left corner as I sighed, while Coxa lounged in the chair behind his new workstation. I then took my spot at the big boy desk in the middle.

“I tried getting a gold plated mahogany desk imported from the farthest corner of the globe, but Chrysalis said that will have to wait till after we conquer Equestria.”

Coxa snorted, “In that case, I suppose I’ll just have to suffer then.”

“Oh come now Coxa,” Thorax spoke up as he leaned back. “We’re not that bad. At least, I’m not.”

“Wait, did you just deride me, Thorax? I didn’t know you were physically capable of talking low of others.”

“I think you’re rubbing off on me.”

Coxa snickered. “Is that what you two do in here all day?”

“Y’know, on second thought, Lacewing would make a better Steward. Now that you’re here though, I need to ask you to do something.”

“I’m not rubbing–”

“Coxa, please, this is serious. I need your help, as well as any loyal changelings in this. And by loyal, I mean… to me,” I finished in a whisper

Coxa stood up straight and I heard the shuffling of Thorax’s chair behind me.

“To… you?” Coxa whispered back.

“That’s right.”

“Are you…?”

“I might.”

“W-.... Why?”

“Chrysalis claims that all my siblings died mostly natural deaths, though she was rather callous with them. I think at least a few tried to rebel, and she murdered them and covered up their deaths.”

“What?” Thorax gasped from behind me.

‘Good thing there’s no Game of Thrones in this world, Thorax would have a heart attack by the end of the first episode… Joking about my siblings’ potential murder leaves a bad taste in my mouth, though.’

Coxa looked at the door.

“Is this… We’re awfully close to….”

“Which is why your first task is to find somewhere we can talk and meet. The entire First Fang, and any ‘ling else we can trust.”

“And then you’re gonna….?”

“We’ll see. I’m going to get some answers soon.”

“From where?”

I mouthed ‘The Vault.’

I leaned against the wall as a yawn overtook my entire body. After today’s lessons, I was ready to just go to sleep.

‘Fuck magic training. Fuck combat training. Can’t I ever catch a break?’

“Prince Phasma,” Chrysalis called out from her study.

‘Nope, no breaks allowed. I’d be mad if it wasn’t for the fact that this works to my advantage.’

“Yes, Queen Chrysalis?” I asked as I slowly walked into her study. She was sitting behind her desk, staring at a report.

“Officer Katydid says that you are falling behind on your combat lessons. Far behind.”

I stiffened.

“I am?”

She looked up at me.

“You are not a warrior, however you are still expected to hold your own in battles. You did well in establishing the Ninth Legion to assist us, but they are merely drones. We are royalty, expected to not be a disappointment when it comes to fighting. After all, we are the embodiment of the Weave, the will of the hive made manifest.”

“I....”

“I am not blind to your efforts, Prince Phasma. You are failing not for lack of trying, but you are failing nonetheless. So, I have arranged for the forging of a new piece of wargear.”

My mouth dropped.

“Wargear? For my failures?”

“To make up for them. A warhammer, to utilize your raw magical strength when facing foes. I will concede that you may be too busy outmaneuvering the ponies on the entire warfront to maneuver the one standing in front of you. I need you to focus on the Legions and the war at large.”

She motioned to the fireplace on my right, and I looked over and saw a long box leaning against the couch. Picking it up with my levitation and opening it, I pulled out a warhammer made of the same lime green material as my Peytral which sat in my room. I had chosen not to wear that thing outside of ceremonies and the invasion itself.

It had a similar motif of thin lines and swirls around its head, its shaft made of an unknown wood. The two sides of the head had a ruby embedded on them.

“Since your studies have kept you away from the enchantment field of magical studies, I created this myself. With this hammer, shatter your foes. With your cunning, end them.”

I felt its smooth, cold surface. I could feel enchantments– weak as they were- slowly coursing through the strange, alien metal.

“You will begin using the hammer in training immediately. What you hold in your hooves is several expeditions worth of Adamantine, sourced from the Underhive itself. Your peytral, even moreso.”

“Don’t lose them, got it.”

“That would be most unwise. It also needs a name. All legendary weapons have one, and this is the hammer that will bring the end to Equestria.”

‘To further fear the changelings is redundant; to hate them, heretical. Yet ultimately, it was I who who set these events into motion, with a single blow from my hammer:’

“God-Splitter.”

The metal seemed to ripple as I named it in the Weave, and I knew intrinsically that this hammer was indeed named God-Splitter.

"You are dismissed."

Chrysalis returned to the report on her desk, but I wasn’t done. After all, I could gain something very useful from this conversation.

‘Now, to get you to check the vault’s contents.’

“Say, Mother. Has there ever been a changeling who could… see the Great Tapestry?”

“We are all part of the Great Tapestry, Prince Phasma.”

“I mean, really see it. During my… transition into a nymph, I had a strange vision. I saw the Threads, there was no mistaking them, as well as… Something else.”

Chrysalis sighed, “Do not waste my time with the nonsense that fills your mind when you slumb–”

“I spoke with a demon.”

Her attention was focused once again on myself.

“She claimed to be someone named Princess Luna, the sister of Princess Celestia.”

Chrysalis slowly straightened up and took a deep breath.

“What did this demon say?”

“She would be returning soon. Has there ever been a Princess Luna?”

Chrysalis was silent for a moment before speaking, “Yes.”

“Did, or rather does, she know about us changelings?”

“I doubt it.”

“Then how did she know what I was?” I lied.

‘I am paying a lot of secrets and information for this, but I do expect to get some in return…’

Chrysalis was silent for even longer now. Half a minute passed before she spoke again.

“Do not converse with this demon, and report whatever it says next time it speaks to you in your dreams.”

“My dreams? Does this demon normally speak to changelings in their dreams?”

“Princess Luna is known to walk the Dreamscape, a realm similar to the Weave.”

‘Just keep pressing and keep giving her reasons to check the vault tonight.’

“I see. Has there ever been a changeling who could walk such a realm as well?”

“I… am unsure. Return to your duties and leave this matter to me, Prince Phasma.”

“As you command, Queen Chrysalis. I will report any further contact with the demon.”

I returned to my chambers, laying God-Splitter against the wall by my bed. I would need what little rest I got before heading down and checking in on Oestridae in a few hours.

It was a few hours later that I heard Chrysalis return to her room after leaving the royal wing. I had my head pressed against my door to listen, and had been there ever since. I probably dozed off a dozen times.

For good measure, I waited another hour before opening the door and quietly walking out.

As I exited the wing, I nodded to the Praetorian on duty. An acquaintance I knew from shifting around the Royal Guard into the Praetorians. One of the few Praetorians I had the names of. Another, I knew for a fact, was on vault duty with Oestridae.

The throne room itself did not have any Praetorians during the night shift, only the main doors leading to the throne room, as well as the door to the royal wing.

You’d think with the paranoia that Chrysalis exudes, she would want the throne room filled with guards at all hours of the day. Regardless, I left the royal with a grumpy look and a fast pace as I headed towards the Savior’s doors. Confidence is how you get away with everything, after all.

‘If Chrysalis asks, I’ll just say I couldn’t sleep– mentions of demons, and all that– and that I figured I might as well pick up some paperwork from the empty Legions offices to fill out.’

I passed through the Savior doors without looking back at the Praetorians standing guard. Making my way through the hive was quite the change of pace. During the day, it was a constant buzz– heh, insect puns– of activity. At night, there was only the scant drone, usually a guard on patrol.

If they were confused why their Prince was wandering the halls at night, they had the awareness to not ask me. So, I made it to the vault without being stopped.

Not that I went in a straight line to the vault, no. I made sure I was seen heading towards the spire that held the Legion offices, before using empty side hallways to get all the way down to the base of the hive.

There, Oestridae was waiting. The other guard on duty, Praetorian Weevil, was a good lad. Friends with Coxa, as it turned out. The two were clutch-mates, having grown up in the same brood. They were as thick as thieves, and probably did no small amount of thieving during their time together.

It’s probably a universal law that every military organization has their fair share of cutthroats, the ones you go to when you need to get shit. I think in the US it was called the E-5 Mafia or something.

But my attention was not on either Oestridae or Weevil, it was on the door in between them. I saw the grand vault door for the first time, only openable by Queen Chrysalis. Circular, with a swirling pattern converging on a blue scorpion in the middle, Chrysalis’s sigil.

The door sat before me, between Oest and Weevil, opened.

‘Un-fucking-believable. Miracles exist, and alarms don’t.’

It didn’t look like it opened, but that’s because it was just slightly ajar. I might have even not noticed if it weren’t for the fact that Oest was waving me over.

Weevil looked only slightly confused, meaning Oest must have told him something.

“Good morning, Oest.”

“Hey Phasma.”

“My Prince.”

“Hello to you too, Praetorian Weevil. Coxa has told me a lot about you.”

“Whatever he said, it isn’t true. Unless you need something cheap, then it might be.”

“Right,” I mumbled as I looked at the door. “It’s really open?”

“Yes,” Oestridae helpfully confirmed.

“This isn’t a trick of the light? It’s really opened?”

“Your suspicions were correct, Phasma.”

In my sleep deprived-state, I mustered enough energy to be only just slightly paranoid about this. Something had finally gone my way! Month after month of hard work with no breaks at all were worth it, the universe had just thrown me the juiciest bone. Or, two, to be specific.

Two miracles. One, no alarm. Two, the vault locked itself after being shut, meaning Chrysalis just lazily closes it behind her. That second one is a double edged sword, as if it closes while I’m inside, I will be unable to leave until Chrysalis herself unlocks it.

That’s just a bit worse than being caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Just a bit. The vault was just a bit more important than a vessel for storing treats.

The Records Vault. Ever since its creation hundreds of years ago, it has held the most important commodity found within the hive: information. Never has any changeling other than a royal stepped hoof within it.

Furthermore, never has it been breached to the extent of my knowledge. It is guarded and locked shut with a massive vault door built with millennia old magic and with intertwining and unbreakable locks….

But today, I got lucky. The odds of my hopes being dashed were so high I didn’t want to think about them. I must have used up my entire life’s luck in scoring this, but I didn’t care. What mattered was the vault’s security.

With only the royals being capable– or rather, trained– in enchantment spells, there was not much time for discovering and practicing enchantments. As such, the vault, despite being the most enchanted object in the entire hive, was less secure than most Equestrian vaults.

To be specific, this vault lacked an enchantment that acted as an alarm that sounded when the vault was left open for too long. Perhaps it had one if the lock was tampered with, but I was not doing such a thing.

I have a piece of technology that cannot be beaten. A device created to crack the uncrackable, break open that which has never been pilfered, defeat all known levels of security that the vault possesses.

I have a doorstop.

One that Oestridae, as stealthily as he could, wedged into the door as Chrysalis left the vault.

‘Chrysalis would be tired after leaving the vault after such a long day. Even if she noticed the guards had changed since she entered, why would she care? She also apparently didn’t look back or make sure it was locked, or else I’d be having a very different conversation right now.’

There were no two ways about it: this is a Deus Ex Machina, it was only time to tell how much value it held.

Oest helped me pry the door open, with Weevil acting as lookout. Not that it mattered, the door was at the end of a long hallway, and if some ling came, I would have no valid excuse to be here.

The vault door swung open on quiet hinges, with us using our magic to help pull it open the rest of the way.

“Now, keep that doorstop in there, Oest. I’d rather not have my chitin peeled off layer by layer if Chrysalis finds out I was in there, simply because I locked myself in.”

“D’ya really think she’d do that, My Prince?” Weevil asked.

“No idea. Probably not, but I’d rather not take the chance and find out.”

“Go on in, Phasma, we’ll stay out here.”

I nodded to Oestridae, and headed inside. Oest closed the door behind me, remembering to put the wedge in the door so it didn’t close all the way. The door was closed in the first place just in case any ‘lings have reason to come down here, either on patrol or for some unexpected reason.

As I entered, lights started flickering on, starting close to me and working their way to the back of the room. The vault was a large room, filled with rows of shelves, each filled to the brim with books.

In the center, a simple table with a chair.

‘It’s gonna take days to trawl this place to find what I need. Now, if I were Chrysalis, where would I write down the fates of my children…?

Looking to my side, I saw a plinth where a small book lay. I trotted over and opened it up. It was an index of the vault.

‘That’s a fucking relief. Chrysalis didn’t memorize the contents of the vault by heart– or at least their location– and actually wrote down their locations. Or maybe her predecessors did.’

I skimmed through the different sections and picked out a few that caught my attention. Personal journals, reports on the death of notable changelings, historical records, and medical records.

There were sections dedicated to powerful spells, I could tell, but considering I was struggling to multicast even the basc spells, such lofty pursuits were beyond me. I had more pertinent things to focus on, anyways.

I collapsed in the chair. I had been skimming books for at least an hour and a half now. Exhaustion now permeated throughout my entire body.

I found some interesting things, like the fact that Chrysalis did in fact experiment on a lot of eggs in her time. Most never hatched. Mine did. There was a report on what exactly she did to me, but almost all of the technical jargon was beyond me.

‘Glad I’m not still-born. Still-hatched. Jeez, thanks mom.’

I found out that Chrysalis murdered her mother, Queen Sphecidae.

‘Not surprising. What else would kill a ruling changeling monarch? Matricide is totally within Chrysalis’s purview.’

Chrysalis detailed a number of her frequent activities. Chrysalis even wrote that she, on occasion, left the hive to go ‘play with the ponies.’

Her words, not mine.

‘She’s probably detailing all of this knowing that there’s a good chance her successor is her murderer. If all the monarchs hoarded their knowledge out of spite, we would know nothing about our own history. And if your successor had opened the vault, then you’re most likely dead already.’

‘It’s rather pragmatic, and totally in line with us royals.’

Most of the information in this vault was written during this Fourth Hive period. Some of the knowledge was ferried from the older hives, carried away during their collapses. The further back you get, the exponentially less survived. There is just one book from the First hive, written on a very high level enchantment spell that seven other books built on.

I learned I was also the first to breach the vault as never before had any changeling royal tried my method of breaking in. Almost every single one of them just outright removed the vault door at the beginning of their reign, and created and enchanted a new one to take its place.

That meant that they were not building on each other’s security, and while my method might not have worked in the past, Chrysalis neglected to plan for it this time. The opposite is true as well; something that would not work this time would have worked on a past iteration of the vault door.

I found other methods of extracting love.

They were not pleasant. Spells, Drills, lobotomization, the list went on.

I also found a mind control spell. I had said to myself that high-tier spells were beyond me, but I saw a book titled “Mind Manipulation,” and while its contents were above my skill level– far above– I decided that I might have use for it in the future. The far future.

If I ever lived to that point....

I had found the fates of my brothers and sisters.

Many did die as Chrysalis said they did. The most common method of death was during Underhive expeditions. We got a lot of our best materials and minerals from down there, so it was the princes’/princesses’ duty to bring that material back to the hive. Unfortunately, a lot of big bad nasties made those tunnels their homes.

The second most common cause of death was... Reprocessing. Many of these also had a note of rebelling just before their mysterious death.

That sounds vague, and these journals didn’t really use euphemisms. My best guess was that they were murdered and their bodies thrown into the acidic recycling vats.

‘So she does kill them. I figured that, though it’s nice to have it confirmed. It also means that she is absolutely capable of murdering me when convenient.’

‘This also removes any doubt that creating the Warrior Lodges is a bad idea. If she has a history of murdering her children, then I want a loyal powerbase within the hive to back me if it comes to blows.’

If. I still hadn’t decided if I was going to rebel or not.

‘On one hoof, she kills those who rebel. On the other, who’s to say she won’t kill me when we win? The best way to secure her own survival is to end mine.’

‘Is this my own overactive paranoia? If I am happy with second-in-command, which I sorta am, then she wouldn’t need to kill me. Would she think that, though?’

My mind was going in circles. In the end, I decided to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

‘This changes nothing. Create the Warrior Lodges. Secure the loyalty of the Legions. Create some plan for removing Chrysalis. Go through with the invasion. Somehow, avoid getting murdered. Find a better alternative to podding. Maybe Thorax can help. Really, I need another Deus Ex Machina for that, but that’s a problem for future me.’

I sighed and collapsed onto the desk. My dried out eyes were really stinging by this point, and my horn was aching something fierce from the levitation and spells I had used today.

‘This is no place for rest. I need to get back to my room before Chrysalis wakes up, and I have to come from the Legion offices first.’

I sat up straight and accidentally knocked a book off the table.

As I bent over to pick it up with my fetlocks– my horn was still hurting– I noticed some shapes on the ground beneath me. In fact, beneath the table was an entire mural.

Written in a spiral pattern were a series of symbols. Symbols I recognized, though only knew about four. They were the same symbols that decorated the tapestries and banners that hung in the throne room, the ones that Thorax had gushed on about.

I recognized the symbols for Magic, Emotion, and Change. A nine pointed star, a heart, and a double helix respectively. The rest, I did not know. They were a collection of everything from pictographs to what looked like greek letters.

‘Why is this here?’

I picked the book up, revealing the symbol for Together. The double helix popped up from the ground with a click.

I froze, though no alarm sounded.

‘No way. No fucking way.’

There were faint edges between the spirals of symbols, meeting at a point in the center, and a circle around the entire mural. It looked like a sealed aperture.

‘This is a puzzle lock. There is a vault within the vault.’

I had broken into the most secure room in the entire hive, only to find a smaller, more secure one inside.

Thorax slumped to the ground.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing better than podding,” I said as I paced the room. My breath formed small clouds in front of me as the cold air of the storage room we were in kept me awake. Two days after the vault, and I never stopped thinking of its contents.

‘And that puzzle.’

I asked Thorax to teach me more about the symbols, but that was going very slowly. I’d need a better teacher for those.

Coxa and Lacewing shared a look, but added nothing. Oestridae watched on quietly.

Thorax stared at a spot in front of him on the floor. “What… what else was there?”

I stopped. “My siblings. The princes and princesses.” I turned and saw the First Fang looking at me expectantly. “Many went as Chrysalis said. But plenty were… reprocessed.”

“Reprocessed?” Coxa, Thorax, and Lacewing said in unison.

“Probably thrown into the recycling vats. Guess even changeling royals have limits when it comes to their down deeds, and have a hard time stomaching their… murders.”

“Now what?” Thorax asked quietly.

“If Equestria falls, there’s no telling what Chrysalis will do. She might let me live. Might. I am not staking my life on the hopes that my cold, distant mother cares enough about me to, from her perspective, risk her own survival for my sake. And to that end, I need your help. In fact, I need more than just the First Fang.”

My eyes wandered around the room. The cold storage we were in held the grisly remains of whatever creatures were kept as livestock for their component parts– bugs, from the looks of it, and Lacewing’s comment in the Greencave– as well as parts from creatures from the Underhive. A Tatzelwurm fang here, a Great Uttu mandible there. That last one was slated to be carved into a holy symbol, Coxa had told me.

“I need the backing of the Legions.”

“You made them,” Lacewing said, “Surely they will be loyal to their creator?”

I shook my head. “No. They are loyal to their commanding officer, who is in turn loyal to the highest link in the chain of command. If it came down to it, they would side with Queen Chrysalis rather than High Marshal Prince Phasma.”

“So how do you plan on getting their loyalty?” Coxa questioned.

‘By reaping what I sow. Chrysalis made a mistake in letting me choose the commanders.’

“With your help, I will establish the Warrior Lodges within the Legions. Clandestine meetings and groups, whose members take leave of rank to speak openly and freely.”

Thorax’s head tilted as he asked, “Wait. You want to secure their loyalty by letting them talk freely?”

I started to pace in a line again.

“That’s right. They speak their minds in these lodges. At first it will seem, uh, benign. Let’s say that I am establishing them to gather opinions and ideas from them. Things like letting them give a nickname to their own legion, or ideas for tactics.

“Then, we transition to questioning Chrysalis. Why are we risking our one chance at conquering Equestria by launching this invasion far earlier than it needs to be? Shouldn’t the one who made the Legions have more say in how they will be used? After all, he would know best how to utilize them the greatest.”

Coxa nodded, “You’re talking a lot of sense to me.”

“And the broods. They seem to be inherently inferior to the concept of families, so why does Chrysalis enforce their existence? Is she making our lives worse, separating us from each other, to cement loyalty to her? Or rather, to mitigate loyalty to others?”

Thorax stood up, “Yeah!”

“Why have the infiltrators been so few in number, when we have been struggling for food? Is our suffering artificially created by Chrysalis so she can have ultimate say in each of our lives? Give us duties without question? Why can’t we have artists, writers, or more infiltrators to gather love?”

“I wanna paint!” Lacewing cheered.

“Why does Chrysalis choose only now to go after Equestria, after so long of sitting on her ass? Why didn’t she address our hive’s issues before they became so disastrous? Will she fix future problems before they become as bad as they are now?”

Oestridae nodded slowly.

“Queen Chrysalis has ruled for centuries and she never lifted a hoof to help the hive. Only now, with my hatching, does she get her ass off her throne to help out the common drone. But can we really trust her? Queen Chrysalis is a threat to the hive.”

“Then what?” Oestridae asked.

“What? After I get the Legions’ loyalty?”

He nodded again.

“Then… We force her to come to the negotiation table. We say, ‘hey, we don’t want to fight you, but things need to change.’ Show her that we are willing to be loyal, in exchange for a change to the status quo. With Equestria capitulated, she won’t have any reason to deny our demands.”

Coxa shook his head, “You’re putting a lot of trust into the idea that Chrysalis will play along. She’s ruled the hive for centuries, you think she’d let go of that control so easily?”

“Which is why we also need to devise a plan to kill Chrysalis.”

Thorax hissed, “There’s got to be another way!”

“It’s… very likely that this will end with one of us dead. We will approach her, willing to compromise, but ready to attack. Push comes to shove, we can retreat while the Legions turn on Chrysalis.”

“But, what if she just kills you after, Phas?”

“Then I will become a martyr in death. My name will be a rallying cry against Chrysalis. You won’t be able to kill her– doing so would mean the extinction of the royal caste– but you can take away her power and imprison her forever.”

“No,” Lacewing declared. “I won’t risk that. You can’t throw away your life, you’re only seven months old!”

I sniffed. “If we are willing to negotiate, Chrysalis will have no leg to stand on. If she tries to kill me, she takes away all her credibility. If we try to kill her first, we risk losing our moral high ground.”

“I don’t want to fight anyone, but I also don’t want to lose you, Phas.”

“Those who dare, win, Thorax. If we are to get the changes we want, we must be willing to risk what we have. You all will work with friendly contacts I have in the legions to establish the Warrior Lodges. From there, we will spread the idea of free thinking. Then, we plant the idea of disloyalty to Chrysalis. Is everyone clear on that?”

“I don’t like it,” Thorax moaned, and Lacewing nodded.

“It’s better than doing nothing. We can think about it more while we make the Lodges. I’ll contact each of you later with more information on who to talk to within the Legions. Oestridae, I’m making you my other Praetorian now that the vault has been cracked. If we need to, we can get two Praetorians loyal to myself to crack it again if we need to go back.”

‘For the puzzle lock, to be specific.’

“And the podding?”

“Thorax, I want you to try to figure out an alternative while we make the Lodges. The rest of the First Fang will be too busy to figure out an alternative, so I want you to discreetly look into that. I’ll contact you all later with instructions, and I’ll see you two,” I pointed at Coxa and Thorax,” tomorrow.”

I made my way to the side door we used to enter before stopping.

“Oh, and if any of you see Tarsus, tell him I want to speak with him as soon as possible. I’ll get him on board with this, and he can help create a Lodge within the infiltrators.”

That night I dreamt of frozen tundra mountains, rising above a raging blizzard.

Sitting on a snowbank at the peak of one mountain, I could not stop shivering. The cold, though I knew it wasn’t real, bit straight to my core. The wind howled in my ears as I curled up into a ball, covering my face with my fin-like tail.

“Thou dreams of a cold winter’s night? Must be sweltering down on Equus.”

“N-n-not r-r-really.”

I poked my head out of my tail to see Nightmare Moon standing above me, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“Thou are controlling this dream. Do so.”

‘I’ve never tried lucid dreaming before. Well, here goes nothing.’

I imagined the cold seeping away. Slowly, the biting chill receded from my body, and soon enough even the snow I was sitting on had no temperature at all.

“That was… easier than I’d thought it would be.”

“Thou are a natural Dreamwalker of great untapped potential. ‘Tis the reason We could sense thy kindred soul.”

“And here I thought it was my good looks that caught your attention.”

Nightmare Moon snorted, "Thou doth look different. Thy visage has changed, what for?"

"I've entered the adult stage of my life."

"Only just? Thou art very young, Prince Phasmatodea." Nightmare Moon turned to look at the blizzard raging beneath us.

"I've got an old soul."

“Dispel thy tempest. We only can see Equus through the mind’s eye of dreamers, and We yearn for more than moondust.”

I sat up to get a better look at the dark storm beneath us. I imagined the blizzard fading away, the winds dying down. Sure enough, the raging storm below the mountain dissipated, revealing a snowy valley, with a small church on top of a craggy peak in the middle.

“We doth not recognize this valley, yet We hath trotted the world over. Where are we?”

“Ariandel,” I whispered.

We were behind the church’s main entrance, on a cliff overlooking the whole valley. A rope bridge extended out of view from behind the church, and beneath the snowy butte was the ruins of a coliseum. Snow, rock, and windswept trees covered every surface.

“Ariandel? A real place then, not a construct of your fantasy. What species calls this glacial abbey their home?”

‘I don’t know what I can and cannot lie to her about. I could lie about this, but what if she asks a question later about this that I can’t lie to? Better just say half-truths, I can just say this is fictional after all.’

“A tall species of apes.”

“Verily? It is very much in character for the Stormmen to live in a frigid waste such as this. We must see this abbey up close, then!”

‘Stormmen? There’s a sapient species of apes on this world? Why wasn’t I told about this? I want opposable thumbs AND magic!’

Nightmare extended her massive pegasus wings– cooler than mine– and took flight. I quickly buzzed my wings in pursuit, but struggled to keep up. Changelings’ natural wings were better for maneuverability rather than speed, after all. Thankfully, there was not much distance to fly.

I caught up with her at the main doors. Even at our larger-than-average heights, the doors were still far larger than us. She put a hoof against the massive doors and pushed, but they did not budge.

‘The door does not open from this side,’ I thought with a snicker.

“Prince Phasmatodea, command this door to open. We must see the interior!”

I shrugged, “I can’t do that.”

“Ah. Thou hast merely gazed upon this church from afar and do not know its interior. ‘Twould explain the low detail.”

Leaning closer, I saw that the church, and everything else, seemed low-poly. In her excitement, Nightmare must have not noticed such an important detail.

‘Dreams cannot extrapolate from memory, probably unless I specifically command it to. In addition, Nightmare really wants to see anything other than the moon, despite being her namesake.’

“Yes… So, I’ve been meaning to ask, how are we able to speak right now?”

“Thou hath said it before; thou slumbers deeply.”

“Not this time.”

“Oh? Thy nascent dreamwalking powers must be awakening. In time, thou will be able to dreamwalk on command.”

“I can dreamwalk? That would explain how I could sense a pony’s dream once… What’s the catch?”

“Thou art catching something?”

“No, what are the consequences of this?”

“The Dreamscape is host to a myriad of… miseries. Demons, parasites, other-worldly beings. Walking the Dreamscape is akin to…”

“Ringing the dinner bell?”

“Verily.”

‘Gonna need a Gellar field for this.’

“Good thing I have the most dangerous demon by my side when I dreamwalk.”

“Demon? Choose thy next words carefully, young Prince.”

‘Oh shit.’

“Uh….”

“Uh?”

“I mean, w-... y-… Ah to hell with it, you’re powerful and terrifying. I don’t really have a frame of reference for that, given that I’ve never met an alicorn before you.”

‘Bug-mom’s pretty powerful and terrifying, but she’s just a cheap imitation of you, really.’

Nightmare’s eyes narrowed and I gave a nervous fangy smile.

“Though We do cultivate an aura of fear and power, thou will do well to remember that We are an alicorn, not an evil apparition.”

“Trust me, that’s not a mistake I’ll ever make again.”

“No, We think not.” Nightmare straightened up, looking at the sky. “Thou–”

I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck as Eucharis stared daggers at me.

My war hammer was embedded in the wall right next to him.

“Sorry?”

“This is the last time I wake you up!”

Cataglyphis stifled a yawn as he stood in at parade rest.

‘Not supposed to be here. I’m just a lichen grower, I belong in the Greencave not the training yard.’

His sergeant was having the squad running drills.

“Alright grubs!” Sergeant Apidae belted out, “To wrap up the day: urban fighting. This here’s a house. A pony house. Filled with ponies.” He pointed to a door behind him on the back of the training room. “The boys in the Eleventh filled it with ‘ponies’ just for us. Breach and clear it, as you were trained to!”

The ten changelings started to take their places by the door, only to be hurried along by the Sergeant.

“C’mon grubs! This is war, no time for a picnic! MOVE IT!”

With a bit more pep in their step, the changelings formed to columns on either side of the door. The first changeling on the left of the door nodded, and kicked the door open. The first changeling on the right leaned in and quick-casted a flash spell.

The squad rushed into the room, tackling hive-gel cutouts of ponies to the ground, casting stun spells first. They quickly spat their gel excretions on the bottom of the cutouts, as if binding each target to the floor.

Unicorn cutouts got an additional shot to the horn and pegasus cutouts got one to the base of the wings.

They then cleared the small building room by room, all five of them. Kick the door open, flash spell, then rush in and stun every pony they see. Then, subdue them. Move onto the next room.

‘This sure is a massive house, do ponies really have this much space?’ Cataglyphis thought idly.

“Clear!” Called the group that moved into the last room. With the building clear, the squad exited the training area and returned to parade rest in front of Sergeant Apidae.

“Three minutes two seconds. Not bad, but next time some boys from the Fifth will be playing defenders. You can take down a cutout, but can you take down an enemy unicorn casting spells? Well you’d better, or I swear by Panar I’ll have you running laps from now till the Promised Day! Dismissed!”

The changelings broke formation and slowly walked to the exits. They did not groan as they did so, that was quickly proven to be a bad idea by the eager Sergeant.

“Hey Cata!”

Cataglyphis turned his head and saw Lacewing headed towards him.

“Hey Lace, got no one else to bug?”

“Not really.”

“Uh, right. You headed to the Greencave, too?”

She smiled, “Course I am, silly! We both work there.”

“What– oh yeah, you work in fungi! How’s that working out for ya?”

They turned onto the main hallway and started to make their way down to the Greencave. Cataglyphis remembered that Lacewing can’t fly, so he led the way to the stairs.

“Oh it’s alright, not much to complain about. My friends have a hard time finding the time to come all the way down to my work to hang out, though.”

‘Hang out? What?’

“Who are you friends with that can just skip their duties to talk? They guards on patrol or something?”

“Sorta. So, you got those Sarcodons and Hydnellums I wanted?”

“Yeah. I’ll give them to you when we’re down there–”

“Yes!”

“Okay then. Alright I’ll ask: why are you so excited about these fungi?”

“Because I was having problems getting my hooves on blue and green paint.”

“You can make paint out of– no, that makes sense. What I want to know is, what are you painting with? And painting on?”

“I got some stuff during the expedition. Not much, but Coxa says he can get some more canvas somehow.”

“Friend of yours?”

“Yeah.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a small guard procession moving through the main hallway. Cataglyphis and Lacewing moved to the side, and bowed when they saw who the guards– Praetorians– were escorting.

With a bowed head, Cataglyphis could only see the young Prince from his hooves to his neck.

‘Lotta orange there.’

Cataglyphis thought back to the last time he saw the Prince: the ceremony where Chrysalis hoofed over the entire Swarm to the near-stranger. He’d heard about him wandering the halls, especially now with the Swarm being reformed, but he’d never personally seen–

“Hiya Prince Phasma!”

Cataglyphis’s eyes darted to his companion next to him.

“Lace,” he hissed, “What are you doing?”

“Oh. Hello there, Lacewing. Wish we could talk, but we can’t. Later?”

‘W-wait, what’s going on?’

“Kay.”

And with that strange exchange, the Prince and his two orange Praetorians moved on.

Once they rounded the nearest bend, Cataglyphis pressed his snout up against Lacewing’s.

“What’s the big idea here, Lace? You can’t just talk to a Prince like that! You could've gotten put on recycling duty! Or worse!”

Lacewing pushed him away before saying, “Naw, Phasma wouldn’t do that.”

“Phasma? You’re on a short name basis with the High Marshal Prince of the hive?”

Lacewing started walking away, “Yeah. He’s a nice ‘ling once you get to know him, even if he seems a bit cold in public.”

“A bit cold?” Cataglyphis echoed. He trotted to catch up with Lacewing. “Lace! He executed a changeling for having a pony book!”

“That’s just a fake rumor. Phasma says a changeling must have overheard a test the Queen gave him and spread that rumor. He’s not as, uh, scary, as his mother.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Look, if you don’t believe me, ask him for yourself.”

“Ask–”

“Shh,” Lacewing shushed Cataglyphis as they ducked into an empty side hallway. “Tonight. Cold Storage A3. Prince Phasma will be there, and any ling can talk to him themselves. Tell the changeling at the door ‘Have violent ends.’ Don’t tell anyone the code or about this.”

“Why would the Prince be talking to changelings in a cold storage room?”

“Because… Because he wants to listen to us and hear what we have to say. Just… trust me, okay?”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Good enough,” Lacewing said, and went back into the main hallway to the Greencave.

‘Yeah right, talking with changelings my carapace! Like any ling related to Queen Chrysalis is going to care about us drones!’

I trotted into the room as Oest closed the door behind me.

Looking around the cold storage, I saw Coxa, Lacewing, Thorax, Praetorian Weevil, Generals Aphid and Labrum, as well as three changelings I didn’t recognize.

‘Coxa’s, Lacewing’s, and Thorax’s plus ones. Hopefully their judgement is sound. I’ll introduce the lodges to the Specialist Legions’ Captains after the lodges in the three Line Legions are established. Should be very easy, given their small size.’

“Good evening everyone. What will be discussed tonight does not leave this room. You understand of course, half-true rumors will do great damage to our progress towards the Promised Day.”

The changelings outside of the First Fang exchanged nervous glances at that.

“We’re not going to be talking about things that are… against the law, are we, My Prince?” A changeling next to Lacewing asked.

“Of course not. This is simply a trial run of seeing if there’s a way to promote the free exchange of ideas within the Legions. The Legions were created to be something new, and I’m certain you all will have some better ideas of how to exactly use your strengths.”

Labrum spoke up next, “So this is for suggesting ideas both to the commanding officers of the Legions, as well as yourself, Your Highness?”

“That’s right. And please, call me Phasma. While this meeting is in session, there are no titles or ranks; we leave those at the door.”

Aphid rubbed his chin, “You’re really pushing this whole experimenting thing, huh?”

I shrugged, “We’re doing something never done before. No idea is a bad idea. At least, suggesting them isn’t. Let’s start with introductions. I am Phasma, the Prince and High Marshal, here to listen to what you have to say.”

The First Fang each introduced themselves. Coxa as my steward, Thorax and Oestridae as my Praetorians, and Lacewing as a Greencave grower. After their four introductions, the rest of the changelings spoke in order.

“General Aphid, commander of the Fourth Legion.”

“General Labrum of the Fifth Legion.”

‘My loyal apprentices. Come to the dark side.’

“Praetorian Weevil, First Legion.”

‘Loyal to whomever will bail his ass out of trouble, probably. Luckily, I can do just that.’

“Cataglyphis, Fifth Legion and Greencave grower.”

‘Lacewing’s plus one. Funny that, he’s here with his boss’s boss, as well as his boss’s boss’s boss. Unless he’s not a squad lead, then there’s an extra boss layer on each of those.’

“Aleyro, Eleventh Legion and love extractor.”

‘Must be Coxa’s plus one. Figures, the extractors and the organizers must interact with each other a lot.’

“Corporal Ventricle, Third Legion and Scribe.”

‘By process of elimination, that’s Thorax’s plus one. Was Thorax a scribe? I can’t remember what his job was prior to that shitty transportation gig.’

“So. Now that we all know who’s who, does anyone have something to start us off?”

Labrum scoffed, “Well, you could push back the Promised Day. Four and a half months isn’t enough time to train our lings for combat and other roles.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that will be possible. I’ll attempt to convince Queen Chrysalis to delay the invasion, but she seems set on the summer solstice. And once she sets her fangs into something…”

“She ain’t letting go till the beasts dead and rotten,” Weevil finished.

“So the training. Has my provided exercises shown merit?”

“Yes, My P– err, Phasma,” Aphid replied. “My talks with the First Infiltrator Legion has shown that they not only love the idea, but have taken to training each one of their operatives in the urban fighting modules you’ve… provided. I’ve also taken the liberty of training my Legion in it as well.”

“That’s a good idea. The East Coast is quite urbanized, the training should prove quite useful.”

Cataglyphis took this opportunity to speak up, “Wait, that training was your idea, Pr– Phasma?”

I nodded.

“But you’ve never even seen a pony building before. How did you come up with an idea that the Infiltrators hadn’t come up with in their centuries of existence?”

I avoided the whole never seen a building thing, “Infiltrators don’t go ‘loud’ when taking out targets. They prefer being quiet at all times, but I guess they want to be prepared, just in case.”

‘It’s not even an original idea, it's just a human SWAT tactic. But there’s no need to reveal that fact.’

I continued, “Just goes to show, some fresh perspective is desperately needed in the hive.”

“Can you change the names of the Legions?”

We all looked at Weevil.

“What? The Third Line Legion is actually the Fifth Legion. How does that make any sense?”

"He’s got a point," Thorax mumbled.

“The Legions are ordered in terms of hierarchy, with actual designation following that. Besides, most soldiers will just refer to their units as the 501st or the 403rd, and so on. But you offer a great segue into a topic I want to cover. I’ve left room for a common designation for each legion, but I wanted to get those names from you all.”

“Oh, is that what that space is for on the establishment forms?” Aphid asked.

“Yes. I kept it on only a few forms so we don’t go through a mountain of paperwork just to add a nickname to each Legion.”

I shivered at that mental image. Coxa also looked uncomfortable at the idea of redoing all the paperwork, despite most of it being done before he took the steward position.

Labrum and Aphid looked deep in thought, so I offered my idea. “That can always wait for meetings like this within your own Legions. However, since you two are the commanding officers, I will leave that decision up to you. Ventricle, I’ll hear your suggestion with everyone else’s at the Third Legion’s meeting.

“Though, we can’t nickname the Praetorians. Those bucketheads are rather locked in when it comes to their name,” I said while pointing to Weevil, Thorax, and Oestridae. “Now, does anyone have anything they want to ask?”

“Is it true that Queen Chrysalis ate your dad?” Ventricle asked.

I balked. “She did what?!”

Thorax fainted while Coxa and Lacewing were brought to tears from laughter.

I rested the head of God Splitter on my back as I walked to my study. The handle was dragging on the ground, and if it were made of metal I would suspect that it would be making a satisfying trail of sparks. Or, realistically speaking, an awful grinding noise.

‘No way in hell I’ll be any good at fighting at this rate; my best hope is to scare the enemies away. Let’s hope the self-touted Princess of Love is just as shit at fighting. If she is receiving self-defense lessons from the monarch who has ruled for millennia, I’m doomed.’

I threw open my study door and parked my hammer up against my desk. I was about to go to my desk and collapse from exhaustion when I had an idea.

‘Chrysalis is probably in her study right now…’

I meandered down the hall and knocked on her closed door.

“Enter.”

I took the invitation and opened the door. I leaned against the door frame, “Queen Chrysalis?”

“Prince Phasma,” she responded without looking up from a book she was reading.

‘Look at Ms Fancy Pants, with her printed books ‘n shit.’

Too tired to beat around the bush, I got to the meat of the matter.

“Who’s my father?”

“I already addressed that subject.”

“I don’t really remember what you said.”

She looked up. “I said to put it out of your mind.”

I sighed.

‘Really going to stonewall me on this? Fine, let’s see if I can bait an answer.’

“It’s a pony, isn’t it?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Was it just some nobody you ran into in a tavern? Could you even–”

“Prince Phasma, you overstep your boundaries. I have said that they do not matter, and so they do not.”

“By asking who my father is? You know, the word in the hive is that you ate my father. I can’t imagine how you would go about eating an entire pony. I mean, you–”

She stood up from her desk.

“Prince Phasmatodea. Do not test me.”

‘Still dodging the question.’

I shrugged, “I just want to know who my father is.”

“We changelings are above such emotional weaknesses such as familial attachments. You are loyal to the hive, and I am its Queen. Remember that.”

“W–… I just… If my own mother is the Queen herself, I just thought that maybe my father was someone important, too. I apologize, I’ll go bug Eucharis with–”

“You will not approach anyone else with this line of questioning, either. You are now severely behind schedule with your personal training. My gift– as well as my patience– can only cover so much. Return to your duties.”

‘Damn it all, no answer. Why is it such a big deal that she keeps my father’s identity from me? He must be someone important, if he was a nobody then she would simply say so.’

“Yes, Queen Chrysalis.”

‘Someone important. Why else would she be so insistent on their identity not being important? Is some Equestrian Duke my dad or something? I can imagine the problems that knowledge would cause, knowing that I was sired by the enemy and ‘prey.’ Would definitely explain why she wants it to be a secret.’

“Just… one more question? Not related to that subject at all.”

“Make it quick.”

“Is there a reason why the Promised Day happens on the solstice, and not any later?”

“Yes.”

“May I–”

“You are dismissed, Phasma.”

I took the subtle cue to leave.

‘Ain’t no rest for the wicked.’

It is now four months until the Promised Day.

Working all day, working out all afternoon, then staying up late establishing a new world order was exhausting business, but I had no other choice. Progress was not being made with my personal training, but at this point that’s expected.

Very little news on Tarsus. Apparently, he was on missions in Equestria, but will be back this week.

Thankfully, progress was being made on the subterfuge front. Warrior Lodges had been established in every legion barring the first two. I simply did not have enough contacts in either, nor enough trust in their respective leaders, to make the secret organizations.

Chrysalis was none the wiser when it came to the Warrior Lodges. Whether she knew and kept it a secret, or the trust my subordinates put in those they invited to the meetings was well founded, the end result was the same.

The First Fang bounced around between the meetings. They, along with a few other changelings loyal to myself, kept conversation topics pertinent to my revolutionary agenda. Nothing outright yet, just following along with the broader strokes I detailed in our meeting after the vault heist. Names, tactics, and so on. The First Fang also promotes a close, fraternal relationship between the members. Trusting the soldiers and commanders with your life is a big deal, after all.

They also kept an ear out for potential turncoats. Or turncoat-turncoats, as these Lodges will soon start their real purpose; there will be questions concerning Chrysalis’s rule.

Today would be the first day of those, starting with the Lodge within the Third Legion, which was under my command. The boys and girls had decided on the nickname “Equestria’s Lament,” on account of the fact that my Line Legion was the one dedicating to landing the first and fatal blow to Equestria: the siege of Canterlot.

Next week I will go over the invasion plans with each of the Captains and Generals of the Swarm. This week I will create an important contingency that might save lives. Tonight, I plant the seeds of revolution.

I entered the abandoned hab block that the Third Legion used for its Warrior Lodge meetings. No ling had seen me come all this way down, of course. I may be hastening this plot, but I can’t afford to get caught. However, there’s always the chance that a changeling loyal to Chrysalis is present tonight.

‘Chrysalis will simply murder me if she finds out. Oh well, sitting around doing nothing is worse than taking this chance.’

I arrived at the entrance to the Lodge, and a ling was standing guard.

“I have an invitation.”

“Moozart never died,” the guard said gruffly.

“He simply became music. As nice as your attention to security is, my appearance should be enough to verify who I am.”

The changeling stepped aside, letting me enter.

Inside, changelings were standing around in a loose circle. There was a chorus of laughs, I must have missed a pretty good joke to get that great of a response.

“Good evening, gentlelings. It seems I was the last to arrive.” I nodded to Coxa as I took a spot next to him.

“As usual. I was just telling the fellas here that… ah, nevermind.”

I raised an eyebrow.

‘A joke at my expense, no doubt.’

“Uh huh. Well in any case, I call to order this fifth meeting of The Equestria’s Lament Lodge. Does anyone have any announcements to make?”

A Colonel piped up, “Some folks over in the Twelfth, Hive’s Finest, have come up with some hive-gel material that they believe can be used as armor to reduce injuries.”

“That… sounds like something that would have been invented a long time ago. Like, centuries, if not millennia.”

“It was. Apparently it’s used in hive construction on parts that need to be strong and light. We’ve never used it in armor before because the Swarm has never really been in open combat, and it has no anti-magic properties. It’s very inferior to the current mixture used to make Praetorian armor, but it’s better than nothing.”

‘Looks like establishing that experimental legion is already paying dividends.’

“Interesting. Tell them to bring the subject up to me during the day, and I’ll see about mass producing armor before the invasion. We should be able to produce at the very least helmets for all the lings, provided the process for making the gel is cheap enough.”

When no one added anything else to say, I started with the topic I wanted to cover.

“My fellow changelings, we are four months away from The Promised Day, and yet no closer to an answer as to why it must happen so soon. Whatever reason Queen Chrysalis has to keep the invasion on that date, she refuses to impart that knowledge to me.”

Some lings present started to whisper to one another.

“I’m sure she has a good reason. She is, after all, very interested in this whole invasion going as smoothly as possible. However, whatever that reason may be, she refuses to tell a soul about it. Not even her second in command, myself.”

Now the Lodge members’ whispers rose in volume.

“–our one chance at feeding–”

“–faith in the Queen. She’s never steered us wrong before–”

“–long as there’s a plan, everything will be fine, right?”

“So what do we do?” Lacewing asked, her voice barely audible through the rising volume.

“We must have faith in the hive,” I all but yelled. My loud voice seemed to quiet the room. “The Queen has a plan. Or rather, I have come up with one on her orders. Soon the generals will be read into the specifics, rather than the general points that they were given. I will ensure that the hive survives this conflict.”

A Lodge member– Sergeant What's-his-name– asked, “What’s the plan?”

I scuffed a hoof on the ground.

‘I’ve been ordered to keep only those in the need to know informed, but why bother follow that rule? This is a great chance to create trust between me and the Lodge.’

“The plan is confidential at the moment, but… I don’t see the harm in telling you guys. Just keep it a secret, yeah?” I cleared my throat, “So. The invasion will have three main pushes. One through the center, one to the East Coast, and one to the West Coast. Respectively, the three main objectives are Canterlot, Manehattan, and Las Pegasus.”

Changelings nodded, already knowing the broad strokes of the plan.

“The Third ‘Equestria’s Lament,’ heard those guys were pretty good, will be taking out Canterlot with the aid of The Praetorians, much of The First Infiltrator Legion, the Sixth Legion ‘Panar’s Hammer,’ the Ninth ‘Will of The Nine,’ the Tenth ‘Underhive Scarabs,’ and of course division attachments from the Eleventh ‘Chosen Conquerors’ and Twelfth ‘Hive’s Finest.’

“The Colonels will receive orders on what targets to hit, ranging from VIPs to securing designated districts. Queen Chrysalis and I will take out Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence, respectively. With stun spells primarily being used, the majority of casualties are going to be concentrated in the Equestrian Royal Guard, where taking prisoners is more difficult. Any questions?”

“What will happen after?” A voice from the crowd asked.

“After Canterlot and the princesses are securely within our control, the Legion and its attached forces will move out, leaving behind a sizable contingent of the Chosen Conquerors. From Canterlot, we will push north and spread out, securing settlements and forts between the other two prongs of the invasion. With Canterlot taken out, resistance will be sporadic and unorganized. Once everything is within our control... I’ll make sure none of us go hungry again!”

That got a round of cheers and I swallowed before I started to drool from the thought.

‘All that love! Though I do hope Thorax comes up with an alternative to feeding sooner rather than later, as I suspect podding the majority of the pony population is going to have disastrous long-term effects on our controlled territory. Still, it’s us or them.’

“We just have to hope that launching the invasion so soon won't ruin our one single chance. But Chrysalis has got to have a good reason, yeah? Coxa, how’s the training going along with the Legions?”

Coxa rolled a hoof, “Ehh, we could definitely use more time, but it’s probably doable with the amount we can fit in within the time frame we have.”

“Probably doable. Those are the odds Chrysalis wants to go on.”

One of the members shook their head. “I wouldn’t risk our chance on ‘probably.’”

“We don’t have a choice. She won’t budge and what the Queen says, goes.”

“Another impossible deadline,” came a grumble. I couldn’t pinpoint its source and that just worked more in my favor.

“As long as we all stick together, we can figure this out. We Lodge members will do what we can for each other on the battlefield, agreed?”

A couple nods.

I sighed. “Onto our next topic then. Once Equestria has fallen, I think the broods will become defunct. They were established to maintain the hive’s internal ration structure, but with ample food supply, that shouldn’t be an issue.”

That got a lot more nods.

I continued, “The Queen should have no issue when holding the hive back in that regard.”

‘Looks like it’s commonly accepted that the broods are a bad thing. Good. Just need to keep suggesting good things while questioning Chrysalis, whether or not she was planning on doing those things anyways.’

After a few days, I had received word that Tarsus was finally back at the hive after months of absence. I quickly arranged a meeting with him. It was easy enough to find an open spot in my schedule to get a conversation in with him alone.

Which is why I was heading down to the Infiltrator Legion storage rooms.

‘He should be around here somewhere.’

I turned the corner and saw Tarsus sitting on the ground in the unused side room.

“Hey there, Tarsus.”

He shot up and stared at me. Now that he was facing me, I saw that there was a scar on his right eye, though the eye itself seemed undamaged.

“Prince Phasma? Is that you? You look….”

“Like a drone?”

“... good. You look good. Better than Chrysalis, at least.”

“Heh, yeah.”

I moved closer and we bumped hooves.

“So you can see a lot’s happened with me, but what’s it like being an infiltrator?”

“Oh, there was a lot more training after the expedition. Turns out that’s just to find the best candidates. There’s a lot of spells, techniques, and– err…. Other stuff. You know.”

“Uh, sure? So can I ask how you got that scar?”

“This? That’s quite the story…”

“I’ve got some time. Better make it short, though.”

“Alright. So no shit, there I was, surrounded by Direwolves–”

“A bit less short.”

He snorted, “Heh, okay. So long story short, me and Dorsal, my teacher, were on our way to the town of New Hoofington. We were going through a wooded area when we heard growls coming from trees to our right. It was light out, so being attacked on a pony road was something we weren’t expecting– we were disguised as pony merchants, you see.

“Anyways, these three massive white wolves jumped outta the shadows, right at us. Dorsal flung one away using a rubberized shield while I conjured up some spears planted into the ground in front of me. Didn’t stop the beast from getting in a good lick, though. If it was any closer, I’d have lost the eye and would have to come all the way back here to get put in a healing pod to grow a replacement.

“Back to the story, the other two tried to retreat to pounce again. Dorsal, quick on his hooves, casted a fireball at each of em, interrupting their feral plotting. Next, he casted a flash spell to stun them after warning me. They tried running away blind, but that just meant they couldn’t dodge the ice spears we threw at them. Bam and bam, they both go down. Scariest fifteen seconds of my life, I tell ya.”

“That started and ended quite abruptly.”

“What did you expect? Life as an infiltrator is long periods of boredom, mostly walking or talking with ponies, with brief moments of excitement. If the fight was long and drawn out, the wolves would have won with us exhausting ourselves quickly. And you told me to make the story short!”

“You got me there. Still, that’s a great story, I bet you can’t wait to tell it a million times to anyone who’ll listen.”

“Ha! You got it in one. So now it’s my turn to ask, why do you look like a drone?”

I shrugged.

“The mystery of life. I might get my looks from my anonymous father. Or, more likely, a dash of experimentation on my mother’s part. Unsanctioned medical experiments on eggs, and all that.”

He blinked. “Sounds like you’ve got quite the story to tell.”

I looked around the room. Still empty, and there were no open doorways where an eavesdropper could listen through.

“Alright, but I’ll have to keep it short as well. So no shit, there I was, with the vault opened–”

“Wait, with what opened?”

As I regaled the grand tale of me telling Oestridae to stick a doorstop in the biggest doorway in the hive, Tarsus seemed a bit confused throughout the entire story.

His silence ended after a moment’s thought when I finished the story.

“Phasma… you broke into the Queen’s vault?”

“It’s the hive’s vault. She didn’t make it. And besides, you have nothing to say on the whole ‘she murdered my siblings’ thing?”

“Phasma, you know as well as I that they probably revolted just before their death.”

‘I didn’t tell him that.’

“Huh? Where’s this coming from?”

Tarsus looked around the empty room.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Even if they did, who’s to say that Chrysalis won’t do away with me once we defeat Equestria?”

“I suppose you might be right.”

“Yeah, I am. Oh, the First Fang! I got everyone together again, you can meet everyone else at the same time!”

Tarsus smiled, “That sounds great! Where are we meeting up at?”

“Well, it’s too late today and I’m busy tomorrow with a meeting with the top brass of the Swarm, but you and the rest of the gang can hang out while I’m in the meeting. Everyone but Lacewing will be waiting around, so all you’ll need to do is get her and pick a hangout spot. Oest’s room is a convenient enough choice.”

“I can do that. Lace works in the Greencave, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“Sounds like a plan. Catch you around?”

“You know it.”

It was not too late to meet with Coxa tonight. In fact, before he turned in for the day, I had told him to meet with me and Oestridae down to the base of the hive at a specific point in a certain hallway.

Thorax was busy hanging out with his brother, which was fine. We’d catch him up on this little operation of ours later.

“So fellas,” Coxa said as he walked up to us, “Is there a reason why you wanted to see me in this side hall at ground level?”

I pointed to an inconspicuous wall. “That.”

“Yes, that’s a wall Phasma. You’ve seen them all your life.”

“It’s not a wall.”

Oest shook his head.

Coxa turned around and pressed a hoof to it.

“This is definitely a wall.”

“Move your hoof down a bit and to the left. Yes, right there. Now push.”

Coxa’s hoof sunk into the wall. With a soft click, a small portion of the wall swung open to the outside. Not much green light from inside spilled out into the cold, dark night, leaving the area beyond the opening pitch black.

“That’s not supposed to happen.”

“No it is not. Some inspectors found out that some ling put that secret door there. Why? Who knows. Only thing that matters is that they reported it to me directly and I told them I would get it fixed, and that telling others of the possibility of alternative exits puts the hive potentially in danger.”

“So… There’s a secret door in our hive. Now what?”

“Now I tell you two about a little plan I came up with. It’s a contingency, just in case one or more of us needs to… make themselves scarce.”

“You don’t really need a plan to use a secret door, Phasma.”

“What’s beyond the door? Sure as hell doesn’t look like a lush forest to me.”

“I can’t see shit, but I do get what you’re saying. You’ve got an idea to somehow survive the Badlands?”

I nodded. “Oest here will save our chitin.”

Our mute companion delivered his grand speech, “Me?”

“No, the other Oest– yes, you. What you’re going to do is covertly ferry out some pots of diluted love to a secure spot, close to the hive, and in the direction of Equestria. Then, if one of us gets banished, we use that cache to get enough food supplies to make it to ponies, where we can get more love. Simple, yeah?”

“Oh yeah,” Coxa began, “All we gotta do is somehow steal love from the most secure storage rooms in the hive, find a secret spot that’s still recognizable, fill it with love during a massive food shortage, then keep it stocked. All the while remaining undetected.”

“Glad you’ve already got a plan, Coxa. I’ll leave this matter in your hooves. Oest can ferry the stuff out after you’ve gotten it. And don’t forget we have the Lodge members to call on for help. Just try to convince them that you aren’t stealing food for yourself.”

“Wha– hey! No! This is your stupid idea, you see it through!”

I was already starting to walk away. There’s a soft bed waiting for me on the other side of the hive. The very top, to be specific.

“I did the impossible already and broke into the you-know-what. Your turn.”

I heard a groan behind me, causing me to stop and turn around.

“Listen, Coxa. I’m kinda up to my nose in shit I gotta do right now. Can you please handle this for me? I don’t have the time at all to do this, and I’m worried about our survival.”

“Yeah yeah, I can do this. Though I might, uh, lose a pot of love on the way.”

“As long as you don’t jeopardize the amount needed to survive the trip to Equestria, fine. Be careful, and don’t get caught.”

“Easier said than done.”

The next day, my briefing with the generals ended earlier than expected, leaving me with some spare time in the afternoon.

As it turns out, the gel mixture that can be used in armor is a bit tricky to make. We will only be able to make enough armor for officers out of it, and that risks highlighting our commanders for the enemy to target. Instead, it will be produced for the Infiltrators, who will store it in caches on-site for operations that are intended to go loud.

Still, that’s a boon that I was happy to take.

‘Now, I did suggest to Tarsus that Oestridae’s room is a good spot. I’ll check there first for the gang.’

When I arrived at Oest’s room, I couldn’t hear anything through the door. I knocked anyways, just in case.

Surprisingly, after a moment Oest opened the door. Looking past him, I saw the rest of the First Fang sitting around.

“Hello Oest.”

“Phas?” Thorax called from behind him. “You’re here!”

I waved to the group, “My meeting got out early.”

“Come in,” Oest said, stepping aside.

I took the invitation and entered Oest’s crowded hab. They had pulled in some chairs from somewhere and arranged them in a circle around Oest’s desks pulled out into the middle of the room.

The other members said hi and I returned their greetings, but I was distracted by the objects sitting in the middle of the room.

There were flasks on the table.

“What’s that?”

Lacewing giggled, “Sprout!”

“I’ll ask again, what’s that?”

“Sprout!”

“It’s a drink. Made from some sugary mushrooms they got down in Greencave.”

“Thanks Coxa. And by drink, you mean…”

“Sprout!”

“... She’s drunk, isn’t she?”

Thorax sighed, “I told her to pace herself but now she’s eight flasks in.”

‘Lacewing is a party animal? They do say it’s usually the quiet ones you have to look out for, I wonder what Oest is into. Actually, I don’t wonder. I don’t want to know at all.’

Coxa pushed a flask into my hooves as I took a seat.

“Drink.”

“Err, I’ve never had alcohol.”

“Yeah we figured that, given that you’re only half a year old.”

‘Oh right. I meant ever, but they wouldn’t know that.’

I stared at my cup. It had a foamy blue liquid inside.

‘That does not inspire confidence. I think I’ll pass.’

“I still have things to do today, how would the Queen react if I showed up drunk?”

The gang laughed at the mental image.

“I imagine she’d be very confused,” Coxa chuckled.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Phasma!”

“Lacewing you’re drunk at four in the afternoon. Have you even ever had this stuff before? Weren’t you a nymph up till the expedition?”

I was still staring into the opened cup. There was something else. Something lurking at the edge of my memory...

“Ah may have had a cup… or three. What? It gets boring down in Green with nothin to do!”

‘H-hand it over, bud!’

I took a deep breath. “I think I’ll pass,” I said while putting the flask back, putting emphasis in my tone to make sure my voice didn’t waver.

“I don’t blame you, Phas. I’m not a fan of the stuff either.”

While slowing my breathing, I did see that Thorax was without a cup.

‘As straight-laced as a Boy Scout. Ah, how long has it been since I last saw anything human?’

Coxa leaned in towards me, “C’mon Phasma! You never relax, this’ll do you some good. Hell, right now you look as wound up as… as something that makes this metaphor make sense!”

I didn’t respond, I was lost in reflection.

“You don’t have to be drunk to hang out with friends,” Thorax said in my stead.

I brought my attention back to the conversation and decided to change the subject, “You ever had pony drinks, Tarsus?”

Tarsus was leaning back in his chair, silently watching our argument up till this point. Being put in the spotlight, he sat upright and tapped his chin.

“Once. Infiltrators try to avoid being drunk, for obvious reasons. But yeah, I’ve had Griffish pale lager and a glass of cheap Canterlot wine. They were... interesting.”

Lacewing ‘ooh’ed. “Where d’ja have ‘em?”

“After I arrived at New Hoofington. Infiltrator Dorsal got ‘em to celebrate my trophy.”

I nodded, as did the rest of the gang.

‘Tarsus must’ve already told them about the scar. Not surprising, it was one of my first questions when I saw him.’

I stifled a yawn and Thorax asked, “Did you read any pony books?”

“No. No time, and it’s against our teachings. We infiltrators are supposed to know some titles, but actually reading them is considered improper.”

“Aww. No chance of getting me one, then?”

Tarsus glared at Thorax. “As Phasma already knows, there’s severe punishments for possession of most books. I’m not going to break the rules to put you in danger, Thorax.”

“Oh.”

“Termite, get back!”

‘What?’

I looked around my study. There was no one here, just my empty office. I had returned for the night after combat practice to finish a few forms before turning in.

Still, I had heard a voice. Scanning the room, I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Coxa’s desk on my right, the door straight ahead, God-Splitter leaned up against a hive-gel cabinet on the left. Behind me, there was nothing but an empty chair up against the wall.

I looked back at the door. It was closed, and thick enough that most sound does not pass through it.

‘Is Chrysalis yelling at a changeling?’

I got up and went over to the door.

Pulling it open, I was greeted by an empty hallway. Checking the throne room, yielded roughly the same results, though the Praetorian on duty nodded to me. I checked her study, but Chrysalis wasn’t there.

‘Huh.’

“In two months, we begin our march to Canterlot and begin The War for The Sun.”

In the throne room, a massive table was put in front of the throne, with a blown-up map of the Kingdom of Equestria covering it. Sitting around the map was Commander Scorpion, Intelligencer Ocelli, General Aphid, General Labrum, and the various Captains of the minor Legions.

Assembled outside of the seated area were the various Colonels and officers assigned to the Legions who would need to be privy to today’s meeting.

Queen Chrysalis sat high up in her throne, with Chamberlain Eucharis and myself in front and to her sides.

I continued my presentation of the war plans to the assembled hierarchy.

“Phase one, The Promised Day. The Equestria’s Lament will be taking out Canterlot with the aid of The Praetorians, the majority of The First Infiltrator Legion, the Panar’s Hammer, the Will of The Nine, the Underhive Scarabs, and division attachments from the Eleventh and Twelfth, Chosen Conquerors and Hive’s Finest.”

I TKed up stone pieces representing each Legions and placed them on the map.

“The Doom of The East will be responsible for the East Coast. With them will be the Bombardier Beetles and attachments from the Eleventh and Twelfth.”

I moved the mentioned Legions over to the East Coast.

“The Blackened Skies are responsible for the West push. To aid them, the Imminent Swarm and attachments from the Eleventh and Twelfth, as usual.”

Finally, I pushed those Legions to the West, by their targets.

“For the initial push, The First Infiltrators will be taking out border emplacements. Then, it is up to the legion to capture the towns along the way. By the Promised Day, Equestria’s Lament and the attached Legions will be in position to begin the siege of Canterlot. Each division assigned has a purpose they have been training for. And so, each of your Colonels will be given targets within Canterlot itself that you are responsible for taking down. Barracks, guard emplacements, districts, and so on. The Princesses, Queen Chrysalis and I will take down.”

The changelings present took notes and I continued with the next stage of the invasion.

“Phase two, Capitulation. Once Canterlot has fallen, and the first cities on the East and West have as well, the central push will move on from Canterlot. Underhive Scarabs will stay garrisoned in Canterlot as the Chosen Conquerors work on subduing the city.

“Half of Equestria’s Lament will move north, engaging any forces in the region after the capture of Cloudsdale. Aiding them will be Will of The Nine and Imminent Swarm, who will break off from the Western push after Los Pegasus has fallen.

“Blackened Skies will continue to take objectives, ending their path in the northern city of Vanhoover.

“With the fall of Baltimare, the Doom of The East will press north through Fillydelphia, all the way to Manehattan. This is expected to be the longest part of the invasion, and so half of Equestria’s Lament as well as the entirety of Panar’s Hammer will split off to aid the capitulation of these cities.

“Finally, with the last pony city captured, our Legions will be in prime position to repel foreign invaders from the East, in case the Griffons decide they want to aid Equestria. Any questions so far?”

Captain Obturator asked, “Projected friendly casualties?”

“Projected casualties are lower than ten percent for the Canterlot push. The East and West push will depend on how much of the Equestrian Royal Guard command is captured in Canterlot. If more than seventy five percent, then it is expected that Equestria will capitulate within a month with negligible losses.

“As we are using primarily stun spells against the ponies, casualties are expected to be concentrated within the Royal Guard. Capturing their high command as early as possible is of paramount importance. The quicker they are taken, the less effective the defense of Canterlot will be.”

The Swarm commanders held quiet conversations amongst themselves. A few voiced questions loud enough for me to hear and respond to.

“We’re going to get all the way to Canterlot before revealing ourselves?”

I nodded, “Surprise will be our greatest weapon. That, and fear. The other two Line Legions will begin the trek along their routes, but Canterlot will fall before they reach their first major cities on their path.”

“Is it not possible to capture VIPs using the Infiltrator Legion before the invasion?”

“It was decided that replacing them before the invasion would create a risk of discovery. Instead, the highest targets of the Royal Guard will be taken down just as the invasion arrives, to minimize chances of discovery of the Infiltrators and their aiding Legions.”

“How will the pony population be controlled once Equestria falls?”

I glanced at Queen Chrysalis.

“The Chosen Conquerors will be handling that issue,” was all she said in her usual ambiguous fashion.

“Any plans for feeding the Swarm in the meantime?”

“Supply caches will be created during and before the invasion,” I answered. “These love caches will be used to feed the Swarm, especially in the worst-case scenario of a protracted siege.”

General Labrum scoffed, “So we’ll be putting our entire food supply in front of the Swarm, and have them run up to it?”

Chrysalis smiled, “We’re already doing that. The ponies are the end all be all.”

When no more questions came up, I moved on.

“Phase three, Consolidation. The Chosen Conquerors will have detailed instructions for each Legion to carry out when it comes to corralling and capturing any ponies that have fled from population centers under changeling control.

“Examples of such instructions would be the establishment of checkpoints, the destruction of key infrastructure, and the infiltration of rebel and refugee bands. Should the entirety of the Royal Guard high command be captured at this point, resistance is expected to be scarce and scattered. So ends the Kingdom of Equestria.”

Queen Chrysalis rose from her throne and immediately all seated changelings rose as well.

“My subjects. This is the beginning of a new era for our species. The War For The Sun shall change the face of Equus forever, and we shall finally be at the top. As it is woven, so it shall be!”

“As it is woven, so it shall be!” The assembled changelings echo.

As the changelings started to file out, I gave a discrete nod to Labrum and Aphid.

“A lot is riding on Canterlot’s capitulation,” Aphid pointed out.

We stood close to each other in the cold storage room. The rest of the Lodge organizers were present. The First Fang, too.

“Yes. If it does not fall, the linchpin operation and assumptions of the invasion plan falls apart. As expected, if the Princesses are not captured, the invasion will not succeed.”

“Are there not any backup plans to make sure the Princesses don’t escape?”

“We will have an encirclement of the city but there are far too many possible exits to cover everything. No, I’m afraid not, Labrum. Our chiefest and greatest weapon is surprise. Should Equestria survive the initial blow at Canterlot, the invasion will most likely be scrapped. We will pod as many ponies as we can, and make off. However, there is expected to be reprisal counter-attacks by Equestria. We… will not survive those if they find the hive.”

“Why even make off with podded ponies then? Surely we can just regroup and try again.”

“Because…” I trailed off.

“Because what, Phas?” Thorax motioned for me to continue.

‘Time for the bombshell Chrysalis finally told me about.’

“The hive will run out of food within four months.”

‘Yeah, let’s keep our species' imminent collapse a secret. Talk about a hidden Damocles Sword!’

Many Lodge members gasped at the revelation, but some nodded, already suspecting the ultimatum.

“This is our species last huzzah, our last gambit for our species' survival in this world. If we fail here, we’re done.”

Weevil, my most loyal contact within the Praetorians, just got angry.

“Why tha’ hell did Chryssy not launch this invasion sooner? Why did she wait for the last second before shoving all of this onto your shoulders?!”

The room erupted into a sudden argument.

“How long has she said that she always had the best intentions–”

“Panar damn it! She’ll kill us all!”

“–our fates on a nymph less than a year–”

“ENOUGH!” I commanded verbally and through the Weave as I stomped a hoof. “Queen Chrysalis, by all rights, should have not left the invasion until the last possible second. She should have. She did not.”

The arguments started to rise again, but I cut them off.

“It is clear that she cannot be trusted! By leaving all of us in the dark, especially myself, the mastermind of the invasion plans, she jeopardizes everything by risking missing important details paramount to the survival of our species. By leaving this to the last second, she puts the fate of our species up to chance. The chance that the plan succeeds and Canterlot falls as expected, with the Princesses in tow. She puts our species’ survival to chance!”

Now the Lodge members were outright yelling their outrage.

“–a fucking diceroll!”

“–that son of a–”

“What can we even do?”

‘And now, for the main event!’

“It is our duty to safeguard the future of our species! In her attempts to hoard power and control, Queen Chrysalis must be checked, lest her errant irresponsibility doom us all! As such, I have assembled a plan to peacefully check Queen Chrysalis’s radical misuse of powers entrusted by the hive to her. I will present her with a list of our demands once Canterlot has fallen, and she will have no choice but to accept them.”

“What are our demands?” Aphid asked.

‘Control the conversation.’

“No more grand secrets that put the hive in danger. No more executing changelings for any reason. No more ultimate control over what each changeling must be. We demand free choice of occupation. We demand a restriction on her powers. We demand an end to her tyranny!”

Coxa, as we planned, asked, “What if she refuses?”

“With Equestria capitulated, she will have no way to refuse our demands. We will not jeopardize the invasion, nor will we approach her with open hostility if she is willing to accept our demands. However, we must plan for every outcome. Queen Chrysalis is loyal to herself first, the hive second. She will try to worm her way out by any means.”

‘Chrysalis, if it comes down to it, I am prepared to risk everything. Are you?’

“So, we must be prepared to remove the existential threat to the hive that sits upon the throne. With the Princesses taken down, she serves no purpose but continuously put the hive at risk with her arrogance.

“For the hive eternal, nothing can come between us and survival! We shall hope that she sees reason, but must be ready to act against the traitor, Queen Chrysalis!”

‘But of course, we’re the loyal ones, not you!’

“For the greater good!”

“The greater good!” The First Fang echo, with some Lodge members joining in.

The Promised Day inched closer and closer with each passing day. Coming quick at a blitzing pace while also slowly dragging itself forward.

‘Things will finally change around here. The time will come to test our mettle, both the hive’s and mine. I must be ready.’

Some good news, Coxa signaled that the backup operation was in place.

Some bad news, Chrysalis wanted to talk with me. Actually, the exact words were that she will talk to me immediately.

‘Ominous as high hell. If a Lodge member squealed, I’ll pass the treachery off as baseless rumor, like how changelings think I ordered the execution of someone. I’ve been nothing but loyal, why would I ever consider betraying Chrysalis?’

I entered the throne room from the main gates, having come from the training room I used in the Legion spires.

Queen Chrysalis was sitting upon her throne, Eucharis by her side, whispering to her.

‘Wormtongue.’

“You called for me, Queen Chrysalis?”

“Prince Phasmatodea.”

‘Oh fuck, my full name. That is never a good sign’

“Do not think that I am watching your actions, Prince Phasmatodea. I have received word that a disappearance of love has been connected to your office.”

“You received word of a subordinate of mine stealing love?”

“Do you deny this?”

‘Do I? No, I bet I can get away with it but everyone makes mistakes. Even better, if I was perfect all the time, that would just cause her to suspect me more. By accepting the blame now, I can maybe avoid her suspecting treachery later.’

“No, mother. I... I do not. I gave the okay.”

Queen Chrysalis silently glared at me. I started to shuffle around on my hooves, feeling uncomfortable.

‘I bet you can drill a hole through steel with that stare.’

“M– err… I can explain?”

She said nothing, but her gaze said enough.

“Well, you see, I was… Uh…”

‘My, what an interesting floor. I think I’ll stare at it instead.’

“No explanation will be good enough?”

“No.”

I purposely flinched.

“What… now?”

‘I know you can’t go through with the normal punishment of exile. You need me, ha!’

“We are so close to the promised day. Losing control just before the pounce will cost you your prey, Prince Phasmatodea.”

“Have you ever even gone hunting?”

“Irrelevant. All of our actions have consequences, Prince Phasmatodea. By stealing love from the hive, you put at risk the trust the drones have in us. To keep your hooves on the ground, I place burdens on your shoulders.”

‘That’s actually true. As long as the Lodges don’t find out, everything is fine. I could say that if a Lodge member gets banished, I created this backup plan to save them. They might see it as risking the hive for the life of one changeling, though. Hmmm.’

“Are you even listening?”

“Yes, Mother.”

‘I’ll need to come up with something convincing to tell the Lodge, just in case. This really hurts Chrysalis too if it leaks, but if anything can go wrong…’

“I don't think you are. You are dismissed, Prince Phasmatodea. We will resume this talk later, when you are most definitely listening.”

‘I can say I am capable of making mistakes, and finding out that Chrysalis murders her children has made me a bit rash. Drop that bombshell on them and reveal that I’ve been inside the vault. Wait, did I just miss another ominous threat?’

“As you command, Mother.”

I slowly paced my way to my room, not looking at her out of shame.

‘Not that I’m actually ashamed. Afraid, a little bit, but not ashamed. Whatever you are up to, I will survive.’

I chuckled quietly as I shut the door to my study behind me.

‘But can you survive what I’m up to?’

I quietly sang to myself, “Do Svidaniya, Chrysalis, Your Grace! Farewell!”

“Here in death, remember our strength!”

I dropped God-Splitter out of shock and my eyes darted around the training room. Katydid stopped the lesson and trotted over to me, his hooffalls echoing through the empty room.

There was no one here besides me and Katydid. And Katydid definitely could not speak through the Weave.

“Everything alright, Phasma?”

“You didn't hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Someone just spoke through the Weave. It… sounded female.”

“Queen Chrysalis is talking through the Weave? And you can hear her from so far away?”

“Maybe? It sounded like she was saying a motto or rallying call or something.”

“What was it?”

“Here in death, remember our strength. Familiar?”

He shook his head, “Better just ask Queen Chrysalis.”

‘I’d prefer not to. Last time I talked to her she gave me an ominous threat and I’d rather not stir the pot at the moment with strange questions she won’t answer.’

“At any rate, that’s enough for today Phasma.”

“You sure Katydid? We barely did anything with the disguises.”

We were finally just getting to integrating transformation to combat. The very slow pace my lessons crawled at due to my own inability to stop being shit meant that only now did we use one of the most versatile tools in our arsenal.

“You know that it won’t be used extensively in the invasion.”

It wasn’t any good against unicorns, so its use during the invasion would be severely limited. You might turn into a giant enemy crab, but the unicorn you’re facing can just pick you up with his magic and flip you onto your back. Or puncture your shell with sharpened will spells. Or in case your legs in mud or stone. There are plenty of ways to disable a non-magic combatant.

Point is against unicorns it’s as powerful as a wet paper bag. Unless you have changelings covering you with spells, but at that point unless you are extremely skilled at transforming and have a skilled casting team at your back, it’s simply more energy efficient as well as tactically sound to be casting spells too. Against pegasi, changelings already have wings, so casting spells while flying already puts us at an advantage that pegasi don’t ever train to counter. It is only against earth ponies that transformation magic becomes useful.

Similar rules for the rest of the species, from yaks to griffons.

Then, there were also the consequences of transforming while injured.

I rolled my right shoulder. The aching pain when it got hit by a blunt force spell was intensified when I tried to transform into a tiger to claw through Katydid’s anti-magic shield. Disguising changes your body up to a certain depth from the surface of your chitin, but magic can only account for so much. Injuries and imperfections make changing your body more difficult, and pre-existing damage is only exacerbated by transforming.

The entire process also uses more magic if you want to create something that’s not there, like claws, extra limbs, extra size, and so on. Not that creating extra limbs and eyes is a good idea. It’s practically a wasted effort since changelings can’t mess with neural pathways within the body, meaning the only way to get functionality out of extra limbs is to duplicate nerves and ‘pair’ them with existing ones.

That’s the culmination of many in-depth biology lessons that Praetorians and Infiltrators have to take. I had a crash course, with my human knowledge being the only reason why I have a chance at pulling off those complexities.

“Another lesson wasted. Apparently all I’m good for is planning to hurt others, not actually carrying through with it.”

“You did well enough Phasma, but maintaining enough concentration to transform through extreme pain is a skill that takes a long time to learn, far longer than what we have. No, you’ll be sticking to combat spells, along with most other changelings.”

‘Praetorians won’t be. One thing the changelings did well over the centuries, I suppose.’

Those guys actually did use transformation spells in combat. Sparingly, but still used them all the same.

The door closest to us slammed open and Pharynx stomped up to me.

‘Not often I see him without his armor. Oh, he does not look like he’s in a good mood. Instead of his usually grumpy self, he’s grumpy and angry.’

“Hello Praeto–”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I blinked.

“Exc–”

“I didn’t care what you’re up to, but now you messed up. You better fix your fucking mess!”

“Am… I missing something here?”

“Thorax was arrested under charges of treason! Treason!”

‘She didn’t. She did. Of course she did. Damn, Chrysalis works fast.’

“Treason?”

“What have you been putting him up to, Prince Phasma?!” He asked accusingly while jabbing me with a hoof. “Do you know how hard I’ve been working to keep him safe? How many changelings I’ve spurned to protect him? Now you’ve gone and thrown him to the wolves!”

‘If she thinks harming my closest friend will inspire loyalty… No, there’s something more to this.’

“I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Damn right you will,” he hissed. “I don’t care if you’re wearing a crown or not, you will regret it if something happens to my brother.”

“Thorax trusts me, Pharynx. I can’t ask you to trust me too, but be calm about this. Whatever Chrysalis is up to, I will get Thorax out of this. Take care Katydid, I have to see to this immediately.”

“You too, My Prince.”

Pharynx glared at me as I passed him. I was heading to the throne room, and drones didn't enter without reason, so he knew he had to stay here.

‘If Thorax was my brother, I’d be pissed too. Actually, he’s probably as close to one as I can get.’

The walk back to the main hive spire was brisk. There were the usual sights of changelings moving aside and bowing as we passed, something I had come accustomed to over the months of walking around the hive. As accustomed as possible, at least.

When we arrived at the big ol’ doors in front of Chrysalis’s fancy big chair room, the Praetorians on guard duty pushed the door open, revealing something that made my heart drop and the blood drain from my face.

Thorax out of his armor.

With gel-binding on his hooves and his muzzle.

In front of Chrysalis.

‘They fucking muzzled him?! Breathe, Phasma. Breathe.’

I slowly walked forward. There were many Praetorians in the room, and everyone from Chrysalis on her throne to Thorax in his bindings were all staring at me.

‘Chrysalis really fucking knows how to hit where it hurts. This is what I get for underestimating her.’

When the doors shut behind me with a loud thunk, the flinch I had was not manufactured. This time, I was scared for real.

My hooffalls echoed loudly in my ears and I approached the throne. Chamberlain Eucharis had a trained neutral look, but Chrysalis had hints of malice in her eyes.

“Prince Phasmatodea.”

“Queen Chrysalis.”

I didn’t dare turn to look at Thorax, not three hooves away from me. Looking would be a sign of weakness, I knew.

‘If she tries to hurt him– No! Breathe in, breathe out. Losing my calm here will only hurt Thorax.’

“You’re… underling. Thorax. He has been found empty love pots underneath his bed, ones that were marked as missing from storage. In addition, we found books. One such book was written by none other than Princess Cadence herself. A memoir of her pony-life, and about her feelings.”

That made me glance at Thorax. He was staring at me, eyes wide.

‘Fear.’

His muffled breathing was the only sound he could make, but I knew what wanted to say.

‘Help me. Please.’

I gave him a single, small nod.

“That is an act of treason against the hive, Prince Phasmatodea.”

I tore my gaze away to meet Chrysalis’s.

‘There’s no empty pots. There’s no books. You simply picked one of my subordinates, one known for treasonous thoughts, and put the blame on them. So what’s your deal, here? You know someone stole love, yet you pin it on a random subordinate of mine?’

At my silence, she continued, “You remember your lessons, I’m sure. Pass judgement on this traitor.”

‘And there it is.’

I looked back at Thorax. He was shaking.

‘The punishment is normally death. Execution. We all know it, so why is she asking me? Does she want me to swing the axe? Kill my own friend? No, no. Think!’

I kept my breathing steady, though I could do nothing about my heartbeat. It was deafening. The throne room was quiet, but I could only assume that.

‘Why? Why is she asking me to pass judgement when it’s obvious what the penalty normally is. What does she gain? She’s clearly clever enough to know this won’t make me loyal, so there’s got to be a spin on this. She knows I won’t kill him.’

Like stepping back and viewing a collage of pieces from afar, everything fell into place.

‘She knows I won’t kill him. If I passed judgement and gave him a less harsh sentence, she would accept it. She would appear merciful. Even if I knew exactly what her moves were, she would still come off as willing to bend the rules for me. After all, she’s willing to accept that I have a weakness, one very exploitable. It also serves as a reminder to stay in line. Stay very in line.’

‘But Chrysalis will always be suspicious of me. She will have me watched at all hours, meaning I can’t coordinate with the Lodges. The rebellion will be smothered in its infancy. And after the invasion, she might just do away with me. I will have proven that I’m loyal to my friends first, hive second. If I didn’t...’

I kept a straight face and my heart rate climbed down from its spot near the top of the vaulted ceiling.

‘If I didn’t have that backup plan, I would have no choice but to bend the knee here and acquiesce to her clever plan. Fuck you, Chrysalis. You’ve gotten rusty, and now I’m one step ahead.’

I made my decision.

‘This will go one of two ways. Either you think I am cold and will not change your suspicions of disloyalty, or you think that I truly am utterly loyal to the hive. I’ve got a plan for that first one though. I underestimated you, but not as much as you underestimated me!’

“Exile.”

I heard a muted whimper next to me, but I kept my focus on Chrysalis. I didn’t back down. I couldn’t.

‘Take the bait. Thorax means nothing to me compared to the hive. I am loyal. Believe me.’

She crooked an eyebrow.

“Exile?”

‘Believe me.’

“That is more generous than the normal punishment, but… I cannot kill my friend.”

‘I understand what you’re doing. I will pay the price for my actions. I am loyal to you.’

She leaned back. Eucharis stared at me with his jaw open, but slowly closed it. Queen Chrysalis nodded, and thus judgement was passed.

‘I understand that you are being generous and being light with punishment against me. I am loyal to the hive, not to my friends.’

“I… Would like to say goodbye to him before he is sent out.”

‘But I’m not heartless. I do care for those beneath me. I will not betray you out of lack of compassion for those close to me. I am loyal to my Mother.’

Chrysalis slowly nodded, and the Praetorians next to Thorax backed off. I leaned in close and gave him a tight hug. Then, I whispered into his ear, covered up by pats on his solid chitin back. I moved my lips as little as possible.

“Plateau, one mile north of the hive. Look for the rock shaped like a triangle on the north face.”

“I’m sorry it came to this.”

"Take what you need and get to Equestria.”

“I wish I could turn back time and… I’m sorry. I should have tried harder to stop you.”

Thorax nodded slowly and rested his head on my shoulder.

‘Fuck you Chrysalis. Use my friends as bargaining chips for my loyalty? I will kowtow and prove my utter devotion to the cause. But you, you will pay in blood.’

There was a reason exile existed. It was seen as a humane (or whatever the changeling equivalent word is) alternative to execution. In addition, there was always the slimmest of slim chances that the exile survived. But only if Panar judged them worthy of redemption.

"May Panar forgive you and deem you worthy of redemption. Goodbye, Thorax."

‘This isn’t enough. There’s still too much room for doubt. I need something more. Something irrefutable.’

“No. May Panar forgive us both.”

I broke the hug and faced Chrysalis.

“I am his commanding officer, and I failed to report this. I betrayed the hive’s trust. I am as guilty as he is, so I must suffer the same judgement.”

“No. From the day you were hatched, you have been loyal to the hive. We have entrusted to you a great deal, and you will prove worthy of that trust by bringing us The Promised Day. You will not redeem yourself through exile, but instead through securing our future.”

‘So if the invasion fails, I am to blame. Not that it matters, if it fails we’re all doomed.

“I… am unworthy of a second chance, My Queen.”

“Do you doubt my judgement? I deem it so, and thus it is.”

I just silently nodded then stared at the floor.

‘I’ll find you once this is all over, Thorax. Once Chrysalis has been subdued. And now I have to work tirelessly to ensure the loyalty of the organizations that I created and empowered.’

I watched from a window of the throne room as a black dot slowly flew away from the hive northward.

‘I know Chrysalis wasn’t the one who exiled him, it was me, yet I still blame her for his exile. The First Fang is going to give me hell for this, but I can convince them of my logic. Pharynx, on the other hoof…’

“You did well, Prince Phasma.”

“What?”

I turned around and saw Chrysalis was behind me.

‘I’m in her good graces again, it would seem. All it took was the death of my closest friend.’

“It takes courage to admit fault. Many changelings would rather lie and claim innocence, rather than to give back to the hive that raised them. It takes even more strength to cast judgement and condemn against those who were close to you. You will need that strength.”

‘That’s awfully kind of her to say, despite the horrible context.’

“And it is a painful lesson on letting changelings get close to you. You are a prince, and there are those who will seek your company for the boons it provides. We must not let any ling come between us and our duties to the hive.”

‘And there’s the heartless despot I know.’

“I will… keep that in mind, Mother. Thank you.” I said before turning back to the window. I knew Chrysalis well enough to know that the conversation was over.

“I’m proud of you, Phasma.”

My ears swiveled towards her as I half-turned my head in her direction.

‘When was the last time she didn’t call me prince? Has she ever?’

“... Why?”

“I expected you to let your bond affect your judgement. You’ve proved my assumptions wrong.”

‘Stop the presses, did she just say she was wrong? Is it opposite day or something?’

“Yet I still betrayed the hive by concealing his crime. How can I claim to champion a cause that I’ve betrayed?”

“We all have our faults, Prince Phasma. Do not let them overwhelm you, and you shall find yourself ruling Equestria as my second-in-command in no time. I will have the Praetorians’ silence on today’s events.”

‘The Lodges will still find out.’

“Mother, does the phrase ‘Here in death, remember our strength’ mean anything to you?”

At her silence, I turned all the way around to look at her. She was working her jaw in thought.

“Where did you hear that?”

“The Weave.”

“The Weave?” I nodded. “That’s… impossible.”

“What does it mean? Who said it?”

“It... was the rallying call of Princess Procho. She died two hundred and sixty seven years ago.”

“How did she die?”

Chrysalis’s eyelids drooped as she stared at the window behind me.

“She was returning from a particularly devastating underhive expedition. She was almost all the way back to the hive when the dregs of her party were set upon by the monstrous inhabitants of that dark place. Princess Procho guarded the retreat.”

‘Is that the truth?’

“Why do I hear her, then?”

“Hmph... You were visited by the demon Nightmare Moon as well. I’m not sure, Prince Phasma. You seem to have an extraordinary talent for attracting unnatural phenomena.”

I looked back at the window.

‘Unnatural phenomena certainly describes this new life. I hope she isn’t planning something stupid, like sticking me onto the end of a pole and using me as a supernatural Geiger counter or something.’

After a few moments, I heard the clopping of hooves on stone as she walked away in her usual Irish Goodbye fashion.

‘Has she ever even said goodbye in her life? I would actually be surprised if the answer is yes.’

My eyes traced Thorax’s route to the setting sun on the horizon, and the closest plateau before that.

‘He’s got a long way to go. Godspeed, Thorax.’

Now I had to tell the First Fang what happened. And Pharynx, he deserved to know what the Queen and I did.

After ten minutes of watching the small dot become smaller, I sighed and pushed off from the window. There would be time for breaking the bad news later. I had paperwork to do. Also, rushing to them would risk making Chrysalis suspicious.

‘Requisitioning the construction of caches for the Swarm takes tens of dozens of papers to fill out. Sentencing someone to slow death? Not a single one.’

I slowly made my way to my office in the royal wing. The guard on duty saluted as I passed him and went into my office.

Some filing cabinets on my right with God-Splitter leaned up against them. Coxa’s short desk on my left. My large desk straight ahead, covered from end to end in papers, both in organized stacks and chaotic piles. Two chairs in the corners behind that.

I stared at the chair on the left. There was a small pile of orange armor next to it.

The chair itself was empty. Likely, it will never be occupied again.

‘It’s just two months. Then, with Canterlot taken, finding Thorax will be easy. After all, we will be hitting every settlement, and no one can stay far away from food sources. Chrysalis can’t hurt him then, his survival would be proof that Panar has deemed him worthy of redemption.’

I considered moving the chair out, but decided against it.

‘I’m not going to sweep what happened under a rug. Thorax deserves better than that.’

So, I sat down at my desk and put a form in front of me. I stared at it for thirty minutes before I actually started reading it.

‘Two months.’

‘Soon after, there came a very hot day with a boiling sun,’ I thought as I stared at the hate-fueled star baking the world alive.

Around me, the hot dirt and sand and rocks of the Badlands broiled in the bright sun. I myself was not doing well either. If sunburn was possible for a bug, I would surely find out soon.

“Tis thy dream! Cool thyself, Prince Phasmatodea, there is not any need for suffering in a world you control.”

Behind me, Nightmare Moon was fanning herself in the shade underneath a black parasoul, sitting down.

“The sun is as oppressive as We recall. The end to its tyranny cannot come soon enough! Prince Phasmatodea, cool thy dream at once!”

“You can call me Phasma for short, Nightmare Moon.”

“Thou avoids peroration like no monarch We have known. Thou converses like a commoner, rather than a Prince. Hath thy progenitors taught thy any court manners?”

I watched as a cactus slowly wilted under the intense heat.

“No. My mother was more focused on teaching me things like ruling a nation, warfare, and crushing those beneath my station.”

“A mare after our own heart!”

Not wanting to piss off the pony-princess-demon-alicorn-thing, I replaced the hot air around her with a cool breeze. Immediately, she stopped fanning herself.

“Hmph. Thou art capable of treating a lady well, it would seem. If only needing no small amount of prodding towards the correct direction.”

I wiped sweat from my brow. I hadn’t in fact removed all of the heat from my dream, just around Nightmare.

‘Thorax is going through this every day for at least a week. An entire week of nothing but dirt and rock for miles, and the horrid sun above his head.’

“Speaking of that, I very well might need your help, Nightmare Moon.”

“We are not in a position to supply boons, Prince Phasma. After our restoration to the throne, though…”

“That’s the thing. You’re not the sharing type, are you?”

“Most assuredly not. We demand what is rightfully ours. Ours, as in, belonging to myself. That doth not include thou.”

“I didn’t think so. No, I need your help killing my mother.”

Nightmare smiled. “Matricide? Prince Phasma, We become more endeared to you with each passing meeting of ours. For why must we kill your mother?”

“She isn’t the sharing type either, and will kill you if you try to butt in on what she decides is hers.”

“Ha! As if any old crone could match an alicorn in combat!”

“My mother has been preparing for quite a while to take Celestia on. I don’t doubt that she is capable of killing the Princess.”

“Our sister Princess Celestia was never a savant with a blade, however she has had centuries of practice, assuredly.”

“So has Queen Chrysalis.”

Nightmare Moon froze and stared at me.

“We do not believe we heard thou correctly. Thou claims thy mother has had… centuries of practice?”

“My species’ royals do not suffer many of the maladies that mortals do. We can’t get cancer or other bodily failures, we don’t suffer chronic diseases, and we cannot die of old age. We are as close to immortal as can be.”

I silently thanked whatever happenstance led to Equish words being exactly like English words, only with Equish syllables instead. Grammar rules can be relearned, but being set back to the vocabulary of someone who just started learning the language over half a year ago would be intolerable.

Nightmare Moon meanwhile just stood there in silent consideration of what I had said.

“Immortals? We have never… We have never encountered other immortals. Not ones worth keeping company. The only perpetual We know of that was pleasant to be around was murdered millennia ago.”

“The other species have no equivalent to alicorns and royals?”

She shook her head slowly.

‘Huh. What makes ponies and changelings so special, then?’

“That’s unfortunate.”

“We had not known thou would be with us in perpetuity, young Prince. We had assumed…”

“That I would be dead within eight decades?”

“Indeed. How long hath thy mother been alive?”

I shrugged, and took the opportunity to wipe the sweat from my head again.

“She keeps information on lockdown. Actually, I’m sure I could figure that out, but I’d guess five hundred years?”

“And what is in it for us to rid thou of thy mother?”

“As I said, removing a threat. She will want a slice of the Equestrian pie, as it were. I am open to making deals and arrangements with you in the future. She will not be.”

“Arrangements?”

“My kingdom doesn’t have much to offer in terms of material goods, but I know you’ll value the skills we can provide.”

“What skills would those be?”

“The kind I’ll show you in person. In pony. Whatever you want to say.”

“Very well, Prince Phasma. We shall join in battle against our sister, then we shall partake in thy matricide."

Nightmare Moon chuckled.

“In Equestria, it is customary for the mare to make the first move. It must be different in thy kingdom.”

“How did we go from threatening my life to threatening courtship?”

“Hast thou spent a thousand years alone? Thou doth not appreciate the true pleasure of the presence of others.”

“I can’t even imagine staying sane for a thousand years alone. Ugh, I don’t want to think about this, I have to focus on preparing for war. And possibly killing my own mother.”

She looked to the horizon.

“Thou art awakening, Prince Phasma. We are, too, though at a slower pace, for the barriers between the realms grow weaker with each passing day.”

Nightmare Moon smiled.

“Do not perish on the battlefield, Prince Phasma. Thou art a dreamwalker perpetual, and a stallion at that! No, do not perish, for We shall never meet another of thy likes again, and necromancy is quite costly!”

The First Fang had all gathered in an empty growing room in the Greencave area, though it was filled with different mosses and ivy dripping down from planters.

The entire First Fang, except Thorax. Our hexagon was hexa-gone.

“Yesterday, Thorax was arrested for the theft of love, as well as possession of forbidden pony material.”

“Fuck,” Coxa succinctly summed our feelings up. “And? What happened?”

“Immediately, I went to remedy the situation. Queen Chrysalis suspected me no small amount, and ordered me to pass judgement on him. She would have accepted a lesser punishment, but...”

“Where’s Thorax?” Lace asked me in a near-hissing tone.

“I exiled him.”

Oest gulped and Coxa let out a shaky sigh. Lacewing wasn’t done, though.

“And why did you do that?”

“Chrysalis would have accepted it if I had punished him lightly, I’m sure, but the cost would be too high–”

“Cost?! You just killed Thorax!”

“No,” Coxa said quietly.

“Thorax isn’t dead Lace, but he is out of the picture. I had Coxa steal love to set up an emergency cache outside the hive, just in case this happened. Funny, we had to use it because we set it up in the first place. One often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.”

Lacewing looked lost. “So then he’s gone?”

“For now.”

Coxa sighed, “Why was it too costly to save him?”

“I would pay for Thorax’s life with a commodity I have very little of: trust. If I saved Thorax, Chrysalis would forever suspect my loyalties. She would have me watched at all times, and the odds of her deciding to move against me… I weighed Thorax’s life against the benefits of her trusting me, and I made a decision.”

“You stole love from the hive?”

I looked at Tarsus. I had forgotten that he was even here, he’s become so silent ever since we last saw each other before the expedition.

“A bit. Enough to survive the journey to Equestria.”

“Phasma, there’s hardly enough love to go around–”

“Don’t you think I already know that? It will hurt the hive, yes, but out of all the changelings in the hive, who’s currently in the most danger? Who is under constant watch, expected to fulfill impossible expectations? Who is constantly working hard every Panar damned day to get a future for the hive where everyone is happy?”

“When will we see Thorax again?” Lacewing asked, interrupting our argument. She was rubbing her eyes, trying to not shed tears. She wasn’t succeeding.

“... After we take Equestria. His survival will be proof of his redemption, so long as none of us reveal the love-cache.”

“And you’re sure he’ll be fine before then?”

“I rigged the odds to be in his favor as much as I could. Thorax will be fine, we just have to focus on what’s ahead of us.”

The Promised day is now only twenty days away.

The Army would begin the journey thirteen days before, and the trek to Canterlot would take ten days. That leaves three whole days to capture settlements along the way within Equestria’s borders. Estimates suggested we could do it within a single day, but I wanted as much leeway as possible.

I had also broken the news to Pharynx that I exiled Thorax. In turn, he broke my nose.

We came to a mutual understanding; it was a fair trade, as I got the impression that he trusted me when I said that I made absolutely sure Thorax would live. Doesn’t mean he forgave me or likes me in any capacity, but maybe I don’t deserve his forgiveness.

Tarsus was gone again. As an infiltrator, he was called to be with Chrysalis inside Canterlot.

The most important news was that Chrysalis was gone.

She left the hive yesterday to join up with the Infiltrators. From her the forward command center that was being established with the aid of the Tenth Legion Underhive Scarabs. Along the way, they would also be creating the caches that would be used to supply the Swarm. While in Canterlot, she would pick out the high value targets, and take down a few herself.

Moving the Swarm was up to me. Other than watching the grand speech and initial order to move out using a magical communication thingy, Chrysalis left the invasion to me.

The hive she left to Eucharis and the massive amount of Praetorians still present. Those guys would be keeping an eye on me, but I reckon they won’t be paying as close attention as they would have, if I had chosen to spare Thorax.

‘This is the slack in the leash that I had bought using Thorax’s life.’

Currently, I was on my way down to where my journey began. The hive nursery. The reason for this was simple: the secret vault.

It seemed to be a puzzle or combination lock, using symbols of the Threads. To learn more information, I was going to those who taught the First Lesson, and all it entailed. I couldn’t go to Thorax, since he was gone.

Another reason why I was heading to the nurses was the solution itself. Sure, it could be a random combination of symbols, but this door and puzzle looked ancient. The main door was to keep out intruders, which was only ever breached when the former monarch was well and truly dead, and once that happened it was replaced. The puzzle door looked as old as the walls and floors of the place itself, meaning it had a combination that every ruling monarch learned.

Therefore, the solution was, somehow, obvious. If it wasn’t random, then it must have a specific meaning.

I was thinking about this for some time while I worked on the invasion. The only possible combination I could think of was the whole holy number nine thing the changelings have going on. A question to Coxa revealed that the nine was in reference to the nine Threads that made up the Weave.

‘Nine symbols. If this isn’t the code to the puzzle, then I will have to break my way in and risk damaging what’s inside. And tripping an alarm, most likely. Push comes to shove, I’ll just open it the same way I’m opening the vault again. I just don’t want to risk damaging anything immediately behind it.’

I had given the order to the Lodges to prepare to open the vault. Permanently.

A team was being assembled; a few changelings to maintain silencing field spells, a rotating team to use their focused will spells to literally drill through the weakest part of the wall around the vault. A tertiary team stood watch outside and at key checkpoints close to the vault.

Any reports of vibrations were quietly snuffed out through the byzantine bureaucracy of the hive by those loyal to me.

All in all, it would take about five days to break into the vault. They began as soon as they were ready.

And so I went to where this all began.

The hallways before the hatchery were fancier than normal, preferring blue lights in sconces, similar to how the royal wing was designed. Standing in the pale, blue light were changelings most definitely not loyal to me.

The door in front of me was flanked by two Praetorians, wearing their blue armor, exactly like I remembered them. The fact that no changeling morphology differs so little, as well as the consistent matching armor played no part in that, none at all.

They saluted as I opened the door to the hatchery. They, while not being part of the Lodges, still did as they were trained. The fact that they were not of the few Praetorians loyal to myself above the queen mattered little, now that I had proved my loyalty.

Immediately, I was buffeted by a wave of hot, humid air. It was like stepping out into Badlands, only without the dry heat. I walked inside and beheld the large chamber. Green light beamed down from a central point in the middle of the ceiling. I assumed there must be some mutant strain of glow-moss up there. Normal glow-moss wouldn’t be so luminescent, after all.

The one thing that didn’t line up with my memory was that the room was nearly empty. There were no hordes of changeling larvae, no remains of hatched eggs, nothing. Instead, right in the middle of the spacious manufactured cavern was a circular table, with five chairs pulled up to it.

Two were occupied.

Their occupants were hunched over the table, one with their back to me, the other mostly obscured by the one facing away. They held a quiet conversation as I quietly approached.

‘Psocid and Lethocerus. Hard to forget the names of the first two aliens I ever saw. Actually, I’m the alien, aren’t I?’

Not quietly enough it seems, as the closest one’s ears swiveled towards me. She sat upright and spoke loudly, her voice echoing in the empty chamber.

“It seems our little Prince has returned, Psocid.”

The changeling on the far side of the table, Psocid, leaned out from behind the speaker to get a better look at me. When I stopped by their table, they stood up, bowed deeply, then stood back up and took their seats again.

“So it would seem. Hello, little Prince. You honor us with your presence, but it would seem you’re not so little now.”

“You are the first changelings I met, aren’t you?”

“Quite so, My Prince. I am Broodnurse Lethocerus.”

“And I am Broodnurse Psocid.”

“And we are the caretakers of this holy place!” Lethocerus spread her forelegs wide, as if the empty room was a grand cathedral.

“This holy place seems rather barren.”

Lethocerus dropped her forelegs and looked at me sadly. “Our Queen decided that there would be no hatching this year. Your brood was sent off to be divided up between the Clutches, leaving us here, all by our lonesome. So we, bringers of life and guardians of the new, sit here, in our sanctum, playing poker all day. ”

I leaned to the side as Psocid was doing and saw that there were indeed cards on the table, as well as what looked like circular chips.

‘What could they be using for chips? Stone shards? Nothing that carries value, there’s nothing like that here outside of food and favors.’

“There will be no changelings born this year?”

Psocid shook her head, “Your brood was the last Queen Chrysalis approved. She declined to allow changelings to lay their eggs this year. And who are we to question Her Majesty?”

“... Huh. At any rate, I did not come here just to say hello. I wanted to talk about the First Lesson.”

The twin nurses beamed at me.

“Such a wondrous moment,” Lethocerus nearly sang.

“We’ll be telling that day to future hatchlings for the rest of time as Broodnurses, My Prince. Truly, for Your Highness to be so gifted by Panar is nothing but a miracle!”

‘It was certainly something alright, but again not why I’m here.’

“My mother tended to my education personally, why you both no doubt already know. However, there was something from the First Lesson that stuck out to me, and I wish to know more. I can’t ask Queen Chrysalis, since she’s not in the hive at the moment.”

“We would be happy to answer any question you have for us, My Prince.”

“Again and again I hear the number nine come up in the hive. It has to do with the Threads, no?”

“That’s right, My Prince,” Lethocerus nodded.

“I would appreciate it if you taught me those nine Threads and their written symbols.”

“It would be an honor,” Psocid said. Then she added quietly, “So few changelings nowadays care for our teachings…”

Lethocerus took a deep breath as Psocid moved out from behind the table to stand next to her. After a moment, they took turns speaking, the silent one pulling forth a concept from the Weave.

“When Panarthropo contrived the Great Tapestry, the Thread of Change was left loose.”

“From their precarious hold onto the world, changelings brought themselves into the Great Tapestries from what they learned by watching Panar.”

“They, like the great creator, wove together a world of their own.”

“Together. The core of the Weave.”

‘A curvy N.’

“Magic. The font of life and power.”

‘A nine pointed star.’

“Emotion. The vessel for Magic.’

‘A heart.’

“Change. The first gift we claimed from Great Weaver, in their absence.”

‘A double helix.’

“Flight. So that we may conquer the skies.”

‘An outline of a wing.’

“Strength. So that we may conquer the lands.”

‘A three-pointed flame.’

“Cunning. So that we may conquer the Great Tapestry’s prey.”

‘An oval with a V in the lower half.’

“Command. Our purpose given voice,”

‘A three-pointed crown.’

“The Great Tapestry. To finish binding the Weave to the world.”

‘An asterisk with nine lines.’

“As it is woven, so it shall be,” they said in unison.

“Thank you for the lesson, Broodnurses. There are still a great many things I must learn yet, it would seem.”

Lethocerus leaned against the table. She shared a look with Psocid, who nodded, before returning her attention to me.

“Does My Prince also wish to learn how to play poker?”

I casted a time-checking spell. I had an hour to kill.

“Sure.”

Five days of running interference.

With such a comparatively small portion of the Praetorians loyal to me, I had to make sure as many patrols in the lower hive were regular guards as possible. However, I could only exert so much influence over what is normally Euchari’s responsibilities. That influence I had to covertly use on putting the few loyal Praetorians on vault detail.

Thus, Praetorian patrols, particularly those close to the vault had to, in some way, be delayed long enough for word to get to the cracking-crew to halt, or be redirected entirely.

Lodge members started brawls. Made false reports of incidents. Chatted up the on-duty Praetorians. Closed off hallways for ‘reconstruction.’ Anything to get the Praetorians away from the vault. There were a few close calls. One patrol forced me to forge an incident report detailing how a Tatzelwurm was burrowing close down in the Underhive, causing the vibrations the patrol reported.

Both reports, the guards’ and my own, were buried as far as possible within bureaucracy.

Five days of preparing the last steps of the invasion. Generals, Captains, and Colonels were checked, double checked, and triple checked to make sure they knew their orders and subordinates. The helmets we had produced for the infiltrators were shipped off, to be stored in the Crystal Caverns beneath Canterlot. Last minute requisition orders for the infiltrators out in the field, as well as troop assignments, were filled out. Meetings with the Lodges and the First Fang

Five days of last-minute drills given to me by Katydid. It felt like cramming for finals in university.

Five days of waiting for discovery. Chamberlain Eucharis was mostly absent, but he visited me a few times in my office as I worked. He seemed proud of my hard work, and even gave me a few compliments.

‘Wormtongue.’

He made no comment on my loyalties. I nearly started chewing on my hooves out of anxiety while I stared at my report. At any moment, Praetorians could have busted in and arrested me for breaking into the vault, had they discovered what I was doing. They were still reporting to Chrysalis somewhat regularly on what I was up to, but I put up a front of a good little son, doing as he is told.

Five days of drilling into the vault.

And now, a Lodge team was pulling the entire section of the wall away, door and all. All in all, there were about one hundred changelings involved in the cracking of the vault, working in teams to crack it, keep watch, maintain silence spells, and reorder reports and patrols within the hive.

I promised the Lodge members that we were finally taking control of information within the hive back into the hooves of the hive itself. The contents of the vault would be protected, but changelings could read the books within pre-scheduled times. They would find out about the disloyalty of some of the royals, but I had proven myself loyal to the hive. I would never betray them, only Chrysalis, and they were with me on that particular betrayal.

During the entire operation, I never left the main hive spire outside of Katydid’s training lessons and the one foray to the nursery. I wanted as few reasons as possible for the Praetorians to patrol the lower hive, and my continued presence would warrant increased patrols in areas I frequent.

Oest was here with me, as Coxa was busy looking normal for me and Lacewing had no alibi to get out of training for her position in the Chosen Conquerors.

I helped with the team on duty slowly lift the massive carved portion of the hive away. We just had to move it far enough away to make room for changelings to enter through a gap on the right side.

As we set the door down, I looked at the blue scorpion filigree on its center. This was Chrysalis’s vault. I brought God-Splitter forth and scrapped a line through the scorpion using the war hammer’s pointed end. Now, it was mine.

I stepped through the threshold of the massive vault doorway. Behind me the changelings were taking in the sight of the opened vault. They were the first changelings outside of Praetorians standing on duty to see what was inside.

“By Panar, what the hell is going on?!” A voice bellowed from behind us.

A patrol of five Praetorians stood behind us. The changelings on watch duty had neglected their posts to see the vault being opened, and I hadn’t the presence of mind to remind them of their duty.

When they saw fifteen pairs of eyes swivel in their direction, they started to turn to run.

“Get them!” I hissed.

The Praetorians turned and started running for the main hallway.

‘If they get away, we’re fucked!’

“Winter Contingency!” I yelled over the Weave.

The loyalists were nearing the entryway to the hallway when reinforcements came down the end of the main hallway to cut off the Praetorians who had stumbled upon us. They had been standing on lookout duty on the side hallways around us, and came as quick as they could when they heard my order.

‘Thank fuck the Weave doesn’t care about having to travel through different mediums like solid walls.’

Five changelings now accosted the Praetorians. They wouldn’t be able to stop them, but they would slow them down long enough for us to get close. The Praetorians knew that, and skidded to a halt as they started to sling spells against the changelings on both sides of them.

The brief chase was over, and the fight had begun.

Oest and I charged past our ranks and into the thick of the five Praetorians.

Swinging madly, the Praetorians moved away from me and started to cast stun spells. Unfortunately for two of them, they stepped back and right into Oest’s hooves. He grabbed two of their helmeted heads and CONKED them together. The Praetorians collapsed as he moved on to duel with a third.

The fourth and the fifth were successfully keeping me on the backhoof as they strung together stun and electricity spells. It was only for the friendly changelings layering their shields over me that I had not been taken out immediately.

A missed swing against number four left God-Splitter embedded in the wall, cracks snaking outwards from the impact. Number five realized that range wasn’t working, and moved in for hoof-to-hoof combat. I abandoned the expensive paperweight, removing it would take too long.

That proved to be the right decision when five opened with a flurry of blows that blew any training I had out of the water.

Some punches were thrown and I managed to catch them all. Unfortunately, that was a bad thing.

So I threw my entire weight at five and we went to the ground, rolling around, kicking with our hind hooves, punching with our fore. Every time one of us would cast a spell, the other would land a smack on the horn, stopping that.

The shields the Lodge members were casting on me had fizzled out when he hit the ground, the precise encompassing matrices unable to handle CQC.

We each tried to use our fangs to impale the other straight through the chitin, but often one’s head was smashed into the ground while the other tried to pull free. Blows to the head also stopped any kind of fang usage.

It was ungraceful. It was painful. And it was exactly how I remembered fights went back on Earth, complete with hits below the belt.

Number four moved to pick me off his compatriots when about nine different stun spells riddled his body, causing him to go down in spasms.

Praetorian number five managed to get his hind hooves under me and kicked me off, sending me flying into the ceiling. His genius was rewarded by six stun spells and one fireball smacking into him and the ground around him.

I fell to the ground with a thud.

I looked over and saw the final Praetorian being swung by her legs into the wall by Oest. The solid SMACK made me wince.

‘Holy crap, that’s gotta crack some chitin plates.’

Just as suddenly as it had begun, the impromptu fight was over.

Changelings quickly secured the three Praetorians that Oest bodied and the two I had taken down with their help.

The small fire was put out as the Praetorian’s hooves, wings, and horns were encased in changeling-slime. They would not be casting anything with that muck on them.

Fifteen against five. Skill can only count for so much when you are thrown around like a ragdoll, experience blunt force trauma to the head, or piled on like a football. Hoofball? I had neglected to look into pony and changeling sports.

I sat there, trying to catch my breath. Oest moved over and offered a hoof. I took it, wrapping my fetlock around his hoof as he pulled me up.

“You ok, Phasma?”

“Yeah. I bit my tongue to the point of bleeding, I’m sore as hell, but I gave that bastard a broken nose in return. You?”

He shrugged. “They weren’t very good. Chrysalis took the best with her.”

I looked over and saw the Praetorians being lined up against the wall in a sitting position.

“What are you, The Mountain That Rides?”

“What?”

“You… Ah, nevermind. Were you always able to just… throw changelings around like they’re dolls?”

“Unlike you, I work out.”

“Hey! I have fight practice with Katydid every afternoon!”

“Not working out.”

‘An inch taller than average, but fifty times as dense with muscle, it seems.’

I looked at the cracks left behind when Oest swung the Praetorian into the wall. They were half as big as those left behind by my literal warhammer.

“When did you get so good at fighting, Oest?”

“I was a guard. They wanted me to be a Praetorian, I said that was boring. I became a guard again because you asked.”

“But weren’t you just hauling things in storage before I recruited you?”

He shrugged.

I groaned. There would be time to question his superchangeling strength and questionable entertainment sources later.

I walked over to the two changelings that were still conscious, the ones I had faced.

Walked might have been a bit too generous; I limped over to the Praetorians.

The one that was rolling with me was the first to speak up.

“You t’aitor–”

I cut him off with a left hook to the face.

“I’m letting you breathe with nothing keeping your muzzle shut. Keep talking, and you’ll be breathing through a drinking straw and speaking sign language.” I stopped and leaned back. “Oest, there is a sign language for mute changelings, right?”

“No.”

“Oh. All the more reason to shut the fuck up, then. Make sure these loyalists don’t do anything stupid.”

I hobbled over and pulled God-Splitter free from the wall.

“Bettah to die for the hive than live fo’ you’self!” He slurred through his broken nose.

I leveled God-Splitter to his head.

“I would say ‘that can be arranged,’ but that would imply that you are dying for the hive. You are dying for Chrysalis. We fight for the hive, for the greater good.”

“The greater good,” the Lodge members around me said in unison.

‘Man, cults are fun. I should have joined them when I was back on Earth. Anyways, time for children’s puzzles, I’ll deal with the patrol-not-checking-in-thing after.’

I left behind the disgraced Praetorian behind as I limped into the vault.

Changelings filtered in behind me and made my way to the center of the vault, where the table, chair, and secret puzzle was. Using telekinesis, I flung the table and chair to the side and stared at the puzzle lock.

Sure enough, I now recognized the symbols for the nine Threads: Together, Magic, Emotion, Change, Flight, Strength, Cunning, Command, and The Great Tapestry. They were strewn through the spirals that made up the lock, amidst more symbols I didn’t know.

I pressed down on Together with my magic halfway, but retracted my telekinesis when an idea struck me.

“Bring over the Praetorian who was oh so pleasant,” I called over my shoulder.

I heard the clip clop of hooves, the shuffle of a body being dragged, and the slurred curses of a ling with a broken nose as the Lodge members did as I asked. I turned to face my new friend as the Lodge members dropped him behind me.

“What is your name, Praetorian?”

“Co’eid, t’aitor.”

“Coeid Taitor?I’ve never heard of a changeling having two parts to their name before.”

“Coh. Reid.”

“Coreid? Well Core, today’s your lucky day. You get to open the most secure door within the entire hive.”

“Mm not gonna help you, t’aitor.”

“Oh you will. Whether it’s with your permanent silence or pushing buttons is up to you. Either way, the door opens. The only thing that changes is how not-hurt you get out of this.”

He huffed, which actually sprayed a bit of the blood that was trickling down his lip.

I pulled off the gel constraints on his hoofs– though I left the gel on his horn and wings– and pointed to the door.

“You will press what I tell you to press, then you will step back and sit down with the rest of the Praetorians. Don’t do as I say, and…. I suppose we’ll find out if this door is trapped?”

He pointed to his encased horn.

“Not going to happen. Use your hooves.”

He huffed again but moved to the closed aperture. Once he got a look at the symbols covering each of the spiraled door segments, he looked at me with a glare.

“Alright Conrad, first press the symbol for Magic, the N…”

I gave him the descriptions of each symbol to press, and each time he slowly shuffled over to the symbol to press it down, careful not to press any others.

When the unwilling Praetorian pressed the final button, the nine line asterisk, he jumped back as a hiss came from the center of the closed aperture.

I saw a small stream of air, the culprit of the hiss, jettison out of the center as the aperture’s segmented door pieces slowly pulled away from the center and into the floor surrounding the opening with a low grinding sound.

‘Higher air pressure? Also, the door must be enchanted to open on its own. No other door does that here, meaning this thing is probably chock full of enchantments. Having someone else open it was definitely a good idea.’

The grinding noise came to an end with a click as the aperture locked open. Seeing that nothing else came out, and that the Praetorian’s face didn’t melt off or anything, I leaned over to look down the hole. Now that I was close, I felt very cold air.

It was a straight vertical shaft, about twenty hooves deep, ending in a gradual ramp. I called out without looking away.

“Oest, please escort Cordeil here to his friends. And make sure no other Praetorians stumble upon our little party here. I don’t think it’s going to be trapped, so I’m going to scope the place out first. Watch my hammer for me.”

“Be careful,” I heard Oest say from behind me. After floating God-Splitter to the side of the vault, I told Oest, “If I don’t come out in half an hour, come in and get me.”

I jumped into the pit and used my wings to slow my fall.

My hooves made a loud clang as they hit the ground. I couldn’t see more than two hooves in front of me, where the light from the shaft ended.

My breath was visible in the freezing air.

Looking down at where I landed, I tapped my right forehoof on the ground twice.

Clang clang.

‘Metal flooring? Isn’t there a massive shortage of the stuff?’

It was a black metal, the same color as the rest of the hive’s walls. Unlike the hive, it was covered in carvings. Every square inch was taken up by what looked like runes.

Puzzled, I casted a light spell, and the top of my horn started to glow a bright pale blue light. I saw I was in a room with empty tables, hive-gel boxes, and abandoned equipment.

The room itself was not very big, perhaps a quarter of the size of the vault above. On the far end twenty hooves down, there was a door with the Command symbol etched into it in some blue material.

I moved closer to the equipment I saw. It was laying in piles on a table which, as I came closer, I saw was stained red on the top.

The equipment itself was unlike anything I had seen in the hive; it looked modern. Drills, saws, empty glass vials, what looked like a faucet in the back, and strange contraptions with pipes and containers.

‘If I were to guess, this is a magical laboratory, and not a meth lab. This is the first time I’ve seen glass in the entire hive, not even the throne room has the stuff.’

I stepped back and slowly made my way to the empty boxes on the other side of the room, my hooves clanging loudly on the ground despite my cautious movement.

Lifting up the lid on a box on the outskirts, I looked inside. It was hard to tell what exactly its contents were, possibly parts from plants grown in the Greencave or scavenged from the Underhive? Bits and pieces of defeated monsters?

The rest of the boxes, like the opened one, lacked labels. Shaking my head, I dropped the lid and turned around, heading to the door.

‘This is ominous as hell,’ I thought as I stopped in front of the door.

The Command symbol took up the center quarter of it, it was so large. Now that I was very close to it, I could see faint green light coming from the crack beneath the door.

I pressed an ear up against it. Nothing.

I pushed the door open slowly. It swung backwards silently, revealing a short hallway before another door. The green glow was much brighter around that door.

I stood there for a moment, the only sound being my deep, visible breaths. I tilted my head to the side, trying to see the hall at a different angle.

‘If this was a spy movie, there would be invisible laser trip wires in this hallway.’

I used a spell to conjure light steam to fill the hallway, but either fortunately or unfortunately, there were no lasers revealed in the mist. The steam quickly dissipated and left droplets of water clinging to the walls, already starting to freeze. I sensed around for any magic I could feel, but my training in detection was very limited.

“No point in stalling,” I whispered to myself.

I put one hoof across the threshold of the door. Then another. I hunched low and made my way across the room at a snail’s pace.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

Despite how quiet I was being, the sound of my hoofsteps was loudly banging in my ear, only just overshadowing my own heartbeat as I neared the glowing door.

But it didn’t drown out the growing sounds of chittering and skittering.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, I was across the hallway.

‘No alarm. No tripwires. What is that sound? Do I want to even know?’

I stood up straight and put a hoof against the door.

‘Just open it. There’s nothing alive behind it. This isn’t a horror movie. Open the door.’

My hoof didn’t move.

‘Open the door Phasma.’

I leaned against the door, pushing it open an inch. More green light spilled through. I stopped casting the blue light spell so I could take a peek. From the crack in the door, I saw on a table to the right. It, unlike the ones in the first room, was not empty.

Changeling eggs. Some were cracked open. Others had tubes going into them. That was all I could see from my restricted view.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open.

When my eyes adjusted to the bright green light, I shut the door immediately and collapsed against it, my ragged breaths outpacing even my heart.

Clack clack clack clack clack–

I pressed a hoof up against the bottom of my jaw, stopping the shivering.

‘In. And out. Breathe. Breathe.’

I had a long day of sitting around doing nothing. Despite that, I felt exhausted. The fight early had taken a lot of energy out of me, but that was nothing compared to just looking into the next room.

I shut my eyes, trying to gather the strength to stand back up and go in there. It took two minutes of sitting in that cold, dark hallway to do so, the only company being the sounds of my breathing.

‘That’s it, breathe.’

I put my hooves beneath me and pushed off of the cold floor, turning to face the door once again. This time, I threw it open and stepped inside, not giving myself the chance to be a coward again. The door stopped perpendicular to the doorway, covering up what was immediately to my left.

The sounds of insects scuttling about and chittering reached speaking-level loudness. Still, my breathing cut through it like it wasn’t even there.

This final room was a large, circular one. On the right, in the five o’clock position, was a table that curved along the wall to the two o’clock position. There were about nine eggs with a bit of spacing in between them, in various states of destruction. The farthest one looked whole. All of them were hooked up to tubes which went to a series of opaque containers at the far end of the table.

The rest of the room was filled with vats, big enough to house an entire royal changeling, equally spaced apart, starting straight ahead at the twelve position.

I knew that was a very accurate description, because that’s exactly what they held.

Two princes.

Three princesses.

Five occupied vats in total.

‘My brothers and sisters.’

I saw blue and red hair, silver elytra, and brown and yellow manes. Five sets of colors. Five royals hanging limply in translucent green liquid, the source of the light in the room. A few were missing limbs. Many were scarred and cracked and beat to hell. The princes had manes in the style of ponies, the princesses had long hair that swayed slowly in the green liquid. All of them had twisted horns, holes in their chitins, and...

All of them had a number of tubes connected to their temples and the back of their heads.

A few had extra tubes. One Prince was missing his lower jaw and had several tubes going up into the top of his mouth and the back of his throat. A princess was missing the back half of her barrel, her hindlegs completely gone, with a large number of tubes taking their place.

And in the center, a pedestal with one worn down book. I knew it would hold answers to questions I didn’t want to even ask.

The door slowly swung shut behind me as I limped over to the book.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

I looked down at the old tome.

“Ascension,” I read the title aloud, desperate to hear anything other than my own breathing and those god-forsaken skittering sounds.

With a shaking hoof, I flipped it open, not daring to use any magic on the thing. Words were faded, pages were missing, but there was plenty in the book. Plenty I didn’t understand, but recognized from the reports I read in the vault as medical and magical theories, experiments, and reports.

The best I could tell, the entire tome was dedicated to the process of “Ascension,” where the chosen “Aspect of Panarthropo’s Command” would be elevated to the highest and holiest level of existence.

I recalled that the few books I skimmed in the vault from the Third Hive often overused holiness in their descriptions of magic.

‘This is a very old book, recovered from the Third Hive. It must be the most important one, to be down here.’

The book referred to the Ascension ritual as being the most revered piece of knowledge recovered from the First Hive. Attached in the middle was the few pages recovered from a book from the First Hive. They were completely yellow with age and threatened to crumble in my loose, careful grip. They were written in a language I did not know.

‘The changelings had a language, now lost to time?’

The last page of the recovered section showed a royal with a large crown, and changelings bowing to them. There was a circle on the center of the crown that seemed to radiate out something. Light, energy, I couldn’t tell.

I skimmed through the pages of the rest of the book, not understanding most of it. At least, until the diagrams started showing up. My eyes shot upward towards the princes and princess suspended in the green liquid.

The diagrams were brains, with labels attached to each part, and guides for which sections to remove and where to insert tubes to pump magical energies.

‘Lobotomization.’

My eyes moved to the two princesses on the left side of the room.

‘One of those might be Princess Procho, the last royal. She said Procho died, but why would I believe anything that Chrysalis says at this point?’

I staggered over to the two princesses. Their vats were next to each other, letting me get close to both at once. One had light red hair and elytra, almost pink it was so lightly colored. The other had a deep blue, like it was the abyssal depths of an ocean.

The red princess was the one missing her back half. The blue princess looked comparatively fine at first glance, she still was covered in scars and gouges, but then I noticed the abundance of the tubes at the back of her head. The entire back half of her skull had to be missing to fit in that many.

Both had numerous scars and marks from surgery on their skulls.

“Procho? Are you… there? Can you even hear me?”

Skittering.

“Hello?”

Scuttling.

If they could hear me, they had no way of even responding. I reluctantly went back to the podium in the center. I looked back down at Ascension, and forced myself to start reading again. I was reaching the conclusion of the process in the notes.

“... Thus achieving the desired aura of the Weave. Doesn’t that mean…? Are these…?”

I skimmed ahead and got to the conclusion of the reports and confirmed what I had feared. A simplistic image of a circle around a city-looking structure. It was labeled with a curvy N.

“The royals are what’s projecting the Weave throughout the hive.”

I dropped the book back onto the pedestal and limped over to the vat in the twelve position of the room.

The occupant was the silver prince. His right hindleg was gone, and his right foreleg was cut off halfway down. Burn marks stretched across his body, starting from the right side and tapering out towards the left. His mane, what remained to the left of the burns, undulated slowly in the nearly-transparent light green liquid.

“Reprocessing. The rebels weren’t murdered and thrown into the recycling vats, they were lobotomized and turned into projectors for the Weave!”

The chittering and skittering never quieted down while I was in the room, and so close to the prince, it was loud, but still any sounds I made cut right through it.

“They’re still alive in there. Their hearts are still beating.”

My legs started to shake and I collapsed onto my flank. I pressed a hoof to my heart.

‘I felt my own stop as I… as I laid there in my own hot blood. My heart had to stop before I moved on.’

“They’re trapped in there! How long have they been dying but unable to die?! Oh god, I have to free them!”

Before I could even start conjuring an elemental spell to destroy the desecration to life, I came to a horrible realization.

‘If I free them, the Weave will rescind from throughout the hive. Everyone will know what I did, including Eucharis. If I kill them now, Eucharis will know something has gone wrong, and will contact Chrysalis. I could try to cut off his communications before that, but he will still know, and his absence from the invasion will tip off Chrysalis.’

‘I’ll have to return here after I kill Chrysalis. Only then will it be safe. And I will kill Chrysalis. If not me, then who?’

I was already starting to forget any attempt at peace when I exiled Thorax, but this steeled my resolve. I had abandoned all plans of coming to Chrysalis with a peace offer. Queen Chrysalis of the Fourth Hive must die.

‘All my fears, even the ones I thought were from rampant paranoia, all proven true. I can’t believe I even thought there was a chance for peace between us–’

I had turned around to leave, but froze.

To the right of the door, covered up by it when it was opened, was an empty vat.

Empty.

Waiting for an occupant.

Waiting for me, if I had rebelled and failed.

Trapped forever in a living tomb. Lobotomized, ripped apart, and unable to die and move onto the next life. Maybe there’ll be nothing left of me by the end of my rebellion but a brain. A brain put in the vat, hooked up and pumped full of energy and unknown fluids.

I vomited, and then I staggered my way to the door. The sticky changeling-slime I got on my hoofs caused me to trip over and fall onto the cold ground. I pulled myself to the door, nearly clawing at it as I pulled it open, trying to avoid looking at my own coffin on the right. I shut the door behind me, and curled up against it.

“– Phas! Phasma!”

“Th... Thorax?” I weakly called.

“What the hell happened?”

I lifted my head up from behind my hooves and saw Oest. He was looking down at me with a very concerned look. He must have come down here after I didn’t come up after half an hour.

“My… family.”

“What?”

I offered a hoof to him, and he used his magic to wipe off the slime before he took it and pulled me up off the ground. I stumbled as I got up, nearly tripping on my own hooves.

“Go, see for yourself. Words can’t describe,” I said while starting to limp down the hall, pressed up against the side for support.

I heard his hooves clanging behind me as he went to the vat room, his pace far quicker than my own. The skittering slowly faded away as I limped my way out of the hallway and into the first room. I made it to the chute back to the upper vault before Oest returned.

“Phasma. What was…?”

“My siblings. Dying but unable to die. Trapped forever. Have to free them after Chrysalis dies. Can’t do it before. Chrysalis, she… Oest, do you know what she did? Can you understand it? She didn’t kill them, no, that would be too kind. She trapped them forever in their own bodies. Cutting and pulling out piece by piece till they couldn’t even breathe. You have to die to move onto the next life, you know that, right?”

I stared at the strange etchings on the ground as I spoke.

“The last Princess was Procho, and she ‘died’ over two hundred years ago. How many centuries have they been in there? Have they been driven mad by the isolation? Have they been asleep the entire time? There’s only two ways this all ends. Either we win, or you all die and she traps me here, forever. Forever, Oest! I can’t… We can’t fail. The price is too high.”

I looked back up at Ostridea. He was frowning, but still held his tongue.

“This… This changes nothing, Oest. We are going to kill Chrysalis, and then we will grant these royals the release they so desperately need. We are going to fix all these problems that my own mother let fester in the darkness as she went and played with ponies.”

“Are you sure? That they are in there?”

“I… Yes, Oest. I know it without a shadow of a doubt. They are still in there. Unable to blink, twitch, or scream. The soul stays in the body until the heart stops.”

“How do you know?”

‘Experience.’

“Please don’t ask me that. I just do.”

He looked back towards the door leading to the chamber, then back at me.

“I believe you.”

I looked up the vertical chute, the light from the vault shining down onto me. I was well and truly exhausted. But I would not stop until I was dead, or worse.

“Help me get outta here.”

Oest wrapped his hooves around my barrel, and helped me fly up and out of the laboratory.

Oestridae set me down amidst a group of changelings gathered around the Ascension Lab’s entrance. I leaned against Oest as I considered my words to address my followers.

“For those of you who have any doubts about what we must do, what’s down there,” I pointed with a hoof at the opened aperture, “will remove any doubts. The plan was to spare Chrysalis, to demand concessions from her. I know now that the only way this ends is death. Or, something far worse than death.”

“You’d kill your Queen-mother? Your treachery knows no bounds!”

I looked over to the row of captives still bound up, now all of them were awake. The one who spoke up was one of the Praetorians that Oest originally took out.

I was too exhausted to muster the energy to be angry at the unnamed henchmen/henchling.

“And show these Praetorians just how their loyalty is ultimately rewarded. Show them just how kind and merciful their Queen is. My changelings, we will not have time for another meeting before the invasion, so I must leave it to you to spread the word of what you will see down there.”

I pushed off Oest and limped over to the exit of the vault. Oest tried to follow me out but I stopped him.

“Phasma–”

“I’ll be fine. Make sure these Praetorians are shown what’s down there, and if they still won’t stand with the hive, find a secure place to keep them. I’ll handle the paperwork side of their disappearance. A bit of good news I suppose, we just got five more names to put on vault guard duty.”

“You’ll never get away with this, traitor!!” The particularly stubborn Praetorian with the now staunched broken nose said.

I turned in the doorway to address our captives.

“Praetorians. I offer you a chance to fight for a just cause. The question isn’t whether you want to be a traitor or not, but instead whether you are loyal to the Queen, or to the hive itself. How can we be the traitors when we’re the ones fighting for the survival of the hive? Down there you’ll see just how far Chrysalis will hurt her subjects to fulfill her own ambitions.”

“Just what is down there?” A Lodge member asked.

“Chrysalis’s rewards for those closest to her.”

‘Experimenting on eggs and royals, that’s pretty damning evidence that Chrysalis’s ambitions are not necessarily the hive’s ambitions. If she would stoop so low as to mutilate the most dedicated changelings as well as the unborn young ones, who’s to say that she really cares for the hive?’

I left the vault as the Lodge members began the process of flying the still bound Praetorians down the shaft. Looking to my left, I saw God-Splitter was still wedged into the wall. A tug on the tethering-enchantment on its handle ripped it free, creating even more cracks in the abused wall.

I put the hefty head of the war hammer on my shoulder and started the long journey back to my warm bed, all the way at the top of the hive.

However, when I reached where the vault’s hallway meets the end of the main throughway of the lower hive, the sound of hooves on the hard ground made me freeze.

‘More guards?! Shit, if it’s Praetorians, this is very bad news–’

“–about what you’re going to do after. That’s the key.”

It was a feminine voice, one I had heard before.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blur moving. As I spun on my hooves to see what, it seemed to vanish. Whatever it was, it was heading to the grate at the end of the great hallway.

The one that led to the sealed passage to the Underhive.

“.... Procho? Princess Procho, can you hear me?”

“–nothing.”

I heard the sound of the grate swinging shut with a clang, and the sound of hoofsteps ended.

“Hello?”

‘What was… That was her leaving on the expedition, wasn’t it? Is that it, I’m hearing the beginning of her journey? Why?’

“My Prince?”

I jumped at the sudden question from behind me, quickly spinning around and brandishing God-Splitter.

A changeling put his hooves up and backed up a few paces.

“Whoah, I did not mean to startle you, My Prince!”

‘Just a Lodge member…’

I lowered the hammer back onto my shoulder.

“My apologies. It’s been a long day. You’re the changeling on watch?”

“Yes, My Prince. Has the vault been breached?”

“Indeed it has. A Praetorian patrol found us all the way down here. What happened to our forward eyes and ears?”

Her ears lowered.

“I’m afraid the shifts just changed, My Prince. They must have snuck in through a small gap in our watch.”

“Then see to it that that gap is fixed. Discovery now would be… We cannot afford it. We....”

“I’ll see to it, My Prince.”

I rubbed my eyes, and restarted the journey back to the main hive spire, though not without stealing a glance back at the Underhive grate.

‘Why do I only hear her voice if there’s five of them trapped down there?’

The rest of the walk went by without note and when I finally arrived at my room, I fell asleep the moment my head hit my bed.

The darkness withdrew from my vision like inky black tentacles.

I was standing in a throne room that stood in stark contrast to the one near where I was sleeping.

It was a vaulted stone room, the walls had windows with real glass. Simple gold and red banners hung at several spots between the windows. At the far end from the door stood twin thrones, one blue and black, the other yellow and red.

Over the blue throne, a banner marked with the moon hung. Over the yellow, a sun banner.

Unlike the hive throne room, this one was half destroyed.

The gold throne was utterly demolished. The grand ceiling above me had collapsed, a starry night sky shining through. The walls were not in any better of a shape. The banners above the thrones were torn and tattered, some parts staying together by mere threads. A great gaping hole in the masonry stood between the banners and thrones, revealing a moon, one wreathed in a rippling black aura, similar to my first encounter with Nightmare Moon.

Speak of the not-devil, and she will begin to materialize right next to you as she enters your dreams. Yeah, that’s how that phrase goes.

“This is where it happened,” Nightmare Moon said after a moment of looking around, eventually settling her gaze on the hole in front of us.

“Where what happened?”

“Where Princess Luna cast off her allegiance to Princess Celestia, and became the greatest Alicorn of all, Nightmare Moon.”

“That sounds like one hell of an origin story.”

Nightmare broke her stare with the moon to look down at me.

“Hell? An archaic term, even by our standards. Thou art a curious one, Prince Phasma, but thou distracts us from our surroundings. This is the Castle of the Twin Sisters. Those are the thrones of Equestria.”

“No.”

“N– What?”

“The throne of Equestria resides in Canterlot.”

“Your distant kingdom once again falls short when it comes to information. This keep is the center of our great kingdom.”

“The capital is definitely Canterlot. Perhaps your sister moved it during your thousand year imprisonment?”

“... We shall see the validity of what thou say once We return, Prince Phasma. Nineteen days till Eternal Night. We have waited so long, yet only now doth the hours drag on. We take it that your army shall march upon Equestria on schedule, several moons from now?”

“About that…”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she squinted at me.

“We will be at Canterlot, the capital, the day you arrive back on Equus, having secured all the land south of that.”

“We do not believe We have heard thou correctly, thou claims to be months ahead of schedule?”

“The invasion of Equestria was always planned to reach Canterlot on the summer solstice. I originally lied about that in case you could not be trusted. We will join forces in the city, and take out Princess Celestia, your sister, and Queen Chrysalis, my mother.”

Nightmare leaned and sat down on her haunches.

“We did not expect such expedience on thy part. Thou continue to surprise us. What other secrets doth thou withhold?”

I scuffed a hoof on the ground.

‘Better start working on what comes after the invasion.’

“We should talk about our deal. You get the throne in Canterlot, and Equestria by extension.” She nodded. “We, my species, will need something in return. We need pony prisoners.”

“Pony prisoners?”

“The reason why we are invading in the first place. Your ascension to power is sure to cause some ponies to dissent, so instead of just offing them or putting them in prison, just hoof them over to us. They’ll never cause you problems ever again, and we get what we need.”

“And what is it that thou gets from these prisoners?”

“A sustainable food supply. We’re not eating them in the traditional sense, but we are… using them. We need magical energy, and we collect it in the forms of emotion.”

“... Most curious. This requirement of thine is easily accomplished. Now We know your reason for coveting the throne, yet We have neglected to share ours. That is, after all, why we started this conversation.”

She swept a hoof across the room, gesturing to the entire rubble-filled scenery.

“Nine hundred and ninety nine years ago, We crossed blades with our sister. For centuries, she had basked in the glory and adoration of our subjects, leaving me to dwell in the dark. For centuries, We endured our duty without thanks or rightful respect. Eventually, We decided that a change was in order. Our ponies did not appreciate the effort We put into carving the night sky, so We sought to correct this misunderstanding.

“Sister, of course, resisted. She had grown accustomed to the fame and admiration unrightfully bestowed upon her, and so she resisted change. We fought and when she learned she could not defeat me in combat, she used the Elements of Harmony to imprison me,.”

“The Elements of Harmony?”

“An ancient artifact of untold power. She should not have been able to wield them, yet she did.”

“Ah, a Deus Ex Machina. So she used this artifact then you’re suddenly imprisoned for a thousand years?"

“Our greatest weapon, turned against us. In days long past, the both of us wielded the Elements together. Then, sister dearest sealed my tomb using it!”

'Great, now I gotta be on the lookout for a Deus Ex Machina, as if I didn't have enough on my mind.'

“A thousand years on ice would make me want to kill whomever was responsible, that much is certain.”

“Indeed. We have been pondering on what thy story is. Prince Phasma, for what reason are we bringing an end to your forebearer?”

“Chrysalis… I never trusted her. An odd feeling at the back of my mind, always second guessing her words. Not that she was trustworthy to begin with, she loves mysterious threats and being unchallenged in her rule. But I constantly asked myself if we are immortal, then how come none of my siblings were around? With too many unanswered questions, I secured a pact with you, Nightmare Moon, as a backup plan, in case her tyranny would potentially be my end. Yesterday, every single one of my fears were validated.”

“We see thou art as ominous as thou claims thy mother to be.”

“Heh, it’s easier to show you rather than to describe it.”

With that, I changed the scenery. The Castle melted away, replaced by the cold hallway before the Ascension Chamber. Nightmare’s hooves clanged on the metal floor and she circled around, getting her bearings in the small hallway.

“Ah yes, a cold hallway. A perfectly reasonable motive for matricide.”

“I’m getting to that. This is one of the three most secure rooms in the entire kingdom. The other two are at either ends of the hallway. The one behind us is the storage and entrance to this place, and that door down there is why I am showing you this.”

As she sauntered over to the closed door, I hesitantly followed. Just because I had control over everything in my dreams did not mean I wanted to go back in there.

“I found out that some of my siblings rebelled, and were, quote, ‘reprocessed.’ I did not imagine what Chrysalis had been up to. How could anyone guess at what she did?”

“Thou already had our attention, Prince Phasma. Now, thou caught our interest.”

She pushed the door open and entered the glowing green chamber. I followed in after her, at a much slower pace. When I walked up next to her, I saw that her eyes were flicking between the different vats.

“These… art thine siblings? Their cadavers were used in an experiment of some sort?”

“Cadavers? They’re still alive, Nightmare Moon.”

“Impossible!” She scoffed, before getting closer to one of the Princesses. It was the red princess, the one who ceased to exist halfway down her barrel.

“We are experts at magic healing, any injury short of death can be fixed by a submergence in the magic-imbued liquid you see these royals are in. Furthermore, royals are apparently very hard to kill.”

“Thou art certain these ponies still live?”

“Not ponies, and yes, I know it for certain. I also know that they will never wake up. The one exception to our healing is trying to heal the brain...”

She broke her stare at the princess to stare at me instead.

“The brain?”

I pointed to the book sitting in the middle of the room.

“The oldest book we have. It was written thousands of years ago, and it details the process of Ascension. Lots of religious phrase this and medical terminology that, but the pictures were quite clear. Every single one of my siblings in here was lobotomized and used as a magical artifacts, for lack of a better term.”

'Battery would be more accurate, but electricity doesn't exist here.'

Nightmare’s jaw dropped, and slowly raised back up.

“Pony artificers have stayed well away from blood magic. Even our knowledge in this field is lacking...”

“This isn’t blood magic, it’s our magic. It’s hard to explain, and most knowledge was lost over time.”

“This is vile, Prince Phasma. Not even We are wont to stoop to such butchery! Our millennia on our moon was spent sleeping and waiting, but We have a chance at life once again. Thy kin are denied a chance at ever waking! We see why Queen Chrysalis must die, for she is worse than Princess Celestia!”

I turned around and pointed to the empty vat behind us.

“Which brings us to why I want her dead most of all.”

“... Thy intended tomb?”

“What else could it be?” I sighed, “One way or the other, royalty will die during this War For The Sun.”

Showing the rest of the First Fang the contents of the Ascension chamber turned out to be a painful experience.

I felt the air start to escape my lungs as the changeling wrapped her hooves around me tighter.

“Please let go of me!”

“Never!”

“You’re going to crack my chitin!”

Lacewing ended the one-way hug and backed up.

“Sorry, it’s just, how could she do that to her own nymphs?!”

“Did Oest give you workout lessons or something? Jeez.... Anyways, they might not all be her nymphs. Who knows, maybe one or two of them are an uncle or aunt? I didn’t read anything about how long they can be interred for, so...”

Coxa was standing to the side in silent thought. He had seen what was down the opened trap door next to us, while Lacewing I broke the news to, rather than having her look down there.

Oest was here, too. He was as talkative as always.

At first, Lace said she was a tough girl who could handle the skeletons in the closet I was going to show. Then I told her it was literal skeletons, and she started singing a different tune, and decided to just hear about the Ascension chamber, rather than go into it.

“Don’t worry Phasma, the Legions and us will make sure she never does anything like this ever again,” Coxa reassured me.

“I can’t help stop her? Oh, you’re already drafting a eulogy for me, aren’t you?”

“Here lies Prince Phasma. He showed up, made a mess of things, and left it for us to clean up.”

“Coxa! Don’t make fun of Phasma’s inevitable death like that!”

“Rest in peace Phasma. He died as he lived, only used for his brainpower.”

“Hey!” I protested half-heartedly, but I couldn’t help but smile as Coxa, Lacewing, and Oest laughed. Okay, Oest snorted, that’s as close to laughing as anyone can get from him.

‘If only Thorax was here. On second thought, perhaps sparing him this nightmare fuel is doing him a favor.’

I chucked the magically-imbued quartz crystal at the wall, watching it shatter to pieces. The blaring alarm that woke me up immediately cut out.

‘Not even in medieval alternate universes can I escape the pure evil that is alarm clocks!’

That one was made by Chrysalis, and I destroyed it because I could. Every day before, I would need to use its pure, concentrated evil to wake up the next day. But I would not be waking up in the hive anymore.

For today is the day we march on Equestria. The long awaited War for The Sun will begin at noon. It is for this reason alone that I woke up at this ungodly hour, Seven AM.

As I rose from my bare bed and donned my Adamantium peytral, I mentally went through a checklist.

I told the First Fang I had a plan for killing Chrysalis, though I neglected to mention that it was an alicorn visiting me in my dreams.

‘Best case scenario, Nightmare Moon pretty much kills Chrysalis for me after Chrysalis defeats Celestia. I can deal with making a pact or whatever she wants afterwards, first comes the survival of my species and myself. Oh and that whole eternal night thing. I’m sure she won’t end the world, and if she did, well I’m sure she might be able to listen to reason. Oh well, a problem for later.’

Finally, the last topic I covered with the First Fang was to tell Coxa to get himself and Lace out of danger just in case Chrysalis somehow survives. Whether that be to vanish in the middle of the invasion or to fake their deaths, I left it to Coxa’s judgement.

The Praetorians at the vault were now loyal to me. Seeing the Ascension chamber must have been enough to dislodge their loyalties enough to at least give the all clear to Eucharis. Not that I let them send a message unsupervised, I had some of my few loyal Praetorians watching the message delivery, ready to destroy any communication devices Eucharis would use if he was warned about the oncoming storm.

Lacewing and Coxa have their positions during the invasion. I got them positions that were as safe as possible, in the rearguard as members of the Chosen Conquerors. No fighting or danger for them.

I looked at myself in the mirror Eucharis had gotten during my time in a pod.

A strange, tired thing looked back at me, with orange slitted eyes, like Smaug the Terrible’s. Or maybe Sauron’s. My eyes stung, the cold air of the early morning and lack of sleep bringing me no small amount of misery.

‘Time to establish a new world order. I’m definitely making alarm clocks illegal.’

All my plans were in order, with everyone moving into their respective places.

‘The faithful watch the forest for the coming of the King. Their lanterns bright, they wait at night for the new world he shall bring.’

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, grabbing God-Splitter before heading out of my room.

Chamberlain Eucharis was waiting for me out in the hallway. He spoke with a smile, “Good morning, Prince Phasma. We’re going to go through checks of the army together, then we shall depart posthaste.”

“Wonderful. I take it I’m going to give a speech?”

“Of course, My Prince! This is one of the most important occasions of our race’s history!”

‘Fantastic. I’ve been too busy with the Lodges establishing contingencies and plans to come up with a speech. I’ll have to bullshit it.’

It took a moment for the exact nuances of Eucharis’s words to reach me.

‘History? Considering how much Chrysalis keeps secret, just how much history do you exactly know, Eucharis?’

“Very well. Lead the way, Chamberlain.”

We entered the throne room and I saw the generals and captains of the Legions waiting around the map table in front of the throne. When they saw me enter, they rose from their seats and saluted in the hoof-across-chest fashion that the changelings used.

“High Marshal Prince Phasmatodea, the Legions are mustering as we speak. By noon, we will be ready to take what is rightfully ours,” Commander Scorpion of the Praetorians spoke in his low voice.

‘What came first, his low voice, or his menacing name? Scorpion just fits him too well for that to be a coincidence.’

“Excellent, Commander Scorpion. Everyling, take your seats.” As they sat back down, I picked up the small rake used to push the figurines on the map. “To recap the invasion plan, Legions One, Two, Three, Six, Nine, and Ten will be the center Push to Canterlot. They will begin their attack on the Promised Day.”

I used the rake to point at each of the figures of the mentioned Legions, each one being a changeling carrying a banner with their respective Roman Numeral on the banner.

“Legions Four and Seven will be pushing East. Due to the discovery of optimal routes, they will begin the siege ahead of schedule, on the Promised Day, rather than after. Legions Five and Seven will push West, focusing on Las Pegasus first. Legions Eleven and Twelve are split up amongst the three prongs of the invasion. That concludes the first stage, and the only one that needs recapping today.

“Thirteen days from now, The Promised Day will arrive, and the siege of Canterlot and Manehattan will begin in the early morning, before the sun even rises. The ponies will have stayed up all night celebrating beforehoof, meaning they will be tired and ready to collapse before we even attack. We expect the tiredness of the civilian Equestrians to lower their ability to resist by a significant degree, though the Royal Guard is still expected to be at full fighting capability.”

I put the rake down before looking around the room. In attendance were changelings loyal to Chrysalis, as well as changelings loyal to me.

“We are fighting for the survival of our species against those who would threaten it. We have no room for personal ambitions. Once Canterlot falls, we will know the fate of our species, as well as the fate of Equestria. You all know what’s at stake. You all know what you must do. Failure is not an option.

“Our cause is just! We shall stand victorious over those who would seek our destruction, for the Hive Eternal!”

The changeling stood up and saluted once more while echoing, “For the Hive Eternal!”

‘One speech down, one to go.’

The sand and gravel crunched under my hooves as I strode into the morning sun. I took a breath of the hot Drylands air. Next to me, Oest looked around as my entourage consisting of the upper echelon of the changeling high court got in order.

‘Just as unpleasant as I remembered. And we all get to endure a week of this oppressive heat.’

My entourage and I made our way to a raised platform that had been constructed for one singular purpose. I would address the Legions in their entirety.

The platform was all the way across the assembled Swarm, at the north side of the Hive. My entourage and I would have to walk all the way through a center lane in the armies. As I walked, I saw some Legionnaires tilt their head to the side slightly to get a look at their Prince walking amongst them.

Eventually, my group reached the platform and circled around to the back. I climbed the steps and the entourage stayed behind. The group would be watching my speech from behind the platform.

Before me, ten thousand changelings stood in segmented sections of varying sizes. The Line Legions held the majority of the changelings standing at attention, and were front and center for the speech. Here and there, changelings flitted about on their insect wings as orders were ferried to and fro.

When I stopped at the front of the small raised platform, teams of changelings activated their communication artifacts as they flew at points above the New Swarm, acting like flying carriers for televisions broadcasting me to the entire assembled hive. Just as well, I knew there are changelings watching from afar over in Canterlot, Manehattan, and Las Pegasus. Queen Chrysalis would be one of those distant viewers.

When I spoke, my voice echoed loudly over the audience thanks to an amplification spell.

“Changelings of the Fourth Hive. We stand at the precipice of a new era. The age of ponies is at an end. The age of changelings has come!

“For millennia the Masquerade Protocol protected us, and in its protective shadow, we grew strong. We sharpened our fangs, honed our practices, and prepared for the inevitable. In the shadows, we grew hungry, not just for love, but for justice!

“Brothers all! With one swift strike, we shall end the tyranny of the Sun Tyrant! We shall take our place in the sun! Our dominion over the world is ordained by Panarthropo themself, none can challenge our strength! The end to our hunger is finally at hoof!

“For the Hive Eternal, Let the War For The Sun begin! ” I commanded the Legions both verbally and through the Weave.

“For the Hive Eternal!” The assembled Legions bellowed, stomping their hooves in unison.

“Legions, forth, to Equestria! The Promised Day awaits! As it is woven, so shall it be!”

The Legions started marching in lockstep, the morning sun filtering through the holes in their hooves and legs. When they reached the platform, their wings extended out from their elytra, and they took to the skies.

I stared ahead as the communication transponders were turned off, and the Legions continued their march and flight. I knew behind me the formations would begin splitting up, the Legions all heading to different destinations and checkpoints both in the Drylands and in Equestria.

My focus was on the hive.

I knew I would never return here, so I had given the order to what few Lodge members that would be part of the skeleton crew to bring an end to the princes and princesses trapped in the Ascension Chamber in a few days time.

I made sure that all communication transponders would also be taken by the Legions to report in. Their rarity ensured that there would be none in the possession of the skeleton crew. The Weave of the Fourth Hive would collapse, and like a tree falling in the woods, there would be no one around to hear it fall.

At least, Chrysalis wouldn’t hear it, and if any changeling tried to make the journey all the way from the hive, the Promised Day would have come and passed by the time they arrived at Canterlot.

I turned to the North, where the Legions were flying to the horizon, beyond which Equestria lay.

‘Months of plotting, working, training, and paperwork. Now, we shall see if it was all worth it.’

I spread my wings and took flight.

For seven days and seven nights the changelings flew across the Badlands.

That sounds awfully biblical and ominous, but seeing nothing but dirt, rocks, and cacti was just boring. And hot. Oest and Chamberlain Eucharis stuck close to me during the flight north, and neither were good company for long journeys. Oest because he doesn’t talk very much, and Eucharis because we couldn’t talk about many things I wanted to talk about. Like not dying, how my mother was a horrible being, and the overall rebellious phase I was in.

But we did talk. We had a conversation about our jobs, and that was the only conversation with him that I was able to recall afterwards.

“How long have you been Chamberlain?”

“Oh… I’d say about twenty nine years now, My Prince,” He spoke loudly. The air above the Badlands was mostly stagnant, meaning our flight was actually pretty quiet.

“That’s quite a long time.”

“Ha! Your Highness is only eight months old, a single year is a long time for you.”

“Mmm, I suppose that’s true. What were you before that?”

“I was in charge of the distribution of love rations.”

“I can see how you got promoted to Chamberlain, then.”

There was a lull in the conversation as I desperately thought of things to talk about.

“... You work with Queen Chrysalis more than any other changeling, right?”

“Yes, My Prince.”

“Has she told you who my father is?”

“... I don’t think she’d appreciate you asking about him, Prince Phasma.”

‘Damn. Of course she’d tell Eucharis to keep his mouth shut.’

“Okay. Do you like your job, Chamberlain?”

“We all do our duty, whether or not we enjoy it, my Prince.”

‘I swear, it's like he’s reading from a manual on how to spout propaganda.’

“I know. Do you enjoy doing your job?”

“I do. It’s very gratifying.”

“Oh, good. Good.”

“Do you enjoy your job, My Prince?”

“Hmm… I don’t like the paperwork. The everyday training was absolutely exhausting. Having the entire fate of the hive depended on how well I did my job is scary. But… I love feeling needed. All these changelings look up to me, and I can help each and every one of them out.”

“Everything for the hive.”

“Yeah, that. I could never leave this job, not when there’s more I can do for the hive. Even if I have to endure all this, it’s worth it.”

‘So long as I don’t give everything to the hive, specifically my… brain. Life? Sure. Lobotomization? Hell no.’

“I’m proud to hear that, My Prince.”

“Though I’d love to have time for myself… Has Queen Chrysalis told you any of her plans about after the invasion? Or I should ask instead, have you figured out her plans for after?”

“Her Majesty has a plan for controlling Equestria’s towns and populations, but… The details she keeps to herself.”

“I see.”

The heat of the Badlands makes keeping any conversations long an arduous task. Everyone was too busy being miserable, though I was proud I managed to go an entire conversation with the brownnoser without lying once.

When the Legions finally approached the Equestrian border early in the morning on the seventh day of flight over the Badlands, with stops each night at designated locations with love-caches, they split up into the three invasion forces.

I managed to resist the urge to lean in and whisper ‘Hail Hydra’ in General Aphid’s and General Labrum’s ears, though I gave another short speech about ‘love’ this and ‘the end to modern pony society’ that. I refrained from mentioning the phrase the greater good, just in case Eucharis was paying close attention.

I saluted the Generals, and they in turn saluted their High Marshal. After wishing them good hunting, their Legions split off to head to their targets.

The first target that the Swarm Group Center would be hitting was the small town of Dodge Junction. We arrived there just a few hours after the Swarm had split up. Unlike the next two targets, full capture was expected to take fifteen minutes most, with most of that time dedicated to continuous sweeps afterwards to make sure all inhabitants were captured.

Before arriving into view of the town, the Swarm descended to fly low, just barely above the ground. Then, we all set down behind a massive mesa, hiding the thousands-strong invading force from view of the townsponies.

A small team went up to the mesa, to scope out the place. Once they gave the all clear, myself and the attacking force silently flew to the top, setting down on the edge farthest from the pony village.

I strode over to the edge of the mesa overlooking the tiny town, the changelings ahead of me on the edge already casting an illusion spell to hide ourselves.

“Six buildings down at the base of the mesa, a seventh train station, with five outlying ranches. Any ponies outside of a mile have already been captured by the vanguard scouts,” Colonel Cricket informed me as I arrived.

Of course I wasn’t traveling at the forefront of the invasion, but instead near the core of the force.

“We’re ready on your order, My Prince.”

I looked to my left and right. Changelings were crouched low to the ground, ready to swarm down below and blitz the town.

I looked back to the sleepy, Western-themed town. I saw four earth ponies hooked up to a stagecoach parked in front of a building labeled as a bank. Across the street, a mare with a parasol slowly made her way through the tiny town. Other than those ponies, the little town seemed almost abandoned.

‘Most will be inside, avoiding this horrid heat. They won’t know what hit them.’

“Guard presence?”

“None, My Prince.”

“Expected number of combatants?”

“Just the sheriff, My Prince.”

‘This town is so small that its capture would be completely beneath note, save for the fact that it is the first ponies we will capture.’

“Any possibilities of long-range communication?”

“Forward scouts report no possibility, My Prince.”

‘This will be my one chance to feel strong and powerful before we go up against actual enemies.’

“... Then I want to have just a little bit of fun, before things get serious. Stay here, and wait for my command through the Weave. Then, you may begin the attack.”

I focused on the Thread of Change, and took on the form of a pegasus. The disguise had a white coat, brown mane, blue eyes, and a bullseye cutie mark.

I backed up from the illusion field, and flew up and over the mesa, before spiraling down towards the town. It was not the easiest task, given my comparative lack of flight experience with feathers, but my flight training did include both feathered wings and leather wings in addition to my normal changeling wings.

I was circling down, only about twenty hooves above the street, when I saw the stagecoach pullers all look at my direction.

‘One of ‘em must have seen my shadow, or heard me falling. Hmm. I bet if I land on the far side of them…’

I touched down north of them, putting them between me and the Mesa. A small dirt cloud greeted me as I gave one last flap, killing the last of my speed. As he dust settled, much of it on me, I heard a gruff voice call out from the four stallions in front of me.

‘Annoyance. Confusion.’

I smiled as I got a good look at the ponies, the first ones I ever saw outside of a pod.

‘Look at em. So cute.’

Though they were trying their hardest to look tough and manly– stallionly?– in their cowboy– cowcolt?– outfits, the fact that they were adorable ponies in cowboy outfits undermined any attempt.

I saw one of them lean towards the rest and whisper something, and the taste of annoyance faded, leaving just mirth.

The stallions trotted over to me, getting a good look at me as I got a good look at them. Four stallions, two with brown coats, one with caramel, one with cream.

‘So. Adorable. They all have matching bandanas and ten gallon hats!’

The pony with the cream coat spoke up, “Heya city-slicker, what brings ya tah Dodge Junction?” The stallion’s accent made the what sound more like h’wat.

“Oh hey there fella’s. My family and I are on a sightseeing tour of all the towns in Equestria, and I just had to see Dodge Junction for myself!”

“Yer family? They hiding behind ya or somethin'?”

“Ha! I flew on ahead you see, I heard about the sights and just couldn’t help myself!”

The ponies looked around at the town.

‘Confusion.’

“Err… Just what sights are ya seein’?”

“We don’t get many tourists ‘round these parts, friend. Maybe yer thinkin’ of Appleloosa?”

‘Nah, I’m thinking of Wall Drug. Ha, never visiting that tourist trap ever again!’

“I don’t think so. But anyways, what’re you ponies doing out here, sitting in the hot sun?”

“We’re waitin’ on our boss inside tha bank. She likes countin’ her bits, ya see…” The caramel pony said with a smile.

‘So cute and friendly. Almost makes me want to have a moral dilemma here. However, it’s us or them.’

“I think I know the type.”

“Oh, where are our manners?! We forgot to ask yer name, Mr Pegasus! I’m Rocky Rustler, these here are mah friends Straight Ace, Mornin’ Mist, and Dapper Dancer. Mind if ya share yer name?”

‘Ah! There’s the line I was waiting for.’

“Mayhem.”

At my command, the changelings launched themselves forward from the top of the mesa, letting gravity speed their descent towards the town. The stallions, with their backs to the mesa, were none the wiser. They were too busy sharing a look between them, before looking back at me.

‘Can’t have bad-ass one liners without setup.’

“Mayhem? My… that’s a… unlucky name…”

The changelings closed the distance at fast speeds, gliding silently on the wind.

“Not for me, it isn’t.”

“Wha–?”

Four stun spells hit the ponies in front of me nearly simultaneously as changelings took down their targets. They were quickly bound in goo as the rest of the changeling started to clear out buildings in their assigned teams.

Eighty changelings against a population of around twenty four ponies, none of which save for the sheriff having any capability to fight back.

Far from a fair fight.

And just the way I like it.

‘Fear.’

“What in tarnation?!”

Speak of the devil, and he will kick open the door behind you. I turned to face the sheriff who was standing in the doorway of the, you guessed it, sheriff’s office.

Another brown coated earth pony, though this one was wearing a vest and a silvery badge in addition to their ten gallon hat. He was looking around his town as the sound of spells being flung, ponies yelling, and furniture being overturned filled the air.

There were also the tastes of fear and confusion starting to permeate throughout the town as the takeover was moving at an extremely rapid pace, but the sheriff, not being a changeling, was oblivious to his own additions to the emotion soup that was being cooked.

I pushed magic into the Thread of Change and dispelled my disguise in a cloak of orange flames. As the flames receded, I tasted his fear in full force as he now stared at me with wide eyes.

‘So tantalizing… But now is not the time for breakfast.’

“Catch!”

I casted a stunning spell at him. He made to dodge, but the state of shock he was in slowed his reaction so that he only managed to turn to the side before being hit by the small blue and white glowing orb that formed the stunning projectile.

He went down with a grunt, and immediately two changelings were upon him, wrapping him up in bindings.

“Nice catch!”

I turned and started to take a stroll through the streets, but stopped almost immediately when I saw a cowboy hat laying on the ground at my hooves. I took in a taste of the air. The fear, while delicious, was not fulfilling. Already, the yelling was dying down, with the last ponies, in what seemed to be the tavern, becoming quieter and quieter.

Looking around the streets now filled with changelings moving to and fro, I realized what was missing from this town and my smile slowly dropped from my face. There was a distinct lack of a very close friend here. One who would be tired after his week long journey through the heat, and would possibly wait for his friends to find him.

‘Thorax isn’t here. Damn it, I could really use his advice right about now. His sappy, unrealistic, impossibly naive advice.’

I looked back at the sheriff. He had been propped up against the wall in preparation for the Chosen Conquerors to come in and pod the pony. I could see his eyes start to focus on things again as the stun spell slowly wore off.

Trotting back to him, I pulled off the binding on his muzzle.

“You will answer my questions, or there will be consequences you don’t want.”

“W-What’s goin’ on here?!”

“Did a pony come up from the Badlands all alone in the past few months?”

“Who are ya–”

“Answer the damn question!”

He shook his nod, not in the negative but to clear it. The confusion and fear from him never went away.

“Think! Was there a pony all alone who came from the Badlands?”

“N-... Yes’er. A p-pegasus came in ‘bout– A-Ah don't kno–”

“What did he look like? What was his name? Where did he go?”

“H-He had grey f-f-fur, black m-mane, blue eyes, and t-tree Cutie Mark–”

“Name? Destination?”

“Dusty Cloud! A-And he was headed north!”

“... That is enough, thank you.”

I replaced the bindings on his muzzle.

'A Cutie Mark that doesn't match the name? Really, Thorax?'

I sighed.

‘Any infiltrator would know that being seen doing something so out of the ordinary as coming from the Badlands alone without any equipment or supplies would burn the disguise so to speak, and would make a new one immediately after leaving Doge.’

‘But this is Thorax. Knowing him, he’s still a grey pegasus, wandering Equestria. If he isn’t waiting here…. Hmph. I’ll find him, I know I will.’

The town was quiet again, and as the Chosen Conquerors arrived and started to pod the ponies, the fear that permeated the air started to dissipate.

I turned around and looked back at the cowboy hat lying upturned in the dirt road.

‘These ponies greeted me as a friend, despite never seeing me. For an edge-of-civilization town, these rural folk were awfully kind. And I came in and completely ruined their lives... No, it's us or them. Us, or them.’

A brown coated earth stallion, one of the four stagecoach drivers I recognized, trotted over and picked up the hat from the ground. I tasted no emotion from him, meaning he was a disguised changeling. He placed the hat on his head, and looked at me with a smile.

‘This is just the first town on our potential six day journey. Three days till Canterlot, with three additional planned just in case of delays. The towns of New Horseleans and Cincinneighti are up next, then Canterlot. These ponies sure do love their puns.’

The town of New Horseleans was the life of the party, and that party had been going on for at least a decade.

With a population much, much larger than Dodge Junction, and a full guard garrison of Royal Guards, this was quite the step up from a tiny dust pile in the middle of nowhere. Granted, it was much smaller than the human parallel, but I imagine that would be the case when it came to all these horse-pun cities.

Equestria was far more sparsely populated compared to Earth. Or maybe most of the population was on the East coast? There would be time to find out those answers later, for now it was time to crash the party.

New Horseleans was situated at the junction of the rolling hills and forest of the North, the drier grasslands of the South, and the wet, humid swamps to the South-East. A small mountain ridge separated the two Southern distinct climates, one that split the South-East from the rest of South Equestria. The town itself was far closer to the swampy areas than any other, however.

The ponies residing within the town, as well as all the outlying farms and homesteads cared little for the specifics of the climate though, save for complaining about the excessive mugginess and heat. After all, why wonder about the percentage distribution of rainfall, watershed, and forest coverage when over half of your town’s industry is based solely on tourism and partying?

New Years, Hearths Warming, Nightmare Night, Pancake Tuesday, it didn’t matter. Any excuse was good enough for the residents, as well as the packed hotels filled with tourists and other visitors. However, Pancake Tuesday was what made the town famous.

Ponies loved any excuse to gorge themselves on baked goods, it seems. I can respect that.

But I still had to burn the place to the ground, metaphorically speaking.

Approaching the massive town from the South risked being spotted before arriving. Invading from the South-East meant flying over swamps, above the treeline, which brought similar issues. We could invade from the North and avoid all the bad weather, approaching from the treeline of the nearby forest. But that would be forgetting our greatest strength. We are changelings; infiltration is not limited to gathering love.

So the invasion plan for New Horseleans was to walk in through the front doors. Hey, if it worked for the Greeks, it will work for the changelings.

More specifically, the plan was to disguise the entire force that would be attacking and filter them in slowly through the Southern entrances to the town. The extra ponies present were passed off as newcomers here for the start of a new party.

‘What were they celebrating?’ A local might ask.

‘Who cares!’ Literally any other pony could, and would, respond. Ultimately, ponies were at heart party animals.

The downside of this was that I had to make sure there was an increased presence of changelings from the Chosen Conquerors, with a few Praetorians to provide backup, to enforce strict oversight on the invading force. With all the revelry and good emotions, keeping self-control was paramount for the changelings. Revealing our presence before the town was properly encircled and infiltrated would be… bad. Still, despite the risks of unprofessional behavior within the Swarm, this was our best chance to take the massive town as quickly as possible.

A large portion of the Swarm would infiltrate into the town, and the rest would wait in different locations outside, spread to cover the all the roads, open fields, and any other possible exit the ponies could take.

There was a flight risk, pun intended, for pegasi to escape, so having teams stationed and ready to intercept fliers, often using comparatively dangerous acceleration spells casted on the changelings, made this good practice for aerial fighting.

Everything slowly fell into place as over the course of four hours, thousands of Legionnaires took to partying in the streets, the taverns, bars, shops, and inns, slowly spreading themselves equally throughout New Horseleans, using bits we had secured prior and during the invasion to act as if they were indeed well paying tourists. Then, they partied, partaking in the spontaneous festivities while waiting for my signal.

I overlooked the town from behind an outcropping on the ridgeline south of New Horseleans.

“Is everyone in position?”

“Several squads are yet to get to their positions around the guard barracks at the center of town, My Prince,” Chamberlain Eucharis said from behind me.

“I’d rather not risk discovery, and the longer we wait, the bigger a chance of something going wrong. The guards will fall, and even if they escape into the town proper, they will be in the middle of the most confusing and hectic battlefield they have ever seen. I’m giving the order now.”

I stood up from the boulder I was peeking over, and hopped up on top of it.

New Horseleans was beautiful. The afternoon sun glinting off the many windows that filled the town as well as the rivers that ran around the downtown district. I could see the distant figures of ponies strolling around the riverfront district, sitting at cafes and restaurants, or dancing in the streets as small bands played music here and there. In the occasional park, even more dancing and games were had between the trees, stones, and small creeks that composed the green spaces.

The notes of the music occasionally made their way all the way south to where we were, as well as an occasional taste of emotion from downtown. In addition, smells of normal pony food such as funnel cake, steamed vegetables, and other horribly vegetarian foods carried themselves on the occasional breeze.

New Horseleans was indeed a wonderful, happy town.

“Terror shall be the order of the day.”

Was. Past tense.

I had hopped down from the top of the boulder and was pacing back and forth next to it, out in the open. It wasn’t like being spotted now would make any difference at this point, considering the invasion of the town was underway.

No one had told me how long it would take. It was a variable none of us could even estimate. Dodge Junction had taken minutes, but that was just a hooffull of ponies, with the majority being captured by forward scouts who explored the periphery of the town.

This was taking longer. Much longer.

The first signs that something was happening was the increased activity of the distant blurs that made up the pony population. Ponies were running. Then the music stopped. Then, the taste of fear finally made its way all the way over to my observance spot. I could hear an occasional yell and scream.

So distant, so comparatively muted to when I was in Dodge.

That was half an hour ago. The activity I had seen as the ponies started panicking had been replaced by the frenzied rush of the changelings going after their quarry. Unlike Canterlot, the capture of New Horseleans and Cincinneighti was for more chaotic and unplanned.

An open buffet, if you will.

More practice for the Chosen Conquerors and Praetorians in reigning in the Legionaries, I suppose. I didn’t blame my changelings for wanting to feed right away, but that’s not how we do things. It’s more efficient to feed from a pony that’s within a pod. You get far more, safer too, that way.

As a way of rewarding the changelings, I was allowing some siphoned love off the first ponies podded to be distributed amongst the Legions. A mere taste, when accounting for how much had to be split up. The real feast would be after Canterlot falls, then even I will join in.

After Chrysalis is dead, at least.

“Progress?”

Eucharis turned away from the messenger he was speaking with to answer my question.

“The Old Quarter is completely within our control. The Riverside, Theatrical, and most others are wrapping up capture procedures, My Prince.”

“And the Chosen’s reports?”

“They have found excellent candidates for storage, My Prince. They have recommended several close amphitheaters in the Theatrical district promise open spaces at considerably defendable positions.”

“Give them the go ahead.”

“At once, My Prince. Flier teams have intercepted sev–”

A messenger flew up to us, barely stopping his momentum before landing, then bowing before me.

“My Prince! We have encountered a huge problem in the Central Business District!”

“Speak.”

“The Royal Guard garrison, My Prince! We have captured the patrols that were out in the city, but…”

“But?”

“The garrison has erected a shield, a very sturdy one! Nothing we throw at it even frays the matrices!”

“Sounds like a job for me.”

“My Prince!” Eucharis objected. “Panar’s Hammer can surely take care of this foolish resistance!”

“I’m sure they can, but we are starting to fall behind on schedule. We are supposed to be wrapping up the initial phase fifteen minutes from now, and we’re nowhere near that. Oest, with me. It’s time God-Splitter is put to the test.”

The streets were empty of ponies as Oest and I strode down them.

Here and there, discarded hats, bags, food, and an occasional stagecoach littered the sidewalks and roads. Changelings were the only faces we saw, and they were all either in a hurry to get to someplace, or were carrying captured goods or ponies.

Bits were bits, and we could definitely put them to use before Equestria fully capitulated.

The town was even more beautiful up close, the brick and wood architecture, the balconies fenced in with iron railings, and the colorful paint jobs reminding so much of New Orleans, though I had only seen pictures of the town.

The most colorful thing in sight was the purple bubble encasing a five story building in the middle of one of the blocks. There were changelings gathered around the edges, and one of them split off to meet up with me.

“My Prince,” she greeted me with a salute. “My Prince! The Royal Guards have barricaded themselves in with some civilians, they have expertly layered their shields to counter our attempts at dispelling it!”

I listened patiently as the changeling restated the obvious.

“Very good. I shall take care of it, be ready to move in once the shields down. Remember, disorientation spells before entry.”

“Yes, My Prince!”

I nodded to the changelings and started making my way to the shielded building, Oest shadowing me every step.

The changelings gathered around the shield, most smartly behind cover in case the ponies decided to drop the shield and sortie out, all watched as I slowly and leisurely sauntered up to the shield.

Once I got right up to it, I could see the small swirls and eddies as the ambient thaumic currents flowed around the shield, pressing into it. I could also see so many shades of blues, blacks, and violets that blended into each other, like a stellar nebula flowing in a breeze.

I could also see several unicorns inside the shield, pointing glowing horns at the shield itself, almost certainly the casters themselves. The colored shield hid most of the smaller details of what was behind the shield, but that didn’t block the smell of fear and anger coming from within.

‘Right. A group casting, with multiple layers stacked inside of each other. A shield like this will wear out the casters inside, and I doubt they have many replacement casters to fill in the gaps. Theoretically, all we have to do is wait the few hours it would take for the casters to burn out. Possibly shorter than that if they stop early to reserve some mana for fighting.’

I hafted God-Splitter into the air next to me using telekinesis.

‘Or, I could pop the magic bubble. Yeah, I’m going to pop the magic bubble.’

I pulled God-Splitter back, and propelled it forward, swinging it on the tethering enchantment that was imbued on the handle.

Now, a normal hammer would bounce off the shield. A magic hammer would bounce off the shield. God-Splitter, being a combination of both, by all rights should not be able to do what it could do.

Or maybe it definitely should be able to do what it can do, and changeling knowledge in the mechanics of higher thaumic interactions was rather lacking. Considering the brain drain that had been going on since the Second Hive, this seemed like a reasonable explanation.

God-Splitter was made of Adamantium, one of the rarest elements in the world. However, it was not pure Adamantium. God-Splitter’s head was a thick Adamantium casing around a Mithril core. Mithril, an element even rarer than Adamantium, counteracts magic, acting like an anathema. Adamantium, on the other hoof, acts like a piece of paper for writing magical words. There is no medium more suited for housing enchantments and channeling magic energy.

So what happens when you wrap enchanted metal around a hunk of metal that eats magic? Well, you should get two chunks of magicless metal. Or maybe a vacuum that slowly eats up the ambient magic as the Adamantium pulls it in and the Mithril eats it.

Neither cases are true with God-Splitter. Somehow, it works as the most powerful dispelling tool ever created. That we changelings know of, at least. From my very, very limited understanding of how enchantments work, the best I could guess is that the Mithril works as part of a permanent dispelling enchantment imbued in the Adamantium casing, somehow not stripping the green metal of its precious magical engraved power, but instead complimenting it.

‘Stupid magic, not listening to any rules, not even it’s own!’

This was all information I scoured from the vault during what little freetime I had. There was mention of an existing Adamantium tool that God-Splitter was forged from, though the details were lost.

All this magical nonsense meant that when I propelled it forward using telekinesis and it swung on the tethering enchantment bound to a thin Adamantium core in the wooden shaft, it made a mess of things wherever it hit.

A shield made impossible to break through?

Well I’ve got a hammer that doesn’t listen to thaumic laws.

Look, if the ponies get a Royal Guard Captain whose specialty is a shield resistant to anti-magic spells, something that should by all rights be impossible. It’s only fair that we get to break thaumic rules too! I had a plan for dealing with Captain Shining Armor, however that’s a bridge I would burn when I got to it.

The moment God-Splitter touched the Royal Guards’ shield, the magical matrices, power channels, and other magic doohickeys immediately vanished around its impact sight, causing a chain reaction that dissolves the entirety of the shield within the span of a nanosecond.

From my point of view, the shield vanished and God-Splitter carried right through where it was, slamming into the ground in front of me, hissing steam rising from the front of the head where the Mithril core shunted off the excess energy it absorbed, heating up the thick Adamantium casing.

“Knock knock!”

The dazed unicorns that sustained the spell barely registered what was happening in their confused state. Namely, the fact that over one hundred changelings were now swarming all over the building, rushing in the moment the shield dropped. Windows, doors, balconies, any entrance the changelings could fit into, they did.

The sudden shattering of glass and swarming must have scared the ponies inside shitless, as the stench of fear became practically palpable in the air.

The unicorns who, I could now see, had been sticking out of the opened front door, went down like a sack of potatoes as shocking spells hit their already exhausted bodies. Changelings breached through the open doorway, casting flash spells as they entered.

I was going to go inside and join the fun but Oest interposed himself between me and the building.

I glared at him, “Move, I want to hit them with my hammer!”

“You did your job, My Prince. Now, stay back.”

“But, hammer!”

“Phasma.”

“Tch! You’re no fun, Oest.”

“Back to Eucharis.”

“Yeah yeah.”

I kicked a Guard helmet that was lying in the streets, the sound of chaos behind us slowly fading as we went back to the boring ridge where there was no fun to be had, only conversations with Chamberlain Eucharis.

At least I got to use my extremely cool paperweight. There were so many enchantments, I could feel their interactions with the ambient magic around the hammer, wedged into the head.

Chrysalis deigned to only tell me about the three most important enchantments. The dispelling effect, which she only told me the barest essence of, the rest I merely guessed. The tethering enchantment, which would become immediately apparent the first time I swung it. The magic-link enchantment, which worked in tandem with the tethering enchantment to make sure that I was the only one who would properly pick up the hammer with my magic. That was standard issue on any weapon used in magic combat, as without it you could just stop your opponent’s weapon using telekinesis.

The sun was setting on New Horseleans, the day’s excitement almost over. If there was no fun to be had in either New Horseleans or Cincinneighti, then at least Canterlot would hold some combat, as I was actually expected to fight in that battle.

‘I have no presumptions that everything will be as smooth when it comes to conquering that mountaintop city, and defeating the one of the most powerful spell mage in existence that rules from its height. Oh, and murdering my Queen-mother. Can’t forget that.’

Star Armor sat behind the front desk, trying his damndest to not fall asleep while listening to the pony in front of him. Between him and the pony was a solid inch of glass, and Star Armor had to resist the urge to bang his head against it.

Honey Cupcake had been going on for half an hour at this point about her missing shipments from New Horseleans. Despite receiving an invoice for the shipment of her organic blueberries, Honey Cupcake never received anything.

Star suppressed a sigh as she finished, and lifted his head off his hooves to speak the same phrase he had told her half an hour ago after he finished taking a police report when she first came to the Cincinneighti Royal Guard garrison.

“I’m sorry we can’t help you, ma’am. As I have said before, you must take this issue up with both the Duchy of Appleloosa’s and the County of South Hoofington chambers of commerce. Once again, I am sorry the Royal Guard cannot help you recover your missing berries.”

“But I already went to the D.A.C.C.! And they said to file a police report for the missing shipment!”

“And we now have a report on this. Any further–”

“So you’re going to go get it for me? I’m a busy mare, I can’t make the trip all the way south and run my business at the same time!”

Star Armor suppressed another sigh.

“As I said, the Royal Guard have too much on our hooves to help you. I’m sorry, ma’am. Have you tried contacting the Royal Guard garrison in New Horseleans?”

“I tried! They said to talk to you ponies!”

‘Typical. Somepony in New Horseleans is trying to get out of doing some paperwork and legwork, leaving this mare out to dry.’

“Look, I can send an inquiry about this to them, but ultimately it’s out of our hooves.”

“I want to speak with your officer!”

Star groaned and his head fell into his hooves again.

“Again, Sergeant Emerald Aura is out at the moment. You’re more than welcome to come back tomorrow, ma’am.”

“Hmph! And just where is this missing Sergeant?”

“Responding to a domestic.”

“Where?”

“I’m afraid I can’t give you that information, ma’am.”

“I am a sovereign citizen of the Principality of Equestria, I know my rights! You are required to find my missing property!”

“Have you asked your supplier where it is?”

“I’ve sent a letter, but they haven’t responded!”

“How long ago was this letter sent?”

“Yesterday!”

Star Armor felt very thirsty all of a sudden as he was filled with a desperate need to drink his sorrows away. Thankfully, he was saved from his misery when the front doors were pulled open, and Sergeant Emerald Aura came in, two privates in tow.

“Sergeant Emerald! Am I glad to see you!”

Emerald stopped and gave Star a smile.

“Corporal Star Armor. I hope front-end duty isn’t wearing you down too much.”

“You’re this guards superior?” Honey Cupcake interjected herself into the conversation.

“That’s right, ma’am.”

“My name is Honey Cupcake, and I need you Royal Guards to help me find my missing shipment of blueberries!”

“Alright. Have you asked whomever you were purchasing from where the shipment is?”

“Yes! They are ignoring me!”

“Have you filed a report with Corporal Star?”

“Yes! He’s been most unhelpful!”

“.... Uh huh. Hmmm, let me guess, the shipment is from New Horseleans?”

“As it so happens. I order only the most healthy and organic blueberries from top quality producers!”

“Then I’m afraid I can explain your missing shipment. Word has come in that some unplanned storm from the Everfree has caused increased rainfall, which made the rivers flood way past their normal heights. I’ve got traders and travelers telling me that there’s no current way across the Father of Waters River.”

“But I need my supplies now! Tomorrow night is the Summer Sun Celebration, this is the busiest season past Pancake Tuesday! And you no doubt know how I can’t open my doors if I don’t have blueberry pancakes in stock!”

Emerald gave Honey a sad smile, “I’m sorry ma’am, but many are awaiting delayed friends, shipments, or special someponies coming from the New Horseleans area. There’s simply nothing we can do.”

“Unbelievable. I’m writing to Princess Celestia about this!” Honey Cupcake huffed as she stormed out of the building, pushing past the two privates still lingering near the door.

Star knew he would unfortunately see her again. Despite having to introduce himself, he had met her already. Several times, in fact, for she was a regular here. Honey Cupcake always had something to make a fuss about, and always found a Guard to harass.

“To answer your question, no, I am not enjoying the front desk.”

Sergeant Emerald snorted.

“Don’t be such a sourpuss, Star. You can’t let one pony bring down your mood. After all, we’ve got donuts in the breakroom!”

Emerald unlocked the thick security door next to the desk, entering it and trotting out past Star and through the swinging doors behind him, the Privates right behind her. Star watched as one of the Privates stopped to talk with him.

“You look like you could use a break, Corporal Star,” Private Baton said.

“I could use eight of those, Private Baton. How’d the call go?”

“Oh you know the drill. Noise complaint, we go over, ask some questions, nopony knows anything, we go back empty hoofed.”

“You managed to ask around the entire block in…” Star leaned back and looked at the clock on the wall next to him behind the desk, “An hour?”

“We split up to cover more ground.”

“Hmm. Well then Baton, I think I’ll take one of those eight breaks I’m due. Take over the front desk, I’m grabbing a donut.”

“Alright, Corporal Star.”

As he entered through the swinging doors, Star Armor saw Private Breeze taking a drink from the water fountain just to the side. He gave him a nod, which was returned after Private Breeze finished drinking.

He was about to strike up a conversation with breeze when Star’s rumbling stomach reminded him of his goals, namely a chocolate covered donut which had his name on it.

‘Hopefully there are chocolate donuts. If they’re all glazed again…’

The doors swung shut behind him. As Corporal Star Armor made his way down the hall to the break room, he didn’t see the thirty ponies that had entered the building just after he left the front room, nor did he see Private Baton unlocking the security door, letting them in.

The break room was a small rectangle room, filled with tables, chairs, bulletin boards, and a small kitchen at the end. Two ponies, Corporal Hooves and Private Nimble were playing cards at one of the tables. One one side of the room were metal lockers. On the other, the bulletin boards hung above a table. The table beneath the boards had a colorful cardboard box that made Star’s stomach rumble just looking at it.

There were indeed chocolate donuts, much to Star’s delight. He grabbed a donut out of the box, and sat down in a chair in the corner of the break room, happily munching away for the next few minutes.

Afterwards, Star brushed the crumbs off his coat as he got out of his cheap, uncomfortable wooden chair. He made a mental note to petition Colonel Comet Wing to raise the budget for furnishings.

Specifically, to get something to sit on in the break room that didn’t make his flanks sore for the next two hours.

He stopped in the hall when he heard a rumbling echo through the building.

‘There’s no storm planned for today. That rogue storm must have messed up all the schedules, I hope this doesn’t ruin my weekend plans.’

The pause also made him reconsider the idea of going back to the front desk and doing nothing but read old newspapers, books the previous attendants left, and listening to ponies drone on and on about non-issues.

‘I’ve been working hard today, and what better way to complement a donut than with a nap?’

So, Corporal Armor Star made his way to his favorite sleeping spot, an out-of-the-way janitor’s closet, and collapsed on a sack of cleaning powder. The door closed behind him, plunging him into darkness, the only light coming from beneath the door. He yawned, and shut his eyes.

Outside, he heard what sounded like Emerald having an argument with somepony.

‘Oh no, somepony’s forgotten to make a new pot of coffee when they emptied the last one. Celestia help them, they’re going to need it for somehow managing to get on her bad side!’

When he woke, he saw the light beneath the door had dimmed considerably.

‘Oh ponyfeathers, I wasn’t supposed to nap that long! The Sergeant's going to have my hide!’

He jumped to his hooves and pulled the door open. He made his way over to the front of the building, where Private Baton, or his replacement, was no doubt fuming. A scorch mark on the wall stopped him in his tracks.

“Is this what the argument was about?” He mumbled to himself before slinking back to the front.

When he got there, he couldn’t find anypony behind the front desk. Then he checked the break room. Tables were overturned, chairs too. I could see the cards spilled out over the floor where the ponies were playing earlier. But he didn’t find anypony here.

‘Nopony at the desk. Nopony in the break room, and it’s a mess...’

He trotted out and up the stairs, to where the offices were. As he reached the last flight and pushed the doors open, he was met with an empty office. Nopony was at their desks, filling out the tedious, unnecessary paperwork. Nopony was cracking jokes at the water cooler, wasting time. Nopony was asking suspects or victims questions, taking reports, or anything Royal Guard related.

Nopony was here at all.

Corporal Star Armor looked out the nearest window. The sun’s rays were reflecting brightly off the glass windows of the brick seven story apartment building next door. His eyes snapped to a clock hanging on a wall.

‘Nearly six o’clock. That’s not closing time, where is everypony?’

“Hello? I swear, if this is another surprise party, I’m eating everypony’s lunches out of the fridge for the next week!”

Nopony answered.

“Aaaa HA!” Star yelled as he jumped and turned around.

But again, he saw nopony.

Needing answers, he headed back down the stairs, down the hallway, and into the lobby area. When he reached for the front door, Star saw that it was unlocked. The security door, which policy stated must be locked at all times if not in use, was unlocked. This has never happened before.

Tentatively, he pulled the door open, and slowly walked through the lobby to the front doors. Taking a moment to calm his breathing, and dismissing a thought of this not being some kind of elaborate prank pulled on him when somepony found him sleeping in the closet and told everypony, Star Armor then pulled the front doors open.

The Streets of Cincinneighti were thankfully not empty. Star let out a sigh of relief as he saw that he didn’t wake up alone in the world, and there were indeed strange bug ponies here with–

“What the buck?!” He screamed, stumbling and falling back and onto the ground. His scream made every single pitch black insectoid pony monster stop what they were doing and stare at him.

They had blue eyes, black bodies, and massive fangs.

Star started to shake.

“This is a horrible nightmare. This isn’t real. I’m still asleep.” Star repeated to himself as he began to hyperventilate, pressing his hooves to his head rocking back and forth.

Then he got hit by thirteen glowing darts and one fireball.

Everything went silent and very painful.

As he slumped over against the front door of the Guard garrison, two of the monsters flew over and spat goo onto him, and also put out the fire. He couldn’t move his head to see just what exactly they were doing, but he felt something hit his hooves and then his muzzle. Crossing his eyes, he could make out something green on his face.

Star Armor tried crying out in disgust, dismay, and distress but his body didn’t respond to him. He was still under the effects of the stunning spells that hit him. However, the ringing in his ears that started when he got hit began to fade, and he heard the monsters that looked like ponies talking with each other. They spoke with almost a buzzing undertone to their voice.

“...with the fireballs! Seriously, I know one of you loves them, but you need to stop! Panar…! How many ponies do we miss with each target, Chamberlain?”

Star’s eyes darted around, trying to get a look at the speaker, but with his his angled towards the ground, he couldn’t see much other than the strange hooves of the monsters. Hooves was a generous term, as they seemed to have more in common with cheese than a pony’s leg.

“Just a few, sleeping ponies produce no emotion detectable, but the commotion usually wakes them all. This one must have been quite the heavy sleeper, and considering there are no beds in the Royal Guard barracks, who knows where he was sleeping? Back to the matter at hoof, My Prince…” A second speaker, coming from wherever the first was, trailed off.

‘Prince? What was going on? Was Prince Blueblood here or something? Why won’t this horrible nightmare end?!’

“Our estimates did not account for the time it would take for infiltrating. Despite the extra days you’ve allotted, we will not make the rendezvous tomorrow.”

There was a long pause.

“.... Reduce the number of targets we will hit. Prioritize reaching the rendezvous in time over hitting Canterlot’s outlying communities. I’d like to hit as many targets as possible, but a community seeing what’s going on in Canterlot and warning the rest of the Principality is far less of an issue than missing the rendezvous.”

Star’s head was lifted by a hoof, and he saw a monster right in front of him, looking him in the eyes.

“This one’s good, mark him for pickup.”

“We won’t have time for any targets, outside of the few small hamlets along the way, My Prince.”

“Then so be it.”

Though the monster in front of him dropped his head again, Star felt strong enough to at least roll his head to the side, giving him a view of most of the street. The two speakers he had been hearing were more of the monsters, and they were walking down the road in a group of three.

A far one was mostly obscured, but it resembled every other insect pony monster he had seen so far. A close one was wearing strange orange armor. And the one in the middle of the group…

It was tall. Tall like an alicorn. It had one large, curved horn jutting from the top of its head, a red fin on the back of its head with a similar red tail, and an orange torso. It wore a green peytral, and wherever it walked, the monsters bowed.

‘Prince, they called that thing.’

He saw levitating next to it, in an orange aura, was a massive hammer, the metal end of it as big as Star’s head and neck.

‘Oh Celestia, what is this nightmare?! I have to wake up!’

But Star Armor could do little more than twitch and roll his head around.

“Nothing else matters but reaching Canterlot in time. We have one good shot at defeating the Princesses, missing it jeopardizes everything.”

'Defeating the Princesses?! No no no no, this is not real! Not real! Not real!'

Eventually, the Prince monster and the other two walked away. Two more bug pony things flew up to him after a short while.

‘C’mon! Wake up! This isn’t real!’

No matter how hard he tried, Star Armor never woke up from the nightmare.

“This is the one. Let’s get him over to the storage,” one of them said in their buzzing voice.

They moved to grab him. He tried to scream and back away, but all he could manage was a grunt and falling onto his side. Hooves grabbed him and carried him away. Eventually, after being taken away from the Royal Guard garrison building by the apparently flying monsters, he was taken into an old warehouse.

Inside were a lot more of the bug monsters, flying around green glowing pods hanging from the old wooden rafters. He saw the shadows of ponies inside of them, before being placed himself in a pod filled with warm liquid. He slowly slipped back asleep, and had dreams of nice, comfy chairs in the break room, with boxes of donuts piled to the ceiling.

The first thing I noticed was that I was wearing my peytral and carrying my hammer, which was strange. No previous dream had that been the case.

The second thing was that I was standing on a cloud. Or, at least, level with clouds, far above the world below me. Looking down, I saw forests, hills, rivers, hamlets, mountains, and more, all quite visible despite the fact that it was night time. Directly beneath me was a large set of ruins, set on the side of a ravine in the middle of a massive forest.

The clouds immediately to my right dissipated, and Nightmare Moon strode forth, the mist streaming behind her in a disappearing cloak. Her nebulous mane standing in contrast to the black sky, the blue field of stars flapping in the wind.

Like myself, she was prepared for war. Nightmare Moon wore dark cyan horseshoes, peytral, and helmet. The color matched her eyes, I noted. The peytral had a moon on the center of it, and her horseshoes had fleur-de-lis acting as front guards.

‘Now that’s just a good taste in fashion.’

“The Promised Day is tomorrow, Prince Phasma. Art thou prepared for our return?”

“My forces will lay siege to Canterlot the moment the sun touches the horizon. I did not inform my forces about our alliance, as well as your existence. I figured that some things are better played close to the chest. I feared word and rumor of another alicorn existing could spill out of my loyalists’ organizations, and jeopardize their clandestine existence.”

“Then thou shalt inform thy levies posthaste, as undue confusion on the battlefield We shall place entirely on thou.”

“I weighed the two risks, and decided that hiding my disloyalty was more important. Don’t worry, I’ll tell them.”

Nightmare Moon glanced down below us.

“That ivy ridden refuse resembles our castle, The Castle of the Twin Sisters.”

“Told you. Canterlot is the capital now, the castle must have fallen into ruin in your absence.”

“So it would seem. Hast thou heard of the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony?”

“Our scouts could find no mention of them anywhere, outside of one historical account. Princess Celestia seems to have let knowledge of their existence fall by the wayside.”

“She seeks to hide her most potent armament, no doubt. Find the Elements, she would in her wisdom keep them close to her.”

“The plan is to trawl the vaults and secure rooms of the Canterlot Castle once we capture it, but infiltrating it beforehoof has proven to be an arduous undertaking. If Princess Celestia chooses to wield the Elements in combat, facing her would be a near fatal task. That’s a detail I seemed to have failed to mention to my mother…”

“Then we shall triumph together, side by side, for the Elements can only be utilized against one individual at a time. The rituals have been complete, the sacrifices made, the proper spells cast. We have no doubt that We can trounce our sister in combat. With two of us, we shall outflank her every maneuver!”

I waited politely as Nightmare Moon cackled villainously. It took a short while for her to regain her composure and for me to continue our conversation.

“Any word on your own loyalist forces?”

“The thestrals have remained quiet, We hear none of their voices. Nevertheless, We shall call upon the shadows themselves, for the barriers between realms have been weakened considerably!”

“.... Right. So anyways, we are leaving the Canterlot’s outlying communities for you to take with your forces. My army is on a very tight schedule, and we don’t have time to get those. If you could take particular care to make sure word doesn’t get out about our takeover, then securing the rest of Equestria should be a sinch.”

“It shall be so! We shall not miss our battle in Canterlot for this, however.”

“Perfect. If Celestia does defeat my mother in combat using these Elements of Harmony, then that would simplify things so much. Which is to say, there’s no way that it’s going to happen. My life is never easy…”

“The life of a monarch is fraught with trials, young Prince Phasma. Fret not, for thou hast wisely chosen a powerful ally. Together, we shall vanquish our foes!”

“Onto the next subject I’ve been meaning to ask about. This eternal night… Plants can still grow during it, right?”

“Most assuredly. Our moon shall provide the energy the flora of our world requires. No more relying on the hateful globe which burns all that it sees, the gentle comfort of our moon shall mother the life of Equus.”

“Lovely. Finally, there’s the discussion of lands my people have already captured. Every settlement directly south of Canterlot is in our control, and it would be near impossible for us to relinquish it. The attacks on the East and West portions of Equestria can be cancelled, though.”

“Then do so once We have linked forces. We intend to rule all of Equestria, but if relinquishing just a meager portion is the price to pay for thine forces and pact, then We shall pay it gladly on stipulation.”

‘Everything has a cost.’

“Name your price.”

“Thy kin feed off ponies, as thou said? Yes, then thou shall relinquish thy kingdom, and integrate thyselves into our Equestria as a protectorate. Thy kin will receive as much sustenance as they desire, and in return We expect fealty.”

"You expect me to put the safety and fate of my people in the hooves of another? Why would I ever agree to that?”

“For thou would receive a position in our own governance. Prince Phasma, thou shall remain a Prince, though thou wilt be one of Equestria, not… Thou hast not shared the name of thy kingdom.”

I rubbed my chin, pretending to think it over, before pointing out the obvious.

“That’s still putting my people in your hooves.”

“Nay. They shall be loyal to thou, though beholden to our law. We shalt not give them order, only thou will.”

“But you just said you expected fealty?”

“Thine, of a sort.”

“So you expect me to trade one master for another?”

“We would not be thine master, We would be thine… companion.”

“Come again?”

Nightmare Moon looked away, towards the moon, bright white and rising high over the world around us.

“It has been so many centuries since we had even conversed with another, let alone… None of the stallions of our age hath wooed us with promises of matricide, marching to war, or any other entertainment.” She looked back at me, “Prince Phasma of unknown lands, We would ask for thy hoof in courtship.”

‘Oh fuck. She was serious when she said that mares make the first move.’

I didn’t worry about fighting a blush, since I couldn’t, but I did feel my face heat up, as well my heart beat faster. I cleared my throat, as well as my mind.

“Ahem, I… I am very busy right now. I can’t even entertain the idea of being with anyone else, not until everything is more stable.”

“And once that is so?”

“Once…. I’m going to be honest with you, Nightmare. I’ve never pursued the thought of being with another. Never. The pleasure of others, while being a pleasure, never quite had my interest.”

“Is that a nay?”

“I’m saying I don’t know.” I rubbed my head with a hoof, trying to think.

‘She does look nice, for a pony. Gee, what could go wrong with dating a demon/alicorn/goddess as my first foray into that side of my life? Is she really going to be expecting me to do things like murder others to win her favor? What’s her idea of a date, razing a town to the ground? This just seems like a bad idea.’

I looked back at Nightmare Moon. Remembering my lessons in pony body language, I could pick out a few details. Her ears were straight up, indicating attentiveness. She was ever so slightly leaning towards me, as if trying to listen closer.

‘Something tells me saying no is a suicidally stupid idea. Typical medieval society, courting for alliances and shit. I’m sure that I can… That we…. Oh hell, this is totally going to end in my death.’

I turned away from her this time, staring at the pine trees of a coniferous forest resting at the base of a far mountain. I gathered my thoughts to respond. I couldn’t lie. Well, maybe I could, but I didn’t risk not controlling what I said.

“I don’t enjoy murder or going to war, Nightmare Moon. We are similar, but… I do what I have to do, not because I enjoy it, I usually don’t, but because I must. I admit, I have been having fun with conquering the pony towns in my way, though a nagging voice in my mind has been telling me that this is all wrong. I ignore it because I know there is no alternative, so I might as well have fun while doing my job, Panar knows I’ve had no other way of getting entertainment out of this life.”

I looked back at Nightmare Moon. She looked like she hadn't even twitched a muscle.

“I’m sorry, I’m not who you think I am.”

“Thou art exactly whom we think thou to be. We know you dislike some of our passions.”

That got a start out of me.

“But you just said you are interested in me because I come to you with war and murder on my mind.”

“Prince Phasma, We already know thou take no pleasure in murder. Thou seems to be schooled most effectively, but We have been practicing our craft for centuries; thou possess subtle signs of discomfort when such topics are conversed. Yet thou would still plunge the knife if needed. We know thou has a distaste for war, yet thou carries a war hammer without hesitation. No stallion We knew outside of our loyal thestrals could do such things. Nopony has even looked at us without ill will outside of our thestrals, too.

“Yet thou art not a thestral, raised and trained to worship and grovel at our hooves. Thou art a stranger, who hast listened to our story and understood our views. Thou finds displeasure in what We do, but thou finds pleasure in our conversations yet. Thou cannot hide the phantoms of a smile that graces thy face when thou sees us when We enter.

“Thou art a kindred soul, Prince Phasma. Do not conform to the wishes of others, and never apologize for thy aspirations. And truth be told, if thou were a copy of us, We would rend thy mind asunder for fear of usurpation.”

“How very reassuring. The fact that I’m unaging and a dreamwalker has nothing to do with this decision to court me?”

“We would have our eye on thou without those factors. With them, this is an opportunity We cannot afford to miss.”

"I see."

I took in a shaky breath and considered my options.

I could say no. The alliance between us might still hold, we hold a common enemy. Negotiations with her would always bring this subject up, again and again. And considering she would hold a near monopoly on our food source, that puts our entire future risk.

I could say yes. She said she’s fine with me not being a murderous psychopath. What a lovely basis for a relationship.... There’s also the fact that she’s good looking. For a pony, that is.

I look at her up and down. She did the same.

“Thou art also pleasing to the eye.”

“I think you’re just in love with your own reflection.”

“We think thou art as well.”

“Maybe so.”

“Doth thou have an answer?”

‘I’d be lying if I said it was entirely out of duty…’

“... I accept.”

I stopped channeling energy into the vision spell, letting the complicated lattice structure of it collapse on itself, bringing my sight back to my immediate surroundings rather than the target ahead.

Canterlot was before us, the gleaming city halfway up the mountain ahead. A bright pink bubble enveloped the entirety of the city, shimmering in the moon’s light.

On its walls, I had seen ponies marching into defensive positions, readying themselves to repel a force that outnumbered them three to one, should their first line of defense fall. Their torches bobbed as they moved around the walls, though their colors were muted.

Around me at the base of the mountain, right in front of the railroad tracks leading up, the scouts of Swarm Group Center were conversing with each other out in the open, the need to hide clearly no longer important. The full moon lit up our staging area at the base of the mountain, and it was so bright there was no need to cast light spells to see the way.

“How did they know about our approach?” Eucharis voiced, coming up to my side.

“A missed message? A delayed report? An incorrect codeword in a faked report? A scrying spell, or some other unknown form of divination? There’s a hundred possible reasons, and none of them matter. We planned for this.”

“Yes, My Prince. We’re here on time, now we must take the gleaming jewel of the Equestrian Principality, and the Princesses along with it.”

“Fetch a communication disk. It is time to inform Queen Chrysalis that we are in position, and that she must bring the defenses down from within.”

The shield belonged to Captain Shining Armor, leader of the entire Equestrian Royal Guard. The shield itself was in every sense of the word impervious. Not even my psychics-defying hammer could destroy its defenses, for it was immune to anti-magic spells.

So the plan was to exploit the weakness of Shining himself. Namely, his fatal weakness to being stabbed in the kidneys.

As long as his concentration was disrupted, or he was led to believe that Canterlot was already infiltrated and therefore the shield was useless, the shield would be dropped. Chrysalis, her few Praetorians, and the few Will of The Nine sent with her would target Captain Shining Armor from within his own defenses, his spell leaving himself vulnerable.

A changelings brought the device forward, and activated it. The pieces floated up and formed a circle, magic zapping between them, quickly dying out and forming a mirror-like surface. After a moment, my reflection was replaced with a changeling. They were in the middle of a cave, covered in pink crystals, and illuminated with blue glowing moss taken from the hive.

“My Prince!”

“Tell Queen Chrysalis that I wish to speak with her.”

The changeling hurried off, leaving me to look at the empty crystal cave. Instead, I glanced back up at the city. The sounds of stomping hooves, orders being yelled, and conversation between the troops droning out any sounds of nature around us, or the forest we had just left.

“Prince Phasma.”

I looked back at the device. Queen Chrysalis was there, wearing a set of Adamantium armor: helmet, peytral, and horseshoes.

I brought a hoof to my chest in a salute.

“Queen Chrysalis. The Legions are in position and ready for your order. The Equestrians have noticed our advance, however…”

“Yes, intercepted communications suggest the presence of a clandestine intelligence organization. They noticed a strange happenstance south of Canterlot, too many incidents for it to be explained naturally. It matters not. Do your duty and provide the distraction. Give me five minutes, and I shall be in position myself. Then, bring the dawn.”

“At once, My Queen.”

The device shut off from her end, returning the surface to its mirror-like quality for a few seconds before the changeling attendant shut off our device.

I turned back to Eucharis, and nodded to Oest who was standing right next to him.

Earlier in the day, I told him about, then ordered him to spread the word of, Nightmare Moon and her forces. I emphasized trust in myself, and that I would secure a future far more secure and better than what Chrysalis could offer.

He was surprised, and a bit angry that I hid the existence of a third all-powerful alicorn, but did as I asked.

“Chamberlain Eucharis, assemble the army.”

The Legions of the New Swarm were flying just above the city, the ground far beneath our hooves, the buzzing of our wings producing a loud, ever present noise.

There were thousands of us.

A swarm in every sense of the word.

Before us stood the grand city of Canterlot, its population far more than there were changelings alive. But its guard forces, those we outnumbered by a considerable amount. The Equestrian Royal Guards had rushed to positions along the edge of the city facing the cliff.

In truth, the city had the majority of its defensives facing the numerous sets of train tracks at its front, expecting any conventional army to approach via land. They maintained defenses around the rest of the city in the event of a Griffon attack, and as such did not have many anti-magical wards imbued on the parapets of the walls.

The walls themselves were strengthened as they acted as a support structure for the section of the city that was nearly overhanging off the mountainside. Still, the covered towers that housed the spell-slingers, ballistae, and crossbowponies were not to be ignored.

The changelings surrounded the city, our black chitin shimmering in the full moon. At the vanguard of our forces, shields were put up and maintained, on the small chance that the shield came down early and the Royal Guard opened fire. The greenish hues of the shields stood out almost as much as the offensively-pink Equestrian shield.

I flew ahead to the vanguard formations. Each of the front line formations formed a three dimensional X, with the changeling at the front and middle of the formation, and the four behind them, maintaining the shield.

Oestridae and Eucharis followed me as I went, as did a changeling with a communication device. Just before reaching one of the forward shields, I stopped and turned around.

“Activate the devices.”

“At once, My Prince!”

The device the attendant was carrying turned on, and since it was broadcasted to the many devices now being activated distributed across the entirety of the Swarm across Equestria, it once again showed a reflection of me flying in front of Canterlot, the green and pink shields distorting the city behind me.

I casted a voice amplification spell, and addressed the entirety of the changeling race.

“Changelings of the Fourth Hive, The Promised Day has arrived at last.

“For so long, our kind has worked to achieve the chance before us, this opportunity to end our suffering. By seizing this dawn, we secure not only our safety, but the future of our race!

“We must strike down the Equestrians, here and now. We must rip out their empire, root and stem, for nothing less shall spell their doom. We must be prepared to risk everything to achieve the victory we so desire. If we risk nothing, we will achieve nothing.

“This Battle of Canterlot shall decide the fate of the next epoch! Our nymphs and our nymphs’ nymphs shall sing of the glory that unfolded this day! Stories will be told, from the day after tomorrow, till the day our kind walks amongst the very stars above in the heavens. Stories will be told of our heroism, our strength, our courage! We will carve out our future from our prey, who so foolishly cast us out from this world!

“Let us show these ponies the true heirs of the world! For the Eternal Hive, we bring the dawn! Panar’s Hammer, RATTLE. THE. CAGE!”

The Legions bellowed, “FOR THE ETERNAL HIVE!”

Just an hour before Celestia would normally carry the sun in an extravagant celebration, the changelings of the Fourth Hive created their own dawn.

One hundred fireballs, each gargantuan in size, were sent soaring through the night sky, hitting the pink Equestrian shield with a loud BANG! each. The rapid staccato of the fireballs impacting the shield echoes loudly across the entire area, heard for miles. The accompanying flash lit up the entirety of the city, as well as the rest of the mountain.

The fireballs, we all knew, did nothing. Nothing except distract and scare the absolute hell out of anyone watching. I myself pressed a hoof to my chest, above my heart, as the fireballs started hitting. The sound of the fireballs hitting reminded me of–

‘Focus! That was then, this is now!’

I shook my head to clear the thoughts, and waited. I did my part, now it was time for the advance teams led by Chrysalis to engage Captain Shining Armor.

It took five minutes and nineteen seconds for the infiltrator teams to find Shining. He was on top of the front wall of Canterlot Castle and out in the open. Thirty changelings and one Queen descended upon him.

Noticing the dark shapes approaching from the city, the Royal Guards closest to him shouted a warning, and threw up a shield around the group. It was immediately dispelled by a piercing blow from a directed will spell, the laser beam set to counter the specific patterns that formed the shield.

Desperately, two more shields were thrown up, and two more shields were taken down in a similar manner.

“Warn the Princess! The invaders are already here!” Captain Shining Armor yelled at a Royal Guard behind him, who saluted and galloped off.

‘We just have to hold out until Princess Celestia c–’

“Nngehahahahaha!”

Captain Shining Armor turned to face the threat. An invader, far larger than the rest, had come to a rest on the parapets. Her greenish armor reflected the pinkish-red flashes of light that periodically brightened the city.

She had her head thrown back in her evil laugh, revealing a fanged maw. Her strange cyan hair flowed in the winds that constantly pressed against the high walls of Canterlot Castle. At her sides, what Captain Shining Armor assumed to be the thing’s minions, chuckled along with her.

The large invader ended her laugh, now staring directly at Shining. Her fangs were still visible as a sickening grin stretched the corners of her muzzle into a smile.

“Scamper on, little pony! It will do you no good, for your doom has arrived!”

The entirety of the invasion force in and around Canterlot waited, counting each passing second. The shields were up on both sides. Prayers to Panar and Celestia were whispered. Squad leaders made last second checks.

The rapid BANG BANG BANG of the fireballs pelting the Equestrian shield never let up, always reminding the Equestrians just what they were facing; doom. Once the shield fell, there would be no sortie out. There would be no heroic charge by the defenders to take the fight away from the city. The defenders were hunkered down in what defenses they had, and they would have to be dragged out, or burned out.

Crossbow bolt tips peaked out of murder holes. Ballistae meant for slaughtering great dragons were lowered to be level with the changelings forces, and springs were pulled down as massive spears were loaded onto the slide and pulled back. Unicorn anti-air teams took positions in the towers ringing their gleaming city, ready to engage the invaders. Pegasi lined up in formation, ready to intercept any targets that charged the defensive emplacements, and to engage foes that had made it all the way to the walls.

The changelings waited, like a beast stalking its prey, prowling at the treeline.

The ponies stood unwavering, resolute in their oaths to protect their city and Princesses. They stood ready to fend off the foreign, cloaked invaders. When the Battle for Canterlot would start, they would fight with every last breath.

But the Battle for Canterlot did not start on the Promised Day. On the contrary, the changelings had no intention of fighting fair, and had been at war with an oblivious enemy for quite some time. The Tenth Legion, Underhive Scarabs, had established a forward base within the crystals caves, and from that they sabotaged the springs of the ballistae, sapped the power from shield enchantments placed on the fortifications, and created accurate layouts of the defenses, which were then distributed to the attacking force.

Even now the entirety of the specialist legion, a few hundred changelings strong, waited patiently for the shield to drop, only on the inside of the shield. They waited in alleys, in near-empty drinking halls, in shops, and parks. They waited just behind the Canterlot outer defenses, waiting for the shield to drop and for their greatest duty to begin.

Between a hammer and an anvil, the Equestrian defenses would be shattered, swiftly and brutally.

The Equestrians were expecting a pitched battle, where force would clash against force. Where heroes would emerge from the battle, as strong and courageous as the tales of yore. A gentlemare’s war, with no real idea of just how high the stakes were.

The changelings merely counted the moments passing. They had waited their entire lives for this, and were willing to wait just a few minutes more.

‘How many seconds of time are in eternity?’

I looked to my side. Oestridae was with me. Chamberlain Eucharis had fallen to the rearguard, where the majority of the Chosen Conquerors were. It was his duty as nominal Captain of the Twelfth to lead them.

“Oest…. What happens when we die?”

“Hmm?”

“When we die. What happens to us? Is there a paradise waiting? Judgement?”

“Dunno.”

“What do the teachings of Panar say?”

“A changeling who gives everything to the hive ascends above The Great Tapestry, to the realm of The Six Halls. A changeling who lives for themselves, is cast off The Great Tapestry.”

–A field of white petaled flowers–

A shiver went up my spine.

“And beneath The Great Tapestry is…?”

“No one knows. No one wants to know.”

Our conversation lulled, and I looked up to the moon. That’s when I noticed the craters and seas that formed the so-called Mare in The Moon had vanished. Now, it lacked any of the black patches that formed its seas.

‘The cretin moon no more is howling, gone its mourning black. Nightmare Moon walks Equus.’

“What about reincarnation?”

I heard Oest’s armor clink as he turned his head to me.

“Reincarnation?”

“What if, beyond everything, there is a new life? A new world?”

“I suppose anything’s poss–” Oestridae cut himself off with a sharp intake of breath.

Ahead of us, the pink shield that was maintained by Captain Shining Armor flickered out of existence.

“And so it begins.”

The barrage of enlarged fireballs coming from Panar’s Hammer ceased, though the ones still in flight hit the great pony city, causing untold damage to the houses, shops, parks, and infrastructure.

‘We’ll fix that later.’

Now that the shield was gone, I could see the city of this world’s desire far clearer.

It was a four tiered behemoth, each layer a concentric ring. I could pick out white stone, greenery, rivers, and an offensive amount of purple in the metropolis.

The lower tier held the manufacturing districts, as well as transportation in the form of the rail yard close to the front of the city. The middle tier held the shops, homes, and many of the parks in Canterlot. It was by far the largest section, bigger than the other three sections combined. The upper tier held the lavish pony estates, foppish shops and restaurants, as well as buildings and complexes dedicated to the running of Canterlot and Equestria as a whole. I heard there were also schools and universities there, though I could not spy them from our locations.

Finally, standing tall in alabaster white chiseled stone, Canterlot Castle towered over its city. Its towers, walls, and ramparts like a panopticon, ever present and watching, no matter how far away from the center of the city you were. I saw banners of purple and gold flapping in the wind, atop the tallest towers of the keep. The sprawling compound also seemed to be home to the biggest garden in the entire city, complete with a hedge maze.

A bolt of lightning zapped the shield in front of me, just a few hooves in ahead, snapping my attention back to the siege.

I didn’t bellow an order to hold. The Legions knew the plan, they knew what to do. As the Equestrians started opening fire, crossbow bolts, ballistae shots, and all kinds of spells ranging from focused-will laser beams to classical elemental projectiles, the changelings did nothing but hold the line.

Some shields at the front started to falter, the combination of attacks starting to wear down the casters as they constantly cycled through the different key combinations of defenses to counter the projectiles and spells they saw coming their way.

To stop this, changelings fell back out of formation as new casters took their places, taking the burden of maintaining the shields. This went on for a minute at most, yet the rapid pace action made each second feel like their own period of time, marked with events that stuck out in memory.

The Equestrians were throwing everything they had at the fangs of the monster closing in for the kill. They had no idea the lower jaw was rapidly snapping up to tear into them.

The flashes of light and lessened rain of blows against us were all the signals I needed to know the next phase of the invasion had occurred; the attacks from within, against the relatively unprotected backside of the defenses.

Now, it was finally time to join the battle.

"LEGIONS! CHARGE!"

The legionaries gave a rallying cry as the forward X formations started the rapid advance to the outer Canterlot defenders.

Around me, changelings surged forward in flight. Oest flew by my side, and a group of changelings started to gather immediately behind me. The Will of The Nine would be sticking close to me throughout the battle up until the Princesses are taken out.

Though until there was a threat that actually warranted my attention, I would be sitting safe in the back lines. I almost looked longingly at my hammer which I had slung over a shoulder, but I knew I would get to use it eventually.

Corporal Solar Vision ducked back into cover after he finished firing a salvo of fire bolts at the green shields of the hostile forces outside.

Nopony knew where they came from, why there were here, or even what they were! Somehow, an entire army made its way to Canterlot with nopony knowing, not even the Princesses!

Solar Vision looked to his left and right; Private Cold Comet, a white coat blue mane unicorn, and Corporal Shining Star, a golden yellow coat red mane unicorn, were peeking out from behind their parapets and were in the middle of letting off their own attacks. He watched as Cold prepared a particularly brutal looking Ice Tempest spell, the small icicles spinning rapidly in the forming cyclone.

Solar peaked out from behind his thick stone parapet to watch the fast moving spell construct zip across the open air, only to shatter harmlessly against the shield closest to his squad’s position.

‘By the sun, how are we not even breaking a single shield?!’

He knew that these spells would normally drain the mana reserves of an opposing unicorn maintaining the shield quite effectively. Yet with so many teams of Royal Guard throwing everything they had, there was nothing to show for it.

“Star!” Solar called out after getting back behind his cover. The unicorn in question finished his barrage and retreated to his own cover, before answering Solar.

“What?!” Shining Star yelled over the deafening sound of the spells

“Nothing we’re doing is working!”

“You just noticed that?!”

Solar shook his head. “We need to do something different!”

“What do you suggest?!”

“Firefly’s Pillar of Flame!”

Shining Star stared at Solar for a moment, before yelling at him.

“Are you outta your mind? We haven’t managed a single successful cast of it yet!”

“This time will be the one! I know it!”

Shining muttered something that Solar didn’t pickup over loud shouting and spell casting. Then, Solar turned to his other side and waved to get Private Cold Comet’s attention.

“I need you to switch off of cold spells! Me and Shining Star are going to dual cast a fire spell together, cold will interfere more with our channeling!”

“Shining Star and I!” Was all the Private said, before switching to casting lightning based spells. If Solar ever needed a reminder that Cold Comet was here only for a Canterlot University scholarship, Cold was more than happy to supply him with one.

Rolling his eyes, Solar turned back around to face Shining. Shining had taken off his golden Royal Guard helmet, letting his long red mane flow freely in the low wind.

“You ready?!”

“As I’ll ever be!”

Solar Vision took a deep breath, and started forming the constructs and pathways by channeling mana through his horn. He slowly built up half of a cylinder made out of the complex formations in his mind, trusting Shining to complete the other half. Here and there, he even let channels end abruptly, spilling their contents into the open air. Solar had to, as those were where Shining would connect his own channels, linking the two halves of the spell construct together.

A single mistake on either of their parts would cause the entire structure to fail, inflicting serious damage to both of them. That would mean neither of them could cast anything to protect themselves– or continue firing at the invaders– until they could recover.

“Done! Aim it!” Shining called out from the other side of the spell.

Solar Vision opened his eyes, not realizing he closed them to help him concentrate. There was a gold and orange swirling mass of dots between them. As he concentrated on holding the spell, Solar couldn’t help but stare at the nascent spell, giddy with happiness that he and his friend finally managed to pull off the group casting.

‘Right, enemies!’

He leaned out from behind the parapet to look out over the enemies. There were two shields close enough to hit, one right in front of their section of the wall, and one on the left within range. Solar Vision was about to direct the spell to hit the shield in front of him when he spied a silhouette of a larger invader behind the shield on the left.

‘Whoah, that’s one big pony! I bet they’re important!’

Switching targets, Solar finished casting the targeting matrix, completing the spell.

“Loose on my mark!”

“Ready!”

“Three! Two! One! M–”

A searing burning pain in Solar’s horn wrenched him away from the crenel in front of him, sending him onto his back as he clutched the base of his horn with two hooves.

‘Ponyfeathers! We had it! What went wrong?!’

“Shining!” He managed to hiss out, squinting an eye in his direction. Corporal Shining Star was on the ground, not moving.

“S-Shining?!”

Solar saw Shining’s prone form twitching on the ground. Solar started to drag himself over to Shining’s prone body, eyes blurring from tears as his horn seemed to burn a hole in his head. Shining was only four hooves away, but it felt like Solar was crawling for a solid hour before he reached him. Solar Vision pushed Shining’s helmet out of the way on the ground as he got to him, and tried shaking him.

“Shining Star! Get up! Please!”

Something was wrong. It took Solar a moment to realize that it had become considerably quieter.

‘We’re right in between the 103rd and 106th, but I don’t hear them casting spells. What happened?!’

Solar got an answer to the question he asked, as well as the one he didn’t ask. The same thing that happened to the other two squads had happened to his, he was just the last pony standing.

When rolled to his side to look at Private Comet, he saw him slouched over against the parapet he was behind. Standing next to the private was some sneering thing, all covered in black and staring right at–

Oest and I watched as changelings swarmed over the ponies, dozens of stunning spells zipping through the air at any given moment. It took only a few minutes for the deluge of hostile fire upon us to cease, lessening at first before halting all together. The defenders, at least those still standing, were using everything they had in a vain attempt to stop their imminent defeat.

Here and there, squads of changelings were starting to break away from the engagement, flying deeper into the city now that their targets were dealt with.

“My Prince!”

I turned to the changeling calling me, “Yes?”

“The advance teams report the outer defenses of Canterlot have fallen below effectiveness, and are ready to move into Lower Canterlot!”

I eyed the city ahead of us. The fires were spreading at an alarming rate.

“Give them the go-ahead to pursue targets at their own initiative, but emphasize the need to extinguish the out-of-control fires. We need Canterlot intact.”

The changeling saluted and flew off.

“Alright Oest, let’s go find Princess Cadence and get her autograph.”

Princess Cadence’s last known location was Canterlot Castle, which meant I would run into and have to talk with… her.

Queen Chrysalis would be at Canterlot Castle by now, either dealing with or having dealt with Princess Celestia...

‘One empty tube–’

I shook my head and continued on. We were flying above Middle Canterlot now. I could see changelings pursuing fleeing ponies occasionally, though the vast majority of the force was still working their way through Lower Canterlot.

As we flew above the city, I stared down at the ground, picking out small details. An overturned stall here, a group of ponies galloping towards the city center there. I even caught a glimpse of a yellow pony tending to a garden in their backyard, either unaware or uncaring of what was happening in the city.

There would be plenty of time to admire the city later. Lots of time.

After a bit of flying, Canterlot Castle, which was forever looming over the grand city, gradually became larger and larger as we neared. I had to admit, Princess Celestia knows how to build a beautiful castle. Or at least order subordinates to build one.

It lay in the geographical center of the city, with roads extending out like spokes from a wheel hub. The immediate area around it was a plaza filled with different stalls, a few stages, and scattered greenery. At the front of the castle and facing the entrance to the city was a large statue of Princess Celestia, rearing back with wings spread high and wide.

The castle itself was a monument of towering snow white walls, colored windows that shone in the moonlight, and of course more open nature spaces. The towers of the castle were adorned with gold trimming, so much so that I was doubting that it was even real gilded gold and not another substance painted gold yellow.

Atop the tallest tower, stretching high above the cityscape, the end of a massive telescope jutted out the end of a vertical opening in the purple, union-shaped roof.

‘Was Princess Celestia a fan of astronomy? Or was she just checking up on her prisoner on the moon?’

As my group flew closer and closer, I began to pick out more details about the castle. Blurs which must have been birds previously roosting in the trees of the castle garden now flying away from the castle and the loud noises that awoke them. The stained glass windows had shapes resembling ponies, but a few of them– specifically at the keep, near what had to be the throne room– had been blown out. Or blown in, I couldn’t tell at this distance.

And finally, I saw changelings. The Infiltrators and Underhive Scarabs that weren’t on the attack against the perimeter wall were all swarming the castle, moving from tower to tower, balcony to balcony, and from pony to pony.

I watched as a pegasus in a black french maid’s outfit tried to make a break for it out on a particularly high balcony, only to get grabbed and dragged down by a changeling watching that area of the castle.

The changelings behind me followed my lead as I landed in front of the main doors of the castle, past the opened portcullis of the main gateway. Two changelings wearing Praetorian gear were standing at attention on either side. The doors themselves, massive birch wood beams banded with gold plating, seemed to be partially ripped off their metal hinges and resting slanted against the walls on either side.

“Where is Queen Chrysalis?”

The one on the left responded, “Inside, My Prince!”

I nodded, and headed inside. The front foyer had a black and white checkerboard stone flooring, with red carpet laying across the center, leading from the front door to the center of the room, where it split to either side where light and dark wood doors sat, and straight ahead, to a grand staircase, covered in similar red fabric.

The walls kept in theme with the castle with large white sections decorated with more gold, or again a metal similarly looking to gold, trimming and etchings. Great banners hung on the walls against purple backgrounds, the banners’ contents ranging from simplistic diamonds and other geometric shapes, to what I assumed to be the standards of Royal Guard divisions.

Those last ones were the most interesting, often with roman numerals, pictures of ponies in golden armor, and different medals pinned to them.

The staircase did not go an entire floor up, merely splitting off to either side when it hit a low wall with a gold, bejeweled railing on top. On this wall, a painting of Princess Celestia hung. She was looking at the viewer, smiling as she strode through a garden.

‘Smiling in paintings was unheard of, right? I’m getting sidetracked again…’

I did not come here to sight-see. Queen Chrysalis was somewhere in this almost-pristine castle, and I was betting I knew just where to find her.

‘Where is the throne room?’

I was about to look around for clues when a sign at the base of the staircase caught my eye.

‘All petitioners please head up this staircase and straight ahead. Please form an orderly line.’

“Well that’s convenient.”

“What is?”

I nearly jumped as Oest appeared at my side. I pointed at the sign.

“We don't need to hunt down where Chrysalis is. That is, unless she is off smashing the place up. I wouldn’t put that past her.”

The staircase led to a large, grand hallway that gave me serious Déjà vu. More stained glass windows; most of them were smashed out but the ones that were intact depicted stories that I recalled were about Equestria’s history. One had Celestia with three smaller pictures above of the sun rising, full in the sky, and setting. Another had Royal Guards stabbing towards a dragon.

‘But not hitting it. That time I recall they simply herded it away from their empire, too afraid to actually try to break its natural scale chainmail.’

Again, I admonished myself for getting distracted. I was here to do a job.

We continued down the hall at a brisk pace. At the end of the hall I saw again two massive doors, nearly ripped off their hinges. Beyond them lay what must have been the throne room. The group stopped in the hallway, just before the threshold of the throne room.

White marble flooring, utterly massive stained glass windows, a dominating red carpet rolled all the way to the throne, a captivating vaulted ceiling with exposed ribs and countless stained wood boards, held steadfast to the ceiling with gold embroidered and filigreed ribs painted black.

There were massive equally spaced ionic columns, each bearing a carved sun at the top where they touched the edge of the vaulted ceiling.

Then there was the throne. I imagined that once, it was a massive golden symbol of power. Where Chrysalis’s was a blue metal thing that dominated the room, this was a golden mountain that dominated not just the room, but the world itself.

Half of it was missing. Many of the windows were blown out. Several columns had been ripped apart at varying heights. The breathtaking ceiling was not spared the devastation, either.

Queen Chrysalis was sitting on the remains of the gold throne, the gold and red velvet backing ripped off. She had a sinister grin on her face as she watched me enter and do a three-sixty spin as I took in the room.

“Prince Phasmatodea! The Throne of Canterlot Castle, and by extension the world, is mine at last!”

‘Smug bastard.’

“Queen Chrysalis. Your battle with Princess Celestia went well?”

“Oh, it will. She and her niece must have fled the moment her spies heard of my imminent arrival!”

‘Gone? The touted paragon of all virtues fled her keep, abandoning her precious ponies? What?’

“Then what put up such a fight as to warrant this much damage?”

“As if there is any other foe in existence which could give me pause! No, I simply decided that some redecorating was in order.”

“You... Alrighty then.”

“Tell me Prince Phasma. You flew over the city as you came here, what did you see?”

“The gleaming capital of the race that stood at the top of the world?”

“And what is this city worth?”

“As it is without the Princesses? Nothing.”

“Find Captain Shining Armor. He’ll know where the Princesses have gone.”

‘Did she say find the Captain?’

“Didn’t you have to engage him to force him to drop the shields? How did he get away?”

“I played with my food, but he’s an opponent not to be underestimated.”

‘Can’t you do anything right? You claim the throne is yours yet you’ve accomplished nothing at all!’

I was calm enough to control my responses, though. It would do no one any good if I got axed before I could link up with Nightmare Moon.

“And where might your quarry have scurried off to?”

“To where the fighting’s the thickest.”

“I came all this way just to head back to the perimeter wall?”

“You came to Canterlot Castle to pick up the trail of your prey. Go, find him, and find the Princesses. I’ll try to bait out the Sun Tyrant.”

‘Need me to do anything else while I’m at it? Give you a backrub, perhaps? Scrub your hooves? Do your fucking job for you?’

“Then deliver to you Princess Celestia’s location so you can deal with her?”

“Nnhahahaha, she cannot hide forever!” Chrysalis laughed, just before blasting out another window.

‘Nightmare better get here sooner rather than later, or I swear I’ll kill her with my own two hooves!’

We soared over the city, scanning for fights.

There were plumes of smoke rising into the air now; some of the fires were extinguished and produced the most smoke, but for every building put out, two more took its place. It was a Sisyphean task that was taking up a lot of lings’ time and effort to combat.

Now that Outer Canterlot was mostly secure, the invasion moved inward, towards Middle Canterlot. That’s where Captain Shining Armor would most likely be.

“I’m not seeing anything from this high up!” I called out over my shoulder to Oestridae. “I’m landing!”

I dropped height quickly, and the small cloud of changelings spaced out behind me did the same. When my hooves set down onto the cobblestone road beneath us in Middle Canterlot, the Will of The Nine set down both on the road and on top of some of the nearby houses. Oest, sticking to me like glue, landed by my side.

“Right. Up for a stroll through Canterlot?”

Oest just glared at me.

As we made our way through the once busy street of one of the main roads, I got a good look at the invasion in action. For the most part, buildings were cleared SWAT-style, as I had taught the Legions. The reason for this was quite simple: Canterlot is a unicorn city. By and large the biggest demographic of the city was unicorns, and therefore anti-magic measures were required to safely clear each building and subdue each pony.

But that was the boring way of doing things. Some lings took the risk and broke away from the rule brook and let loose. I saw a pony being chased down a side alley as a ling taunted her.

A few changelings must have gotten really bored, as three Great Uttu were spitting web globs at fleeing ponies down a street that split off to the side of the one we were traveling down, slowly chasing them on eight legs. Once their yellow-striped spider forms disappeared around a bend, chittering with laughter as they went, I continued on.

We saw a few changelings fed off a few ponies that were podded already, under the watchful eyes of nearby Praetorians.

‘So long as this is regulated… I know what happens when a city is really sacked, this is much more tame.’

In fact, we witnessed an instance of the potential reckless and abandon that was kept subdued by the Praetorian forces.

When a large group of earth ponies barricaded themselves within a hotel, my group and I saw a ling outside changed into a massive Millipore. The changeling rapidly grew in size until it was thirty hooves long, forty three segments long, and his black carapace taking on an oily black tinged with red hues. It clacked two massive sharpened mandibles that had more in common with chainsaws than bug parts before facing the barricaded hotel. Thundering forward on a hundred legs before rearing back and up and slamming down on the building, shattering many of the wooden walls and caving the roof in.

‘So that’s what a Millipore looks like.’

When it started prying off bits of the wooden ceiling, I looked around and saw three Praetorians similarly watching it all unfold, no doubt impressed by the display.

“Hey! You three! Reprimand that changeling for potentially killing ponies! And for unregulated feeding, there’s no way he could sustain that transformation on rations alone!”

They had saluted when I addressed them, before rushing off to bring the overzealous changeling in. As they group casted a anti-change spell, the rest of the changelings that were part of the rogue’s squad rushed into the opening, dragging out ponies that were stunned from the sudden appearance of an Underhive monster.

‘Not that they know what the Underhive even is…’

Above all else, the most noticeable thing I witnessed firsthoof was the very air of the city. It reeked of fear, the tantalizing emotion forming almost tangible waves that washed through the city blocks.

I made a mental note to grab a snack for myself later.

As I stood there by the collapsed hotel, daydreaming of the taste of love, a changeling had flown up to me, stopping and saluting before me.

“My Prince!” He grabbed my attention.

“Yes?”

“The 302nd has encountered an issue that requires your immediate attention! I am thankful to find you so soon, My Prince…”

“Go on, my changeling.”

“There’s a pony shield up a couple blocks away. Nothing we throw at it seems to even scratch the thing!”

“That is marvelous news! Show me.”

The shield was as I had hoped, pink.

It was at least fifty hooves in diameter, encompassing an entire building within as well as portions of the neighboring ones. Three squads of changelings stood by, patiently waiting for me to bring home their food.

‘A coffee shop? That’s where you’re making your stand?’

I swung God-Splitter to my side before tapping the shield with a hoof.

“Hello? Are there ponies in here?”

I saw shapes in the window of the shop move around, before the windows were covered up with what I presumed was overturned furniture. The chairs and tables on the patio out in front were all pushed over, as their occupants celebrating the holiday had rushed inside when the invasion came.

“Helloooo?! I’m looking for a Captain Shining Armor!” I yelled at the shield.

There were muffled voices coming from within, but no clear response.

‘This isn’t going to work but it’s worth a try.’

I pulled God-Splitter to the side before projecting the head forward, swinging it on the tether spell. It hit the shield with a very satisfying thud. Satisfying, and not completely disappointing. It was immune to being dispelled, and though I only managed to make it flicker briefly into a more transparent hue of pink, I had confirmed that it was maintained by the one and only Captain Shining Armor.

“Ooooh Shining Armor! I’m a big fan of yours, I’m just here to ask you a few questions!”

“Like buck you are!” A slightly-muffled yell from within both the shield and the building responded.

‘He’s got an impressive pair of lungs. I bet barking all those orders for years must’ve helped.’

“I just need to know where the two Princesses are, then I’ll be on my way…! Say, what are you even doing here, Captain Armor? What’s a wolf doing hiding amongst these rats?!”

“I’m not telling you and you’re not getting in!”

‘He’s right. The only way forward is to bait him out.’

“Hmm… A shop in the middle of downtown Canterlot… Is there someone inside you care about? A wife? Sibling? Parent? Friend? Come on, I am dying of curiosity out here!”

“You can wait out there all you want, we’re not leaving!”

“Oh you will, you will!” I turned to one of the changelings watching. “Get me a pony foal. I don’t care where you find one, just get one." Then, I asked over the Weave, "The rest of you, are you any good at group illusion casting?”

Group casting spells is a task that most ponies find extremely difficult. Given how each pony is raised to be as individualistic as possible, and often find working with others a difficult task, this isn’t surprising. This is why their Princesses often find themselves having to preach about cooperation to their ponies.

Changelings on the other hoof, are raised from their nymph stage on to be communal workers, often finding themselves working with others very often. Working with the lings next to you is emphasized greatly within the hive, especially when it comes to combat and casting magic. The hive would not survive if everyone was as self-concerned as they are in pony society.

That doesn’t mean that changelings are friendlier. In fact, they are more xenophobic than ponies, if the invasion and propaganda didn’t give that away. Anything not a changeling was most definitely beneath contempt, let alone working alongside.

So whereas the ponies have excelled at researching and discovering new types of magic as well as spells, including expanding their knowledge of the underlying mechanics of magic, changelings have excelled at perfecting teaching and casting processes for group casting spells.

This is aided in no small amount by the Weave. The subconscious near-hivemind assists changelings’ spell casting, helping them line up their mental spell constructs, their timing, and even their knowledge of the spell itself.

Now that the changelings were away from the hive, the only Weaves there were for the changelings were mine and Chrysalis’s. Our projected Command auras were like nascent Weaves, with far more limited range, capacity, and included knowledge than the gargantuan field projected by the entombed Princes and Princesses. I didn’t know just how inferior it was, and I did not have the time to test the limits.

Still, this was a boon that the ponies couldn’t even fathom. The very idea of ponies working in tandem to cast a protective shield spell, a sound amplification spell, and several layered illusion spells was inconceivable. The shield and amplification spell was quite possible and often employed together by Royal Guard officers. Illusion spells, now those were quite tricky to ponies, and so were often afterthoughts or theories frequently rejected when explaining strange sights.

I was certain that centuries of subtle sabotage in the illusion field by changelings when they could get into high pony society had lent a hoof to their lack of knowledge. When your means of acquiring food requires your food to be ignorant, you work hard to make sure it is.

The ponies within the Captain’s shield, Captain Shining Armor included, almost certainly had little knowledge of illusion spells. They absolutely had no knowledge of any assistance from the Weave. They would not comprehend the relationships between illusionary constructs and other spells, such as the visionary distortions caused by viewing the magical illusions through magical shields, or the similar audible ones produced by the sound amplification spell. Ponies just thought that illusion spells are near impossible to pull off without being disrupted by any other magic.

Simply put, we were putting on quite the show for ponies. Though there was no spell being casted that required group casting per se, the exact teamwork required was effectively the same as the difficult task. Great amounts of effort were put in to make everything seem normal. The ponies wouldn’t appreciate the amount of effort required to pull off this trick, so I had to show my approval for my minions’ efforts myself.

“Keep it up, you’re all doing good,” I whispered entirely through the Weave.

I had to keep my praises short and sparse, for breaking their concentration too much would be counterintuitive.

“Bring me a foal,” I commanded out loud. The changelings did as I asked, going along with the plan I had laid out. A unicorn filly was dragged over by a flying changeling. Her hooves and horn were bound, as well as her muzzle.

The filly was a unicorn, with a bright blue coat and white mane and tail. She had no cutie mark, so she must be really young. She stared at me with wide eyes as she trembled on the ground in front of me.

‘You reek of fear. Let’s hope that fear can spread,’ I thought as I freed her muzzle.

“Hello, little one. What is your name?”

“W-w-who are you?” She stuttered.

“This has nothing to do with her, let her go!” Shining yelled from within the shop inside the shield.

“That, little foal, depends entirely on what your dear Captain will do.”

Shining was standing on his hindlegs up against a table pressed against the window, peering through a crack in the makeshift defense.

There was another one of those massive bug things out there, though not the same one that attacked him earlier. This smaller one was stranger in appearance, looking more like those bug-ponies that all looked alike.

‘If Twilight were here, she’d probably call them clones.’

For a moment, Shining was glad that Twi had left Canterlot earlier yesterday. Then he remembered that these monsters had to come from somewhere, and that meant that they probably attacked the towns outside of Canterlot first. Ponyville, the small town that Princess Celestia asked his sister to visit was north of Canterlot, but Shining wasn’t sure that it was safe there.

These invaders were very prepared for this attack, who knows what small towns weren’t taken over?

These invaders… The Division had said there was something strange happening in the South, but they couldn’t get more information. These ponies didn’t give a formal declaration of war. They didn’t send demands before attacking Canterlot, and likely any of the other towns. They just came and…

He saw what they were doing out in the streets. Ponies were being stunned and bound up. These foes didn’t care for the riches of the city, they wanted the ponies.

‘Where do they come from? What are they doing with their captives? When is Princess Celestia going to get back?!’

Too many questions, too few answers. Princess Celestia seemingly vanished soon after midnight, saying she was stepping out of the Castle for a moment. Wherever she was, it wasn’t in Canterlot. She would have returned to Canterlot Castle immediately if she was. Raven Inkwell assured everypony that this was planned. And then not three hours later, The Division said an army was marching on Canterlot.

Shining checked his shield spell for the fifteenth time this hour. It was still holding up, and would hold up for days potentially.

“Captain, let me take over watch.”

Shining dropped down and turned around to see Spearhead behind him. The brown pegasus was still in his scuffed up Guard armor.

“No, you need to rest. You took quite the hit helping me get away from that thing.”

“You can’t be doing much better, Sir. How’re you not experiencing any of that mana burn stuff you unicorns always gripe about?”

“Ha, this shield is my specialty, Lieutenant. Besides, I wasn’t casting most of the spells during that fight, that was Quirk and Silver.”

At the names of the two privates, Spearhead and Shining looked away from each other, to the barricades against the windows.

“.... Night Light asks if there’s any word from Princess Celestia.”

“She’s coming. I know she is. She has to be.” Shining said without turning back towards Spearhead.

“The civilians are also asking about what’s going on. They want to know what’s happening outside.”

“Tell them that nopony’s being hurt. The invaders are… Just tell them nopony out there is hurt, and once Princess Celestia gets back, she’ll make sure everypony is alright.”

“Is that true?”

“It has to be.”

“... She’s also worried, too. Even if she’s smart enough to not say anything.”

‘Her lessons, I’m sure.’

“I’ll reassure her shortly. Just give me a few more minutes to think of what to say.”

Shining heard the clip clop of Spearhead leaving the front room, back into the main dining area. Alone, he let out a sigh.

“Bring me a foal.”

The enemy commander was speaking again. As Shining started to stand back up to peek out the window again, he heard soft thud, as if a body hit the cobblestone road outside. Now looking out, he confirmed his suspicions.

‘They must be using a sound amplification spell. That pony-thing wants me to hear what’s going on.’

Shining watched as a filly was thrown down in front of the commander.

“Hello, little one. What is your name?”

“W-w-who are you?” The poor girl was stuttering so much.

Shining couldn’t believe what he was seeing. What does a foal have to do with anything that was happening?

“This has nothing to do with her, let her go!” Shining yelled.

“That, little foal, depends entirely on what your dear Captain will do,” the commander ignored Shining’s demand.

‘He wants to coerce me into leaving?’

“I said leave her alone!”

Now the commander looked towards Shining.

“Why don’t you tell Captain Shining Armor your name, then?’

“Sh-shining?

“He’s a Royal Guard in there, listening to us.”

“Are you hoping for a hostage trade?! We don’t have any of your kind prisoners!”

“That’s him speaking.”

“My n-n-n…. Name is… is Sparkling Water.”

“Sparkling Water. What a nice name, thank you for telling us.”

“C-can I go now?”

“Hmm,” the commander rubbed his chin in thought. “I suppose you can. After you do one more thing for me, of course.”

Shining watched, trying to figure out what the invader was planning.

“I w-want my dad!”

“Let. Her. Go!”

“You can see him soon. I just need you to convince Captain Shining Armor to leave his bubble.”

“Sh-shining? I want t-to see my dad. Pl-please do what he says…”

The foal’s shaky voice sounded so clear through the amplification spell.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see him once Princess Celestia comes and fixes this!”

“Oh, I tried using words to convince him to come out. That won’t work.”

“Then… then w-what do I do?”

Shining saw the commander levitate a massive green hammer over–

‘No! He… He can’t! Wouldn’t!’

“I’ll show you, little one.”

“Spearhead! Get every guard up here!” Shining half-turned and called out to the doorway behind him, before looking back out the window. He heard the filly ask what was the thing that the commander was bringing over.

‘I need to stall for time!’

“What are your demands, invader!”

The hammer stopped midair, almost above Sparkling, as he looked straight at Shining Armor. Shining could pick out slitted eyes staring him down, even at this distance.

‘Just like the female commander. Are they related, or something?’

“For you to come out. This is inevitable, Captain. You will only harm others by putting up your pitiful resistance. Do the smart thing, and surrender. No pony will be harmed if you don’t resist.”

Shining heard hoofsteps behind him, and saw the five other guards inside the building line up behind him.

‘Need to stall him.’

“Agh, you… wait a second!”

‘Way to go, Shining. You sure got him there!’

“What’s going on, Cap’n?” One of the Royal Guards asked.

“That enemy commander who arrived earlier, he’s got a foal hostage. Remove the chairs against the door.”

“Sir? What are we going to do?”

“Make sure nopony gets hurt.”

As they removed the barricade, Shining looked back out the window. The commander was still looking at him.

‘No pony was being hurt out there. In fact, these strange ponies were using spells less lethal than our own, aside from that fireball barrage in the beginning! He’s just bluffing to get me out!’

“Well? Are you coming out?” The commander demanded.

“Please!” Sparkle begged, still at the invader’s hooves.

‘... But I can’t call him out. I can’t take the chance that he’s not bluffing.’

“Yeah, we’re coming out!”

“We?”

‘Oh buck me!’

“I meant myself! I’m coming out alone!”

“... Good.”

Shining let out a sigh of relief, before getting down from the window.

Spearhead asked, “Do you think we can take them?”

“Six against forty-something?” Shining asked.

“That’s a no.”

“I’ll take out their commander. Then, I’ll nab their hostage, Sparkling Water, as I fall back to this place. You’ll all cover my retreat, then I’ll put the shield back up. Enemy Very Important Pony down, foal rescued, day saved.”

The other guards nodded.

“Sounds like a plan, Cap!”

“Alright, get to either side of the door.”

“Not coming out, huh?” I asked the very shy Captain. “Guess I’ll have to incentivize expedience.”

I levitated the hammer above the foal, and pulled it back. Then, the door kicked open, and a white unicorn in purple and gold armor emerged from the dark doorway.

“That’s enough,” he said while walking towards the edge of the bubble. “I’m out, just as you wanted.”

I tasted only one source of fear, defeating the idea that he didn’t come out alone.

“Out of your shield, little pony.”

“Fine. But you’d better not hurt her!”

Frankly, I was surprised I didn’t have to fake torturing the filly. I had wholly expected to have my changelings make an illusionary version of Sparkle Water that I would ‘torture,’ with the real one pulled away, the swap covered up by an illusion.

But I kept the hammer above the real filly. Just in case.

The pink bubble around the shop fizzles out of existence, leaving the Captain standing before us.

“There we go. Now, don’t resist as we–”

Captain Shining Armor immediately started resisting by firing a focused will beam at me. The blue laser shattered the shield in front of me that was maintained by the changelings, striking me in the chest.

Thankfully, I was not me.

The illusionary construct right behind the shield was ripped apart, revealing me and the filly off to the side, and plenty more changelings around me, who were casting the illusionary spells.

“Well that was rude. Get him!”

Captain Shining Armor recovered from the brief shock of realizing he shot an illusion, and started casting. Before he could get another laser beam off, I levitated the filly in front of me, and Shining pulled his horn up at the last second, scorching a line on the building behind me across the street.

“Please stop,” I said disheartedly.

Shining casted a shield spell just in time as nearly thirty stunning spells of different sizes hit him, each bolt fizzling off the pink shield that materialized out of nowhere.

Five Royal Guards yelled as they surged forth from within the shop, galloping out to their Captain’s aid.

‘I can’t let them link up with their Captain!’

“Keep the Captain distracted!”

I dropped the filly and leaped up and over the shielded unicorn, my wings aiding my jump. Landing on the other side, I swung God-Splitter towards the approaching Royal Guards, aiming for the center of the group. The brown pegasus it was heading straight towards struggled to put the brakes on his charge, but couldn't stop all his momentum before the hammer hit him right in the chest. The guard flew all the way back through the open door.

I heard Shining growl in anger behind me, the emotion leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but the constant barrage meant that he couldn’t drop his shield for even a second.

Oestridae jumped down from the roof of one of the buildings next to the shop, darting after the charging guards with speeds that should not be possible in such heavy armor.

A shield I put up stopped an incoming freezing spell directed at me by one of the guards, and I responded by pulling God-Splitter back. All four guards were nearly upon me now, so I raised God-Splitter and smacked the ground ahead of me as hard as I could.

Their approach was delayed for but a single second as they stumbled and had to focus on not tripping on their own hooves as the shockwave ripped apart the ground up to ten hooves around God-Splitter. I had to focus on staying upright the most, being so close to the hammer.

That delay was long enough for Oestridae to catch up, tackling down two of the guards, their faces and helmets scraping against the cobblestone road. At the same time, Oest picked up an earth pony guard, flinging him at the last standing Royal Guard, the unicorn who fired a spell at me.

Captain Shining Armor seized the chance to expand his shield, spin around, and cast another laser at me. The expanding shield lost rigidity as the spell moved in a way it wasn’t meant to, knocking all of us off our hooves.

The laser went straight at my head.

A protective shield flickered to life as the nine gems on my Adamantium Peytral started glowing fiercely. The shield held out long enough for me to recall God-Splitter and brandish it in front of me. The Admantium started glowing red then burst into flames as the spell continued to hit the hammer. I jumped up, tucking my legs beneath me and straightened my neck forward, hiding entirely behind the hammer, wings carrying me aloft.

I pushed the hammer forward, into the laser beam. The beam broke up as it hit the hammer, sending smaller blue beams scattered around the place. When one of the strays hit a changeling onlooker, shield spells were erected around us, the changelings not figuring out they should hit the pony that was on the offensive, and entirely unprotected himself.

I was going to actually take the time to yell at them to do exactly that, but God-Splitter reached Shining Armor, connecting with him right on the front of his muzzle. The blue laser immediately stopped, and God-Splitter was left hanging in front of him ablaze as he swung around from the blow, staggering backwards and to the side.

“Whoa. I did it!” I cheered.

Then Shining righted himself, and glared at me, his horn starting to glow as he began channeling another spell.

Oest flew past me and tackled him to the ground, hitting him with a shock spell as he did. The Captain was now out for the count, leaving me to catch my breath. I looked around, and realized that Oest and tackled three guards into the ground.

‘He really likes doing that, huh? I suppose it’s stupid to discount our natural strength, and only focus on our magical capabilities.’

“This was a stupid idea,” Oest said, “I should have been next to you the entire time.”

He got off Shining and the Captain was quickly bound up tight in changeling-gel, with standard magic-disrupting spells being channeled into the sticky slime.

“Everything’s better in hindsight. I was worried he had a trick up his sleeve, you know this.”

“I am not leaving your side next time.”

“That’s fine. You apparently do know best about this stuff…”

I dropped God-Splitter onto the ground and it sunk a bit into the stone, still on fire. Then, I walked over to Shining Armor. He was twitching as the shock spell slowly started wearing off.

“Oh. You all can clear the building now,” I said without looking away from the bound pony. I picked him up by the upper torso and started to shake him. “Wakey wakey, I need answers.”

“Mmm. Wha… Agh! S-stop shaking me!”

I dropped him to the ground, his helmet clanging quietly against the stone.

“Where’s the Princess?”

“Like I’m going to tell you!”

“I’m not in the mood for games. Let’s just pretend you held out on telling me for a respectable amount of time, and finally caved just before I started pulling teeth.”

“Go to Tartarus!”

I sighed.

‘Hmm, maybe it’s time to test…’

I took a moment to center my thoughts, then began to form the most complicated spell I knew. I had come across it months ago, and while I did go over it a few times, like teleporting I never tried casting it.

It took a bit of time and quite a bit more mana to get the spell ready to cast, but once it was, I looked Shining in the eyes as I casted it.

“Where. Is. The. Princess?” I spat out each word, and pressed in on his mind. At first, I thought it was working. Then he narrowed his eyes and snarled.

“Buck you!” He hissed, as my horn started stinging. I felt the spell already falling apart so I didn’t bother trying to save it.

‘Damn it, no mind control. Maybe next time.’

“Nnn…. Fine! If you won’t answer me, then I’ll get Sparkling over here, and then you’ll be wishing you told me!”

“You won’t hurt her, I’ve seen your kind fight. You’re not hurting anypony too much!”

“You have no idea who I am, Captain Shining Armor! We aren’t maiming because you’re all worth more to us alive. But believe me, you’ll be wishing for death if you keep up this pointless charade. Oest, bring me the foal!”

“H-hey! He’s out, I g-get to see my dad now!” The filly wiggled in Oest’s magic grip as she was brought over.

“I’ve altered the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further. Now Shining, where are they?”

“You’re all bark and no bite, invader!”

“The name is Prince Phasma, remember it. In fact, to make sure you don’t forget, I’m going to carve it into this filly here.”

“All bark!”

“You know what? I think I could use a boost right about now. It’s been quite a while since my dinner, you see…”

“What are you talking about, invader?”

“Prince. Phasma.” I turned to the filly. “I’m sorry about this sweetie, but Shining really wants to see you hurt.”

I grasped the Thread of Emotion, and started slowly pulling on it. Sparkle Water’s struggles quickened, and she grunted in pain. Feeding by taking emotions from an uncocooned pony was a dangerous thing, far far more painful for the pony than if they were in a cocoon.

“Ow! Y-you said! You said! Puh… Please stop! Let me go! I want my dad! OW!”

“Stop!” Shining yelled, and I did immediately. Sparkling sighed and sagged. “What the buck did you do to her?! She’s just a foal!”

Sparkling curled up, and I tasted hints of suffering amidst her fear. I didn’t hurt her much, but with the stress of the situation weighing on her, I might as well have cut her with a knife.

“She’ll be a stain on the pavement if you don’t give me what I want! I’m prepared to murder to save my people, Shining. Are you prepared to watch your people die out of nothing but sheer stubbornness? Where. Are. The. Princesses?!”

“You... “ Shining growled. “.... Princess Celestia disappeared shortly after midnight.”

“Where did she go? And Cadence’s location?”

“Nopony knows. We were told her disappearance was planned.”

“Where is Cadence?”

“She’s…”

“My Prince! Look who we found!”

I looked up, and saw four changelings dragging out a pink alicorn bound in gel.

“The Princess of Food! You have no idea how glad I am to finally meet you!”

The alicorn looked up at me with wide eyes, her pupils tiny dots.

‘Fear. So much fear. That’s all I’ve been tasting here, really.’

She looked to her side at Shining Armor, and gave out a muffled cry. I got hit by a whole cocktail of emotions coming from the Princess.

‘Sadness. Anger. Love. Wait, love?’

“I’m fine, Cadence. Don’t worry about me,” Shining tried reassuring Cadence.

“Bring them to Canterlot Castle. And bind his muzzle, he’s been very uncooperative and deserves no boons. Yes, hello to you Princess Cadence. I’ve known your name for a very, very long time. Since roughly around my hatching, you see. I was raised to be your… anathema. Come now, there's someone I'd like you to meet.”

Oest, The Will of The Nine, myself, and a bound Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor were flying over Upper Canterlot, closing in on the castle. Smoke was starting to fill the night sky as plumes emerged from Middle and Lower Canterlot, the fires being put out as fast as possible by now at least half of the invasion force.

As a result, most of the streets of the city were empty.

“A city of ghosts…”

The sudden voice gave me a start, and I looked around. Oest, myself, and many members of Will of The Nine carrying Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor were all flying in formation behind me, putting the two captives in the center.

‘Princess Procho again? I’m not even at the hive! How am I hearing her?!’

“What?” Oest asked me, having seen my alarmed expression.

“The dead are speaking to me again.”

“Has the Ascension Chamber been… purged?”

“By now? Absolutely.”

“So….”

“So I am clueless on why that’s happening.”

“My Prince? May we know what you’re talking about?”

I craned my neck around, seeing a changeling from the Will giving me a puzzled look. The rest were looking on, too.

“I heard a voice over the Weave. Queen Chrysalis had confirmed that it is Princess Procho, who died almost three centuries ago.”

“Oh, thank you, My Prince. And this Ascension Chamber?”

‘Son of a bitch, Oest just dropped a name that he shouldn’t have.’

“The uh… Recycling pits. It’s a better name for those who meet such a... violent end.”

“Oh, thank you again, My Prince.”

‘He expected me to stonewall him on an answer, like Chrysalis would. At the very least, this changeling isn’t a member of the Lodges at least. If he was, he would have known about both the Chamber and the call phrase.’

The rest of the flight back to Chrysalis was without any more slip ups. We flew through the halls of the Castle, since it was faster and easier to move the two captured ponies. When we finally arrived back at the throne room, I saw that all the windows had been blown out at this point.

Chrysalis got up from the half-throne when we entered, her gaze immediately locking on our captives.

“Well done, Prince Phasma, well done. You have fulfilled each and every single task set before you.”

‘Except one, your death.’

I saluted, and simply said, “I serve the hive.”

As Chrysalis flew down and across the room from the throne, I turned to look at the ponies I had captured. The Princess was looking far from regal. Her pink, yellow, and purple hair were tangled up in knots. Her wide eyes had at first taken in the sights of the room, stared at me, then stared at the approaching Queen, pausing in her fearful scrutiny to look to her side at Shining armor.

‘More love.’

Shining on the other hoof was staring at his Princess, only pausing in his stare to glance at Chrysalis. Like mirror opposites of each other, yet extremely similar on so many levels.

‘And he feels so much love for her.’

“I think I’ll let these two speak for themselves for the discovery I made,” I said while making no move to remove the gel clamping their mouths shut.

Queen Chrysalis set down right next to me, sneering at the ponies.

“Oh yes, I can taste it too. Quite smitten! Tell me, Prince Phasma, was the fight with the Princess legendary? Worthy of a tale?”

“The drones caught her, actually. She must have folded like a house of cards for that to have happened. The fight with the Captain was indeed something to behold, though.”

“Have they revealed where Princess Celestia is?”

I pointed to Shining, “He says she disappeared shortly after midnight, briefly causing a panic. He claims that it was planned, but I do not know if he was told a lie or not. Her whereabouts are still unknown.”

“Hmmm. Then we must continue to bait the trap! You, drones, cocoon these two and hang them up here, right in the throne room. Spread the word to all who will listen, especially when there’s ponies around. We have the Captain and a Princess within our control, right here in the heart of their empire!”

Chamberlain Eucharis flew into the room with the quiet sound of buzzing wings. He paused to stare at the Princess, before addressing his ruling monarch.

“My Queen! Middle and Upper Canterlot are ours. The city is secure, and the Legions are now all dedicated to preventing its destruction at the hooves of the rampant flames.”

“Excellent, this day is going to be perfect!”

Queen Chrysalis chuckled to herself as she walked past us, out the room’s opened doors.

Eucharis and I shared a look of confusion, before following her out. She was quietly humming a song to herself as we walked down the great hall. Once we got to the main foyer, she took a side door, and meandered down more halls.

I was beginning to wonder if she just forgot that we existed and were following her when she threw open a pair of double doors, revealing a large balcony that overlooked Canterlot. The view of the majestic city was marred by the plumes of smoke that rose into the sky, but the beauty that remained stood as testament to Equestria’s lavish designs.

She turned to face us, fangs peeking out of her smile.

“We are so close! So close! The Promised Day here at last. All that’s left is bringing down their precious Princess Celestia, and cleaning up afterwards.”

A changeling brought over a small container from behind us.

“Soon, we will feast for the rest of our days.”

I could taste the muted sense of love from within the pot. After so long of not having any, I had to focus my thoughts.

“A toast, to our imminent victory!”

The changeling opened the jar, letting the delicious taste waft out.

‘No. I have to ignore my hunger. I have to stay focused! If there was ever a moment that she would betray me, it would be now!’

“My Queen… celebrating while the Sun Tyrant is still out there? Surely this can wait, till the day is truly ours? To lose our one and only chance at victory because we became vulnerable after celebrating prematurely…”

Chrysalis studied me for a moment, and Eucharis kept his silence.

“I would advise caution, Queen Chrysalis. We cannot lose this chance. We cannot lose this due to our own hubris.”

‘Wouldn’t even be surprised if that jar is spiked with poison or something. You’re not killing me just yet.’

Chrysalis turned back to the city.

“... One last enemy. One last pony. One last hunt. Then, we feast. You’re right, I’ve been remiss: celebrating before the battle has even been won. So often we’ve seen these ponies snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. We must be vigilant, lest we become yet another notch on their Princess’s blade.”

‘Admitting fault? Agreeing with me rather than pushing to eat the offered food? If I didn’t know her better, I would guess that she was genuinely being… kind? The very thought makes me sick to my stomach!’

“With just a bit more patience, we will finally be safe from any threats against us,” I said, not really talking about the ponies.

“My Queen, My Prince!” Chamberlain Eucharis changed the topic, “We should immortalize this day, so that all changelings of the hive may see it for themselves. I have an idea how to do that!”

Chrysalis and I both looked at him.

‘What is he on about? Can’t he see we’re monologuing over here?’

“What are you on about, Chamberlain Eucharis?” Chrysalis asked.

“These ponies have recently created this wonderful thing. While looting the castle for any magical artifacts, some lings have come across this… thing.”

He produced a wooden box, with a circle extension on the front fitted with a glass lens.

‘A camera?’

“They call it a camera. Interesting little thing, let me show you what it does! We need to stand together for it to work, you see.”

He stood to Chrysalis’s left, while I stood on her right– I already know how to pose for a picture, after all. Then, Eucharis levitated the camera in front of us.

“Look at the circular glass for just a moment.”

A moment later, a flash blinded us three. I rubbed my eyes, blinking out the white dots. As I did so, I pondered about the absurdity of what was happening.

‘On an alien world, in the middle of a captured city, standing next to a psychotic tyrant, taking a god damn picture. Eucharis, you are really throwing me off here. I need to be planning on how to kill Chrysalis, not acting like a goddamn tourist!’

“By channeling magic into the box, it takes a painting of the world in front of it instantly!”

“... Did we not just speak of waiting to celebrate, Chamberlain?”

‘The monster is right! Talk about a failure to read the room!’

“Please My Queen, this is hardly a celebration.”

I stopped rubbing my eyes and gave a glare at Eucharis. Then, a square emerged from the camera, and he took it in his magic.

“Aha, it came out perfect,” he said, before showing Chrysalis and I.

‘Oh. Suddenly, this all makes sense. One of those parallels between our worlds, like the existence of all these mythological and non-mythological animals or the fact that our languages are structurally exactly the same. Yeah, I can totally see the parallel between those two.’

The picture was me on the left, Chrysalis in the center, and Eucharis on the right. Canterlot was behind us, the city lights– and occasional fire– illuminating the backdrop for us. I recognized the composition of the photo, as on Earth it was a very memorable one.

Only, this time, it was Canterlot instead of Paris, night instead of day, a particularly large pillar of smoke instead of the Eiffel Tower, and a black bug-pony emotivore rather than a certain evil dictator leaning against a railing.

“Was this… really necessary? And couldn’t you have picked a better time for this?”

“Please, Prince Phasma, I’ll get copies of this ‘photo’ and then we can show our kind what The Promised Day looked like, even generations from now!”

“Changelings will never forget the glory of this day, Chamberlain, but…” Chrysalis trailed off. “But I see why you would want to immortalize this day forever. It was a clever idea, Eucharis. Make those copies.”

‘Figures, she wants to use them as propaganda to show how awesome and important she is... Since I’m here with her, I might as well weed out some answers from the tyrant.’

“Say, Queen Chrysalis? I heard Princess Procho again…”

“Again? We will have to discover how this is possible after we have finished with the War for The Sun.”

“I was wondering, could you describe what she was like?”

“... She was a royal, as you know. She had a two-notch horn, purple hair and tail, elytra and wings, eyes, and magic. She was strong for a changeling, more so than most royals. Princess Procho wielded a cutlass with extreme precision, favoring the blade’s cutting power over any other possible weapon. Her loss was… devastating to the hive…”

Chrysalis trailed off, her mood turned a bit sour.

‘Purple? There wasn’t a purple princess in the Chamber! Chrysalis was telling the truth that she died?! Then how the hell can I hear her?!’

“W–”

“My Queen! My Prince!”

A changeling interrupted both our trains of thought, panting as she landed before us. She caught her breath, nearly yelling out her message.

“Princess Celestia has been spotted returning to the city!”

A miracle had finally happened.

Princess Celestia had been looking forward to her sister’s return for centuries now. She had prepared so much in the last decade, putting every little thing she could in her favor.

She knew ponies would come rushing to get her aid when Nightmare Moon would appear at the Castle of the Twin Sisters, so she had to remove herself from the equation. That turned out to be the perfect plan, as the Elements of Harmony had chosen new bearers.

She had watched on, standing to the side invisible, as Nightmare Moon appeared in the castle. She waited patiently for her to return, with Twilight and her five potential friends following. Those five she didn’t even have to arrange to be in Ponyville, they all just naturally arrived there over time.

‘Harmony lays plans of its own.’

Celestia cheered silently as the Bearers activated the elements, finally freeing her sister from the curse she helped create. She then flew out the window, dropped the invisibility spell, and greeted her six little ponies and one slightly less little sister.

“Princess Luna… It has been a thousand years since I’ve seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us, we were meant to rule together little sister.”

“Sister?” The elements echoed.

“Will you accept my friendship?”

Luna rushed over to hug Celestia.

“We are sorry! We missed you so much, sister!’

“I’ve missed you too.”

“But this is not over. We were not alone in this attack on Equestria.”

Celestia looked around, “I see no one else, sister.”

“Canterlot.” Luna whispered. “We cannot ask for forgiveness, not for throwing away what we had over something so foalish. But We can help fix the rest of the mess we made. Canterlot is still in danger, Celestia.”

Celestia, having been inside the castle the entire time, broke from the hug to fly out the window. She rose above the ruins to see Canterlot. Large plumes of smoke were visible in the full moon’s light.

‘Oh no. Have I put the arrival of my sister above the safety of my little ponies? How could this have happened?!’

She flew back down and inside the ruins. The reunion party will have to wait, the battle with the dark forces was not over. First, she addressed her protégé and her five friends.

“Now that my dear little sister is back, I would ask you six to watch over her while I fix this. Canterlot needs my help.”

“Did ya not see Canterlot at all this mornin?”

“I have been patiently waiting inside here, my little pony.”

‘A mistake, one I couldn’t have possibly planned for. That is not a good enough excuse!’

“We will fix this too!” Her sister objected. “We created this disaster, We shall be the one to end it!”

“Luna, you are not responsible for Nightmare Moon’s actions. I am, if anything. Furthermore, you are simply too weak at the moment. You will only put yourself in danger.”

“But Tia, We did! We… We got an ally… He is expecting us! Without our aid...”

‘I see. Nightmare Moon recruited allies, somehow. It matters not, I shall end this threat to my ponies.’

“This villain will fail. Please, Luna, listen to reason. You are not Nightmare Moon, and are not responsible for her actions. I will end this invasion, just as I have defeated so many threats during your absence. We will talk at great lengths once I return. Oh, I am so happy you’re back!”

With that, Princess Celestia spread her wings and launched herself from the shattered window, heading straight for the smoking city on the horizon.

She heard Luna call for her, but she pressed on.

“No! You will…. Sarding ponyfeathers!”

When she heard gasps at her crass language, Princess Luna turned to the Elements of Harmony.

“Celestia shouldn’t forgive us, not when she is still in danger due to our evil machinations. Please, Elements, We must beseech thou for thine help. Princess Celestia will not survive the battle if she fights alone, and neither will… We need thou to save not only her, but somepony like us. Somepony who deserves thy kindness far more than us, and desperately needs it just as much.”

The Elements of Harmony shared a glance before looking back at the small alicorn.

“Ah could never turn down a pony in need!” Honesty said.

“There’s so many ponies in trouble up there, we’ll help save them all,” Generosity added.

“Woohoo! Let’s go beat up another baddie!” Loyalty cheered, punching the air in front of her.

“We’ll throw two parties for saving the day twice!” Laughter squealed.

“Okay,” Kindness meekly whispered.

“Alright, Princess. Who do we need to save?” Magic asked.

“His name is Prince Phasmatodea. Come, we must travel to Canterlot with utmost speed!”

“Showtime, Nnnhahahahaha haaa!” Chrysalis cackled.

I rolled my eyes before getting a report from the changeling.

“From where? How fast? How many are with her?”

“From the Northeast, the Everfree Forest. She will be here within ten minutes and a full chariot drawn by pegasi is following her at a distance, My Prince!”

“Does she… Have any artifacts? Any unexpected weapons?”

“We do not know, My Prince.”

‘From Everfree Forest? Isn’t the Castle of the Twin Sisters in there? What was Celestia doing in those woods? Is… Is it something to do with Nightmare Moon? She was supposed to check those ruins herself, I think... Have they fought? Was Celestia retrieving a powerful weapon from the ruins? Is it something completely unrelated? If she disappeared alone, how did she get a chariot? That would imply she had planned to go there long beforehoof. There’s something more to this, something I’m missing....’

I had no answers, and Chrysalis apparently had the same plan as I did.

“Deal with whoever is in that chariot, Prince Phasma. I shall take Princess Celestia on myself!”

“With our luck, it’s a powerful weapon she retrieved from a hidden vault somewhere. Or maybe a dangerous monster she has on a tight leash. Will of The Nine, half of you with me,” I commanded before taking flight. The ones loyal to myself volunteered themselves to go with me, leaving the unloyal and some leftover loyal Legionaries behind to fight Princess Celestia with Queen Chrysalis.

My team and I flew out to Northwest Lower Canterlot, taking position to intercept the chariot after letting Celestia fly over and past us. We set down on the roof of a factory that was labeled ‘Viscount’s Bedsheets,’ the rectangular brick and mortar building having more than enough room for us all, and our hooves clacked on the clay shingle roof as we landed. The tiles had been painted gold to fit in with the city’s aesthetic, the walls painted white in a similar fashion.

I motioned for everyling to take position on the side of the slanted roof facing towards the city so that we would be hidden from view from the incoming ponies up until they were nearly on top of us, well within range.

“Let Princess Celestia pass as planned. When the chariot is in range, I want fast moving projectiles to target it, forcing it to land. As soon as you fire your first spell, take off and start chasing after the chariot. That will increase the size of the window of opportunity we have to open fire on these reinforcements. Two of you watch their approach discreetly.”

“As you command, My Prince!” The Will of the Nine squad leader said with a brisk solute.

“Oest, you’re not leaving my side this time.”

“No, I’m not.”

And that was that. It was time for more waiting. I recalled reading stories about soldiers’ time in the army, about how so much of it was hurry up and wait. I could now relate to this tense feeling, of rushing to get into position and ready in time, only to sit there in dreaded anticipation before a battle.

Seconds ticked by. Minutes dragged on.

‘Nightmare Moon… She should have been here by now. I should have heard something from her. Now Celestia is coming from where she was supposed to arrive and meet up with her loyal forces…’

“Princess approaching,” said one of the two changelings peeking over the roof, acting as a lookout.

‘Ill omens that I have either too much time or not enough to think about. Things are not looking good, not one bit.’

Princess Celestia flew overhead, her white coat and gold armor sticking out in stark contrast against the black starry night sky. I watched the large alicorn grow smaller in size as she flew to Canterlot Castle. Once more, seconds ticked by far too slowly.

After a long pause, one of the lookouts broke the silence, “Target approaching. Thirty seconds.”

‘I don’t really have any backup plans for taking on Chrysalis if Nightmare doesn’t show up…’

“Fifteen.”

‘I need to find the First Fang immediately. I need to get ready to put things in motion. Either Nightmare shows up soon, or… or I’ll figure something out.’

“In range!”

A large white and gold covered chariot came into view from behind the peak of the arched slanted roof. It was pulled by two pegasi who had blue coats, one teal and one faded blue, blending in far more with the sky than Celestia’s bone white fur.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Against the near-black sky, the white and gold chariot was an easy to see target.

“Fire at will!”

The changelings unleashed a torrent of electric based spells. Most impacted the chariot, being harmlessly bounced off or absorbed by protective enchantments. Two hit one of the pegasus pulling the chariot to little affect. One hit the brighter pegasus, causing them to go limp in their harness.

The chariot started to sag in the air, barely held aloft by the pegasus that was still up.

‘No, not held aloft. It’s falling, and all he can do is slow its descent!’

“Get ready everyone!”

We took to their air, Oest on my right, God-Splitter on my left, Will of The Nine legionaries behind me. We followed the gilded cart’s descent, flying to where it would touch down. Despite the faded blue pegasus’s efforts, the chariot came crashing down one of the main streets, tearing up the stone road as it dragged along the ground. The chariot had left trails of overturned cobblestones, upturned dirt, and other debris in its wake.

We surrounded the chariot, and I got a good look at the two pegasi who were pulling the cart, as well as the rest of the occupants as they stumbled out, jolted by the crash landing.

The smaller pegasus that pulled the chariot was teal in color, with a rainbow mane. The ponies that stumbled out one by one were a purple unicorn, white unicorn, pink earth pony, yellow earth pony, and a yellow pegasus.

I failed to take notice of anything more than that, for I was still staring at the second puller.

I had thought it was a faded blue pegasus that was strapped in and holding the cart aloft. I was wrong, as it turned out. It was an alicorn, only slightly larger than a pony. She had a teal hair color, black markings on her flanks that surrounded a moon Cutie Mark.

No, not a moon Cutie Mark, the moon Cutie mark!

‘What…. What is this?! Did I get catfished?! Did something change Nightmare Moon?!’

“Who are you?!” I shouted as the disorientated ponies regained their senses.

The purple unicorn must have regained her senses very quickly, as she threw up a shield around her compatriots.

‘Might as well have a papier-mâché chestplate, little pony.’

The ponies’ eyes were darting between the changelings that surrounded them.

“Uh, these fella’s ain’t ponies,” one of them pointed out.

“They seem to almost resemble Sinodendron Rego–”

“Who are you?!” I demanded once again, less loudly this time. My eyes had never left the alicorn.

“I am Rainbow Dash, and I’m here to save the day!” The cyan and rainbow pegasus yelled, before posing mid-air.

The white unicorn curtsied, “Lady Rarity, here to help.”

“My friends call me Pinky Pie! But you can call me ‘a friend!’”

That one’s bouncing was giving me a headache.

“Ah’m Applejack…” The orange earth pony seemed to be looking around the group at the quiet, empty street

“Fluttershy…” The yellow pegasus mumbled.

“I am Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia.” The purple unicorn began, “And together, we are the Elements of Harmony!”

“I didn’t mean you six, insignificant... Did you say Elements of Harmony?”

Now I was looking at the six ponies. They had gathered around this Twilight Sparkle, crouched low as they started to gather around the alicorn that was starting to get their hooves under them.

“We know that voice,” the alicorn said, standing up off the ground, looking right at me. “Thou art Prince Phasma in the flesh!”

My eyes widened, eyebrows raised, and jaw dropped.

‘No. No… It… It can’t be!’

“You…”

“We should reintroduce ourselves. We are Princess Luna, alicorn of the moon. It is a pleasure to see you in pony, Prince Phasma…”

“You’re not Nightmare Moon,” I nearly hissed. “What– how– you… What?!”

“This is the Prince we’re to rescue?” Rarity asked, looking at Princess Luna.

“Rescue?” I repeated. My eyebrows were past raised and were consolidating investors to create a space travel company to aid their ascent all the way to the moon.

“That is so, Dame Rarity. Prince Phasma, lay down that weapon and surrender, so that this disaster may be righted. Please, We offer you aid in your troubles. Together, we shall overcome the obstacles that have befallen you.”

“Aid me?” I echoed again, mind slowly pulling together the pieces of the puzzle.

‘Nightmare Moon is this Princess Luna again. She was that before being Nightmare, as the story goes, so that means something changed her. Something happened…’

“Yeah! But if you wanna throw hooves before you surrender, that’s cool too!” Rainbow said, now hovering in the air next to the rest of the ponies.

“The Deus Ex Machina!” I exclaimed. “Your Elements of Harmony did something to Nightmare Moon, what happened to her?!”

Princess Luna answered for the gathered Elements, “We have been freed of the parasite’s control. Please, Prince Phasma, ponies are being hurt as we speak. Help us bring an end to this calamity, and We shall do all that We can for the betterment of your kingdom.”

“And we can have so much fun! Two kingdoms means twice the amount of parties! Well technically, one’s a Constitutional Principality,” the pink Element jabbered.

I tasted kindness coming from Luna. Sympathy to be specific. A very bland emotion, but one a changeling could sustain themselves on. Only one of the six ponies tasted of fear, the rest seemed focused and only let off hints of anger. The pink one tasted of happiness. Cotton-candy flavored happiness. Somehow.

Fluttershy was the one who tasted of fear, yet she refrained from cowering behind her fellow Elements of Harmony.

‘Can these Elements brainwash someone? Utterly change a person’s mind? Do they exert control over them? Is she telling the truth? Does any of this even matter?!’

I closed my mouth and drew in a shaky breath.

‘No. If Nightmare Moon has been defeated, then I have to move on without her. Surrender is not an option; leaving the entirety of my new species to the mercy of those we just invaded is just outright moronic. We’re in this till the end, one way or the other!’

I studied the six ponies and one alicorn. The Elements were all wearing matching necklaces, each with a single gem that resembled their Cutie Mark.

‘If the Elements of Harmony were designed with fighting in mind, those necklaces would just be a distraction, and the real ones would be something stupid like a meta-physical concept. However, these are ponies we’re talking about, which means the big shiny necklaces are the Deus Ex Machina.’

Finally, I considered Princess Luna. I felt no strange urge to tell her only the truth, so whatever strange spell or geas she had on me was well and truly gone. There was nothing between us. I was free to do whatever I wanted.

I wanted them gone.

“Will of The Nine! Contingency: MacGuffin!” I yelled, throwing God-Splitter at the ponies’ shield. I realized that I should have said that over the Weave far too late.

Immediately, Oest interposed himself between me and the gathered ponies as the fifteen changelings we brought with us darted down towards the shield.

“Get those necklaces!”

The hammer hit the shield and continued on, disintegrating it instantly. A powerful gust of wind pushed it out of the way from the ponies, and a new shield was put up, this one blue. I saw from behind Oest that Princess Luna’s horn was glowing.

‘She recognized the usual practices of enchanting battlefield weapons, and knew she had to redirect it with an outside force? Hmmm. She’s going to give me a run for my money, isn’t she?’

The changelings peeled off from their dive bombs, instead unleashing spell after spell against the shield, as if to test the alicorn’s strength. I was going to tell them not to waste the effort when I saw Luna start to wilt as she kept the spell up. I recalled God-Splitter, and watched.

‘An alicorn, struggling to maintain the shield against a simple barrage?’

I watched as they seemed to huddle together and whisper to each other. I considered simply trying to force my hammer at the shield again, pushing it with all my might against Luna’s redirection attempts.

‘I would say getting into a magic strength contest with an alicorn is an exercise in futility, but considering how much she visibly faltered when holding a simple spell…’

I pulled God-Splitter back for another blow. Then, the ponies separated, started glowing, and floating up into the air.

‘They’re using the weapon!’

I swung God-Splitter as hard as I could towards them, and let off a series of focused-will blasts. The shield was dispelled momentarily so that Luna could use her magic to deflect the hammer, and then was brought back up. However, a single beam got through, hitting the already somewhat winded Rainbow Dash, sending her back and hitting the back of the shield.

Immediately, the ponies stopped floating and fell back down to the ground. Then, the shield dissipated, only to be immediately replaced by a pink one casted by Twilight. Luna kept her eyes on God-Splitter, wary of the weapon that could apparently destroy a shield with a single blow. They whispered to each other briefly, the yellow pegasus Fluttershy checking on Rainbow, before turning back towards me.

That's when I saw the shield contract ever so slightly, before rapidly expanding outward, becoming more transparent as it did.

‘Again?!’

I pulled God-Splitter back to me and held it close to my chest as I leaned in towards the blast, propping myself up against Oest. Thanks to my now repositioned center of mass, I slid backwards when I was hit by the blast, but neither I nor Oest tumbled down to the ground.

‘How does this unicorn know fighting techniques that the Captain used? She must be a Royal Guard, not in her armor!’

“The purple unicorn, Twilight, is likely an elite Royal Guard. Be wary of her and Princess Luna!” I inaudibly whispered over the Weave.

The ponies did not need to brace themselves, nor recover from being knocked over. They took the opportunity to charge right at me and Oest. Oest quickly put up a barrier in front of us. It was just in time to absorb several pink and cyan blasts that Twilight and Rarity let off as the group charged.

Oest winced as the shots continued to pound the green barrier he hastily put up. Then, the barrage ended as the blasts started being aimed at the changelings still recovering. Several went down as the stun bolt hit them. The rest either dodged or managed to focus enough to put up protective shields.

The Elements and alicorn reached me and Oest and slammed into it, Applejack spinning and giving a powerful kick. The combined blows of all seven ponies made Oest stagger backwards and drop the shield, so I immediately pushed him aside and leapt forward, swinging God-Splitter.

‘Gotta give him a moment to recover!’

Twilight and Rarity both tried grabbing my hammer as I swung it, failing to accomplish anything. The others dodged out of the way, however the hammer was pushed upwards by a wind blast before it could hit any of them. Princess Luna stopped right in front of me, squinting through what I guessed was pain.

“Enough of this foolishness! Thou art rushing to thy doom. Friendship is the way forward, Prince Phasma!”

“You think I’m an idiot or something?!” I spat, before swinging God-Splitter at her.

I expected her to deflect it, and she did not disappoint. Princess Luna focused on pushing the hammer away and was left vulnerable by the three stunning bolts I sent right at her after swinging God-Splitter using telekinesis. Then, I put up a defensive shield, not really wanting to trust the protective enchantments on my peytral to block attacks from potentially all seven opponents at once.

Luna saw the bolts last second and her horn started to glow, only for her to grunt in pain before the bolts even hit her. When they did hit her, Princess Luna collapsed onto the ground, gasping.

I spun on my back hooves to turn and attack Twilight. I was just in time to see Oest coming up behind her, about to hit her with a stun spell, only to be tackled by Applejack. So I stopped channeling the shield, and instead casted a stun spell at Twilight.

She did not react in time to stop it, however, Rarity did and she put up a shield around Twilight to protect her. I swung God-Splitter at Rarity to break her concentration and tried once more to take down the purple mage. The swing worked better than intended; Rarity instinctively attempted to grab the object hurtling towards her using her magic once again, only to fail, leaving her no time to dodge. When the hammer hit her, its relatively low velocity knocked her over but left her with nothing more than a bruise.

It did break her connection to the shield around Twilight, just in time for several stun bolts to hit the purple unicorn before she could replace the shield.

Likewise, the rest of the ponies besides Applejack got hit by stun spells by the remaining Will of the Nine members who recovered. Two stray bolts hit me, causing a green shield to shimmer into existence briefly around me.

Oest and the pony rolled around on the ground, each trying to pin the other one. I ended the brawl by pulling the earth pony off Oest, and hitting her point blank.

“Confound it!” She hissed, not quite down. Three more bolts, and I could practically see the stars orbiting her head as she slumped over.

“Good job, we got ‘em all!”

I jumped and turned midair to see the pink Element right behind me.

“Heya Phas! You know it's rude to hurt ponies, right? If you could stop–”

Several stun spells and a fireball brought Pinky down, though a headache remained.

“What did I say about the fireballs?!”

I rubbed my head as I thought.

‘These were the Elements of Harmony? These ponies which lasted half as long as Captain Shining Armor? Only one of them actually had military training, though that stetson-wearing Applejack could sure pack a punch. Kick? Whatever.’

I leaned over and pulled the golden necklace off the pony aptly named Pinky.

‘Don’t need to waste a spell slot on Detect Magic to feel the ripples of mana this thing distorts by simply existing! Yeah, this is a MacGuffin alright.’

I sighed.

‘Four useless sacks of flours, one strong earth pony, and one capable unicorn. That’s what did Nightmare Moon in. It seems I was effectively alone in my struggle against Chrysalis all along, if these foes managed to defeat Nightmare. Perhaps I shouldn’t discount the powers of these Elements… If they managed to use them in time, would I be suffering the same fate?’

Around me, changelings were regathering and helping out the ones who were stunned, as well as binding up the seven stunned ponies.

“Gather these Elements of Harmony. Put them...”

‘I’ll need somewhere temporary to hide them, before I can securely lock them up after this is over.’

“Put them inside the base of the statue of Princess Celestia at the front of Canterlot Castle. Reseal the stone up, leave no traces of tampering. Prepare these seven ponies for transit, we will bring them to the castle, too.”

I looked up at the mentioned castle, loomed over the center of the city. I could see occasional beams both green and gold blow out sections of the walls as the titans dueled.

‘I need to be ready.’

“But before moving these prisoners, fetch the First Fang: Coxa and Lacewing of the Chosen Conquerors, and Tarsus of the Infiltrators. I will have need of my councilors very, very soon.”

As the changelings flew off to either hide the Elements or fetch the First Fang, I walked over to Princess Luna and removed the gel bindings on her muzzle. She looked at me, filled with sorrow and anger.

“You and I are going to have a nice, long chat while we wait.”

“What happened to Nightmare Moon? Was she even real?”

“Unfortunately, she was as real as you or us.”

Despite the anger I tasted, her words carried no malice. It was self-loathing that filled Princess Luna, not the bitter hatred of being defeated by an enemy who would harm her citizens.

I propped her up against the wall of the bedsheet factory so that she wouldn’t have to crane her neck all the way up to look at me as she spoke, though she did still have to look up at me since I was standing. The Elements of Harmony had been lined up against a storefront across the street, and out of earshot.

“Then what happened to her?”

“We were cleansed of that parasite by the Elements of Harmony shortly before rushing here, to thy aid.”

“Cleansed?”

“The Elements of Harmony oft work in the most peculiar way. The first time they were used against Nightmare Moon all those centuries ago, us, we were imprisoned on the moon, Nightmare and Luna both. Perhaps our sister wished it to be so, perhaps the Elements dictated it must be. The new Element bearers used the power of Harmony on us once more, and this time the parasite was removed from our psyche and body. Whether that was on the whims of the bearers of the force of Harmony itself, We do not know..”

“So were you Nightmare Moon, or was she someone else? How did she even come to be?”

“Nightmare Moon warned thou of the perils of the Nightscape, doth thou not recall? That is her origin, and she was more than the sum of her parts. One part parasite of dark origins and designs, one part alicorn. Now We possess the Nightmare’s memories as if they were our own...

“If We were Nightmare Moon fully and truly, then we must pay penitence for our actions. If we were but the host to Nightmare Moon, then we must pay penitence all the same, for We brought that abyssal aberration into existence through our folly alone…”

I tapped a hoof on my chin, “So you’re saying if I reintroduced one of these parasites–”

“Thou wouldn’t! We know thou would not mutilate our mind, not after the horrors thou hast seen and shown us!”

“... No. I wouldn’t.” I sighed before continuing, “And how did Nightmare Moon get defeated by the Elements in the first place? Was she all bark and no bite?”

“All bark and no bite? That is… a reference to canines, We see. No, Nightmare Moon most assuredly would hath defeated any foe before her.”

“Yet she didn’t?”

“She considered the Elements beneath her, and focused on recovering her strength so that she may duel our sister. Nightmare Moon sent naught but weak apparitions of shadow and magic against the soon-to-be Element bearers, and they were found wanting. When Nightmare Moon had realized the extent of her mistake, it was too late for the parasite.”

The hatred I tasted faded, and the bitter taste of sorrow became all the more noticeable.

“Please Prince Phasma, We beg of thou to realize the mistake thou art making. There is time yet to end this calamity and side with Harmony before it is too late.”

“Why would I ever do that?”

“This will not end well for thou or thy host of kin! Nightmare Moon met her defeat not once but twice, and thou art doomed just the same.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve already defeated the Elements of Harmony.”

Luna changed tactics, “If thou doth not believe in the power of Harmony, then believe in the power of reason. Doth thou really believe thou can rule the world with all of it plotting thy demise? Come peacefully, and we shall aid our sister in ending the tyrannical rule of thy Queen and mother. Then we shall treat thou and thy kin fairly, and we shall help thou overcome the troubles that have befallen thy kingdom.”

“Troubles? Do you think it’s just my life on the line, Princess Luna? You think we’re doing this just to get some extra food and power? This invasion is our entire species' last gambit at survival! There is no retreat. There is no peace.”

A faint buzzing caught my attention and I turned to see changelings flying over to where we were.

“I didn’t want things to turn out this way, but I was left with no other choice.”

“If what thou sayest is true, then Equestria will do all it can to help thy kin, thy changelings.”

“Do you expect me to believe that? I cannot allow this all to be for nothing. I cannot allow the fate of our species to lie in the hooves of those we have invaded and preyed upon. I’m no stranger to what we’ve done; I’ve walked these streets and watched it happen. Ponies, if freed, would call for our blood, not work together. As both Prince and High Marshal, I am responsible for everything that has happened in this invasion...

“And if they don’t demand our death, I know what happens to a people entirely dependent on a stronger force. Slavery, systematic oppression, colonialism. I will never let that come to pass, not while I still draw breath!”

“There is not even a chance of that happening, Prince Phasma. Not while our sister and us are in power. We have safeguarded the races of this world against such horrid ideas, yet thou claim that they are an inevitability? Thou needn't look further then Equestria’s own history to see this as a falsehood! The ideals of Harmony have always been upheld, and they always will!”

“Back to praising a reportedly sapient force of nature, are we? As I said before, I will not risk the future of my species on the chance that you’re correct and ponies will play nice after we’ve invaded their homes, foalnapped them, and put them into eternal slumber.”

The sound of hooves hitting cobblestone sounded out behind me as the approaching changelings arrived.

“This is goodbye, Princess Luna.”

“Phasma, please listen to us! We do not wish thou to follow in our hoofsteps, thou must stop this before thou art killed! We don’t want to lose thou...”

As I crouched low and replaced the bindings on her muzzle, the sadness emanating from her intensified. Her teal eyes stared at me, pleading for me to change my mind.

“It’s all or nothing. I will not relegate my species to servitude, nor will I give into fate. I needed Nightmare Moon to help me secure the survival of my species. I don’t need a powerless alicorn who can only beg for the victor to keel over and die.”

I stood back up and spun around. Coxa, Tarsus, Lacewing, and Oestridae were standing in the street.

“Hello, guys. It’s been a while since we last talked,” I said while moving towards them.

“Not that long,” replied Coxa.

“It has been a while for me,” Tarsus reminded him.

“Hi Phasma, it’s nice to see you again.”

I returned Lace’s smile, “You too, Lacewing. Everything alright in the Conquerors and the Infiltrators?”

Coxa shrugged, Lacewing nodded, and Tarsus looked at the six ponies bound up on the side of the street, then looked at the alicorn behind me.

“You’ve been busy, Phasma.”

“Extremely. Two alicorns down, one to go.”

“Three in total? There’s only supposed to be two…”

“This here is Princess Luna, formerly Nightmare Moon, sister of Princess Celestia.”

“Nightmare Moon?” Coxa and Lace ask at the same time.

“Remember how I told you I had a plan for dealing with the Queen? Nightmare Moon was to help me defeat her in combat. We had struck an accord of sorts.”

“Now what?”

“Now the plan has changed. We’re on our own.”

Tarsus quirked an eyebrow, “What are you two talking about?”

“The plan to secure the safety of not only myself, but the hive in its entirety.”

“I… don’t follow.”

‘Did I forget to tell him? That’s quite possible, so much was happening in the last few months.’

“Remember how we broke into the vault?” He nodded. “There was a second chamber, built into the floor of the records vault. It contained… My brothers and sisters.”

“Brothers and sisters?”

“They… they were alive, in the broadest sense. Queen Chrysalis had lobotomized them, ripped out parts of their brain to inter them within the confines of their own bodies. She pumped pure love into them, and used them to project the Weave throughout the hive.”

Tarsus blinked.

“That’s. What. What?”

“She butchered her own children. Dying but unable to die, I ordered them freed from their curse as we left the hive. But Chrysalis, she’s not to be trusted. There was an empty spot, an empty tomb. Chrysalis is planning on betraying me and making me suffer the same fate as my siblings.”

“How can this be true?”

“Chrysalis isn’t loyal to the hive, she’s just pursuing her own goals and plans,” Coxa explained.

“Chrysalis is the hive!”

“We changelings are the hive,” I replied.

Lace added, “Chrysalis is just the ling in charge, and the hive says we want someling else!”

“Queen Chrysalis must have had a good reason for doing this…”

“No Tarsus, she doesn’t. There’s no reason that could possibly warrant what she did. And now it is time for a change in power. Chrysalis has outlived her own loyalty to the changeling race, she must be dealt with.”

“You’ve got to be missing something here,” Tarsus mumbled. “This can’t be her plan. She wouldn’t risk everything to just betray you...”

“So what happened to this Nightmare Moon? ”

I sighed, “Well Lace, I created an alliance with a powerful alicorn. Turns out, she was less powerful than she claimed to be. She promised an army, yet I see none. She promised her blade, yet she’s dead and gone, with Princess Luna here left behind in her departure from the world.”

Lace’s head tilted to the side as she asked, “Left behind? Whaddya mean?”

“Nightmare Moon was apparently possessing Luna, or something similar to that.”

“You allied with a pony to defeat Queen Chrysalis?” Tarsus spoke up.

“Chrysalis is planning on giving me a fate worse than death. We must act before she does. I have laid the foundations for this seizure of power, now all that remains is to enact it. Right now, she is dueling with Princess Celestia. We shall strike at once when the duel finishes. Either Chrysalis will win, and we will sweep in and kill her, or Princess Celestia will win, in which case we will sweep in and capture the pony princess.

“Tarsus, I need you to send the word to the Infiltrators in the castle loyal to me to capture Intelligencer Ocelli. Tell the Infiltrators you find that the red dawn has arrived, they’ll know what it means, or they won’t and are disloyal. Just play it off as the dawn of the Promised Day if pressed.

“Coxa, tell Captain Cicada of the Will of the Nine to muster in full strength at Canterlot Castle foyer, he is leader of a Lodge and will help us out. Lace, I need you to check the castle for Captain Obturator, I'll need to work with him ASAP to figure out how to control the podded population after the war is won. He should be poking around the medical wing. If you can’t find him, just head to the rendezvous point instead. Oestridae and I will take down Chamberlain Eucharis and Commander Scorpion of the Praetorians, leaving Chrysalis with no close supporters.

“We’ll all meet up in the castle’s foyer before we take on Queen Chrysalis. After she is dead, we will send word to the other Legions of the East and West push, and tell them to enact their arrests of hardcore loyalists. Everyone clear on what they have to do?”

"We go in, we stab her until she's dead, we leave. Seems simple," Coxa chuckled.

Taurus nodded, but was still clearly mulling over the Ascension Chamber’s contents.

"You and Oest are going to fight the Commander?" Lace kicked a pebble across the street as she spoke.

"Yes."

"Then... Be careful, and stay safe Phasma. You too, Oest."

“Not going to be much safety where we’re headed,” Oest said.

“Still, all of you be careful.”

“This is it then. We meet up at the foyer, then we’re really doing it?” Coxa said as he lifted off the ground.

“Yeah. This is it. The end of Chrysalis’s reign, what we’ve been planning for all this time.”

“I’ll go get the Nine then. Do not start the fight without me, I want to watch!” Coxa turned and flew away.

Lace gave me another hug.

“You keep giving me those and I’m going to think you and Thorax are related. Brother and sister, perhaps?”

“You’re just so huggable, Phasma!”

“So it would seem. Don’t worry Lace, everything will be fine. Stick to the plan, and remember what I told you and Coxa what you should do if…”

“You just said everything will be fine.”

“It will. Just… It will.”

She broke the hug, “Yeah. Maybe after this, we can... Uh… I’ll see you soon, Phasma.”

“See you,” Tarsus said briskly.

Lace and Tarsus started to fly up and over to Castle Canterlot as well, Lacewing giving me a little wave before turning away.

As I watched them start to go, a stray green focused-will laser beam bisected one of the towers near the throne room. A fireball was launched from the tower itself, flying overhead. That’s when I saw the fireball flap, as if it was a bird. The yellow and orange mass of fire then circled above us, seemingly looking at me, before flying off Westward and disappearing into one of the large plumes of smoke stretching high over the city.

‘Was that a bird made of fire?’

A voice startled me, “It’s finally happening, My Prince?”

One of the Will of Nine watching the Bearers asked that. In truth, I had forgotten they were still here, safe in the knowledge that I was surrounded by loyal changelings.

“Yes. I’ve changed my mind; Move these prisoners to somewhere secure, not the Castle itself. Spread the word to fellow Lodge members as you go, then meet back up at the castle’s foyer, too. I’m going to need all of your help to take down the tyrant.”

“It will be done, My Prince!”

I gave them a nod, and they started to grab the ponies with their magic. I looked back at Princess Luna. She was shaking her head slowly.

‘Sadness I could drown in. And… something else. Something clinging to each wave of sorrow...’

“I taste love,” Oestridae whispered.

I sighed, “Nightmare Moon and I… We…”

“I think I understand,” the ling of few words patted me on the back. "Though she is the wrong species..."

I turned away from Princess Luna and took to the air.

“C’mon Oest, let’s go find Chamberlain Eucharis. He should be lurking around the castle somewhere.”

Changelings stationed at the castle’s checkpoints saluted as we passed them, hunting for the third most powerful ling in the hive.

Finding Eucharis turned out to be an easy task. He was snooping around one of the first rooms we checked, over in Princess Celestia’s personal wing of the castle. It was Her Highness’s personal study itself that caught the Chamberlain’s attention and he was going through the stacks of files piled high on the desk.

When I opened the two large, pristine aged oak and gold embroidered doors, I couldn’t help but compliment Celestia’s taste in decor.

The room was maybe twenty hooves by twenty hooves in size, but it seemed to be just the perfect size for its contents and purposes.

White marble tiles covered portions of the floor, with the rest– the path up to the desk in the back of the room, as well as almost the entire area behind it– being covered by a red carpet that had purple and gold thread twisting around each other at the edge of the fabric.

The walls were a gold bordered dark oak panel for the first two hooves, and a teal blue material I could not discern for the rest of the height, all the way up to the ceiling. Just like in all the hallways around the castle, white gems floated above curved, golden sconces. The gems themselves glowed, lighting up the room.

The ceiling itself was a work of art, the transition from the walls to the ceiling itself was a short barrier of white, with equally spaced small wooden curled supports, as if the ceiling were a heavy object that needed their tiny help. The ceiling was a testament to the night sky itself, covered from inch to inch in the black expanse, with the white dots scattered throughout like islands in the black sea.

And those were just the floor, walls, and ceiling. The actual contents of the room were no less awe-inspiring.

In stark contrast to Chrysalis’s simple wooden desk, Celestia’s was truly where the heart of bureaucracy of the dominant power of the world beat in its every day task of turning paper and ink into power and influence.

It was a Satin Birch desk, the marbled pattern of the wood encased in gold lining around each and every edge, with floral and fleur-de-lis patterns extending up from the edging on the longer stretches.

Right on the front of it and facing the door, Equestria’s royal seal was plated onto the desk. It was a white alicorn stretched upwards, facing the sky, holding a yellow circle with its wings, with two laurels on either side of its hind legs at the bottom. Below the alicorn, a stylized scroll stretched across the seal, bearing the words ‘Per Harmonia, Omnes Ad Pacem.’

An escritoire stood to the side, in the corner of the room. The writing desk was of similar make to the massive desk, the only difference between the two being their shape and contents covering them.

In front of the desk sat two low chairs, no doubt more comfortable on the equine body than most alternatives. They were made of dark tan wood, purple velvet fabric, and of course more gold filigree.

The chair behind the desk itself, from what I could see, was a tall, massive chair. Made of the same materials as the low chairs, the main difference was the back. Instead of stopping two hooves above the seat, it extended six hooves above the desk, the top of it ending in a solid gold liner. There were two carved dragons, each putting a claw to a diamond set in the very center of the top of the lining.

‘Far more opulent than what Chrysalis could ever hope to achieve…’

The rest of the room consisted of bookshelves, filled with tomes of a rainbow of colors. There was a section of filing cabinets behind the desk and they seemed to shimmer in the moonlight coming from a partitioned window that was right in the center of the back wall, behind the massive chair.

‘Protective enchantments? I bet they’re locked up tight.’

The final thing in the gold-covered room that caught my attention was the occupant of the chair. He was going through folders filled with paper that were piled high on the desk. As I watched for a moment, he closed the one he was examining, placing it on his right hoof side, and picking up a folder from the stack on his left.

“Chamberlain Eucharis, I see you’ve picked the fanciest room in the castle for yourself,” I announced as I entered the room. Oest entered behind me and stood next to the door.

The changeling looked up from the papers he was reading and smiled.

“Oh, hello Prince Phasma. This is quite the place, isn’t it? Why, there is more wealth in this room than there has been wealth in the entirety of the hive in its entire history. Not counting Queen Chrysalis’s and your Adamantium war gear. I imagine these ponies would have paid a substantial fortune for those.”

“I’m sure they would have. What are you doing here, anyways?”

The room shook a bit, and a bit of dust came down from the ceiling.

‘We must be close to the throne room.’

Eucharis briefly looked at the ceiling when the room shook, but resumed our conversation. “Preparing. Your job may be more or less completed, with just the sweep of Equestria remaining, but mine is only going to get busier. I have to familiarize myself with the resources the Equestrians had at their disposal. That camera was only one such invention we had no knowledge of, there’s quite a lot more around the place.”

“That’s quite the task…”

“Indeed. Which is why I have taken to getting a headstart. It’s not like I can help with that tussle going on over in the throne room, anyways.”

Another rumbling shake of the room emphasized his point. I took in a deep breathe and plotted out my next words.

“Eucharis…”

“Yes, My Prince?”

“... I have discovered something quite… disturbing.”

He dropped the folder onto the desk and leaned in towards me.

“What is it?”

I looked away, examining the books on the closest bookshelf.

“Queen Chrysalis. She’s… She’s not loyal to the hive.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I found proof that she’s been torturing the most loyal changelings to the hive, and pumping them full of pure love, even during our shortage of food. She’s… mutilated her own children.” I turned back to Eucharis. “Her own children. She lobotomized them and stuffed them into tubes. They were still alive and stuck in their own bodies when I found them.”

Eucharis sat back into the chair, staring at the desk before him.

“You… found your brothers and sisters?”

“Yes, I did. I freed them, too.” His eyes snapped up to meet my own. “They’re free, Eucharis. Forever.”

“They were free to begin with. Your siblings have been dead for a long time, Prince Phasma.”

“No. Chrysalis lied to us all. They were still in their bodies, I know it. I know it.”

“You know nothing, you’re still a nymph in so many ways.”

“I know plenty. I know that Chrysalis was planning on making me meet the same fate.”

“Queen Chrysalis won’t do that.”

“Why are you so confident she won’t? There was an empty vat, just for me. She is planning on getting rid of me the moment I’m no longer necessary.”

Eucharis shot out of his chair, slamming his hooves on the desk, sending folders crashing to the ground. “She won’t do that!”

“How do you know?!”

“Because we made a deal!”

“What?!”

“We… we made a deal.”

“You…”

“Chrysalis won’t hurt you. Not as long as I report on your behavior. I know she won't Ascend you, not while I’m still loyal.”

“Ascend? You… you knew?!”

“Chrysalis needed an assistant. Someone to help with the complicated rituals and processes, someone with a good head on their shoulders. She needed someone to help with your… She trusted me. She still trusts me.”

“You ripped apart my brothers and sisters?!”

“They were dead long before I was even born. I covered up their fates and made sure you were trained right. An order is an order, and Queen Chrysalis needed my help!”

He got up from behind the desk and walked over to me.

“Let’s just… pretend this conversation never happened. You’ll walk out that door, I’ll get back to my work, and everything will be just fine.”

I shook my head, “No. That’s not going to happen. What is going to happen is that I’m going to kill Chrysalis before she gets the chance to murder me.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself and jumping to conclusions, My Prince. I said she won’t hurt you, and I promise that is true.”

“Oh, you promise? Do you hear that, Oestridae? Eucharis here promises that everything’ll be okay. We can go home now, the rebellion is over!”

“I don’t trust him.”

“What? Why not, Oest? After all, he only secretly reported on every one of my actions and every word I said to the Queen. He says it’s all going to be fine, so it must be true! He’s never lied to me before.”

“Prince Phasma, I understand you’re scared that Queen Chrysalis is planning on hurting, even killing you. But–”

“Oh I’m not afraid of death. There’s no surprises there for me. What I am afraid of is being trapped within my own body, unable to even fucking blink.”

“That’s not what happens. Those changelings died and joined Panar’s side. To Ascend is the greatest honor that could be bestowed on a dying changeling, Phasma…”

“Greatest honor? No Eucharis, they were still alive, still sapient. I’m not going to let Chrysalis imprison me forever for the crime of living at the same time she does. I’m going to save the hive.”

I looked around the room. The shaking and distant thundering had ceased. One way or the other, Chrysalis’s duel with Celestia was over.

“It’s time to make a choice. Are you with me, or against me?”

“I am on your side. Just listen to my advice, and forget this ever happened. I won’t ever say a word of this. Ever.”

“There’s no pretending. This movement is already in motion, and nothing under heaven can stop it. Over half of the Legions are in on this, are you?”

“You are trying your damnedest to get yourself killed, aren’t you? I am on your side, as I keep saying. If this is already happening, then I have to go tell Chrysalis myself. She will peacefully end this misunderstanding, and she can’t hurt you. She can’t. Not while our deal still stands.”

He pushed passed me, to the door.

‘No! I’m not letting him destroy everything I’ve worked for!’

“Eucharis! Stop!”

“You can’t defeat Chrysalis. She has centuries of experience with fighting ahead of you. I’ve watched you grow over the past year, I know you don’t have what it takes to defeat her. Now, I’m going to save your life.”

Oest moved to block the door.

“Out of my way, Praetorian Oestridae. I’m trying to save the Prince’s life.”

“No.”

“Stand down, Eucharis! This is your last chance, before…!”

“I’ve always looked out for your best interest. You know that, even if you disagree with what I did. You cannot deny that I have always been looking out for you. Now stand aside, Praetorian. I will not let you stop me from saving Phasma.”

“Not going to happen.”

‘No no no! Why won’t he just fucking surrender?!’

“Move aside, or I will move through you. Don’t think just because I am a Chamberlain that I can’t defeat a single Praetorian in combat.”

Euchari’s back was to me while he was still arguing with Oest.

“I did what I was told to last time,” I muttered, almost growling. “But this life, I’m the master of my own fate!”

I envisioned a cold point right next to me, devoid of energy. And then, I thrust it forward.

Eucharis froze as the ice spear cut straight through the chitin on his neck, going straight through to the other side with a sickening SWICK sound. I grabbed him, holding a hoof right above his horn, ready to bring it down in case he tried to cast magic.

“The crown thanks you for your many years of service. But unfortunately, your services are no longer required.”

His eye closest to me looked at me, the pupil shrinking. He stumbled back and more into my grip, falling to the side. He gurgled, and blood spurted from the front of his neck as the ice spear dissipated from the lack of mana supporting its magical structure.

As he fell, blood continued to spurt out, and I saw a spray of it on the door from when the spear hit him. I held onto him as he fell, lowering him to the ground. He continued to gurgle and pour blood as he fell.

He faced me, staring me in the eyes. The room was silent except for my panting and his desperate gasping for air, only being met with blood filling his airway. His mouth moved to form words, but all I heard was air bubbles rising up and popping in the liquid that covered the entire front lower half of his neck.

I was tensed up, ready to strike so swiftly and so brutally that my hoof could sever his horn clear off his head. Yet he never tried to use his magic. No spell came to him as he lay in my forelegs, drowning in his own blood. The blood jostled around as more bubbles came up from his lungs.

He slowly lifted a hoof, and pressed it against my chest. I saw the corners of his mouth twitch, eventually pulling upwards into a pained smile. In the back of my mind, I felt the Weave being pulled, manipulated.

‘Is he trying to call for help? Ask me to help? A threat? What is he doing?!’

A concept was pulled from the depths of the Weave, accessing the subconscious knowledge inside my own head. I examined what he was trying to grasp onto.

Pride.

He mouthed a word, and the light faded from his eyes. He went limp, bubbles no longer appearing in the blood pouring out from his neck like a faucet. Now, all that I could hear was my heavy breathing.

And my heartbeat. It was fast, and painful. My face had gone numb as I continued to stare at Eucharis. There was only one word that could fit the concept he pulled on and the shapes his mouth made.

My jaw started to shiver. I let go of Eucharis, letting his head and upper barrel hit the floor. I looked up, at the wall to the right of the door, which we had turned towards as he fell. There was a ceramic vase, covered in blue floral patterns sitting on a table between the bookshelves. It was polished to a shine, and I could see my own reflection in the vase’s sheen.

I was covered in blood.

My mind connected the dots all too easily. Chrysalis’s hints pointed to someone important. She didn’t want me to know who he was. Eucharis himself said that he always had my best interest at heart. He had a deal to protect me and me alone.

‘He helped cover out the fate of my brothers and sisters. He constantly reported my activities to the Queen. He tried to stop my rebellion. But he did it all for what he believed to be the right reasons…’

“He was trying to save his son.”

I looked down at his lifeless body. Blood had stopped coming out of his wound, where I… Where I ran him through. The red substance had stained the light red carpet a dark, deep crimson. At the edge of the carpet, where his head lay, some of it pooled onto the white, shiny marble tile floor.

“What?” Oest asked. I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look away.

“He tried his best.”

“Phasma? What are you…”

“His last word. Son.”

‘I… could have casted a stun spell… Didn’t need…’

“... We have to go, Phasma. Time is of the essence.”

I stood up, gaze never leaving Euchari. My chest was hurting something fierce.

“C’mon Phasma. We still have to find Commander Scorpion.”

“Yeah…. The Commander. This isn’t over.”

I managed to tear my gaze away, only to see the bloody door in front of me. I stumbled at the sight. Oest stretched out a hoof, catching me.

“Ahem. Let’s… find this Commander.”

We left the room, closing the door behind us.

Commander Scorpion was inspecting the Canterlot Castle Royal Guard armory. It was veritable, to be sure. But he expected more.

The room was four times longer than it was wide. The walls were nine hooves tall, with a slant at the end, reaching up to the ceiling ten hooves up from the floor. Along the center, rows of weapon racks were arranged. Many had been filled with swords, spears, and other common weapons. However, the occasional rack only had a single weapon on them, and were separately locked up. The walls of the room had sets of armor on mannequins reared up on their hind legs.

The entrance was a solid cold rolled steel door, with a three part lock enchanted against tampering. The door– and surrounding walls– were enchanted against being damaged. However, High Marshal Prince Phasmatodea had picked the Quartermaster out as a prime target for the opening moves of the invasion of Canterlot.

The Quartermaster himself was ambushed while he was inside the castle, just as the invasion was starting to kick off. He was inside the armory, handling the distribution of the arms inside. Guards from all over the city were coming in to retrieve weapons from the armory, having been off duty. Many had their armor with them, as all Royal Guards kept their armor close at hoof. Weapons, however, had to be kept in the armory.

The quartermaster went down far too easily. As did the guards with the enchanted weaponry of the vaunted Royal Guards. Commander Scorpion had the element of surprise and had ordered the infiltrators to sneak in disguised as ponies coming on duty to help out with the invasion, only to attack at once at the unprepared guards.

Only an eighth of the armory had been distributed to the Royal Guards coming in. All of that was reclaimed when Canterlot Castle was swept of its guard presence. Now, Commander Scorpion was inspecting the armory itself. Reappropriating, to be more precise.

Two thirds of the armor sets were unusable in their current condition. That last third, inefficient. The armor for pegasi and earth ponies had no hole in the helmet for a changeling’s horn, and the unicorn armor had no holes in the barrel plating for wings. Still, Scorpion figured he could combine the helmets of the unicorn armor with the rest of the set from the pegasus armor to get usable sets.

They were in every way superior to what the Praetorians had in stock.

‘Now that Canterlot is ours, we can start looking into forging our own armor, surely. It will take time to reach the level of professionalism these ponies had when it came to enchanting them, though. For now, we will make do with using their armor to finish the invasion.’

He was inspecting a helmet that seemed to be utterly resistant to being gripped by magic– despite the fact that it wasn’t made of Adamantium or Mithril– when a changeling entered the armory from the door behind him.

‘News from the throne room?’

“Report,” he said, not looking back.

“By the power invested in me, blah blah blah, you’re under arrest for treason against the hive.”

Commander Scorpion dropped the helmet and turned around, recognizing the voice.

“... My Prince?”

High Marshal Prince Phasmatodea was behind him, his Praetorian Oestridae, ever his shadow, right by him. Scorpion ever-so-briefly lamented the lost opportunity when that ling opted to not go into the Praetorian program originally. However, Scorpion’s attention was completely on the High Marshal the moment he noticed something so thoroughly peculiar and vexing.

Prince Phasma was covered in blood.

That’s when the Prince’s words registered in Scorpion’s mind, their utter lunacy making sense.

“What… are you talking about? Treason?”

“A plot to usurp Queen Chrysalis has been uncovered, and evidence and testimony has singled you out as a key conspirator. The previous suspects we took in were less than willing to come peacefully. Do not make the same mistake.”

The High Marshal lifted his hammer, and gently pressed it against Scorpion’s peytral armor plating. Scorpion heard hoofsteps behind him as the six Praetorians in the armory moved closer to watch.

“Come peacefully.”

“You’re clearly being misled, My Prince. I have been loyal to the throne for decades! Queen Chrysalis shall judge me, she will know the truth of what I say.”

“Then you will not fight?”

“Of course not, My Prince. I am loyal to the hive!”

“You deny that it was you who created subversive elements in the Swarm, collecting officers and soldiers alike for your cause to usurp Queen Chrysalis?”

“What? Of course not, I have been busy with the invasion. Any ling under my command can testify to that!”

“Then this should be cleared up very quickly. Thanks for making this easy for me.”

While Scorpion’s mind processed the words the Prince was saying, Scorpion noticed the Prince’s horn lighting up. His decades of experience kicked in automatically, and he casted a shield matrix to protect himself from the point-blank range opponent.

Unfortunately, the shield never formed. God-Splitter, with its Mithril core, was pressed right up against Scorpion. He could not get a protective shield around himself. Continuing to act on instinct, he started to dive to the side.

That was when the Prince and his shadow made their moves. A bolt of highly powerful electricity whizzed past the Commander, imperceptibly close to his head as he ducked into a roll. The hammer, God-Splitter, lowered and briefly hooked onto Scorpion’s right foreleg as he dove to the left, sending his dive into an unintended flip onto his back.

‘He’s attacking me?! He had no intention of taking me in–’

Praetorian Oestridae shut the door behind them and charged in.

Praetorian Patella was flying down the halls of Canterlot Castle as fast as her wings could allow.

She passed pristine halls covered in more gold, art, and suits of armor. She blitzed through junctions of wide avenue-like hallways. She buzzed around collapsed pillars and walls in a hallway that was destroyed in Her Majesty’s fight.

Her destination was the castle’s armory, where Commander Scorpion was. Praetorian Patella was ordered to deliver the message with no delays, and she understood the gravity of the situation herself. If need be, she would blow holes in walls to reach her commanding officer.

The Queen had told her the message herself, and Patella had been present in the room for the Infiltrator’s frantic debriefing.

Patella zipped to the side to avoid three Praetorians that were patrolling the hall she was currently speeding through. She didn’t slow down at all, trusting her skills to avoid collisions.

She was in the section of the castle reserved for military use now. Dormitories, mess halls, training rooms, she passed them all without even a cursory glance. The soft golds, reds, and whites of the main halls had given way to more simplistic styles of white, grey, and somehow less fancy gold.

Finally, she came upon the castle’s armory. The massive door was shut, and Patella could hear muffled noises behind the solid metal. When she pulled open the grey, half-a-hoof thick door, she saw the intended recipient of her message lying in a broken mess of wood and weapons.

The changeling next to the prone commander turned to the new intruder. It was a Praetorian in orange armor. Prince Phasma’s personal guard, Patella recalled. The rest of the changelings in the armory paused too. Three seemed to be unconscious on the ground, one was in the grip of the High Marshal himself, and the High Marshal had paused mid-punch to look over his shoulder to investigate who opened the door.

‘Oh no, I’m too late!’

“Run!” Yelled one of the Praetorians.

Praetorian Patella spun on her hooves just in time to hear the Prince yell, “Get her!”

She took to her wings once more, and began retracing her flight back to the throne room. She put all her speed to the test, hoping to lose what almost certainly was a changeling loyal to Prince Phasma right behind her.

Around bends, through hallways, she caught glimpses of the orange Praetorian right on her tail. Patella prided herself on being one of the fastest flyers in the First Legion, yet the hulking mass behind her never lost sight of her.

Occasionally, spells zipped past her as she darted from each side of the hallway, dodging potential shots from her pursuer.

One stray glance answered why; the infamous strong Praetorian Oestridae was smashing right through obstacles, rather than taking time to dodge around them. Corners of the walls exploded in plaster and stone as he cut straight through them. Fallen debris was smashed to pieces as he plowed on. Changelings were thrown to the side as he barreled right past.

One particular hallway had one wall covered in clear glass panels, giving a pleasant view of the garden right outside. This had the noticeable effect of the hallway being brighter than others, as the moonlight streamed in through the large windows. Patella, not having time to take in the scene, barely registered that detail in her mind. She was more focused on the single Praetorian standing in the hall, blocking it accidentally with his length.

She flew upwards towards the ceiling, intending to fly over the changeling just as she had a few times previously. Patella did not see the Praetorian’s horn light up as he channeled a spell, nor did she see the tiles of the floor– and no small amount of ground from beneath them– shoot up to the ceiling until it was far, far too late.

She hit the sudden wall with considerable force, cracking chitin all over her body; from her muzzle to her barrel, cracks appeared in varying size. She slid down the wall briefly, before falling back and off it all together. In the corner of her eyes, she could see her muzzle was now covered in blood. Her Praetorian helmet was completely dented backwards and was likely the only reason she was still conscious.

Patella struggled to flip onto her belly and get her hooves beneath her. She had to warn the Queen. Failure was not an option.

“Why don't cha’ just stay there for a moment, yeah?”

Patella pushed herself up off the ground and extended her wings to take flight again. The room spun and she instinctively retracted her wings back under her elytra as she tipped to the side, and fell over.

She heard hoofsteps echo around the room as the speaker walked over. Then, she heard another set as her pursuer landed. Patella blew air out of her nose, spraying a bit of blood onto the ground in front of her.

“Couldn’t help but notice you were after this ling. Don’t worry, this one’s free of charge.”

“... That statement has unpleasant implications, Weevil.”

Oest came in with the captured witness just as I finished wrapping up our captives. He brought a friend, too. I gave the familiar Praetorian a nod.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Praetorian Weevil.”

“Hey, it’s just Weevil to friends.”

“Weevil, then.”

Oest threw down the captured ling in front of me. She was not looking too good; blood was leaking out of several points on her head and torso.

“The hell happened?”

“I saw Oest here making his way down the hallway, slowly following this bird. Thought I’d lend a hoof and help catch her. Turns out, she don’t like going from twenty miles per hour to none in a second flat.”

“Hmm. Thanks for your help, Weevil.”

“Anything for a friend.”

“Speaking of which, I could use your help if you would stick with us.”

“With what?”

“It’s happening.”

Weevil’s eyes widened and he looked around the room.

“Oh. Oh! Is that what this is all about?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean I can get first pick of loot in here?”

“Sure. I need to ask our friend a question.”

Weevil, ever keeping his priorities straight, started picking through the armory behind me, examining the weapons and armor now laying on the ground. I turned my attention to the captured Praetorian while Oest kept watch outside the doorway to prevent further interruptions.

I leaned over the bleeding ling.

“You were not standing guard at the door. Where did you come from? Who are you? Where were you going?”

The Praetorian did not speak. She only glared at me.

“Listen. I’m very short on time. So before I start using the mind control spell, you might want to just tell me what I want to know. Believe me, it’s not a pleasant experience.”

‘So I’ve read, at least.’

“I’m loyal to the hive!”

“Ugh. This again? Alright, I gave you one warning. Just a heads up, bracing only makes it more painful.”

“N… No! Wait!”

I blinked.

“I’m surprised you actually listened to my warning. I'm a bit disappointed, too. I really need to practice that spell. Where did you come from?”

“The throne room…”

“Why?”

“The Queen needed to deliver a message. I was… too late. But it doesn’t matter! Nothing that happens here matters!”

‘That’s not an answer I wanted to hear.’

“And why does nothing matter?”

“Because you’re doomed to fail.”

“Doomed to fail,” I repeat. “How…”

‘She knows.’

“She knows,” Oest echoed my thoughts from his position outside of the doorway.

“Son of a cussing cuss word!” I hissed. “We have a leak! We need to move!”

I leaned back and called over to Weevil. He was trying on a Royal Guard unicorn helmet. “Weevil! We’re leaving! Now!”

“But you said I could loot!”

“Chrysalis knows! There’s no time!”

“Oh shit. I’m right behind ya!”

I moved around Oest and out into the hall.

“C’mon! We’re out of time! We have to get everyone at the rendezvous either out of the castle or with us when we go in!”

I tore down the halls with Oest and Weevil at my heels. Time had become the most valuable resource in existence, and I was out of it.

‘Chrysalis knows about the insurrection! I have to get the First Fang to safety before she acts first, the element of surprise is lost!’

The distant rumbling of the match between the two monarchs had ceased long ago. Chrysalis had won, and was preemptively trying to stop my survival. With Eucharis and Scorpion out of the way, hopefully I was the only one with real support.

‘How many Praetorians could she have rallied? With my luck, the answer is ‘a lot.’’

I slowed down enough only to check that my two followers were still following me. They didn’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up. That was probably due to the fact that I had only been flying for less than a year, and they had years of experience. I was probably slowing them down, in fact.

‘.... Would I be able to go faster if I was galloping on the ground?’

As we neared our destination, I heard something that only drove me to fly faster. I barely remembered to keep holding God-Splitter in my grip as I flew, so focused was my mind on getting to the rendezvous as soon as possible.

I had heard the sound of distant fighting.

‘The changelings at the rendezvous are under attack!’

When I turned the last corner before reaching the foyer, I saw Praetorians with their backs to me. They were group casting shield spells, slowly moving forwards out of the hallway and into the foyer. It was hard to make out what was past them, but I guessed that it was my loyal Lodge members as well as the First Fang.

Oest and Weevil set down next to me as we peeked around the corner.

“Plan,” I began hastily, ”is that I go in, you two follow. We get our boys, we get out. Then, the Nine and us three will go hit Chrysalis directly. Good? Good. On me!”

Every second that I spent talking was a second the Lodge members had to endure under attack. So, I channeled my inner Leeroy, and charged forward. I brought God-Splitter up before me as I charged.

I closed in the distance between us and the loyalists nearly silently as I flew forward.

But then I saw that the Praetorians were stepping over something. As I got closer, I saw that the advancing soldiers were stepping over bodies. Changeling bodies lying in puddles of blood and chitin shards. My loyal lings, laying dead on the tiles in a war that is being fought non-lethally.

‘Those fuckers are going lethal?! If that’s the way they want to do this!’

I screamed as I charged, “FOR THE HIVE ETERNAL!”

The changelings in the rear turned towards me as I swung God-Splitter. I could see the stunned looks on their faces when God-Splitter went right through three of them. The first was nearly split in two as their barrel was caved in. The next two were hit by the full momentum of the hammer plus the guards next to them.

“Behind!” A Praetorian in front of me yelled. I couldn’t tell who said that. I couldn’t bring myself to care.

They attempted to bring up a shield, not exactly realizing who it was attacking their rear. It would take them a moment or two to realize that there’s only one changeling facing them who could yell over the Weave, but that was a moment I used to the fullest extent. The shield lasted all of three seconds before I swung God-Splitter once more, taking down two more Praetorians.

The rest of the changelings in front of me, roughly eight total at this end of the hall, started to space themselves out as they began going on the offensive. Acid sprays, fire bolts, and more than enough focus will shots all hit me and bounced off at first my shield and then the protective shield embedded in my peytral.

Oest and Weevil shot past me as I sent forth a barrage of ice spears, the spell matrix so familiar that I could rapidly cast them one after another. They each charged at a target on either side of the hall as I followed right behind, going after a changeling in the center.

I formed a casing of rock around my right hoof as I punched one changeling, swinging God-Splitter around at another. They retaliated with an illusion spell to make me hit thin air as well as a stream of directed fire. I felt my peytral start to heat up as the green shield that flickered into existence around me took the brunt of the spell and channeled its energy to the nine sapphires embedded in the piece of armor.

My swing had gone wide, having been temporarily blinded by the fire. Instead of going for them once again, I pulled God-Splitter back and above me before slamming it down onto the ground. The resulting shockwave cracked and upturned the stone tiled flooring all around, as well as sending cracks snaking up the walls all the way to the ceiling.

The changelings around me– Oest and Weevil included– were sent tumbling. I took the chance to smash a Praetorian using my hammer, the sheer force of it crushing the changeling. The section of the crater he was prone in became coated in red as half of his barrel was obliterated.

Now I could see the foyer in its entirety. A group of changelings in the center were maintaining a shield, surrounded by Praetorians and fallen lings alike. There were far more dead non-armored lings than there were dead Praetorians.

‘They must have ambushed my followers here and pressed the advantage.’

I took a brief count of thirty or so Praetorians before rushing up to the shield in front of me. The hallway I came from seemed to have the least amount of Praetorians in it, as more Praetorians arrived from the main hall up the half-staircase.

“SEND THESE BASTARDS TO HELL!”

The changelings in the shield– a distressingly few amount– looked to me as I arrived. Unfortunately, my rallying call also caught the attention of the Praetorians present, who had been laying siege to the minor, impromptu defenses of the Lodge members.

Four of the closest lings lunged at me, casting out blades of ice-fire. I intercepted one of the red-blue shards of energy with God-Splitter, shattering it and turning the green hammer red from the constant use of dispelling.

“The Prince!” A voice yelled out from within the shield.

The remaining three blades impacted a shield that I quick-casted, and the fire portion of the spells were nullified. The ice sections cut right through, and had scraped against my peytral itself. The ice scratched the Adamantium plate, but did nothing more than that.

The lings who had lunged at me were covered by shields casted by their fellow Praetorians behind them. So instead of throwing out a spell that could hit them all, only to be negated by their shields, I threw God-Splitter forward and pulled them all towards it using levitation.

The sudden force on their forms caused their shields to go rigid as their protectors fought off the intrusive force. The result of this was that they couldn’t dodge the solid mass of Adamantium heading straight for them. I watched as one of the Praetorians were sent flying backwards, impacting the ceiling above the staircase. Another Praetorian who was standing next to the intended target was clipped by a glancing hit by the hammer, causing his shield to vaporize. A torrent of fireballs rained down on the unprotected changeling and his two protected comrades as Oest, Weevil, and the now-freed Lodge members linked up with me.

I started to catch my breath, noticing my horn had started to sting from the constant casting of spells. Still, using telekinesis to swing God-Splitter was relatively cheap in mana cost, so I kept the Praetorians at bay and dodging around as I panted. The Lodge members had left their shield and formed new defenses around me.

“Sir! They came outta nowhere, we had no time to react!”

I glanced at the speaker. Captain Cicada, leader of the Will of The Nine, looked like hell. He must have taken a fireball to the neck, as half of his neck and portions of his barrel and lower right fight were charred black. The chitin seemed to be peeling in place, blood leaking out.

“I know. A traitor has revealed our plot, and Chrysalis preemptively attacked.”

Around us, Lodgers constantly dropped their shields for the briefest of moments to allow for friendlies to counter-attack in the briefest of windows. It was a dangerous maneuver and would by all rights be damn near impossible to achieve. However, thanks to the local Weave I projected, the counter-attacks were being shot off like a fighter’s machine gun being timed between rotations of the propeller in front of it.

The same could be said for our foes, as the Weave could not selectively aid only my lings. The Praetorians were using the cooperative skills now possible to their best extent, having been trained to do so. For every elemental, focused will, or other spell thrown at our opponents, they returned with three of their own. We were in a losing position, and I had to do something sooner rather than later. Our mana reserves would deplete long before theirs, even before counting their superior numbers.

“What happened to the First Fang members who were supposed to be here? Lace, Coxa, and Tarsus?”

“I’m right here, boss!” That was Coxa speaking from somewhere within our grouping.

“You alright,” I asked, still focused on my hammer being thrown around wildly outside of the shield.

“No. But I’ll live.”

“Lace? Tarsus?”

“Lace was here, but I lost sight of her right away….”

“Did you see her, Captain Cicada?”

I saw him shake his head out of the corner of my eyes.

‘So she could be one of the corpses on the ground…. They’re not taking prisoners.’

“She’s fine, I’m sure of it,” I lied.

‘Focus on what's going on right now. The longer this goes on, the lower our chances of escape are, and the lower the amount of energy I have left to fight Chrysalis. Time to make a move.’

I did not speak too loudly above the raucous of the battle, lest the Praetorians overhear me.

“We need to move. I’ll make an opening towards the main doors, and the injured and non-combatants can escape that way. Then, we blow a hole in their line and head straight for Chrysalis. We find a nice chokepoint to hold off their numbers while I hit the Queen directly. Everyone got it?”

A round of got-its and yeses answered my question. I looked in the direction of the exit and saw a team of Praetorians blocking the way. Unlike their counterparts further in the room, they never dropped their shield to attack.

‘They must have orders to prevent the escape of my lings.’

I recalled God-Splitter after giving the lings in front of me a warning. They dropped their shield briefly enough for the hammer to make it through. A shard of ice smashed against the shield once it was raised back up. I turned around to look at the exit. Something around fifteen Praetorians were now on that side. Our numbers were somewhere between fifteen to thirty.

“Everyone injured and still able to fly, get ready to escape. If anyone is injured and can’t fly, find a ling right now to carry you to safety. Coxa, I want you out of here, too. Get ready!”

I threw God-Splitter forward as fast as I could. The hammer swung in an arc on the tethering enchantment, swinging downwards from above. The Praetorians saw the massive, shiny, glowing red-and-green mass coming long before it hit, and had moved out of the way.

What they didn't see coming was the entirety of our forces now charging their lines. When they realized that we were here, God-Splitter hit the ground, sending another wave of cracks through the floor and walls as well as throwing our opponents off their hooves. The shield was dispelled as their concentration broke.

Our party galloped right through them. A few stopped, turned, and brought up another shield in front of the doorway to cover our retreat. Oest and a few others finished off the prone Praetorians, taking no prisoners. I didn’t look back to watch the retreat behind me, instead focusing once more on keeping the changelings around us at bay using God-Splitter.

After a few moments I checked on our progress.

“We all out?” I called from my position in the rearguard-now-turned-vanguard.

“The injured and non-soldiers are out, My Prince!”

“Cicada? Still with me, then?”

“Till the end, sir!”

“How about till their end, yeah? Now we gotta go all the way back through the room and up to Chrysalis.”

‘We’re pretty damn lucky that there wasn’t a force of Praetorians outside the Castle. Word must not have spread to the loyalists out in the city of what’s going on. That won’t last, though.’

“Once more unto the breach!”

I leaped forward, back to the center of the room, brandishing God-Splitter as I went. The shield in front of me dropped as I charged. I constantly switched between bringing up small, localized shields to block projectiles in between hammer swings. The Praetorians thankfully were woefully undertrained for fighting an opponent who could defend themselves while attacking without backup. Still, I couldn’t catch all the hits and so my shields were waning.

Behind me, the Will of the Nine followed at a slower pace, following in the breach I was creating in the lines of the Praetorians. They kept their shields up after I leapt ahead, opting to focus more on defense rather than offense.

As I sent a ling flying back and upwards with a blow of my hammer, one of them had the bright idea to destroy the ground in front of me. Continuous sprays of acid left a dangerous pool of the substance right in my path. In response, my wings buzzed out of my elytra as I flew above the pool, calling it out to the lings behind me.

Immediately, a torrent of focused-will spells targeted my back. The shield around me flickered out of existence and my wings were torn under the barrage. I started to plummet to the ground on the other side of the pool.

Quickly, I brought up another shield around me. The damage was done, however. My wings were gone, leaving behind a searing pain that persisted underneath my elytra where the wings met my back. I hissed in pain as Oest and Weevil arrived next to me, bringing a protective shield around us and replacing my solo one.

“Keep. Moving!” I spat.

I turned to look behind me as I got up. The Lodge members were grouping up around me once again. The shields were holding still, and I gave a quiet thanks that the Praetorians did not have any Panar’s Hammer members amongst them. The heavy-hitter spells of that Legion would have made quick work of our defenses.

We were now two-thirds of the way into the room, at the base of the staircase. The Praetorians had made us fight for every inch of the ground. Losses on our side were limited, but we had less to lose than them.

“Up the stairs now! We take the main hall and hold it!”

As we slowly pushed the Praetorians back, I noticed the room was on fire. The great banners that detailed the glory of the Equestrian Royal Guard were now aflame, their great length burning to a crisp from the fireballs and streams that had soared through the air with reckless abandon. The walls themselves were covered in cracks and fissures, similarly aflame, or even melting from acid shots.

I gave a quick glance at the ceiling to see that it was intact. Thankfully, the building was not going to come down around our advance. Then, I checked behind me. The Will of the Nine now numbered less than ten members.

As I pressed up the left staircase, swinging God-Splitter to clear a way in the horde of changelings blocking our path, I once again called out to my group.

“We won’t be able to hold a chokepoint at this rate!”

“We’ll think of something!” Cicada answered.

The shield around our advance faltered. Then, it dissipated entirely.

Immediately, Praetorian Weevil took a focused-will shot to the neck between his helmet and peytral. The shot went straight through, leaving a visible tunnel through his neck. He staggered, then fell. Oestridae took his spot in the advance, bringing a shield back up around us. We left his body behind, crumpled beneath the painting of Celestia that hung on the middle landing of the staircase.

For every inch we took, we paid for it with blood.

Finally, we neared the main hallway at the top of the stairs. It was smaller than the foyer, and unless we could make it all the way down its length to the throne room under heavy fire, it was our best shot at holding back the Praetorians.

“Hold here!”

I blasted two Praetorians into the walls using two focused will lasers as the surviving Lodge Members dropped the shield covering us, replacing it with a shield that covered the entire large doorway to the grand hall. The few Praetorians left in the hall were dispatched, taking down two more of our members.

The upside was that there were no more Praetorians coming from the Great Hall. The downside was that there were now five Lodge members including Captain Cicada.

“Damn it all, we’re not going to be holding this for long. You five will have to hold this as long as you can, buying me enough time to end this. I’d stay and fight, too, but...”

“I will hold the line,” Oestridae said.

“I need you to help me take down the Queen, Oest.”

“You need a chance to take her down, first.”

“... But you’ll die.”

“We all knew the risks. Not one of us here ignored what we were getting into.”

I could only stare at him, panting and leaning against God-Splitter.

“I will hold them off and buy you the time you need, Phasma.”

I hated how much sense he was making. With his skills and strength, the line could be held for so much longer than just Cicada and the remaining four alone.

“If everyone dies, who is left for me to fight for?”

It was selfish to ask that right after ordering the rest of the group to their deaths, I realized, but the words came out of my mouth before I could even think.

“The rest of our species. Take down Chrysalis so the hive can survive.”

“I…”

“Go. This is not your grave.”

I sighed.

“... Goodbye brother.”

“No goodbyes. You hate them, remember? Till we meet again, Phasma.”

He came close and wrapped a hoof around my own, bringing our chests together with a bump.

“Till then. Thank you for… everything, Oest.”

We broke the embrace as I blinked the water out of my eyes, and then I turned to gallop down the halls.

Alone.

Praetorian Oestridae held the line.

Even as the shield in the doorway finally broke and the Praetorians started swarming through, he kept them at bay.

One after another, they fell to his spells and hoof-to-hoof fighting.

Captain Cicada died. As the shield faltered, he used what mana he had left to start casting a massive fireball. When the shield spell fell, he launched it at the door. Since he was next to it, the flames engulfed the half-burnt Captain, too.

Praetorian Oestridae held the line.

He checked their advance to the throne room, standing right in the middle of the ruined hall. The walls were cracked. The columns had fallen. The stained glass windows were all blown out. The ceiling itself had caved in a number of places.

Ash streamed in from above, setting beneath the openings like a layer of grey snow. His hooves crunched on the ash as he slowly backed up, throwing out a concussion blast at the advancing Praetorians.

Before, he and his brothers-in-hooves had been the ones advancing against a slowly retreating foe.

Now, he made them pay in blood for every inch they took.

The changelings in front of him were pushed aside as a changing in thicker, more covering Praetorian armor emerged. The mandibles on either side of his helmet indicated his ranking as what Phasma had rebranded the Consul; the second highest rank in the Praetorians, beneath Commander Scorpion.

The fighting had ceased, leaving the hallway far more quiet than Oest could remember. Wings were still buzzing as some changelings flew. Oest could hear his heavy breaths shoveling in air into his lungs.

“Oestridae.”

He knew that voice.

“Pharynx.”

“Where’s Thorax?”

“I don’t know.”

Pharynx shook his head.

“Then this is where you die.”

“Did you tell Chrysalis?”

“Of your betrayal? No.”

‘Ah. There goes my one guess. I’m sure Phasma has it figured out, though.’

“So. You gonna fight me one on one or something?”

“You and your Prince took away my brother. He said he protected him, but Thorax isn’t here. He didn’t survive the trip, did he? Phasma murdered my brother, and Queen Chrysalis forbids anyone from killing him. I’ll have to settle for you instead.”

‘This duel will buy more time.’

“What are you waiting for? I’m right here.”

Pharynx smiled and stepped forward.

“This one is mine. Stay back, all of you! If any of you interrupt, your life is forfeit.”

“You Praetorians are obsessed with death.”

“The penalty for treason is death. Your band of misfits knew that. I want my brother back, but this will do for now.”

Oestridae conjured a shield around him, enveloping his form in a green glow.

Pharynx blasted him with a laser beam, forcing him backwards. Ditches were left in the layer of ash he was standing in as he got pushed back.

But Praetorian Oestridae held the line.

Pharynx swung a conjured blade again and again, chipping away at Oestridae’s chitin. He was bleeding profusely from the hundred of cuts that Pharynx had rent. In comparison, Pharynx felt fit as a pony fiddle.

Throughout the entire fight, Oestridae hadn't casted a single offensive spell. Time and time again, he disorientated Pharynx using stunning or concussive spells, but he never hurt Pharynx.

“Are you hoping to buy as much time as possible for your traitor-friend? You know their duel is over by now. You only prolong your death with no chance of defeating me by not fighting back!”

“I know,” the resolute traitor growled.

“Then why don’t you fight back?!”

To emphasize his point, he thrust a blade at Oestridae. Oest blocked the blade by moving a foreleg into the way. The blade sunk deep through his foreleg, leaking blood where the two met.

Oestridae panted heavily from behind his foreleg, glaring at Pharynx.

“You outta juice or something, traitor?”

“I give everything I have for the hive.”

“You’re funny, you know that, Oestridae? I think you’re the only changeling in the hive that can beat me, yet you never even tried. You will die for nothing, having achieved nothing yourself.”

“I protected Phasma.”

“He killed my brother!”

“No. Thorax lives.”

“Then where is he?!”

Pharynx stabbed again with a second blade, sinking it deep in Oest’s chest, penetrating right through the orange peytral. He shuddered, but stayed standing.

“... Don’t know,” He grunted.

“Then you should have fought back, if you care about your Prince so much!”

“He’s more than a prince, he’s my brother.”

The opposing Praetorian staggered. Pharynx just shook his head.

“But you refused to fight for him?!”

A third blade joined the second.

“I can’t hurt you.”

“Why?!”

Oestridae collapsed onto the ground. The magical blades embedded in him vanished as Pharynx stopped casting the spell.

“You’re… our brother… too. The rest might have forgotten… but I haven’t. You’re an honorary member of the… First Fang.”

He gasped as blood started to pool around him, leaking from the blade wounds.

“... And the First Fang... never hurts… each other.”

Pharynx watched as his foe grew stiller and stiller. His voice grew quieter and quieter, too. Oest had to struggle to get each word out.

“Phas… I stood... until... the... end…”

With one last shutter, Praetorian Oestridae died.

‘Is this how it ends? So close to reunion, yet so far?’

‘... It doesn’t have to be.’

‘This is it.’

The Canterlot Castle throne room was ahead of me. The doors, still broken and hanging open, did not block the view. I could see her sitting on the throne, seemingly alone in the throne room.

‘Alone. That’s a risky assumption. One I’m going to have to make, unfortunately. Just walk in there, and get this over with. I have some time thanks to– no, stay focused! If I think about him, I won’t be… Focus!’

I crossed the threshold and entered the room. The sound of my muffled hoofsteps on the red carpet that stretched all the way across and to the throne was the only sound that I could hear outside of my own breathing.

The throne room somehow looked worse than when I first arrived. There was more open sky than ceiling at this point. No pillar stood higher than halfway up the room. Great sections of the walls were blown out. The throne was scorched, as if a beam from a massive magnifying glass burnt streaks across it.

Outside the missing sections of the walls, I could see what used to be two gardens on either side, bordered by glassless windows. The walls on the far sides of the courtyards seemed to have fared the battle just as well as the walls of the throne room.

A layer of ash now coated most of the floor of the throne room. My muffled hoofsteps turned into the crunching sound of walking on snow as I traversed into the grey covered sections, and out into the room proper.

Queen Chrysalis of the Fourth Hive sat on the throne’s ruins, looking bored.

Upon my arrival, she lifted her head off the hoof that was propping it up, and stared at me. I slowly closed the vast distance between us. She tracked my movement with those green slitted eyes of hers, so similar to my own. Chrysalis waited patiently as I crossed the overly-large room, eventually stopping short of her own throne.

We both knew how awkward it would have been if we started monologuing from across the room. Yelling takes away from the menacing undertone of a final confrontation.

We stared at each other for a bit. Her, atop her new ruined throne. Me, slowly accumulating a layer of ash on my back and the top of my head.

‘Course she made sure that the throne was still covered by the roof. That’s got to be on purpose.’

I gazed around the room and found a distinctive lack of pony princesses.

“No audience?” I looked back to her as I broke the silence.

She didn’t respond, instead tapping a hoof on the one remaining armrest of the throne.

“I was certain you would have paraded your prized trophies before everyone.”

“Oh I will. I will retrieve and secure said trophy before long. The sun princess is hanging around.”

“... You know why I’m here.”

“Yes.”

“To kill you.”

“Yes.”

I raised my eyebrows, “Do you have any objections to your immediate abdication and death?”

“Yes.”

I sighed.

“Are you going to be as obtuse as possible with your answers?”

“Why?”

She rose from her throne, continuing to stare down at me.

“Why all this… this… betrayal?”

I scoffed. “You know why. Because you had no intention of keeping me around after this day.”

Chrysalis shook her head.

“I had no intention of stopping with Equestria. With you by my side, we would conquer every throne, in every kingdom, on every continent.”

“With Equestria on lockdown, you would have ample time and resources to create a bigger army. You never needed me past today.”

“Why do you entwine your life so closely with this one duty? When a ling can no longer fulfill a role, they are reassigned.”

“Just like you reassigned my brothers and sisters?”

She froze for a moment before answering, “Your siblings?

“Ascension.”

“Ah. You found them?”

“It had a nymph’s puzzle lock on the entrance. Wasn’t that hard to get in.”

“The vault door is the deterrent against intruders. The lair’s lock is the deterrent against non-changelings. It is not complex simply because it does not need to be.”

“And the lab’s contents? Your own children?”

She shrugged, “They were dying. I gave them a purpose greater than what they could achieve in their lives.”

“Yeah. You made sure that they never passed that barrier, trapped forever.”

“They are dead. The Ascension ritual destroys the mind. Those are but empty husks, repurposed to create something wonderful.”

“No. The soul does not move on, not until the heart stops beating.”

“Oh, what do you know of such matters? You are but less than a year old.”

“I know more than you.”

“I should hardly think so, considering I have lived for centuries. Death is a common visitor to a perpetual.”

“And Death is an old friend of mine.”

The smile dropped from her face. She slowly lifted up a hoof, and set it down on the first step down from the throne. She spoke as she slowly, slowly walked down, putting one hoof in front of the other.

“You think because you have fought ponies that you know death?”

“You think dealing death makes you familiar with it? I’ve been to the other side and back. Death holds no surprises for me. In fact, I recommend you try it out.”

Once more she paused for the briefest of moments as she considered what I said.

“The other side and back? So, that’s how it is. I’ve always wondered where your intellect came from. Why did you keep this a secret from me…. Princess Prochoerodes?”

I blinked rapidly in confusion. She continued.

“I tried so hard. But with so little time left for the hive, my resources were limited. The ritual had failed. But now you finally come to say that this is not so? Why do you come with a dagger in hoof to greet your mother?”

“I am not Princess Procho.”

“Perhaps you lack your memory. Not all of it, it would seem. You still hold vestiges of what once was. They have been bleeding through your vision, into what you perceive as reality. Your old memories must still be in there, Princess Procho.”

“I was not a changeling when I died.”

That got Chrysalis to stop. She had descended half of the length of the stairs down to me when she paused.

“You retain memories of a previous life, and one that is not a changeling?”

“That’s right. A featherless biped with broad flat nails.”

“Not Princess Procho then.”

“No.”

“The ritual failed then. Or at least, most of it.”

“And just what is this ritual?”

“Chamberlain Eucharis aided me in your creation.” She tilted her head back and looked at the black and grey sky. “Both parts.”

“He won’t be aiding much of anything anymore.”

Chrysalis returned her stare back to me.

“Eucharis is dead. I killed him.”

“You killed him?”

“He refused to surrender…. Wasn’t much of a father, anyways…”

‘But he was my father, and he was the first person I’ve ever killed.’

“You knew he was your father?”

“No. He decided the best moment to reveal that was after I stabbed him in the neck.”

I changed the subject, both before I started to remember details and to keep things moving. Time was short, each second was paid for in blood.

“Why did you make a changeling royal just months before the hive ran out of food?”

“... I didn’t make just any changeling royal. I made a new vessel for Princess Procho. You are nothing but an accident. An amalgamation of her lifesource.”

“You made a vessel for a soul? How many of your children did you have to butcher to make one?”

She continued her descent down the stairs.

“A vessel created from an arcane ritual. The ritual to bring back my most loyal and powerful daughter…. it failed. Knowledge on such subjects is so hard to come by; these ponies have frowned upon the research into such Dark Magics. Yet out of that failure, the dregs spawned a spark of something new. I sheltered that spark and gave it the vessel.

“When your egg grew, I felt the almost-silent hum of your Weave. It was not Princess Procho’s, much to my disappointment. However, your cleverness brought opportunities I had not seen before. Your arrival was only possible due to the ritual and the ongoing… breaches of the veils between realms.”

“Nightmare Moon.”

“That demon must have been weakening the barriers, allowing the ritual to happen in the first place. From beyond the mortal realm, I plucked a soul. I had summoned Procho’s soul, yet you filled the void I left open.”

“And so you bring about your own downfall.”

Chrysalis reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped, ten paces ahead of me.

“I was never going to Ascend you, my Prince Phasma. That was not your fate, nor would it be the fate of any changeling anymore.”

“You expect me to believe that? You had an empty vat, and showed no signs of breaking tradition.”

She gave me a smile, showing off her fangs.

“That vat was never for you; no, that vat was intended for my Ascension. Mother dearest, Queen Sphecidae, deemed my Ascension a necessity. She wanted to Ascend as many royals as possible. Sphecidae had drifted so far from reality that she had begun to fear nymphs' tales...”

I sneered, “Even if it was first intended for you, it was still an empty vat. You could just as easily rip my mind out and put me in there.”

“I had tried my best to be tender with your raising. Such pursuits are not my forte. I trained you to be a leader, so that you may aid my conquest of this world. Why rule with one voice, one presence, when two can be twice as powerful? Or three? Four? I would spread our kind across the world, with hives in every kingdom, and a royal on each throne. I was never going to Ascend you. Such fates, honorable though they may be, are beneath us.”

“You expect me to believe that? You had my siblings alive and trapped within their own bodies, and you kept that hidden from everyone, including me!”

“No one was supposed to learn of the Ascension ritual.”

“Obviously! Do you really think you can just do those things, and expect me to be loyal?!”

“I did not anticipate their discovery. That was my mistake.”

“Their discovery, or the fact that you did those horrible things in the first place?”

“Perhaps both. Yet your rebellion did not start when you breached the inner sanctum of the vault. I know you were plotting this for a long while yet.”

'Every second we spend talking is a second Oestridae and the Nine have to hold. I have to wrap this up soon.’

“No. It started with the vault, though I breached that long before you left.”

“Impossible–”

“It’s never been done before? I know. I was the first.”

“I know you breached the vault already. What is impossible is the idea that you started this movement in just a few months. No, you had planned this long in advance. What turned you against me? When have I wronged you?”

“I never trusted you in the first place. Every act of kindness was measured. Any freedom, just slack in a leash. You hoarded information and control, so I prepared for the worst. I prepared to demand that you lessen your absolute control over our kind, but I found the truth about you to be so much worse than I had feared. You have outlived your own morals, and I must bring an end to your monstrous tyranny.”

“So I cannot regain your loyalty, as it never existed in the first place?”

‘–five corpses, suspended in green liquid–’

“I was willing to give you a chance. Then I found the skeletons in your closet.”

Chrysalis let out a sigh, “I have always been cold, even with my own nymphs. I had hoped to do better by you, but I suppose that I did not succeed. And there is nothing I can do to convince you that I speak the truth?”

'I'm not wasting time with this pointless argument.'

“There is no reason for me to ever believe you. Heaven sent and hell bent, I will kill you here and now, Chrysalis! We’re done talking! Now I shall bring the future I promised to the hive, starting with your skull being cleaved from your shoulders!”

“You’ll see the truth. I will make this right, even if I have to tear you down and rebuild you from the pieces.”

There was more I wanted to learn from her. Who the traitor was. What happened with Procho’s body, and how she stored it for so long. Why she waited so long to try to revive her supposed favorite daughter. Where the pony princess were, if they were even podded. But I dared not waste a second more talking to the tyrant; I needed to get this over with sooner rather than later.

We both lowered closer to the ground, angling our heads– and by extension, our horns– towards each other. I pulled God-Splitter around, holding it in front of me. The ash fell from both our forms as we moved, slowly drifting to the covered ground.

We tensed, horns glowing, waiting for the other to make the first move. The calm before not just a storm, but a hurricane itself. Deep breaths. Horn still slightly stinging from overuse.

Anger.

Then, there was a spark between us. It was large and light orange, like my own coloring. It fizzled for just a second before vanishing just as suddenly as it appeared. Queen Chrysalis took this as the first move, and swung her head in a dramatic arc before firing a sickly green laser right at me.

I brought up a sloped shield and the green beam blasted off the orange surface, redirected into the clouded night sky. I dodged to the side, letting the shield drop so I could move my hammer again. I was not able to multicast spells, so every movement had to count.

Chrysalis saw me dashing towards her and finished her laser beam, instead lashing out with a whip of flame, tethered to her own horn. I angled God-Splitter to intercept the lashing, and continued my rapid advance.

The whip seemed to curve around the war weapon, instead reaching to wrap around my left foreleg. The whip constricted and pulled me forward, flinging me off my hooves and onto my side as it dragged me around. The leg being pulled hurt like hell, the chitin starting to char at my fetlock.

I yelled from the pain, and slammed God-Splitter down on the blazing tendril. Like a light, it went out. However, I was on the ground, close to Chrysalis, and now on the defensive. I rolled to the side as several arcs of lightning impacted where I was just a moment before, sending a tingling sensation through the fin on the back of my head.

A quick rounded shield stopped a paralyzing agent that Chrysalis sprayed towards me, conjured from her horn.

I dropped the shield. Using all my might, I conjured a concussive blast aimed at the Queen who was standing not five paces in front of me. The blast knocked her all the way into the throne, and sent me sliding through the ash. My impromptu escape was ended by a marble pillar, the accumulated pile of ash doing little to cushion the blow.

I started to rise, only to hear the crackle of fire. Instinctively, I brought God-Splitter before me, only to find it missing. I had lost my grip on it when I pushed myself back from the monster before me.

I saw the massive fireball launching towards me, flames spiraling around it like orbiting moons. Bringing forth a shield attuned to protect against fire, I continued to get up onto my hooves. I managed to finally raise from the ground before the fireball hit. However, it was not the first projectile to hit my shield. Piercing straight through the thrown fireball, a bolt of ice magically structured to break anti-fire protections impacted my shield, dissolving it entirely.

My mind flinched from the sudden and forceful dispelling, and I fell back to the floor engulfed in flames when the fireball hit me. My whole body was burning. I heard screaming. It took me a moment to realize that I was hearing myself scream.

Desperately, I started to spray water around me, my horn already starting to sting from overuse again. Through the smoke of the extinguished flames, I saw the vague outline of Chrysalis as she leisurely walked towards me.

I reached out with my magic, and found a grip on God-Splitter. It laid on the ground behind her, but I could not see where. I picked it up and flung it towards her as she approached me. The blow caught her by surprise and I could see the blur that made up her form fall to the side as a smaller, quicker blur met her.

Once more, I got to my hooves and brought God-Splitter close to me.

“That was clever, little nymph. I’ll give you that.”

I limped out of the smoke, my left fetlock in too much pain to put any weight on it. Smoke poured out from my partially charred body as I lumbered through the ash covered floor. Chrysalis was already back on her hooves, panting. Seeing her efforts to breath made me realize that I was panting just as heavily, if not moreso.

“What’s the matter… Chrysalis? Already… out of… breath?” I asked, out of breath.

Chrysalis snarled, “Oh please, I’m doing a lot better than you are, Phasma! In fact, you’re about to feel a whole lot worse!”

I decided to interrupt whatever she had planning by bringing God-Splitter back around for seconds. The solid mass of Adamantium flew through the room, a streak of green in the grey downpour. Chrysalis merely turned her head towards the hammer and stopped it with telekinesis.

“Fuck.”

“Mmmahahaha! Did you really think I didn’t include myself in the binding?”

She tossed it behind her, not even bothering to watch it go. The hammer soared through the air, out through one of the missing sections of the walls, and smashed into a fountain sitting in the middle of a courtyard outside.

“That’s... cheating!”

“If you thought that was unfair, then you’re really not going to like this part!”

I shielded myself as her horn glowed once more. Then, a green flash blinded me as she finished whatever spell she was casting. As I was blinking out the spots in my eyes, I saw her laughing again.

“Nnhehehe, I would have led with this, but… this was fun.”

I felt my chest start to heat up.

“This was truly a learning experience! Now, I must bring this to an end. This rebellion of your is at an end.”

I staggered as a piercing lance of pure pain shot straight through my chest and down into my barrel.

“Rest assured, you will find loyalty to me. I can be patient as you learn. We have all of eternity.”

I looked down at my chest and saw the blue sapphires of my Adamantium peytral were glowing bright red. The pain intensified, and I collapsed to the floor.

“Even the mightiest of fortresses have their weaknesses, little nymph. You just need to know where they are.”

“Nngh! You… planned…. planned…”

Chrysalis flew over to me. As she hovered above me, I squirmed to try to remove the peytral. The pain was making any movement an impossible task.

“I left a weakness or two. Now, surrender. You’ve gone far enough and it’s time to make things right once again.”

I gasped as the pain flared through my body, exacerbating my burn wounds and where my chitin was cracked from hitting the pillar.

“Never…”

Chrysalis glared at me, “One way or the other, you will return to the fold.”

I cried out in pain as I felt my chitin crack under an invisible pressure.

“Surrender and the pain will stop!”

I slowly moved my legs underneath me, and pushed up. My vision blackened and I almost fell over, and likely almost passed out. The pain was so intense that all I could do was breathe. If I was more aware, I would have heard a scraping sound as God-Splitter dragged itself towards me, leaving scratches on the tiles as it plowed through the ash.

“This effort is pointless. Your life belongs to me, Procho! You cannot win here!”

“A hero…. Dies… Sword in hoof!” I hissed with a voice not entirely my own.

God-Splitter flung to me, smashing into the ground right in front of my muzzle. I wrapped my right fetlock around the handle and used it to pull myself off the ground. My face went numb, and I tasted blood. The effort to rise lessened as I felt a force pulling me upwards. Slowly, a small trickle of power returned to me.

“You don’t realize you’ve lost, do you? Do you not know when to quit?!”

“Here in death, REMEMBER OUR STRENGTH!”

I floated an inch off the ground in an orange flow of my magic as God-Splitter flew out from under me. It went straight towards Chrysalis faster than I could track. She was, however, prepared for me to attack with the hammer, and she gripped it once more in her magic to halt its trajectory.

God-Splitter shuttered for a second before glowing in a purple aura and continued its swing towards her. Chrysalis only had time to gasp in disbelief before the hammer impacted her chest, sending her across the room and through a pillar. She came to a stop in the wall behind the broken pillar, leaving a Chrysalis-shaped indent in the stone wall.

‘Hell of a magic trick.’

I felt blood pool in my mouth as my horn seemed to almost be ripped out of my body. The glow around me faded, and I fell once again to the ground. I could not find the energy to rise once again. I coughed, spattering blood into the ground.

The strength that filled me drained out once more. Looking back to my chest, I saw all nine of the sapphires shattered. I peered back up to where I saw Chrysalis hit the wall. Already, she was peeling herself out of the vertical crater. Failing to get completely out from God-Splitter, she ripped apart the entire wall with a thunderous spell, sending a wave of ash across the room as the small shockwave made its way across.

I closed my eyes, unable to even brace. The wave sent me tumbling and rolling backwards before depositing me halfway to the entrance to the throne room and onto my back. I weakly coughed, trying to clear the ash from my lungs. More blood accompanied the painful contractions of my chest.

As I stared up and at the night sky, I saw a gap in the ash clouds. The stars were out. In the tiny open space, I could see dozens of pinpricks of white. For a moment, I thought one of them was purple. I blinked, and that star vanished entirely.

Then, Chrysalis’s muzzle came into view as she peered down at me.

She spoke, but sounded muffled. I realized I could only half hear her from my left ear.

“You’ve got nothing left now. I have to say…” Blood dribbled from her nose and onto my chest. “You put up a hell of a fight. Maybe even more than Celestia. You’d have made a fine warrior.”

‘No. It can’t end like this.’

I looked into her green, slitted eyes. In their shiny reflection, I saw a broken changeling covered in ash, bleeding from countless points.

‘I tried so hard. My friends sacrificed themselves for this. It can’t end like this!’

I felt around my body mentally, looking. I needed just enough for one spell. It was an expensive spell, though. There was not much mana left in me at all, but I did feel streams of the alien energy flowing out from the gemstones embedded on the armor on my chest. I latched onto those wisps of power and pulled them into me.

“So much fear. So much paranoia. Let go of it, Prince Phasma. Fear has blinded your vision of our future. We have brought forth a Golden Age for our kind…”

I started building the spell. It was complicated, with dozens of interlocking parts. The equations were difficult, and I barely remembered them. I never even casted this spell before.

“... And with it, an end to our hunger. I have pushed you too far, but I will fix that. You will be loyal once again, and we shall rule the world together. No more treachery. No more hiding. Only feasting!”

The pain was nauseating and debilitating. It took every bit of my concentration to focus on the spell. I wouldn’t have even tried it in the best of times when I was at peak strength. But now I didn’t have a choice.

“Drone! Yes you, Infiltrator! Fetch Captain Obturator, I will not lose such a valuable asset!”

I realized that Chrysalis was speaking and was probably speaking the entire time. I spared a moment's glance to see that she was directing a drone that had arrived. They weren’t alone; dozens of Praetorians had entered the room from the main hall. One of them looked like Pharynx.

‘Oestridae.’

The spell was complete. All I had to do was push every last drop of mana into the spell. There was only a large chance of death. But even that was preferable to eternal imprisonment.

I realized the changeling that Chrysalis spoke to had a scar over his right eye.

“Wait…” I croaked.

The distraction made me lose my concentration and hold on the spell. My horn suddenly felt like it was on fire, like I was back in the initial inferno that Chrysalis inflicted upon me. Then, the feeling spread to the rest of my body as the world around me was enveloped in orange.

The spell worked, as it turned out. However, in my negligence, I neglected to include a destination.

I screamed as I was ripped from reality.

The world was burning.

Smoldering would be more accurate, but that made little difference. From their spot in the crater, two slitted orange eyes gazed out at the city. From the vantage point so high above the glittering metropolis, the devastation of a millennial's work was witnessed.

‘This can’t be how it ends. I refuse to allow it!’

The headache had finally subsided, and so had the whispers. There was no no room for doubt; it was clear what must be done.

Black specks were moving about the city. They looked like large pieces of charred wood, flying about. Some of them carried ponies in green, shiny pods that reflected the moonlight. The citizens were being taken and there was nothing stopping the invaders from getting away with this.

Bones snapped back into place as the changes finalized.

‘The sun still isn’t up. It’s way past… I must do my duty! Everypony is counting on me! Enough sitting around, hoping for a miracle. I shall be the miracle needed!’

She pulled herself out of the crater. Rocks cracked and fell behind her as she fell to the ground. It was halfway through her fall when she realized that she was thrown into a wall, not the ground at all.

Her mane and tail whipped around her like a blazing inferno. With a push of her wings, her fall was arrested. She set down onto the gleaming stone wall.

‘My little ponies are in danger. They are being hurt, and there’s nopony to help them. Nopony but me!’

The alicorn reached out and touched her sun. It rippled with strength and power and might. Slowly, the great burning body made its journey into the sky, dispelling the darkness. The moon lowered, pushed away by the incandescent sun.

She stood there, basking in its warmth. Strength returned to her as she warmed up. She took a deep breath before addressing the city before her with the Canterlot Royal Voice.

“Fear not the darkness, my little ponies! For I am the day itself!”

With one solid flap of her wings, Daybreaker soared into the air. She spun around and dived towards the ruins of what once was her throne room.

‘I will bring the dawn and save everypony, even if that means striking down everypony in my path!’

“He’s gone?”

Lying in the pile of ash before her, an Adamantium peytral sat, half submerged in the dry soot. The gemstones on its front had turned to dust as the Prince vaporized. In truth, Chrysalis could only assume that Prince Phasma had indeed vaporized. He did seem dead set on the whole not being captured alive thing.

She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“Bring Princess Cadence back up here… And fetch Princess Celestia, too. She should be where I left her; stuck halfway up a tower.”

Changelings saluted before carrying out her duties. She never stopped staring at the peytral.

‘There’s still so much to do. I’ll figure this out later, maybe using another ritual… Yes. This is not their end.’

“The traitors have fled the castle, My Queen!”

“... It doesn’t matter.”

Chrysalis steeled herself.

“My Queen, what are your orders?”

“We cannot have renegades within our ranks,” she turned to face the drone who was speaking. Consul Pharynx was standing before her. “Find Commander Scorpion, if he still lives. We will deal with these traitors at full strength–”

A massive gust of wind picked up the ash and debris that had accumulated in the room and sent it flying. Chrysalis summoned a shield to protect herself against the burnt dust.

“Aberrant Queen! We have business to settle!”

Chrysalis turned to see a blazing alicorn hovering above the ruins of the throne room.

“By Panar, there’s another one?”

She stifled a groan and immediately got to work.

“Praetorians, form up! Alicorn measures, be prepared with defensive fire shields!” She ordered entirely over the Weave.

“You have brought harm upon our subjects, and for that you must pay with everything you have!”

“Do you take checks?”

Around her, the Praetorians formed up, preparing layered shields to defend against the alicorn. Chrysalis was tired and low on energy, the stinging in her horn annoyingly ever-present. She would have to rely on her drones to do some of the heavy lifting here.

‘One army, one alicorn, one prince, then another alicorn. Today’s just a busy day!’

Now that she was staring at the alicorn, she started to notice some… similarities. The newcomer bore a resemblance in many aspects to…

“Have we met before?”

“Misbegotten vermin! You bested me once, but now I shall bring about your end!”

‘Princess Celestia just kinda powered herself up, then?’

“Hmmm, I’m a little busy now. How about we do this tomorrow instead?”

That was when the fiery alicorn made her first move. A solid stream of molten magma jettisoned forth from her horn, splashing against the green shield of the Praetorians. Immediately, Chrysalis noticed the Praetorians staggering. A few collapsed with moments of the spell hitting.

The ground in front of the shield was now covered in the molten rock, melting the uncovered tiles of the throne room.

Queen Chrysalis prepared to order a counter attack, but the angry pony princess immediately followed up with a focused will beam imbued with fire. The shield started failing against the alicorn-tier spell, unable to withstand the sheer firepower that was levied against them.

‘No! Not during my moment of victory!’

Chrysalis spied God-Splitter embedded in the ground beneath where she herself was pinned to the wall not too long ago. She reached out with her magic to bring it over, but the Adamantium hammer did not budge.

As the shield buckled, Chrysalis realized that this was not a battle she could win.

The blazing fireball had been traveling for a few hours now. During this relatively short amount of time, it had covered quite the distance from Canterlot. The phoenix had picked up speed as it soared out of Canterlot, passing the miles beneath at a speed few could match.

It beat its burning wings as it soared through the air. Philomena was searching for its kin that it sensed. Another phoenix, though this once was not similar in any sense to herself.

She found him in the city itself, but she knew she had to see if he would survive what was to come. So, she left. It wasn’t like her owner was going to miss her. The firebird banked as she realized where she was. Beneath her, a green forest and rolling hills. Far from the chaos of the city, this forest seemed almost peaceful.

Then, a bright flash of orange lit up the forest. Philomena flinched when she saw the one she was looking for materialize out of thin air. Not all of it had made the journey. A spray of red ichor and flying shards of bark and wood marked its translation into the physical realm and where space was already occupied.

Down the other phoenix went, tumbling off tree limbs, smacking trunks, and raking against branches as it fell. It landed on grass beneath the canopy with a thud, and Philomena circled for a few minutes.

Forces unknown called to her once more, and so she stopped circling the injured phoenix. Philomena beat her wings once more, and flew towards the rising sun.

The first sensation that returned to me was pain. I think I was better off unconscious.

Then came sight and smell all at once. My eyes opened as I gasped for air, and I was welcomed by the sight of tree branches swaying in a breeze above me. The air smelled clean and not clogged with ash. However, my mind was focused on other things; namely, how every part of my body except my right foreleg was wracked with excruciating pain. Naturally, I started screaming.

Strangely, the sound was half-muted. One of my eardrums was still burst.

I realized after choking out all the air in my lungs that I was on my back looking up at the sky. I must have been laying on grass, but I could not feel anything through my chitin. I could be in a Canterlot park or some forest, it was impossible to tell.

I shifted my head around on the ground to get a better look at my immediate surroundings, as well as take stock of why I was in so much pain. I was laying on top of a bush with pieces of wood scattered around me, as well as a few impaled in me. The massive splinters had scored the chitin on my right side for the most part, but a hooffull had been stabbed into my front right shoulder socket. There was blood all over me and the bush, but no obvious source.

That’s when I noticed why my right foreleg was not in pain; It was missing.

My shoulder ended only inches down from the joint, stopping in a mess of chitin, blood, and what I assumed to be a broken bone.

‘Bones are supposed to stay inside the body,’ I thought as I stared at the bloody internal structure.

It was thin compared to a human’s, the changeling body almost entirely relying on chitin for structure. The bone was merely present to act as a starting point for changing bone structure when transforming.

I gasped out not entirely due to the ever-constant pain and lifted my left hoof to reach over and wave it around where my right foreleg should have been. The scorched fetlock burned in protest as I did so. I felt cold and clumsy as I moved around.

‘Gone? Where is it?’

I started to look around for the missing limb. All I could see was chitin shards, blood, and wood splinters. I hissed and clenched my eyes shut as I rolled over onto my stomach. The branches of the bush beneath me swayed and snapped under my weight and movement, sending me slowly falling to the side of the plant. I watched as a stream of blood poured from my stump.

I dry heaved and looked away from the horrible sight. The adhesive gel that came natural to changeling anatomy made itself known once more in my mouth as I vomited onto the ground next to me. Then, I tried to remember what I was doing.

‘First aid. First, stop the bleeding.’

I looked around for a first aid kit but only saw ferns, dirt, grass, and bug-vomit.

‘Perfect!’

I pushed around in the grass to position my wound so that I could cover it up in the completely-unsanitary ad hoc bandaging. The sticky substance wrapped around my leg, stopping the bleeding instantly.

‘Second, treat for shock. How do I do that again? Raise the legs? No, that’s hypothermia. No wait, maybe it is shock.’

I flipped around and back onto my back, keeping my legs above me.

‘.... Now what? Oh, call for help.’

I looked around me for someone that could help me out. Unfortunately, I was still in the middle of a forest.

“H… Hello? Can someone help me?” I croaked out. My throat was sore and scratchy from yelling so my wheezing voice was quiet. No one responded to my call, so I tried again, this time louder. “Hello?! Is someone there?!”

I started coughing, the pain in my throat flaring up as I yelled. More specs of blood covered the ground as I coughed. I could not hear any response above my coughing, so I tried to think of what to do next.

‘Next… uh… next…’

I flipped around and back onto my stomach, The blood and viscera around me was starting to dry. I noticed some particularly large pieces of chitin and other things that made me realize where my leg went.

It was everywhere.

‘Must’ve teleported into a tree. Better pick these up so I can get my leg back.’

I started picking up the pieces with my magic. My horn started stinging as I casted levitation magic but that was just one more pain added onto the pile. The parts of me scattered about proved to be a monotonous task to gather up, so I had some time to think.

‘What was I doing?’

I was… fighting Chrysalis. I lost the fight and then I teleported out.

‘Where am I?’

Somewhere with trees.

‘Now what?’

“Now what?” I echoed my thoughts out loud.

The leaking mess of blood and organic matter slipped from my grip and fell onto the bush I had landed on initially. I stared at the mess, trying to wrack my brain.

‘What am I doing…? I was gathering pieces of my leg, I think…’

I blinked as it occurred to me that I was picking up pieces of an exploded part of me.

‘Like that guy in Saving Private Ryan. Heh…. Oh.’

I was still suffering from shock. That was why I felt cold, clumsy, and confused. The fact that I administered first aid through the shock was just pure luck and training.

‘That’s bad. How do I stop being in shock?’

I almost looked around for my phone out of habit before realizing that I was on an alien world with no technology of any electrical kind, with a wound that was now almost certainly going to be infected.

‘I’m out of my depth here. I need help. I need a healing pod, I think.’

“Hello?” I wheezed once again. “Is anyone out there?”

No one answered.

“Please? I...”

I was in pain and possibly going to die again. My chitin was charred and burnt. One of my forelegs was gone. I could hear well only out of my right ear. My horn hurt from constant overuse. I didn’t know where I was.

Above all else, I was alone, perhaps truly alone for the first time since I died.

“... I’m scared.”

I leaned against a tree as I gasped for air. I had been limping along on three hooves for possibly hours now.

I decided that staying was the same as dying, and decided that east was the best direction I could go. If I came across a river then I would follow it downstream, but until then, East was the way to go. The East Equestrian Coast was the most heavily settled of any area in the Principality. If I went south or north, then I could easily miss civilization. West was an option too, but east had more ponies. Ponies meant food and survival. Hopefully, I could even link up with the East Army Group of the Swarm.

‘Then I can…. Start the rebellion again? Make sure the demands are fulfilled? I don’t know…’

I had not planned for this outcome, both losing and surviving.

I pushed off from the tall oak tree I was leaning against and started hobbling along again. The pain was still there across my entire body. Thankfully, the cracks in my chitin seemed to have at least stopped bleeding at this point, so now all I had to worry about was infection and finding food.

The sun was high above me, peeking through the canopy high up above my head. I did not know how long I was unconscious as it could have been anywhere from minutes to hours. Given the fact that I was still alive and had not bled to death, it could not have been that long.

I continued on my slow journey to civilization. The forest was quite serene, now that I thought about it. Distant bird calls provided the background while the grass underneath my hooves was the mainstay of the noises I heard. A breeze would occasionally sweep through the forest, giving rise to an orchestra of woodwind instruments.

‘If I’m making puns that bad, then I really am in deep trouble. The sooner I can find others, the better.’

The thick carpet of grass underhoof eventually gave way to a more sparse forest floor. Covered in branches, sticks, and tufts of grass, weeds, and ferns, the sounds of my travel went from being quiet to the loud crunches of the wood breaking underneath me.

That made me more conscious of just how loud I was being. For a while, I was worried that I would attract unwanted attention in the form of wolves or other beasties.

I was also getting thirsty. Changelings still needed water, albeit a lower amount than our lesser fur-covered counterparts. Part of the formula of diluted love was water that was collected from the caverns beneath the hive. The lowest sections in particular were always flooded. I had wondered if there was an aquifer beneath the hive, as we were located in the middle of an extremely hot and dry biome with little rainfall. That water had to come from somewhere…

The wind was picking up now. The rustle of the leaves had gradually increased to a quiet roaring of the forest. With my wings still in tatters, I could not fly up above the trees to look around nor check the weather. In fact, if I still had them, traveling with only three legs would have been a much simpler matter.

Instead, I was forced to slowly limp around, usually from tree to tree as I caught my breath and grimaced from the pain of continued existence. From what I could tell, the clear sky was now overcast in grey. A storm was approaching.

“Seek shelter, or continue on. What’s more dangerous, hypothermia or an infected wound?”

I turned to the side as I asked Oest what he thought. Then I remembered that my shadow was just that: a shadow. Oestridae was gone. He had given his life so I could fail at the one thing I set out to do.

“... it’s a terrible day for rain,” I mumbled.

Crunch. Crunch Crunch.

I had to keep moving. To stay still was to die, and I was not giving up just yet. While I still lived, Oest did not die in vain.

‘Oest. Weevil. Lace. Cicada. Who else died for me? Whose names did I not even know?’

An image flashed before my eyes; I saw myself covered in blood, straddling a changeling corpse. Looking down, I realized that I still had Eucharis’s blood on me. I was filthy now, covered in blood both my own and of others. Dirt and ash caked different parts of my body, sticking to the blood-covered chitin like a new layer of skin. I probably stunk to high hell.

Crunch. Crunch Crunch.

Smell was something you got used to in the hive, given the lack of showers or baths. Cleaning spells were the staple of changeling utility magics, and eventually you just went nose-blind to the natural odors of the place.

Crunch. Crunch SNAP.

I froze. That sound of a branch breaking had come from off to my right, deeper into the forest.

“Who’s there?” I said in a voice as loud as I dared. “Hello?”

No matter how many times I asked, pleaded, and begged, I was always alone.

The torrents of rain cascaded around the tree I was resting under. Night probably had fallen hours ago, but the sun had been blocked out by rain clouds long before that. The rain had washed my carapace, shedding the accumulated filth as I continued to lumber across the countryside.

I had opened my mouth to drink in the downpour. The cold rain dulled the roaring pain I felt across my body and slaked my thirst.

Now, I was collapsed under some low-hanging branches of a tree. It was possibly a maple tree, I didn’t know. It had been quite some time since I learned the shapes of leaves and the trees they belonged to. Somehow, I doubted that the three pointed leaves belonged to a massive poison ivy plant; unless the flora of this world had been changed drastically compared to Earth, poison ivy did not have bark.

So it was probably a maple tree.

I had been constantly thinking of things to distract myself; water, the lack of showers, what plant I was hiding under, and where civilization was. Nothing ever really took my mind off of today’s events.

Or was it yesterday’s? I was quickly losing track of time.

Soon, I would grow hungry. There would be no food in this forest for me to eat. I could hunt or forage, but those material foodstuffs would only dull the hunger pains, staving off the worst effects for a period of time.

I laid my head down on my hoof. I would have had my hooves crossed beneath my head as I rested, but one was still missing. My right leg’s absence had been a fact that came to my attention every time I took a step today. Learning how to walk as a quadruped gave me enough learning experience to make walking as a triped only an extremely slow and unpleasant experience, rather than a progress-halting conundrum.

Now here I was, far from where I landed but not far enough for my liking, heading in a random direction.

“So no shit, there I was; on an alien world, stranded in a forest, after having failed to kill my mother while building a new world order through conquest of the old.”

I sighed.

Coxa might still be alive. He should be, considering how hard we had to fight to get him and the injured out. Lace was possibly not dead. Thorax was definitely still alive, but I hadn’t seen neither hair nor hide of him. Or would it be neither fin nor chitin of him?

I sighed again and tried to go to sleep.

“I can fix this. Just give me time, I can fix this…”

Progress was even slower now that my hooves were beginning to hurt. Walking for miles was not something I had ever done in this body. Like every other ling, I used my wings to cover vast distances.

Flying was easier and quicker. Walking sucked.

Theoretically, I could transform into a species capable of flight– say a griffon, for example– but that was not something I wanted to do. The act of transformation while suffering an injury can be… Fatal.

I would only transform into another species if I knew I was close enough to get to a hospital in time. For if I were to transform, not only would the binding on my foreleg vaporize, the wound itself would tear open and make itself worse. Not being attacked by ponies means that I would have to cross that bridge eventually, but not dying means that I can’t cross it right now.

Crack.

I froze and snapped my head in the direction of the branch breaking. Just because nothing has happened yet doesn’t mean nothing will ever happen. With my luck, the first time I stop being cautious, I will be attacked by a wild animal. This time, there was nothing but the sounds of the forest.

It was getting exhausting always being on edge.

“... I can fix this,” I whispered, failing to convince myself.

The hours passed without note.

Hours of nothing but walking east. A few times, I came across a small animal as I hiked. Squirrels, rabbits, and countless birds flying between branches high above. However, I did not see anything larger than those tiny critters. It took me a while to remember that deer were sapient in this world, hence their absence from the woods. The hours came one after another, never any less boring or less uncomfortable than the last.

Worst of all, slowly over time a new sensation was making itself known to me. It started as an empty feeling but then progressed slowly into a pain. Changelings could go longer without eating than ponies and could eat comparatively far less, but we had a limit. I was hungry.

I could not see what lay underneath the hardened green casing around my right shoulder but I imagined it didn’t look pretty. At this point, I was wondering which would kill me first; infection or starvation?

Both problems could be solved by finding ponies. All I needed to do was find a single town. Hell, even a single pony would do, as long as they had medical supplies. But for miles and miles and miles, there was nothing but trees, grass, dirt, and the small fauna that called this forest home.

I slumped over against a birch tree with a sigh of relief. The tree offered me shade from the hot sun; I felt like I was boiling alive in my carapace. Over my journey, several wounds had reopened and closed periodically as I moved. Thankfully, I had an abundance of adhesive that I could use to seal up the cracks in my chitin. It’s not like I was going to get any less sanitary, considering that my massive open wound that used to be my right foreleg is now covered in solidified vomit.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Unoccupied, my mind wandered back to the events in Canterlot for the hundredth time. This time, I was thinking about Oest.

‘I had the mind for war, that much was clear. What I lacked was the muscle. In Oest’s name, I must do all I can to prepare myself for fighting Chrysalis. Not that I wanted to fight her alone, but clearly I have to plan for the worst. That means training combat spells, gathering what artifacts I can, and gaining more allies… Oest gave his life for me; I will not let it be in vain. I failed him once. Never again!’

Opening my eyes, I watched as a colony of ants swarmed over a piece of fruit that had fallen from a tree. I couldn’t identify what the fruit was, nor did I care. It was calming just watching the bugs move around.

I had watched the sunrise and sunset three times each so far. Three days of walking. Three days of pain. Three days of wilderness. Of being alone. Of wondering if I would even survive. Of thinking about what I had lost. Who I had lost.

Three days of walking. When I was preparing the invasion, the days seemed short. There was so much to do and not enough time. From sunrise to sunset, my schedule was as packed as can be. Weeks flew by in a moment's notice. Now, days were too long. There was too much walking, too much worrying about and grimacing from my wounds, too much time to think. Way too much time to think.

My progress was slowing. Not only did my pace slow over time but the frequency of my breaks increased as well. At first, I could limp around for nearly an hour at a time before resting. Now, I could barely go to a new point within sight before pausing to catch my breath.

Of all the aches and pains I was suffering from, it was my hunger that was starting to take a toll on me. I didn’t know how long I could go without food. Nor did I know why my physical injuries hadn’t halted my progress all together. I suspected that it was the fact that I was a changeling royal that kept me alive up till this point. I recalled someone saying that royals were remarkably tough to kill; it seems that extends to the immune system as well.

I was resting in what had to have been a campsite at one point. It was a clearing in the middle of this forest. There was a cleared out put lined with circular stones, most likely used for a fire. An overgrown trail snaked off to the north. I was tempted to use that trail to find civilization, but something else had caught my attention as I rested. Above the rustling of leaves, bird calls, and other noises, I heard a quiet rumbling. It was the kind of rumbling that made my parched throat burn. A river was nearby and I intended to find it once I got the strength to stand back up.

I checked over my wounds as I panted heavily on the grass. My opaque chitin hid any discoloring, as well as its rigidity prevented swelling. All over, my black carapace was marked in green smears as I tried to cover up the cracks from the fight. To summarize, nothing had changed since yesterday. Or the day before that.

Just a few more minutes and I would move on, following the distant sound of the river. The overgrown path might lead to civilization, but that given its abandoned state, I preferred finding the river. At least that way, I know I would be solving one of my problems: the lack of water.

Then there was the growing pain in my stomach. I was growing hungrier and hungrier.

With each break, I would have nothing to focus on but the hunger. With each night's sleep, the hunger kept me fitfully awake for long periods. Now, I had to choose between solving my dehydration problem or solving my hunger problem.

‘Fucking Tartarus. How the hell does Tantalus even deal with this on an eternal basis? I imagine he’s gone irreversibly mad by the end of the first year!’

Once again, I got my three hooves underneath me and pushed off from the ground. I teetered for a moment before regaining my balance and heading on east, to where the river was.

The sound of flowing water had grown louder and louder as I approached. The river was perhaps a hundred hooves across, flowing from north to south. The current was slow where I was, but further upstream I could see it moving faster.

I took a cautious approach to the water’s edge. By the time I was stepping hoof onto the grey and black gravel edges of the river, I knew I was alone in the area. The water was cold and did wonders to cool me off and parch my thirst. I raised my head from the water’s edge after gulping down the cold liquid. The sun was high in the sky; there were plenty of hours left in the day.

‘South then. Better to go downstream than upstream, for that’s where civilization lies.’

With my new direction in mind, I set off again, slightly to the side of the river. As I walked, I started thinking about what I was going to do once I found help.

‘With the invasion progressing, I could still be behind enemy lines depending on how far away from Canterlot I teleported. So I should assume the worst and start from there…’

On the other side of the river, bushes rustled.

‘If I am in pony controlled territory, then being captured is potentially fatal. If I am in changeling controlled territory, then being captured by lings loyal to Chrysalis is worse than fatal. I need to blend in and disguise myself with the local populace. If it is ling controlled… I act like nothing bad happened in Canterlot. Fake it till I make it.’

The bushes parted, revealing a massive gray wolf. As big as I was, the furred beast prowled to the water's edge to take a drink. It paused its movement when it saw me, watching from the other bank of the river.

‘That’s a big dog.’

I continued on my way downstream, looking to the side to keep the wolf in view.

‘You stay on your edge, I stay on mine.’

Eventually, the wolf passed from view. But not before five of its packmates exited the treeline to join the first by the water. They joined the first dire wolf in staring me down, but none of us made a move.

‘It’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you. Then it’s called foresight.’

For the night, I tried to get up into a tree close to the river, however with my wings still gone and one foreleg still blown up, the best I could do was pitifully scrabble at the base of the tree, unable to even get halfway up to the lowest branch.

So I had to sleep on the ground. It was only marginally worse than sleeping on a mattress due to my hard carapace. I had chosen a spot where the water behind me was down a ways as a cliff rose up from the banks. There, a willow tree hung over the river. As I took shelter under its branches, rustling of nearby bushes caused me to freeze.

‘The moment I let my guard down, I know it will be something ser–’

A grey blur flew out from the underbrush, lunging right towards me. I summed an orange shield, wrapping around the tree I was under. The grey blur impacted the solid surface, crumpling down right in front of me into a pile of fur and anger.

“See? What did I say! I knew something would try to get me eventually!”

The pile righted itself as I got a good look at my attacker; it was the large wolf from across the river. It must have crossed the stream a ways back and hunted me down. If I were to guess, its packmates were not far behind.

“You’re gonna have to get up pretty early in the morning to get me with that, mangy mutt. Now, let’s deal with this before your friends show up.”

Unlike the Equestrian Captain of the Guard, I could not manipulate my shield to push away attackers while defending myself. If I wanted to attack, I would have to lower my defenses by dropping the shield entirely. It was better to do so now while there was just one dire wolf.

The wolf snarled at me as it clawed my shield.

“You want in? Then come on in!”

I dropped the shield, prepping ol’ reliable. The great grey wolf lunged forward at me once again, teeth bared. With a void of energy right in front of me, I summoned an ice spear right in the wolf’s path. Seeing the frozen weapon conjured out of nowhere, the beast tried to arrest its charge and veer off to the side. The point of the spear raked its flank as it dove past and into the water behind me.

Four more dire wolves, smaller than the first, emerged from the underbrush ahead of me. A spray of fire kept them at bay. They prowled beyond the fire’s reach, snarling just as the first wolf did.

“Not very original, are you?”

As I nailed one of the four with a focused will laser beam, the other three charged me. I gripped one with telekinesis and used it as a living projectile, flinging it into one of the other two charging me. They both flew off to the side and into the river. The last one ran straight into me.

I put up my last foreleg to take the blow as I casted another focused will beam at the wolf point blank. The last wolf, a dark grey hulking monster, bit down, but did not stop its charge. It dragged me with it as we went tumbling back

Three more laser beams to the face and the wolf still did not let go of its bite around my foreleg. At this point, I could now feel its massive fangs puncturing through the thick chitin plating, leaking blood all over the place. I was becoming accustomed to seeing my blood at an uncomfortable rate.

I fell over as the wolf pressed forward and wrenched my foreleg side to side, as if trying to rip it off.

“Oh no you don’t!”

I reared my head back and swung it around, gorging the canine using one of my fangs. The sharpened fang cut straight through the bones in the beast’s muzzle, hitting my own leg inside.

I let out a scream of pain as I accidentally stabbed myself. The grey dire wolf let go of my leg before backing off. It was indecisive between trying to snarl at me, whimpering in pain, and keeping its snout low to the ground as it backed off.

“Not my… brightest moment!”

I scooted backwards and positioned myself upright so I could look around better. The grey dire wolf had retreated to the woods. From my left, I could see two shapes pull themselves out of the water downstream. With one still lying dead in front of me, that just left the biggest and baddest wolf standing.

‘Where is he…’

I felt a vice clamp around my neck as I jerked backwards. I swiveled my head around and saw the white dire wolf’s jaws clamped around my own neck. It had come up from the river behind me while I was dealing with its packmates.

“Gck!”

The pressure made it hard to formulate words. It did not, however, make it hard to cast magic. I gripped the beast’s head and lower jaw with telekinesis and pried them apart. It whined in pain as its jaw bone began to bend lower than it should have. The white wolf then whipped its head to the side. With its fangs still partially embedded in my own neck, I was taken along for a ride. It must have forgotten that it was biting into me as the sudden extra weight being thrown around caused it to stumble back and off the tiny hillside we were on.

We rolled down together; the wolf tumbling around me as we fell, and myself bleeding profusely from only slightly less places than just a few days ago. Old, bandaged-up wounds were reopened as we rolled downhill. The disorientation interrupted my magic grip on the would-be murderer.

Finally, we splashed into the water, carried quite a bit into the middle of it by our momentum. The white wolf still held onto me as we struggled in the water. My head went under and my hearing started going out as water filled my one good ear. Since the wolf held such a tight grip on me, I could tell where it was at all times, even if I struggled at times to tell which way was up and which was down.

The wolf clawed at my back as we struggled, raking right through the chitin where it was already cracked.

As we tumbled through the water, I started blasting water back and into the wolf’s mouth. By sucking out the latent magic in the surroundings, the water froze as it traveled through the beast, ripping it apart from the inside out. Finally, the beast’s grip on my laxened and I was able to free myself. However, I found myself facing an entirely new issue.

I was deep in a river that had a strong current. I had never learned how to swim as a quadruped, let alone one missing a foreleg. I desperately tried to swim upwards to where I thought the surface was, pushing up against gravity. After a long moment of sheer panic, my head broke through the surface of the frigid water and I hacked out half a lung trying to breathe air and not water.

The current was carrying me downstream. I doubted my ability to swim to the shore, as it took every effort and strength I had to just keep my head above water. Looking side to side, I realized that if I stayed like this, there was no way I was going to make it out of the river alive.

That was when my hoof brushed up against something in the water. Desperately, I sent my magic around, feeling for whatever object I brushed up against. A large floating object was in front of me. I grabbed it and dragged it closer. In the waning sunlight, the floating object was revealed to be the white wolf that had tried to kill me not three minutes before.

I clambered over the beast’s corpse, positioning it underneath me as I floated. I was beginning to feel dizzy and extremely tired. My lungs were now burning from swallowing so much water.
The hunger had never left, and had grown to horrid levels over the day. Wounds both old and new were now leaking blood into the cold water. I was floating down a river with little control over direction, with no hope of getting out of the strong current.

“This. Sucks.” I hissed as I panted heavily.

I clung to the wolf’s body for hours. Or perhaps it was only minutes, I could hardly tell. The trees on either side of the river moved quite fast. That meant I was moving fast, and was ironically covering more ground than I ever could on hoof. The sun had completely set now, leaving me in the river seeing only by moon and starlight.

As my raft made of fur, blood, and sheer anger rounded a bend in the river, I saw something ahead that made me question whether or not I was hallucinating.

Lights.

A pony village rested on both sides of the river up ahead. Street lamps were lit up, revealing colorful ponies strolling across an uncovered wooden bridge that spanned the water’s length.

‘I need to disguise myself!’

I sank behind my raft a bit as I loosened my grip on the white wolf. Now that I was obscured by both water and the wolf, I gripped the String of Change as I pictured a disguise. Orange flames covered my body briefly as my black and orange chitin was replaced by brown fur covered flesh. Now, there wasn’t a single wound on my body that was still covered and sealed up. Even my stump leg was opened to the world, the changeling gel covering burnt off. Even worse, the transformation and ripped it open even wider than what it was before, and I could see bright red streaks pouring off of it and into the water. The cold water itself stinging as it lapped against the open wound.

If I was bleeding before, now I was bleeding².

The distant blurs of the town resolved themselves into the shapes of houses, windows, market stalls, small docks with boats tied off, and more. The ponies seemed so close and lifelike. The bridge was only a few hooves lengths above the surface of the river.

They were so close…

But I was down here in the water.

“H–hackakak!”

My cry for help turned into a cough as I tried to clear water from my burning throat and lungs. The world was starting to spin as I struggled to even stay afloat.

“P...lease,” I wheezed, “... Someone–ack!”

My voice sounded muted. I only knew what I was saying through the vibrations made in my chest and neck as I spoke. As my vision started to fade, I felt the current pulling me come to a stop.

The cold stayed as my body went numb.

The office was almost as immaculate and opulent as I remembered it. From the books on the shelves to the ridiculous amount of golden gilding on every surface. The one major difference between Celestia’s office and this room was the blood.

There was quite a lot of it.

Rising up from behind the extravagant desk, I took a walk around the room. Walking was a lot easier now that I had all four legs again.

‘Given that I’m no longer on death’s door and am now in the middle of Canterlot, I must be dreaming.’

The books had titles that seemed to be simple blurs. It was as if they were never meant to be read. Much of the blood that was splattered on the walls seemed… out of place. Like they hovered just above the surface of the walls, shelves, and books. Then there was the body lying on the ground in the middle of the office. I sighed.

“Why now?”

This was all in the past. So much had happened in the hours left in that day afterwards that this was just a blip on the radar. So why was I seeing it now, in this dream?

Chamberlain Eucharis, my father, was lying in a pool of his own blood. Unmoving. Cold. Dead.

–His eye closest to me looked at me, the pupil shrinking–

“No. None of this is real. I’m not here right now.”

Looking away, I pulled a book off a white ash oak shelf and watched it fall to the floor. When it hit the ground, it opened to a page somewhere around the middle of the tome. Revealed, a two-page image of Nightmare Moon starred up back at me. The demon-alicorn was posing in front of a full white moon, in stark contrast to her black fur.

“When the world needed her most, she vanished,” I quoted absentmindedly.

“We have always been where We desire to be, little prince.”

The image of the black alicorn moved as it spoke, turning its head from the side to look at me.

“Oh, so you wanted to be nothing more than a failure? To have every hope and dream of yours crushed? To abandon your allies when you lost to… teenagers?!”

“We underestimated the Element bearers. Such a mistake shall not happen again.”

“No, it won’t.”

I gripped the book with my magic and slammed it shut, before depositing it back on the shelf next to me.

The room blurred and shifted. The gold, white, and purples of the opulent study changed into the great columns, windows, and walls of the hallway before Canterlot Castle’s throne room.

Oestridae was standing before me, frozen in time. He was pointing a hoof at the entryway into the hallway. The way itself was shimmering in a green haze that I recognized as a shield spell. Around the archway, several more changelings were arrayed.

‘Cicada and the rest of the survivors…’

I reached out a hoof to Oest, hesitated, then slowly lowered it back down.

“They’re all dead. Would you like to see their last moments?”

Quiet whispers filled the room. A woosh of air behind me made me turn to see what was causing the commotion. Nightmare Moon was coalescing from gathering shadows, staring up at the only intact window in the hallway. The stained glass window depicted a simplified version of Chrysalis standing above my shattered body.

“And how would you know how they died? You’re dead yourself!”

“Once the barriers were crossed once, knowing where and how to view the waking world became a much simpler task. Luna was wrong, We yet live.”

“Regardless, there’s nothing you can offer me now. You had a chance, and you squandered it doing… what, exactly? How were you defeated? Did you gloat for too long? Gave the Elements too many chances to defeat you? Or were you just a fucking farce from the beginning?”

“You dare–”

“Why are you here, Nightmare Moon?”

“Our war is not yet lost. Not while–”

“It looks pretty fucking lost to me.”

She turned to look at me, tilting her head back as if disgusted.

“Not while you draw breath.” I flicked an ear towards her as she spoke, “you can bring us back into the waking world. Our powers are enough to defeat our foes, so long as the Elements are sidelined.”

“...”

“Not convinced? We have the skill of millennia of battle, with the power to back it. You did not succeed, due to a lack of battle expertise. Aid our return once more, and We shall undo our enemies together.”

“... I will not aid your arrival into the waking world, demon, if I still live.”

“What did We say about calling us that?! Do you have a death wish, foolish knave?!”

“You are not Nightmare Moon.”

The demon blinked and turned to face me completely. She looked the part, all right. From the hooves to the tip of her horn, the demon looked exactly like Nightmare Moon. But when she spoke? It was a bad imitation, in both the content of her words and the presence she carried. Like a paper masquerade mask, all I could see was falsehood.

“Nightmare Moon is dead, I spoke with Princess Luna herself. You are not even the Nightmare that possessed her. You are nothing but a false visage, riding on her coattails. Show yourself to me. Your real self.”

Nightmare Moon’s imposter’s form dissolved into a shadowy smoke, which dissipated moments later.

“None can comprehend such a thing. The best your little mind can do is gaze upon puppets. Facades. Representations.”

Turning around, I saw Eucharis’s body slowly lifting off of the ground. He wasn’t there last I checked, yet his corpse was rising all the same. The movements were jerky at first, like a marionette. As he rose, the movements became more fluid, eventually ending with him smiling at me.

“But idols hold far more power than anyone realizes.”

Blood was still slowly leaking from the open wound in his neck. I even caught a glimpse of the blasted out window behind him through the open hole.

“To whom am I speaking?”

“Ooh Phasma, you know who I am.”

Eucharis smiled and tilted his head to the side. His teeth were covered in blood.

“Pennywise? No, wait, he didn’t do dreams. Freddy Krueger?”

His laugh was stilted, as if he needed to get the entire ‘ha’ out before moving onto the next one, “Ha ha ha haa, you are so quick with your tongue, little prince. But you know who I am. Deep down, you knew the first moment you laid eyes on me.”

“Kennith Kennithson? I’m really at a loss here.”

The puppeted corpse strutted over to me, still smiling. He stopped right in front of my face and threw a hoof around my withers.

“Personal space–”

“Since you are having such a hard time, allow me to… help you out.”

Specks of blood flew from his mouth and onto my neck as he spoke. Some also rubbed off onto my back from where his hoof was touching me.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t. In fact, how about you just… leave?”

Now, it spoke with Eucharis’s voice, “Mmmmm, Phasmaaaaa–”

“Don’t say my name like that. It's creepy.”

“– I don’t think you’re quite getting what’s going on here. You don’t have a choice. I’m going to help you reach this epiphany, and then… Oh, that would be spoilers. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“You’re just as cryptic and vague as my mother. I’m quite used to such idle threats at this point.”

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise, my little Phasma.”

The whispers that had heralded the demon’s arrival returned once more.

‘Vague epiphany nonsense–’

The world melted away in black shadows. The colorful palette of the castle gave way to… I wasn’t sure. Grey metal?

I tried to turn to look around at my surroundings but found that I couldn’t move. I felt cold metal clamps around my body, including around my head. I sighed and my breath was visible in the air. That would explain why I felt so cold.

“Oh, I know! You’re from the IRS, here to collect on my missed taxes! I admit, that’s actually pretty spooky. I wouldn’t put it past them to transcend barriers between worlds to get what’s theirs…”

“Why is it that you are making jokes that no one else on this world would understand? Oh, don’t tell me. I’ll find out soon enough.”

'How the hell does it even understand them in the first place?'

Eucharis’s head appeared above me, looking down. Given the perspective, I concluded that I was strapped to a table.

“What did I say about being creepy?”

He smiled once again. Then, he blurred out of focus. I blinked a few times and the blur resolved itself into Chrysalis, leering down at me.

The demon spoke to me in her voice, “You’ve lost, Phasma. You tried your best and the only thing you managed to accomplish was to get all of your friends killed.”

“And this reveals your identity… how?”

“Ha ha ha ha… Would you please hold still? It makes my job so much easier.”

Chrysalis’s head pulled back and out of view. I heard hoofsteps on metal as she– the demon, I mean– walked around me and stopped near my head.

‘Cold air. Metal ceiling and floor. Table with restraints. Chrysalis near my head– Oh fuck.’

I struggled against the clamps but did not move an inch.

“The hound has the scent! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get there in the end.”

I heard drills start up.

'No no no nonononoNO!'

“I’m the master of my dreams. I’m not here, I’m still in that river.”

I took a deep breath and imagined myself in the water. Opening my eyes, I saw only the metal ceiling. The whispers were back again, growing louder. But you can’t feel pain in a dream, let alone one you were in control of.

“I’m the m–”

My eyes were half opened. I couldn’t move them.

I could see a light-green tinted room. Across from me, several tubes and a large table lay against the walls of the curved chamber. I recognized the room.

I couldn’t move.

My head hurt. The last thing I remembered was pain. Not as much pain as I would imagine it would have felt like, but my head still hurt. It never stopped hurting. Even if I could move, I probably would have frozen up from the pain.

My chest hurt as well. My heart was beating so fast I wondered if it would burst. I still couldn’t move.

I. Just. Couldn’t. MOVE!

I tried lifting a hoof. Blinking an eye. Shutting my opened mouth. Nothing worked.

“Everyone knows me, little prince. Even if they don’t recognize me at first…”

Chrysalis had entered the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over and stood in front of me. I couldn’t move my eyes to focus on the demon. I was trapped in my own body. I wanted to cry out, to hit the glass, to do anything!

‘This is just a nightmare. I’m not in here. I’m safe. I’m not here. I’m not here. I’m no–’

“But you are. You won’t be waking up from this. You might want to get used to this, as you’ll be here forever.”

Chrysalis grinned, baring her fangs as she did. Then, she stepped up to the glass and pressed a hoof against it.

I couldn’t breathe.

“You know what I am.”

I tried to shut my eyes. My head felt like someone took an axe to it, which probably wasn’t far from the truth.

“Say my name, and I will make your imprisonment far more pleasant. You can be anywhere but here.”

The whispers were so loud.

“Sitting in a nice, comfy chair by a fire. Home with family. A nice park. Anywhere but here. All you have to do is one small thing.”

My head wouldn’t stop pounding!

“Say. My. Name.”

‘Fear.’

The demon grinned and drew a breath.

“Begone, misbegotten shade! Thou shalt not claim another soul!”

The opposite side of the room was ripped apart in a light blue vortex. The demon wearing Chrysalis's face looked actually scared, before it turned into a mass of shadows and lunged at me. Outreached tendrils penetrated the glass barrier as if it did not exist. However, before the closest inky-black appendage could even touch me, a blast of blue cut straight through the monster.

It screamed with a thousand voices as the beam ripped it apart. As it died, so did the whispers that had filled my mind. The beam continued on to hit me through it, but I felt nothing.

‘Nothing?’

The headache was gone. It was no longer a challenge to even think straight anymore.

“Thy kind may hath flourished under negligence, but no more!”

As the shadow was ripped apart into nothingness, a pony slowly walked across the room. It was one I recognized, one I had seen once before. I recognized the voice, too.

“Not a moment too soon. Fret not, our little pony, this nightmare… Is…”

I blinked.

The glass tube shattered, spilling me and the green fluid across the floor. I tumbled to a halt at Princess Luna’s hooves and started coughing up the translucent liquid that had filled my lungs.

“Prince… Phasma? Is that truly thee?” She spoke with a softer, almost wavering voice.

I on the other hoof, curled up and tried to forget the pain.

“Thou art alive?” Her voice was quiet now, at normal speaking levels.

The sheer strength and power she had entered with, she had left behind. I heard a thump as she sat down in front of me. Then, she picked me up with her magic and embraced me. I was shivering, but I wasn’t cold.

“I couldn’t move. My head hurt so much. My chest still does,” I said under my breath. Since I was right next to Luna’s ear, she heard me anyways.

“Thou survived a Nightmare’s torture with thy psyche intact. ‘Tis the greatest victory one can hope to achieve against such a malevolent foe.”

“They say defeat tastes like ash, but that’s what victory tasted like. Defeat tastes like blood,” I whispered.

“Sister showed us thy peytal… We thought thee perished in thy fight against thy forebearer.”

“I nearly did. I nearly… ended up in here…”

I thought about what Luna said. Despite everything I had gone through, I realized that what she said didn’t really make sense.

“Peytral? How did you see it? You were put in– I put you in a pod.”

“The invasion was turned back and We were freed,” Luna replied, still gripping me.

“Huh?”

“Our sister… We were not strong enough at the time. We could not save her. From afar, We witnessed her suffering in the Dreamscape. She… A nightmare… We failed her. Once again, we failed our sister.”

“That doesn’t explain…”

“Celestia was possessed by a nightmare. Now, the monster known as Daybreaker has turned the tide of thy invasion. But thou art here. Thou art alive! We… We thought all was lost, but this is not so!”

She pulled back from the hug but still held me up with her hooves. Which was a good thing because if she let go, I would have likely fell back and onto the floor. The broken glass crunched underneath her as she shifted around, but she did not notice the shards.

“Tell us where the Elements of Harmony are, so that We may make right the cataclysm that hath befallen us all. If we were to obtain them once again, convincing the bearers to use their magic once again shalt be an easier endeavor!”

I was still shivering. I was also so very tired.

“Elements?”