Canterlot.

Home of the two Pony Princesses and the capital of Equestria. The peak of northern civilization. The ultimate structure of the Ponies. No city had ever had a higher reputation and no city had ever been more elegant. Legend says it has stood for a thousand years, and that it would stand for thousands more.

Legend was about to be proven wrong.

On this day, we Changelings of the Southern Badlands would take it for our own. It's the perfect strategic position we will need for the plans of our Queen to succeed and without it's Princesses, Equestria will be crushed under our might. The rest of the world shall soon follow, and it will not take long for us to have an unlimited source of power.

I hovered ready and waiting along with the rest of the Hive Royal Army, preparing for the order from the Lieutenant Colonel. We would soon launch our attack on the pathetic magical shield that the Ponies had created in a futile attempt to stop us. Even now, our Queen worked below us, weakening their defenses even further. By absorbing the power being given to a bullshit excuse for a Princess from her peers, subjects and lover, not only would my Queen cripple the creator of the shield, she would become an immortalized God, and rise above every other living thing.

"The order has been given!" Yelled the Lieutenant Colonel, gaining the views of me and my Brethren. "Begin attack pattern beta immediately!" Even before the last syllable had passed his fangs, we began attacking the magical barrier below us. After quickly causing cracks, it wasn't much longer until the entire sphere exploded like glass bulb. "Charge!" We obeyed, charging towards the streets of Canterlot. Before hitting the ground, we put up basic magical defenses as to avoid having to slow for a landing. Once all of us were down, our Lieutenant Colonel barked out more orders.

"Squads A to D, focus on taking out high-priority targets!" The soldiers in the squads mentioned gave a quick salute before flying towards the castle. "E to G, contain the civilians to buildings! Do not attack them unless necessary, we need all of the fuel vessels to be undamaged!" I gave a quick salute with the rest of my and the other two squads and flew upwards to get a clearer view. There were some civilians running not far from us, presumably trying to get to the edge of the city. I called to my Lieutenant and motioned him to come to me. I pointed downwards to the fleeing civilians, earning a hungry grin.

"Nicely spotted, Corporal," he muttered, signalling the rest of our squad. We sped over to them and positioned ourselves from above, then flew downwards, surrounding them. One of them, a Pegasus Pony, tried to fly away in the panic of the others, only to be tackled down by my Lieutenant. We easily took out any that tried to fight us and herded them into a nearby building and let Chite, one of our squad's magic specialists, cast a containment spell to trap them inside. It was over before anyone could even blink. Like dealing with cattle. Starting as a small chuckle, I soon broke out into laughter.

"Jeez, Mawr," Chite murmured, "do you know how creepy that is?" Before I could answer, the voice of Queen emanated from the direction of the castle.

"This day has been just perfect," she sung perfectly, "the kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small!" A few soldiers flew from a high window of the castle, coming down to where we were. They started discussing orders with some of my squad, but I wasn't paying much attention. I was listening to the beautiful sound of my Queen's voice. "Every Pony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal, who says a girl can't really have it all?"

As the singing died off, I looked into the window of the building. The Ponies were huddled together. A few were crying, a few were in shock, but most were in too much of a panic to even think straight. I could feel their emotions.

I licked my lips. They felt delicious. It would soon be time to feast. And what a feast it shall be!

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion emanated from the same direction as our Queen's singing had. It happened once more, followed by a blast of energy carrying our Queen and every Changeling it hit flying off into the distance. The energy was speeding up, and was near to hitting my squad.

"Retreat!" Screamed my squad leader before starting to fly away. He didn't have to tell us twice. I flew like a bullet in the opposite direction of the energy blast, beating my wings as hard and fast as I could. A quick glance behind me showed that the energy wasn't affecting civilians, nor anything but us. The energy had almost reached me, but I was so close to safety. If I could just fly a little faster...

My wings suddenly cramped up, making me cry out in pain. I crashed into the pavement and skidded down the street, tearing up my weaker patches of chitin. Through panicked breaths, I opened my eyes and turned my head.

It was the most intense pain I had ever felt. Every one of my cells screamed out in pain. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I couldn't even breath.