The gem I held in my hands was too large and flawless to be real. After all, what kind of gem comes out of the ground perfectly cut and this massive? And yet, here it is. I remembered back to when the portal between our worlds first opened.

‘The stones in the wall… were they emeralds?’ I thought to myself. [Chrysalis! Are you in your hive’s caverns right now? I want to see something.]

[Yes, I am. What do you wish to see, if I might ask?] she replied.

I opened a portal between us. Decorating the walls of the cavern were countless emeralds. “Oh… wow,” I said, looking at the veritable mountain of treasure adorning the walls of her caves. “You live in an emerald mine, don’t you?”

“Yes. Why do you have an interest in these worthless stones? They are as common as dirt for us,” she said. Did I hear her right? She called emeralds ‘worthless?’ She’s in for quite a shock.

“Oh… Emeralds have significantly more value for us. Let me see…” I pulled out my smart phone and did a few quick searches. A little rough estimating and I came out with an approximation of my emerald’s worth. I held up the stone. “This little beauty could sell for at least $100,000. With today’s meat prices…” I did another Google search. “that could be almost 6 tons of meat for you all. Heck, with a couple bucket load of these gems, I could buy you a cattle farm.” I gave out a quick laugh. Greed induced euphoria is a wonderful feeling. “With this cavern’s emeralds alone, I’d be hard pressed to pay of that debt.”

Chrysalis’s grin grew throughout my explanation until it reached a width known only as 'certifiably insane.' “What about human weapons? Could you get some of those for me?” Her expression changed; she was now giving me bedroom eyes. “I’ll gladly give you emeralds for them,” she cooed.

My heart, now in the thralls of greed, melted at her words. “Anything, for the right price.” I grew serious and said, “but for now, my hive is too small to handle finances on this scale without raising suspicion. I’ll see what I can do right now. What kind of weapons are you after and how soon do you need them? And if you don’t mind satisfying my curiosity, why do you need them?” I asked the queen.

Chrysalis replied, “I want explosives and riot control weapons. In two months, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the alicorn of love, will be marrying captain Shining Armor. In the days before the wedding, a few of my changelings will sneak in to the city of Canterlot to execute stage one of my plan. The explosives and other weapons are a distraction.” She paused for a moment. After all, ‘All warfare is based on deception.’ I believe you were the one who gave me that book.”

“What book?” Nick asked. I jumped, startled by his entrance into the room. I had completely forgotten that he was here.

“The Art of War. Nick, meet Queen Chrysalis,” I said, while gesturing to the portal. He stepped up and took a bow, dropping his disguise in the process.

“Ahh, so this would be the first of your converts, is he not?” Chrysalis asked. I nodded. “Well, it is a pleasure to meet your first hive member. I look forward to working with you in the future. Also, William, would you be willing to house a prisoner or two in your world during my invasion?

"For a price. Who would I be holding?” I asked.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," Chrysalis said. With that, the queen closed the portal.

I walked over to the new couch and flopped down in it. I asked how much Nick had heard of the conversation, to which he replied, “Enough to know that we’re set for life. So are we really going to do this?”

“Nick, we have access to the most powerful tools on the planet. Are you suggesting that we don’t abuse the hell out of it for fun and profit?” I asked.

“No no, not the hive thing, but giving her weapons? Holding a prisoner?" Seems like a bad idea,” he said, the worry evident in his voice.

“That’s strange, coming from you. Weren't you the one who suggested robbing banks? She’s going to pay us in emeralds! Why do you care? It’s not going to affect you when all of the fighting is a world away. Besides, the equine changeling hive is our ally,” I explained. Maybe he did have a point if you thought about giving sword and spear users explosives and firearms. But really, it’s not my problem. “When the time for their attack comes, Nick, I want to send you to Equestria to be my eyes and ears. I can deal with the princess myself.”

He sighed, “Great. I’m already a freak. Now you want me to be an alien spy, too? And in the middle of a war zone? No thank you.”

“I’m going to pay you, you know. Besides, I can’t set foot on the world of Equa. I need somebody over there. My curiosity has been stoked. Chrysalis’s plan seems very odd considering what she has to work with, and I want to know the whole story.”

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“Nope.”

It’s amazing what you can find on the internet when you really look. In a week, we had managed to track down a chemist to prove that my emerald was the real deal and a buyer on the black market. Nick had the genius idea to prepare a vial of our venom before hand, so that if we needed to, we could teleport a dose directly into our victim’s heart without their knowledge. Hopefully, we wouldn't need it, but better safe than sorry. You never can tell when it comes to these types.

Marcus, our potential buyer, sat across from us in the small room. He was surrounded by three body guards. Two more stood outside. Marcus’s eyed me carefully. “I can give you 85 grand for it, miss…?”

“Jasmine,” I said, crossing my arms under my… assets to provide Marcus with the proper… motivation. I will never set foot in a seedy place like this without some sort of costume. Then again, who said anything about not using my skills for extra assistance? I noticed one of the guards move his hands towards his gun. Sighing, I took the money from Marcus and placed it in my purse (I got it just for my female costumes). “Well, thank you for your time. I really must be going now.”

“Leaving so soon?” Marcus asked with a smirk.

<<Nick, I don’t think I am getting out of here without some alien assistance. Poison the guards outside. I have the ones in here. Feed if you wish.>> At Nick’s confirmation, I felt his magic pulse twice. My hand, which was still in my purse, flashed three times. “I suppose that I could stay a bit longer, if I must,” I said to Marcus. Fifteen seconds after my spells, the three guards dropped to the floor.

“WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!” He screamed. Marcus bent over to grab one of his guard’s guns. When he stood back up, ‘Jasmine’ was gone. I stood in my true form, all eight and a half feet of me. Marcus found himself pinned to the wall by my magic.

“Oh, just a few harmless mind-altering drugs,” I said with a smirk, making sure he could see my fangs. “Can’t be getting shot now, can I?” I walked up to him and bent over so that he could feel my breath on his face. “Your guards will make an excellent meal for my hive. But don’t worry, I have another use for you.” I licked his face, just to up the intimidation factor. He still thought I was a girl, after all, so I played up the ‘lusty evil queen’ act. “You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile,” I cooed. 'I've always wanted to say that.'

A few minutes later, I left the building. Nick and I were happy, full, and 100 grand richer. My hive had gained a new member with mob connections. All that was left were five old men who won’t be able to explain what happened and a cocoon in a magically sealed room that won’t be able to be opened until the cocoon hatches.

As soon as Marcus’s mind was integrated, I began to reprogram him. He would be loyal to me and serve my hive as a changeling sleeper and a buyer for my gems, but otherwise continue to act as ‘Marcus’ everywhere else. I dug through his memories, looking for anything useful. An hour later, all present and future members of my hive would have basic handheld gun training.

Now, I need mouthwash. Marcus tasted gross when I licked him.

Author's Notes:

*Ding* Have a chapter

Current hive size: 3
Hive finances: $857,000

Only two more chapters until the Chrysalis heavy 'Canterlot Wedding' arc.

---

I asked you all for names and you came through. Here were my top five names for William's true form, in no particular order. I also gave credit to the person who submitted the name, as well as a translation of what the name means.

1) King Patrem (father) - the monkey ninja
2) King Mendax (liar) - the monkey ninja
3) Alvaruim Rex (Hive King) - Alternate Madness
4) King Elso (First) - werewolf435
5) King Insecui (Insect) - fugly duckling

Vote on your favorite one. The winning name will become William's name for the rest of the story.

See the next chapter for voting instructions.

(edited 12/21/2013)