The mall stretched on for infinity. Infinitely long, infinitely many stories, infinitely many shops, and yet it held only two very different occupants. I strolled alongside Chrysalis, walking at a brisk pace, but never seeming to go anywhere. Well, we were, but the dream mall was too huge to notice any amount of progress down its lengths. The shops, however, had a common theme: all the ones on the right had artifacts from Earth, while the left contained artifacts from Chrysalis’s world.

“What’s your world’s name?” I asked. For the past hour, Chrysalis and I had been exchanging information regarding our worlds. By sheer dream logic, I happened to ask while standing in a left side store that sold maps. Maps of her world.

“Equa.” The changeling pointed at an atlas of her world, labeled with, ‘Traveler’s Guide to Equa: the Complete Atlas.’ Short responses were common between us in this dream. Invariably, whenever one of us asks a question, we found ourselves in the next shop down. Invariably, the store would be something relevant to the question. And invariably, we would be standing next to something relevant to the question.

Take, for instance, my question about the ponies in her world. We ended up in Build-a-Bear. The counter was covered in polychromatic pastel pony plushies. I chuckled at the absurdity of their design. How had evolution created something that looks like a child’s toy? Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like these before, living or otherwise. Wait, there was that one thing.... I think it was ‘My Tiny Kitten’ or something of the like. It had not aired in over a decade, though.

When I asked about Equa’s technology, we ended up in a store that sold steam engines. Gunpowder? Empty room. History? Book store. Changelings? Pet shop with glass terrariums. Each one was filled with two dozen miniature changelings who were happily munching on candy hearts. Chrysalis was mildly disturbed by that display.

“I’m assuming that they are not normally that small?”

Chrysalis replied, “yes, normally, they would come up to about half my height.” She stood only a few inches shorter than my 6’0” frame, which means that the changelings are half my height as well. Chrysalis continued, “They can, however, transform that small, or larger, if they wished.”

A sudden urge overcame me, and I tapped on the terrarium’s glass. Several flashes of green flame sparked inside. What was once filled with happy changelings was now filled with dozens of tiny screaming ponies, zebras, griffins and minotaurs. I chuckled at the scene, but the queen did not notice my mirth. She was too occupied trying to calm the little changelings down.

I asked, “so… are changelings mammals or insects?”

“Insects, to a degree,” Chrysalis replied, “Although, unlike normal insects, we have a closed circulatory system–like ponies–and we’re warm blooded.”

“Interesting,” I commented, “now it’s your turn.”

“You expressed an interest in our technology. I want to see yours, William.”

“Very well.” I walked into the tech store. “Our world, which has no magic… well, it didn’t have magic until yesterday. Anyway, humans had to build everything themselves. In time, and it took a lot of time, we became masters of technology. Now, the only thing stopping us are those pesky laws of physics.” Pulling out a laptop from one of the shelves, I showed it to Chrysalis.

“This device, a laptop computer, can connect to the largest store of information in the world and process that information faster than a human can. Unfortunately, about seven years ago, I think it was in 2022, we stopped being able to improve them, physically. The parts just couldn't be made smaller, and Moore's law collapsed. Now, the only way to make them smarter is to strap on more processors, which makes them larger and hotter.

"Never the less, each computer is connected to the internet, a network of millions of other computers. They can all communicate with one another–and their users–to exchange mountains of information very rapidly from long distances," I concluded.

“That internet of yours, it’s like my hive mind,” Chrysalis declared.

What? “What do you mean, ‘hive mind,’” I asked. I knew earth hives, like bees or wasps, coordinate themselves with pre-programmed tasks and pheromones. Chrysalis, however, seemed to be implying something else.

“All changelings have a magical connection with me, formed shortly after birth,” she explained. We were back in the pet store with the tiny changelings. “This connection is normally subconscious, influencing and synchronizing their desires with mine. Without any prompting, they unconsciously want to do whatever I consciously choose. Through the hive mind, I can also see through their senses, share memories, and if need be, directly control them as an extension of my body.” She demonstrated this by making all the little changelings start dancing in a coordinated ballet.

Wow. Just wow. The little changelings continued to dance with each other, which was really quite adorable. I turned back to face the queen.

Chrysalis continued, “If I’m not controlling them, then my changelings have free will to do as they please. A young changeling can get a basic education from the hive mind’s memories, and individuals can use the hive mind to recognize and communicate with one another while disguised. In fact, our entire language is based on this principle.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, the excitement in my voice caused it to squeak. This had to be the most interesting thing I have ever heard.

Mmmmm… The possibilities….

“Changeling speech is composed of random syllables strung together. The speaker imparts meaning upon them. The listener receives the syllables, which decodes the meaning received from the hive mind. A mind reader cannot find the correct thoughts without the sound, and a non changeling cannot understand the sound without the hive mind. The language, however, cannot be transcribed into any form, and recording crystals are useless. After the original speaker is finished, the random syllables revert to just that: random syllables,” Chrysalis concluded.

By this point, my jaw had hit the floor. Dream logic made sure that it actually was scraping the floor. She chuckled at my cartoonish expression. It took me a minute to compose myself. “Why?”

“Why what?” Chrysalis tilted her head, confusion plastered on her face.

“Why are you Queen of the changelings? Why not Queen of the world?” She was still confused. I face-palmed. “You live in a pre-industrial world, where the greatest weapons are spears, bows, and some spells. Yet you have access to an army of SHAPE SHIFTERS, a biological version of the INTERNET, a NATURALLY ENCRYPTED LANGUAGE, and the resources of an ALIEN WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY! Even HUMANS, who are predators and masters of warfare, don’t have it that good. Our best encryption programs can’t compare with that. Our computers can’t beam info straight into our heads. And you have shape shifters.” I took a breath, “If you asked me, I’d say–with the right amount of sabotage and espionage–you could conquer the world in a year. At most.”

Her jaw was now firmly buried in the ground. Then came the laughter, “hehe. HeHeHe. HehHehHeHAHAHAHA!!!! Why had I never thought of that before? BRILLIANT! This is the start of a beautiful partnership, my good William.”

I have to wonder, did I just create a super villain?

The bell chimed over the bookstore door. I strode up to the clerk at the counter.

“Do you have The Art of War, by Sun Tzu?” I inquired.

“Let me check. Odd choice of reading. Are you into that sort of thing?” she asked, while searching the computer at her desk, “ahh, Yes, we have a few copies in the back.”

“Thanks, but it’s not for me. My friend really enjoys books on leadership and warfare, and I thought that she would like it for her birthday.” I have no idea when Chrysalis’s birthday is.

“Her? I didn’t know young girls were into that sort of thing,” the clerk replied.

“Young? HAHA! She’s old enough to be my great-grand mother!” I said. 'No, at least 70 greats. Chrysalis is almost 1,600 years old,’ I thought to myself. I hope she did not hear that.

“Well, It’s great to see the young and old being friends with each other.” She smiled, then said, “Here you go. The Art of War.”

I paid the last of my allowance and left the store.

The afternoon after that dream, Queen Chrysalis contacted me. I had been lying on the couch, watching mindless TV when her strange voice spoke into my head.

[William, in regards to your plan, I have sought the advice of my counsel.]

[Well? What did they say?] I asked.

[After a thorough risk-gain analysis, we concluded that although it would be beneficial, the risks are just a tad too high for a plan as extreme as this.]

[What makes you say that? I thought it would have been a no-brainer.]

[I care too much for my changelings. Assuming the form of a pony is easy. Steeling love is easy. My changelings have no experience with political espionage. Under ordinary conditions, there aren’t many blunders that a changeling impersonating an average pony can’t fix with a hypnosis spell. But a high stakes impersonation of a powerful political figure? We can’t copy memories or fix blunders on that scale, so any changeling would be almost on his own. Any blunders there, and their cover is blown.]

I asked, [What happens if their cover is blown?]

[They get taken in for questioning. A changeling unmasking spell is used on them. They get imprisoned and starve to death.]

[Oh… that’s a horrible way to go.]

[Yes, It is. Which is why we aren’t going for world conquest. My changelings are happy now. While times aren’t as great as they could be, the hive isn’t starving. We have enough to continue. There is no need to jeopardize our food supply for political power. That said, we will keep your ideas in the backs of our minds. Just in case.]

[I see your point, Chrysalis,] I thought to her. [Here, I got you something.] The book I was holding vanished with a snap and a flash.

[Oh, The Art of War?]

[It’s a book on human military strategy. You know, just in case,] I thought to her, imagining a wink.

[Thank you very much, William. You’re too kind.]

A few moments of comfortable silence passed between us. The clock on the mantel chimed 3:00. I made a move to stand up, when a thought crossed my mind.

[Can I have a spell book?]

I’m having a lot of inspiration lately, aren’t I?

Author's Notes:

*Ding* Have a fourth chapter.

The year is 2029.

"My Little pony" = "My Tiny Kitten"

How am I doing?
Having fun?
Great!

I've never read "The Art of War," but it sounds interesting. I should pick up a copy.
I might also incorporate this into my story:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheThirtySixStratagems

The Art of War:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-qmwfdtEE

(slight edits 12/21/2013)