Author's Notes:

This is just a foreshadow chapter, the actual story begins next chapter. So this is optional.

Edit: I edited this lightly, trying to kink out the tense errors and make it flow smoother. I'm not perfect and this is me going over my own work so don't be too cruel.

The room is decorated with dark crystals. The floor is covered in a red rug, a large jagged throne at the end of the room. Well done paintings of wizard ponies with the signature of dark magic green and purple. Some with having curved and red horns similar to angry pony bellowing nearby.

"What's this about a settlement to the north?" A gray coated stallion with purple glowing green eyes asked a rather malnourished mare in a tattered guardspony uniform. She shook in her boots, a matted and badly kept mane of black. Though it would be hard to tell what color it was naturally, her man was covered in soot. Her nervous hoof to hoof shifting was understandable in the face of a king. A dictatorial king known as Sombra.

"I-I said that some of the other guards on the north end of city saw some forms flying in the mountains. When we tried to use the spyglass for a closer look all we saw was white bodies flying around, definitely equine." The king sighs impatiently at her. "Yes, yes. But details are how I deal with them. So give me some!"

She shrunk back. "Y-yeah, they uhm...They were definitely flying, but where their heads were we saw some blue instead of actual eyes. Besides that all I can think of is that they were flying really weird. Like a bug in the spring." The king looked down at her. He hardens his gaze further at her.

"Fly like bugs? What's that mean?" She flinches back at the quiet and seemingly cold voice from him. "T--the-they were zipping. Changing direction quickly, nothing normal feathered wings could do. I'm sorry!" His gaze tells her it is time for her to leave him, trotting out with tail between her legs and a frightened expression. The loud, heavy doors of gemstone would close behind her with a extremely loud thump.

"They could be nothing..but I don't think that is the case. It can't be the case can it?" The king would say out loud, looking out a nearby window at the ponies below in shackles. They worked all day collecting his lovely collection of crystals, all but the overseers. Like that cowardly mare, humph. But if these bug ponies were to cause a problem in the future he wouldn't be able to collect enough of those lovely gemstones to overpower the royal sisters.

He needed to find where or what they were. He needed to do it now. With a flare of his horn he would be surrounded in his magic, the aura of malice growing to consume him, he disappeared.

A form of white stepping around a egg, the rest of the room of little mention, a frosty labyrinth of nooks and hallways. "My daughter, I know you will bring to our people great strength. I pray to the ancients you will live long, longer than the royal sisters." The changeling princess circles the egg, gently touching it with her magic. She feeling the life inside, moving and squirming. Ready to be brought into the world.

"It took years to get the love for you to even begin to develop. Oh with that troubled king taking over the empire we've had to ration. But not for long, the royal sisters make their move soon. When they do hopefully you will be strong enough to lead our winter-bound hive to greatness."

Her gaze lands on the number of drones going about the room checking to the other future children of the queen. They are experts at what they do. That is easy to be seen as they check and double check every egg with gentle probing magic. Heading and cooling to keep the near freezing temperature needed for them to hatch. A smile falls on her face at the sight, what a wonderful thought to have so many.

The hive only a few thousand strong is very close with itself. All have their own duty and purpose, but giving them free time to socialize was one of the better choices the queen could have made. They had personalities...Although more dulled than any normal pony. The hive couldn't handle a drone having a midlife crisis after all.

None of this mattered too much though, she had to prepare the celebration of her birth, she needed to collect together her children for it.

She passes out of the hatchery, the glowing buds of tame blue on the roof illuminating her way. Moving down a long hall coated in hardened light green wax, coupled with a chilling white in some of the more worn sections of the smooth wall. Building into the ice will do that after all.

The hall is short before she comes to a break in the path. Three other tunnels that met as an intersection are before her. Her children walking through, each off to their assigned objectives, the hive mind was abuzz with the news that a new queen would be hatching soon, some of the eyes of the drones not in a hurry met her. They would smile and exchange a "My queen" or the sort.

Going down the right hall and following some more complex tunnels deeper into the snow and ice caves. She came onto the love collection and distribution center. Twenty or so drones in a chamber with a huge indent in the middle of the floor making a pool of red and purple swirling about. The aura of the love was easy for her to feel as she came in. "We must prepare our reserve for my newest daughter, and the hive must get an extra ration to strengthen it." All eyes came to her. "Yes my queen."

She also subconsciously went about setting the throne room and dining area outside of it by ordering her children via the hivemind, Moving to obey the mother of the family. "This will be world changing. I can feel it."