It was late at night by the time I made my way back to my room. The streets and airways of the capitol were still jammed pack with revelers and were planned on being so well into tomorrow as the citizens of Equestria continued to celebrate the crowning of their newest rulers. Their love flowing across my palette and sating my hunger like the finest of delicacies with its strength and purity as I continued to feast on them. Yet as satisfying as it was, filling me greater than I had ever been before, it left a taste of bile and disgust in my mouth that such potent love would be wasted on them. Those children of that backstabbing queen who had foiled my plans once long ago, but it was alright. Let them wallow in their ignorance while they still can, the truth about their blessed rulers will come forth soon enough. Until then my children and I will wait and we will feed.

I pause at the door for a moment to ensure that my companion for the night is still with me although it is a pointless action for I can taste his lust reacting to my potent pheromones and current appearance. Looking back I find the stallion, a pudgy earth pony noble, who long ago had seen the final days of his youth staring at me with lidded eyes and a dopey smile. I cast him a sweet smile as I reinforced the spell, his eyes taking on a green glow as I ignite my horn.

“Come on in my dear,” I said to him, my voice warm and inviting, as I ran my fingers along his jawline, causing him to knicker like an idiot, “we’re going to have so much fun together.”

All he can do is nod his head as I beckon him to follow me into the dark room with a swish of my tail. Inside we were greeted by five shadowy figures, their eyes glowing a soft blue in the inky blackness. The faint sound of buzzing and clicking could be heard as they began to approach us as I heard the noble’s voice from behind me.

“W-what’s going on here?” His words trembling in fear as the shock temporarily weakened the mind spell, “Where am I? Who are you?”

I smiled back over my shoulder to him sweetly as I lit up my horn again, dropping my unicorn disguise in a flash of green magical fire. I could taste the sour taste of fear emitting from him as he took in my true form and the others surrounding him, cutting off and route of escape.

“Why my dear lord don’t you remember? These are the friends that I was telling you about and they’re just dying to meet you.”

The dual-toned sound of my voice worked quickly to place the stallion back under my control as my words weaved through his consciousness binding the magic to his very desires which served to place his focus solely on me once again. I motioned for him to take a seat, which he did so without any objection as my accomplices hovered around him like a pack of wolves ready to pounce. I was about to allow them to begin their feast on his emotions when one of them, a servant, approached me bowing deeply.

“My Queen, it is good to see that you’ve returned safely.”

“Your concerns are noted, but these foolish ponies are more concerned with their celebration than watching for intruders.” I told her, slightly irked that she would interrupt me as I eyed the dumbstruck noble once more, “Now if you will excuse me it is time that we enjoyed our meal.”

“Of course my Queen, forgive me,” the servant replied with a flutter of her wings, “it's just that while you were away a message came from the client demanding that you contact them as soon as you returned.”

“Did they now?” I hissed, unable to contain my frustrations.

“Y-yes my Queen,” the servant replied as she and the others cowered in the very presence of my displeasure.

A growl emanated from deep in my throat at the thought of anypony having the unmitigated gall to think that they could demand things from me. We may have suffered a hefty loss in our goals after our awakening from hibernation at the hands of that cursed usurper and her weak-willed husband to where we’ve had to return to the safety of the shadows, but we are still strong and I was still Queen.

I stormed out of the sitting room to the bedroom across the way where I took a seat at the mirrored vanity situated in the corner. Drawing my magic forth I cast it towards the mirror as the surface of the glass began to distort like the ripples of a pond as the arcane magic searched out its intended target. After a moment or two a dark image begins to form in the mirror distorting until it settled into the shape of a shadowy figure.

“You’re late,” they simply stated irritation evident in their deep voice.

“I was enjoying the festivities,” I replied, a grin tickling on the edges of my lips at their obvious agitation helped to ease my own a little, “you don’t think that I would pass up the opportunity to sample such a potent treat?”

“And what of your guest in the other room?” the asked, surprising me for a moment at how they could know of the noble before regaining my composure.

It wasn’t surprising to me that this mysterious individual or the group they represented would try and keep tabs on me for they seemed to be fairly well influenced in the world, but it was the ease and speed that they received this information was unsettling to say the least.

“A snack in case I become hungry during the night.”

“Our deal was not for you to do as you wished!” they warned sharply their tone oozing with disgust over my actions, “You had a job to do. When can I expect to see some results?”

“Watch your tone,” I warned the figure flashing my fangs, “It would be wise for you to remember who it was who approached whom, and I feel like I must also remind you that I never took the job I simply agreed to look into it.”

“And are you done looking into it?”

“Yes.”

“And? Can you do it?” the figure asked as I sighed over their impatience.

“Perhaps, although recent developments may prove to be too risky to try at this moment. We may have to bide our time for now un-”

“Excuses do not concern me my dear queen,” they interrupted earning them another growl from me, “only results. If it requires more time then so be it, but remember my patience had its limits.”

With that the image in the mirror faded away leaving only my seething face in the reflection. The conversation and the figure’s insolence had done nothing to ease my mind. It had been four months since this mysterious figure had gotten in touch with me suggesting a most delicious proposal that would serve nicely in my plans for revenge against those that had ruined my strategy for securing a safe future for my children. Yet since then their constant demands for updates and progress had done well to wear away at my nerves. I tried to calm myself as a knock came from the door.

“Enter,” I said as the door opened to reveal the servant from before.

“Is everything alright, my Queen?” she asked her wings fluttering in concern.

“Yes it’s fine,” I reassured her as she entered the room shutting the door behind her. Her actions caught my attention as my lips turned down in a frown, “Is there something on your mind?”

“Yes, my Queen, I have concerns on us being able to do our mission.”

“So you think that you and your team are incapable of doing what I’ve commanded of you, or, perhaps, you doubt the wisdom of what I’ve asked of you?” I asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

The drone fell to the ground at my feet, prostrating herself before me as she began to desperately apologize, “ Of course not! You are the hive mother, the Queen, my life is for you to do with as you please. Even to take away if you so desire.”

The servant’s heartfelt pleas do well to calm me down as a wave of weariness overcame me.

“Hmph, let us hope it doesn’t have to come to that. I’ve lost too many of children as it is so far.” I told her as I cast a glance to the window and the sparking skylight beyond, recalling the faces of my fallen offspring.

It was my hope that the world had changed from that time before I was forced to place myself into hibernation, but upon awakening some fifty years ago now I was quickly reminded of how foolish I had been to think so. They still viewed us as nothing but monster. Beings lower than them and their senses of civility who were no better than bugs that deserved to be eradicated. So we hid among them, feeding from them, as we cautiously made our way from one country to the next in search of a place rich in love that we could call home. It was then ten years ago that we came upon the land of Equestria and it seemed that we had finally found our refuge, but that thought would be short lived as we quickly found out that it was ruled by the daughters of Harmonia. Would I ever be free of that cursed Queen and her influence?

I decided to finally stop running and take a stand for the survival and well being of my kind. For years we bided our time, building our strength and infiltrating their ranks until the perfect opportunity presented itself when the Princess Gehluli, that charlatan claiming to be the Alicorn of Love, announced her engagement to her Royal Guard Captain. It was too perfect. All the pieces would be in one location able to be taken out in one fell swoop. When the plan was finally enacted everything was going along as according to plan and it seemed that victory would finally be at hand.

If it wasn’t for the meddling of a certain little purple unicorn.

All because of her persistence was my best laid plans ruined and victory taken from me at the very moment of my triumph only to be blasted away, but I and my followers could not be killed so easily. So I gathered the few remaining children that I had and we returned to the shadows again, roaming from country to country as we rebuilt our strength and dreamed of our revenge.

“Too many,” I whispered sadly.

“Your Highness?” the servant cautiously asked, knocking me out of my musings.

“Never mind it’s nothing. Still you may be right,”I admitted reluctantly, “This may prove too risky to perform as we normally would.”

Normally we would approach our targets under disguise. Luring them into a false sense of security before springing our trap and placing them under our mind-control magic to use as a source of food later or capturing them and taking their place as we would systematically overrun an area draining it of its love before moving on. Yet this target that our mysterious partner desired so desperately held special talents that denied us of our greatest weapons. My spies in the palace had relayed to me of the target’s resistance to magic, but we didn’t know of the true strength of it until recently. It was truly something to behold as even the most powerful curses could be lifted as long as physical contact was maintained.

Looking at the black chitinous armor that covered my arm I recalled my own body’s reaction to their touch. A reaction that risked ruining everything if it had not been for the timely interruption of that entitled alicorn princess, now turned queen. Which brought up another issue that was revealed during the following ball. It seemed that the target shared a mental bond with one if not both of Equestria’s new queens, not to include their courting of the Element of Honesty. The signs were hard to discern to the untrained eye but even at a distance I could make out the subtle eye movements and taste the rise in love whenever they would meet gazes that signified the bond that existed between them. It was still an immature bond but it would still prove an issue if we happened to move against the target too early for their bondmates could locate them almost instantaneously, but we also couldn’t wait for too long because the closer they got the stronger the bond would become.

Still even with all of these imposing challenges the reward was still worth the risks. Especially to get the chance to further investigate the limits of this target’s magic cancellation before turning him over. The challenge excited me, filling me with new determination as I clenched my fist, but we would have to tread about this cautiously. One false step and the game would be over. Standing I addressed the still kneeling servant.

“Return to the castle and continue your surveillance with your team, and report back to me if any new information arises.”

“Yes, my Queen,” she replied as she rose and followed me as I returned to the sitting room.

“Also see if you can get a couple of them to keep a constant eye on the target while they are in Ponyville.”

“It shall be done as you commanded.”

“Good,” I said trying to hold back a sinister chuckle, “I leave tonight back to the hive, we must move it to prepare for the second part of my plan. I’ll await for word from you there.”

“My Queen,” one of the bigger drones spoke up garnering my attention, “what shall we do with him?”

I looked down at the old noble who stared up at me with that same dumb love-struck expression from before.

“Dispose of him,” I announced coldly as my children smiled hungrily before dragging him away as I felt a smile creep on my own lips, “We have much more satisfying prey to hunt.”

Author's Notes:

So begins the second Arc. Decided for this arc, and maybe following arcs, we will have multiple narrators but to keep away too much confusion each narrator will be contained to their own chapter. Which means that some chapters might be shorter than what has been seen before.

Anyways, who are these new players and what are there plans for our dear crew chief and his herdmates?