Another day, another seemingly endless stretch of grassland ahead of Chrysalis. This time, however, she's not getting carted around, having opted to stretch her legs before another inevitable dive into the depths of her mind. Still, the air is fresh, the sun isn't overly obtrusive, and she isn't sensing any amount of discontent from her two warriors.
"Do you like it out here, you two?" she asks.
"Your... Majesty?" 68 recovers first from the surprise of their queen doing anything other than giving them orders.
"Is there something wrong with your ears?"
"N-No, Your Majesty!" 68 stutters.
"96, I am absolutely certain I added 'you two' to my question."
"Y-You did, Your Majesty," 96 is somehow lost in a situation where a higher-ranked changeling is present and the queen's attention is on him, "I, umm, I feel like it's a change of pace but... I prefer being underground, Your Majesty."
"And you, 68?"
"I-I'm having mixed feelings, Your Majesty," 68 gathers her scattered thoughts, "It's too hot out here but I like the breeze. I like being able to see far and wide but, in the same way, being this easy to spot doesn't feel right. I think I agree with 96 - I'd love to be able to occasionally be out here without having to worry about being attacked but most of the time I'd like to remain underground."
"In that case, hypothetically, if you were able to walk on the surface without the fear of pony retribution, you would use the opportunity, right?"
"Occasionally, yes," 68 replies and 96 nods in agreement.
"Would it, say, make you happier?"
"Nothing can make me happier than serving the hiv-"
"Yes yes," Chrysalis rolls her eyes, "Be happy and obedient or get recycled, I know the 'Unspoken rules of hive survival', you idiots. If we had a culture of literature and that section of the hive mind was a book, it would be a bestseller. Now, I won't punish you for lying to me just now if you answer me honestly. Although that reply might already be more telling than anything you could say."
"Yes, Your Majesty, it would make me happier," admits 68. When Chrysalis keeps looking at her, she adds, "I... I'm a hive guard, a good one on top, but with that designation I've rarely left the hive and I've never been among ponies. Hunting in Manehattan would have been difficult for me without the access to the infiltrator experience through you. What I saw in Canterlot showed me how much there is to see beyond tunnels and utilities made of our resin. It was... interesting."
"I see," Chrysalis falls quiet.
"May I-" 96 pauses, gathering courage, "May I ask why the sudden interest, Your Majesty?"
68 almost chokes on her spit as she hears the question and she immediately starts pondering how difficult it's going to be to pull their cart alone.
"Oh?" Chrysalis raises an eyebrow, "Is there anything wrong with the queen taking an interest in the opinions of her subjects?"
YEEEESSSSSSSS! Only a few weeks ago, a question like that would be considered second-guessing the queen and would be grounds for recycling!
Neither of the two warriors can vocalize the thought, however.
Chrysalis, however, knows it full well and doesn't wait for their reply.
"You two, I've been digging through the hive mind and our history for some time now. I've seen our successes and failures repeated over and over. We were used, abused, and thrown away afterwards. And I think that what I'm about to learn isn't going to get better. This made me ask myself - what do we want? What is our goal? Taking over Canterlot? I failed twice and neither time it was what we wanted. It was what they, the insane queens, wanted," she takes a deep breath, "But there were queens who wanted exactly what you two just said - the simple ability to walk on the surface, unafraid. Do you know what stopped them every time, who was the enemy that ended their rule?" when they shake their heads, she continues, "Every. Single. Time. It was another changeling, be it directly or indirectly. The way I see it, there are only two paths we can take to end the cycle. Care to guess which?"
YOU ARE READING
They're EVERYWHERE!
FanfictionNo one really knows how many changelings were present during the invasion of Canterlot. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, it also means that the love explosion scattered them all over the surface of Equus. These are stories of their Queen and...
