The Changeling Queen of the Amber Hive and Matriarch of the Changelings of Griffonia, Ambrosia made herself comfortable on her sofa as several changelings flew by to fluff her pillows, get her more tea and to swap out the now empty snack tray with a fresh one.

Meanwhile I reclined a bit on my cushion, relaxing a bit ever so slightly as a changeling came by to refill my cup. I said thanks to the little bug pony, and they gave me only a single nod before taking flight once more, I guess they were told to not speak to me or maybe they don't know how to talk.

Food for thought.

Once the two of us were more comfortable and relaxed, the queen of bug ponies cleared her throat before she began her tale of her peoples past.

"Once upon a time, many centuries ago in the hive kingdom of Greneclyf that has long since lost to time, there was once a young filly who once dreamed of being a queen. To lead her precious changelings to a new era of peace and prosperity much like her mother did when she became a queen." Ambrosia began as she spoke in a warm, soft voice, drawing me in as a few of her changelings buzzed closer and landed around us.

"With eyes full of wanderlust and joy did the young filly explore her home, taking in the sights and speaking to the citizens of her fair city. As she grew older to the tender age of ten summers did the young filly see her first caravan of colonists, daring and bold to explore the uncharted tunnels and caves to expand their kingdom, and it is from these brave explorers did she wish to join and lead them and become just like her mother and rule beside them in the far reaches of the underground."

"Day in and day out she prayed before the alter of the Weave, begging her ancestors to grant her the chance to make them proud.”

“Soon though she would get her chance, bestowed upon her when her mother gave the order to expand her hive by creating a new city upon the Weaves edge." Ambrosia’s face slowly turned to one of confidence and pride, her voice following in tune.

"But before she can lead her changelings to a new era of peace and prosperity, first she must be taught, and tested, and prepared for the journey ahead."

"Following in her mother's hoofsteps she learned how to lead, how to care for her lings, to show the power of words in peace and the force of the blade in times of war, and how to guide her changelings to a brighter tomorrow. From her teachings did this young princess set herself on her path to be just like her mother whom everyling worshipped and loved, both who ruled through kindness and appreciation of their citizens instead absolute control and fear like her mother's sister." As Ambrosia spoke and merely mentioned about her mother’s sister, I saw the faintest hint of cringe and discomfort emote from the changeling queen before she returned to her happy self.

I think there is some bad blood that is running in the family, or perhaps a dark family secret that they don’t want to come to light.

More food for thought.

"On the eve of the fifth century after the fall of the Chaos Lord, the young filly was given grace by the queen to guide a small swarm of to the outer cavelands far of her mother’s kingdom and to take root and thrive." Pride once more took center stage on Ambrosia’s face, this was her moment to make her mother proud and she wasn’t going to drop the ball on this one.

"The journey through the underground was a long and perilous experience for the young queen-to-be, as there were numerous beasts that assailed her and her entourage of changelings along with the ever-constant threat of poisonous gasses that are exhumed forth from breaching vents."

"As dangerous and perilous as this expedition was for the young filly and those left in her care, she did all that she could to salve their wounds and ease their fears and for this did her changelings thank her for being there for them."

"The journey was long and the dangers numerous, but the young filly group made it to their destination and from that underground chasm did they make their home. To the young princess she thought she had found the perfect spot to settle down for herself and her changelings, it little did she know just what bountiful secrets lie buried around them and the cornucopia of love that is sitting above them.” Ambrosia let out a sigh, not sure if it is a good one or a bad one but from the look on her muzzle I can hazard a guess that it’s a good one? Maybe?

"This little princess wanted to be so much like her mother, to be loved and worshipped like her and for those she will soon rule over to prosper under tender care. And it was from this township that this young queen-to-be dreamed to rule. Just like her mother, and like her mother before her, did parent to child share similar aspects and philosophy, and it was from there would this town thrive and grow under its new protectors' wings of protection." The changeling monarch said with a steady rise of pride in her voice as she looks off in the distance, thinking back to a past that can never be.

“From the humblest beginnings this town grew forth from nothing but the hopes and dreams of its settlers, hoping for a better life and to expand their land in the name of their queen and princess. The local cave mushrooms provided both lumber and sustenance for the early days and only in time when their numbers grew did, they turn to the bountiful earth around them for stone and metal to enrich their lives. Years came and went and with the time ever marching forward the small hive grew in size, problems and difficulties came up but were overcome with the guidance of their young princess, deals and agreements were made with the close villages and towns to help the fledgling town survive on the farthest edge of the kingdom’s territory.”

"As time passed by this once small town grew into a bustling city that only grew with the passage of time. Her mother would come to visit her dearest child and she was proud beyond anything she could ever hope for. Her changelings cheered her name, they cried out praises in her honor, shouted till their throat rang hoarse as they gave adulations to their ruler, and the young queen had earned it all and more for she was the splitting image of their queen and knew that they were in safe hooves."

"And soon enough, the day came that would go down in history as my shining moment for all of the Weave to witness."

"Her day of ascension came and with it her metamorphosis into a queen, her mother was so proud of her..." a single tear trailed down her cheek, a memory that she treasured and loved more than anything,

"This was the moment the little princess was waiting for and with it her dream came true." I watched as she slowly lowered her head just as her mane starts to cover her face with her obsidian crown only slightly tilts from the shift in direction and gravity.

"But like all tales, my sweet little morsel, that what once grew beautiful would soon turn into a festering, rotting nightmare." Ambrosia’s voice slowly changes from its normal soft and sultry tone to one that is dry and emotionless.

"Decades came and went, the hive city slowly yet steadily grew in size and wealth, the region I picked was rich in natural resources and easily accessible. Decadence of an unseen sort flowed through my home as even the drones were being showered with bountiful wealth as their homes were lined with precious gemstones just as the elites of society had their mansions remade with the purest marble inlaid with gold and silver filigree. Opulence at its finest and I was proud of how far we came from our past roots, from struggling with our love reserves and living akin to savages all the way to where not a single changeling would go to bed hungry and that the homes of all who reside within the capital from the lowest worker to the highest noble live in wealth and glory.” That dry tone she spoke on started to feel like the very moisture in the room was being sucked out, the steadily growing of dread was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I feared how her tale went from idyllic fairytale to one of abject horror.

“Even our love harvesters out on the surface were bringing back so much Love that we had to keep an eye on them out of fear of discovery. If our harvesters were being overly zealous in their extraction then they might inadvertently reveal us to the world and result in our extermination.”

“And as the time came and went, the young queen grew in size and power, matching her mother in every way imaginable, all except for one part.” Ambrosia slowly lost steam as she spoke till her was nothing more than a whisper as she looked down at the floor, finding something interesting about it as she refused to look at me or at any of the other changelings in the room.

“Her ability to see what her actions lead to and what consequences they become.” And there it is, the source of her pain.

A failure that haunts her and will continue to haunt her till she sheds its pain by confronting it.

"What happened Ambrosia?" I asked with the tiniest hint of an inquisitive tone as I leaned a little toward her, hoping she doesn’t speak quietly again.

“You see my sweet little morsel, traditionally we changelings rarely ever use metal and gemstones in our construction of our homes and furniture because we can naturally create our own materials. But as I was growing up and harvested the love from the griffons and minotaurs that lived above us, I saw into their memories and saw things that made me envious of our surface neighbors. Of how they lived in luxury and grace while we lived in what amounts to ascetic minimalism and squalor.” Ambrosia said as I begin to see what was the start of her kingdoms fall or at the very least a sign of something’s to come that causes it.

By seeing into the minds of those they captured and saw what the griffons and minotaurs had and what they did not, Ambrosia became afflicted with avarice, gluttony, and envy, all the same things those up top have but in spades.

“We were at the height of our power, my kingdom was the envy of all hives, and no changeling ever went to sleep hungry nor had their bodies failing them. My mother couldn’t be happier with me than she could ever possibly be, but…”

"A series of most unfortunate events had been set in motion that would turn our world upside-down."

"The first domino to fall was our food supply being cut in half when the Griffonian Empire collapsed on itself when their holy relic was stolen by a cyclops in 1771 AD, After Discord if you are unfamiliar with how we changelings kept track of the ages. From what I managed to gather from my spy drones is that a cyclops invaded the capital and stole their sacred relic before escaping with it, and after that was when everything went to total chaos for them." If I am remembering the time period right and that their times match the griffons, then their 1771 would be the year 771 of Our Heavenly Lord Boreas or 771 After Luna's Banishment, I am guessing these changelings do not know about the equestrian monarchy or how one got banished and became a part of the changing of an era for pony society.

“First was the mad panic that their relic was stolen from the heart of their empire, then came the infighting as they pointed talons at one another for failure or lack of faith to prevent its theft, and lastly came total anarchy as all have lost faith in either their gods or their leaders and many began to fend for themselves.”

"With their fall from grace came our own downfall as well as our harvesters were being killed indiscriminately during the ensuing riots. Losing our harvesters forced me to start rationing our love reserves, giving less to everyling so that we can outlast whatever predicament has befallen the griffons and when they have stabilized themselves than we too will be stabilized. It was an easy decision to make at the time but it was harder to enforce as many of my children thought that they were above such things as rationing love.”

"Who could've thought that the fall of the griffon empire was all connected to an ancient artifact being stolen from them. The foolishness of their gods to connect such an artifact to their people and bind their souls and essence to it, it baffles me to no end! At least the Weave wasn't foolish in its creation eons ago to manifest an object of reverence and bind it to us!" Ambrosia said in mock disbelief, apparently, she finds it amusing and baffling that a group of gods would even do something like that and not expect it to backfire horribly.

"As we lost our steady supply of love from the griffons and minotaur's from our surface harvesters being killed by accident or from roaming bands of angry griffons and bulls, and our passive harvesters began to slow down due to the lack of positive emotions and love in the air to collect, we slowly began to deal with love shortages. This was never a thing for me to deal with while I was ruling from Lachelein Amore, but after living a life of luxury and my children living without having to ever go to bed hungry or cold since my kingdom's creation, they all had to deal with the cold, harsh reality that hunger is very real, and limits have to be placed on us if we are to survive the raging storm.” Ambrosia looked off to the side as she said this, her gaze going out the window to the silence that was outside her palace.

"And so began the Era of Sadness for my hive, our once thriving way of life that was the envy of all hives is now back in the same lowly circumstances that they are in, hungry, starving for love, wondering which changeling will die so that other changeling can live. It was a dark time for all of us, a vast majority of my babies had to cut back on their love intake along with myself included to show that not even royalty is above the rationing process. I tried to persuade the nobility to refrain from taking more than they needed, but sadly they refused my request in favor of their own greed." The amber hued monarch once more started to pitter off at end, not happy with what happened and what she had to do next.

"I am sure you have noticed as you traveled within my home that the noble district was empty and that their homes were deserted. That was my doing, those that refused to ration their love and even had the gall to bribe or steal from the city's reserves, so I had them imprisoned for those bribed while those who outright stole from me were put to death. They dared to try and circumvent my rule and the law I put down to ensure that all of us can survive on the rationing process and yet they were foolish enough to go behind my back and think that I would be oblivious to the sudden disappearance of our love stores." Her anger was punctuated when she slammed a hoof onto the tiled floor, cracking the tile in a spiderweb of shards.

"For the next two centuries we have suffered through love shortages and rioting from said love shortages, I did my best to try and keep us all together and to stop my kingdom from splintering into infighting factions over what little was left. I thought I could stop the fighting by calling on a ceasefire and hopefully bind us together in peaceful coexistence instead of fighting and stealing from one another..." There was pain in her voice, a mother hurt by her own children who would dare steal from her and the punishment she had to administer.

Two centuries of constant hunger and trying to keep your people alive all the while trying to stop them from splintering off and further hurting you. And if I am doing my calendar translation right that would set us in 1971 or 971 HLB, right at the same time when that cyclops came back to Griffonstone to try and raid it again but was defeated and slain by the current king. The cyclops's body fell off the mountain and went right into the abysmal abyss where its skeleton currently rests to this day, and it reminds me that I still need to carve 'Ian was here' on its skull as a display of dominance and also to show any future abyss divers that I got to it first.

“But then it came.” Slowly that tone of pain started to phase into something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“That Hive-damned plague came into my hive when it was brought in by one of my drones who was mapping out the depths of the tunnels returned to us unwell and clearly showing signs of a sickness.” Ambrosia lowly snarled as her wings buzzed in anger and vengeful fury as several changelings around us shared in her sentiment.

“At first as we looked over the sick drone, we have noticed minor signs of fungal infection in the damaged cracks of his chitin. So minor did it look that we ignored it as we thought nothing of it which allowed it to spread because our ignorance of what it really had blinded us until it was far too late. It looked like any other fungal infection that can happen to us, be it from an injury being unclean or a changeling refusing to bathe themselves and fungal moss started to grow on them." Her anger and fury that she was displaying just a moment ago is immediately snuffed out as it is drowned in an ocean of anguish and failure, her voice dropping back to its somber pitch and tone.

As I watched and listened to everything that Ambrosia was saying I have been taking internal notes on her behavior and her constant switching back and forth between emotions and states of mind that all boiled down to one conclusion.

Ambrosia is ruled by her emotions, instead of ruling over them she lets them hold the reins and I am seeing where it has led her.

"If we had taken the time to isolate and quarantine the infected drone, all of this could have been avoided…but we didn’t.” the queen lowered her head in shame and failure, the consequences of her inactions.

“It changed them, at first it made them irrational, irritable and they avoided speaking to anyling with the fungal mold slowly spreading from the infection site. After a month has passed since first infection, they begin eating anything that they can get their hooves on, even things we can’t process such as trash or junk, if they can put it in their mouth, they will still eat it anyways. During this transition they began to cough violently, but instead of spittle it was spores and bits of wet mold as the fungal growth at this point will be more visibly seen with it now at this point encompassing at least a quarter of one's leg or section of the torso."

"Then… they become violent, increasingly violent to the point that they start attacking anyone not infected, tearing one another apart before consuming them. This plague made my changelings hunger for the flesh of their fellow changelings, and it turned them feral. At this point in their infection the fungus has grown and covered much of their body with fungal mushrooms starting to grow from them.” Disgust and revilement made itself evident on her muzzle, her voice one of sickness as she recalled the steps of the infection, and I can say that this is sounding closer to a zombie outbreak then a typical fungal epidemic.

"The infected drone was left to his own devices for far too long and in response he rapidly spread his sickness to those around him, and like a surface plague it spread and branched out until it consumed all within its path. From the village of Petalburg where it originated to all the way to the capital… so many of my precious babies…they became monsters…” her voice once more became that of a heartbroken mother, beaten down and unable to bear what she has witnessed.

My guess is after whatever amount of time has passed from the outbreak ending that she and whatever was left went out with her to look for survivors only to see ruins and death. That must’ve been a colossal blow to her mentality.

“When word finally came to us about the plague, I sent out my guards out to face them, thinking they were simply a rival hive or one of the rogue lords that broke away was trying to raid our love stores, but I was wrong. They were my own children, driven mad by the plague and they killed almost the entire battle group I had sent out before consuming them. Those few who returned told us of what happened, but within those few survivors was even fewer who’ve been infected, and we had to quarantine them as we did not know what we’re dealing with at the time.”

“After that all future encounters we had with the infected was from distance through magic bolts and ranged weapons of war.” As the monarch says this I took another mental note regarding this infection, I do not know if it can spread to griffons or diamond dogs, or god forbid be able to infect me, but as of this moment I will assume that it can and will create a rule to have any fungus to be burned on sight and those showing signs of infection to be put down then burned.

“Day by day, week by week, and month by month more and more reports came in throughout my kingdom and each report was worse than the previous one. Villages and towns being destroyed from internal chaos and the infestation before becoming desolate husks, roaming swarms of infected changelings slowly shuffling down tunnels to their next destination, that is until a sound is made in which they enter a frenzy and swarm toward the source of the disturbance and destroy it along with several of their own in the process. This plague is the stuff of nightmares that even that mad mare Nightmare Moon would dream of conjuring forth and unleash it upon her enemies.” As Ambrosia continued with her tale, I can only nod my head to her words, the events she witnessed is history and I must remember all that I can so that I can put this to paper, after all as the human saying goes, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and I sure as fuck so do not want this happening again.

I’ve played The Last of Us 1 and 2, fuck that noise cause that world straight up sucks.

“No matter what I tried to do to slow down the fractured swarm it would only result in delaying them temporarily in the short term but at the cost of my precious changelings. I even went as far as giving the order to cave-in all entrances and exits into the capital and prayed to the Weave to forgive me for my failure as a queen. I couldn’t save my kingdom from my slow reaction, nor could I save my babies from their infected kin.” Ambrosia looked out the window and winced ever so slightly, remembering that pivotal moment and the implications it had for her people and the city she blocked off.

“After thoroughly inspecting the capital for any and all tunnels and ensuring that we had enough love to be made into rations I gave the order to collapse all the tunnels and seal us in. Twelve tunnels were collapsed and sealed by melting the rocks until they were one solid mass, and it would have been our safe haven until we could formulate a plan on how to reclaim our old homes, even possibly develop a cure for this outbreak." Ambrosia’s sadness in her voice shifted and switched to one of hope, that their suffering is coming to an end and that they might be able to save their people given enough time.

"I thought we could wait it out." Her hoping was building in her eyes, a raging inferno of hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I was wrong.” And like that her tone full of hope was snuffed out, like a candle in a raging storm.

“After twelve years of hiding and waiting, thinking that we were safe within the capital, the infected finally managed to burrow through one of the smaller smuggling tunnels that wasn't properly sealed off and flooded into the city. I gave the order through the Weave for all changelings to hide in their homes, to hide in the palace, to hide anywhere they can and to not make a sound.”

“I had a plan of sorts, to either have one of my praetorian guards or myself distract and lead them back out from the hole they crawled in from before sealing it off for good once they have been led away. But when I began to think on the merits of that idea, I saw how flawed it was. I wouldn’t be dealing with the situation, I would simply be delaying it unless I wait for a great deal of time to pass but that would mean that whoever is still out there will be at risk, so I needed another way of dealing with this Tartarus of a problem.”

"They swarmed through my city and flooded the outer districts within the first hour, breaking into homes that were poorly secured and devoured any they found. I can still hear the screams and cries of my precious babies that could not escape in time...and it only got worse as they surged into the artisan and industrial districts." Her tone of sadness and pain didn’t waver as she recalled what happened during the flood of infection surging into her home.

"I watched from the palace the diseased swarm move from house to house as a sea of chitin and fungus, breaking down doors and jumping through windows that are low enough for them to climb through as they sought out those that have not been infected, but when they started to enter the industrial district and the buildings that stored chemicals and arcane ingredients, they broke open containers in their search. The jars and crates they broke into created a series of chain reactions that resulted in fires to break out along with explosions that rocked the cavern to the point that stalactites started to fall from the ceiling and killed many of them."

"Naturally this got a reaction from the infected swarm and made them go into a frenzy and with those being burned from being splashed by chemicals or killed by the explosion, it was apparent that they were responding to external stimuli and that they can be directed." A spark ignited in Ambrosia’s eye as she slowly started to sit up, her recollection of that day making her react to it as if it were happening once more.

"This reaction from the swarm gave me an idea, one that I loathed to even enact but with the situation that my hive found itself in and that we were on the brink of annihilation, I said a prayer to my mother and to the Weave to forgive me as I was about to break one of the tenants that my mother laid out to me when I ascended to the throne.” The amber hued monarch placed a hoof to her chest as she spoke, I do not know what those tenets could possibly be but if she had to beg for forgiveness just breaking one then it must be one hell of a taboo to break.

“I asked for a single volunteer from those who were taking refuge within the palace." It was a plan of sacrifice, one life for one world, a fair price for sure, but who would be brave enough or willing enough to pay it?

"Two changelings stepped forward and I asked them their names, Mandele Corax and Thorak Bliff, one was a baker from the lower district while the other was a lord's only son, both were ready to give up their lives to keep the Hive safe and to live another day." I watched as she placed her hoof back down and the sounds of buzzing from above and beside me alerted me that those two either didn’t make it back or they did but are resting from the traumatizing things they must’ve seen while carrying out their orders.

"Their only orders were a simple one, to fly over the swarm and lead them back to the outskirts and to keep them there for as long as possible. Both of them bowed before me as I gave them one last token, a heartstone fragment anchored to a gold chain and infused with enough love to ensure that they have the energy to complete their final duty." A final duty I am hoping that they survived, these changelings need as much help and good news that they can get their hooves on.

“I watched as they flew off into the city, several times the infected tried to catch them by throwing themselves out of windows and off the roofs of the buildings they were on, but neither of the two were caught. For several hours they flew through our home and corralled every single infected and made them swarm into the outer districts before finally stopping in the western half of the worker drone habitation ring.”

“I couldn’t help those that have turned into those fungal abominations… all I could do for them was give them one final mercy and pray that they forgive me for being a terrible mother. It was from there did I give my lost children their final rites and prayed unto the Weave to take their souls and give them the peace they rightfully deserve.” She lowered her head down once more as a few more tears came down and landed on the cushion beneath her.

“What did you do?” I asked the matriarch, but I already knew the answer because my dogs and I waded through them on our way into the city but did not know how they came to being there.

“I made them die." Ambrosia said as she began to softly cry, the memory of it forever fresh in her mind and a constant reminder of her failure as a leader.

"By isolating myself from my hive and breaching into the infected synapse of the blighted swarm, I forced my will upon the hivemind, and I made every single infected changeling to burn through all of their love reserves by expelling it via magic purging."

"Normally all this would do is make us hungry once more, but magic in a gaseous form is highly volatile, especially around magical flames. And when we use magic on ourselves it takes the form of ephemeral emerald flames. For a changeling to do this it turns them into a living torch as it burns them from the inside out, but for those with even more love stored within them it turns them into an arcane explosion of chitin and blood.”

“With my mind connected to the infected swarm I heard their voices all whispering at me, calling for me to join them, to become as one and to expand beyond these caves. I shuddered as their poisoned existence made my body quake and reverberate with their overwhelming presence as I struggled to force my will upon them. Naturally their hivemind fought back against this intrusion but they could not resist my strength of will nor could they stop a mother that was protecting her children from danger, even if it's from themselves.”

“As soon as I managed to connect with the entirety of the swarm, I forced them to vent all of their remaining love stores within their bodies and to shift into another of their kin. The resulting firestorm of love-fueled arcane conflagration scorched the entire districts western half and killed them all.” Ambrosia's voice was quiet and filled with sorrow with what she had to do to save what remained of her kingdom.

“In one moment I heard their shrieks of anger and fury at what I was about to do to them, and in the next it was a cacophony of pained-filled screams as they all died in the flames of their own creation.”

"After I granted mercy to my children I lost consciousness and was in a coma for the greater part of a year, if my children are to be believed in their panicking state of mind. When I later awoke in my bedchamber with my apothecarian standing at my side with a love transfusion being administered." Ambrosia placed a hoof to her left leg and subconsciously rubbed at the spot where I am assuming a needle was placed, and whatever a love infused shot is I am assuming it’s bleh.

"I tried to get out of bed, but I was pushed back down by the apothecarian as she told me that I was in a coma for seven months and that I am still suffering from the backlash of having one's mind nearly rend asunder by forcing the Weave to act in such a manner and that I should count my blessings that I even survived such an undertaking. When I asked her what happened while I was in my coma, she said that there has been no further sign of the infected coming into the city and that all who were hiding outside the palace came in with whatever they could carry to hide here." Ambrosia lowered her head once more, no more tears fell from her muzzle this time, just deafening silence.

"For the first time in twelve years I felt relief that no more of my children have died or turned, but it was short-lived as I realized that those that are within the palace are all that are left of my kingdom. I do not remember how long I cried for, nor do I remember hearing the door being opened and being hugged by my guards and servants, but when I finally collected myself, I realized that I was being embraced by my children, all of them saying that if it wasn't for me that they would be dead or worse." She said what her children told her but Ambrosia knew that it was only to try and make her happy, to appease her broken heart.

“Nearly a quarter of a million of my children had to be put down and there was no other means of sparing them.” Just hearing her say that made my heart ache out to her and her loss. I fell apart when my grandfather passed away, I think I would have probably killed myself if I heard that my family was all died in an accident or were murdered by some psychotic asshole.

“And you felt it all…” I said in a quiet, somber tone, unable to even believe what she had to go through to keep her people safe from further annihilation.

“Yes… I did. Each death, a knife to my heart, a piece of my soul torn from me, but I had to be strong for those of my young who yet lives, for they are all I have left.” Her tone felt lifeless as she stared at the floor, unable or unwilling to meet my gaze.

“It wasn’t an easy decision for you, was it?”

“No, no it wasn’t. To watch my children go mad from a disease that we had no means of curing other than death, I gave them the only peace that I as a mother could do for them.”

"And the rest of your kingdom?" I asked but I feared that the answer she would tell me would be along the lines of devastated.

"They too fell to the plague, all I found from them were burnt out husks and ruins, there was only those infected by the plague and the smoldering ruins they came from." And I was right.

"Have you ever found out where this plague originally came from?" I questioned, hoping that the source of this plague was found, for if it is still at large than I may need to forgo my plans of having my diamond dogs stay here out of fear for Thor safety.

"Yes, during the height of the outbreak I sent out several drones to scout through the tunnels to try and locate the cause of our misery, all but one returned to me. Peering into the drone’s memories and correlating path it took with the maps of the tunnel systems I found a previously sealed cave system far, far to the north that was housing a forest of mushrooms the likes I have never seen before. It was from these mushrooms did the blight originate from and continued to emit from.”

"Gathering whatever alchemist fire barrels and mire accelerants that survived the destruction of the industrial sector, I assembled an expeditionary task group to locate and exterminate the source of the blight once and for all." Ambrosia partially lifted her head up, her voice regained a fraction of its life.

“Knowing what we are up against and seeing what it did to my children, we had constructed rudimentary breathing apparatuses that one on the surface would call a fishbowl with a hose connecting to a fresh air far from the spores. We had to bring several upon several heaps of sealed tubes just to ensure we can locate and eradicate the source of the plague without worrying about our air supply being tainted with the spores.”

"And so we traveled north, being careful to not alert the roaming swarms of infected or the beasts that still inhabit the tunnels that may have moved in due to our absence. There were several times that we came close to being caught and attacked by my infected children but we were fortunate that they moved out and away from us long enough for me to reach out with my magic to give them a merciful end."

"It took us two months of sneaking around and doubling back through tunnels when we found them collapsed or overrun with the infected. Soon enough we eventually we found ourselves at what was once Petalburg and we found that it has been completely destroyed. Not a single building was left standing, all that was left was old bloodstains, cracked chitin pieces and ruined remains. We stayed in the remains of the town hall to rest and prepare ourselves for tomorrow’s journey into what we now call the Blighted Lands."

‘What an aptly named place, I bet it’s just full of cheer and butterflies.’ I thought to myself as I recalled every single diseased-riddled places and realms from all real, fictional and fantasy settings that I have read, watched or played and I can hazard a guess to how shitty it must be.

"Travel through the Blighted Lands felt like a monumental task, the air was thick with the smell of decay and oppression, our every hoofstep echoed down the tunnels and it made our ears twitch out of fear of a swarm hearing us. The reason for its name was that not just for its creation of the plague but also because that when we entered that region, we all began to feel like something was draining us of our life force, inflicting us with a pall of depression as a cloud of fear latched onto us all for every single step we took within that cursed cave network.” Ambrosia cast her gaze towards one of her guards, their armor dented and scratched from some manner of beast. Here I am hoping they weren’t infected or that the symptoms aren’t in hiding.

"Another reason for its name is that the stone itself cracked and crumbled beneath our hooves, as if the stone itself has been drained of whatever life is within its natural form and was on the verge of falling apart at the slightest sign of touch. As we marched through the tunnels we saw that there was no sign of life, be it from any cave moss, bats or insects both large and small, nor were there any signs of the infected as we were well past the edge of the kingdom and Petalburg was the closest frontier village." That drew my attention back to the queen, an area that seemingly prevented any life from being there? That reminded me of the discorded area at the base of the mountain at Griffonstone.

"It was only after two weeks of trotting through the Blighted Lands did we come across our first sign of life and it was from that sign did we have to setup our rebreather helmets and air-circulation pump system. Lying in the center of the tunnel was a twitching corpse of a changeling, deep in its fungal infection as it was now rooted into the floor with several stalks of mushrooms emitting spores with each twitch it made." As Ambrosia said this, it reminded me of the enemies and meatmoss from Dead Space, I am praying to any god out there that this isn’t a prelude to hell on this planet because I may have to ask for assistance and resources to create a flamethrower and a *lot* of fuel.

“Seeing one of my children being so twisted and changed into such a horrific monstrosity was yet another knife to my heart, to see them being made into an abomination… all I could do was give them my mercy.” I didn’t have to guess what her mercy was, she already did it once before.

“I tried to reach out to it within the Weave, but I found that I couldn’t as if it no longer had a mind of its own. My guess was that at this point in its infestation that it is no longer a changeling but a mushroom wearing its corpse as a protective cocoon. Igniting my horn I set the remains ablaze and watched as it tried to uproot itself but it lacked the strength to do so, and in its death throes it wiggled and writhed before going still. Looking down at what was left of my child I saw that it was barely even recognizable but they were still mine, and I couldn’t leave them out here.”

“Marking the walls for later retrieval and telling my children that we are coming back to retrieve the body and bury it with the others in Petalburg. Our mission into the Blighted Lands only grew more important as we slowly started to come across more and more rotted changelings and other cave creatures covered in mushroom stalks and emitting spores, it was spreading itself out from its colony.” This was a strangely smart fungal colony, I don’t know if I should seek out some scientists to study it or call for the creation of an order of flame soldiers to burn it out root and stem.

“Moving towards our destination has been slowed down as we had to slowly burn out the infected that laid out before us and ensure that our air tubes are not getting clogged or damaged, something that we cannot afford to happen for if we lose the tubes, we will run the risk of being infected by the spores or suffocating to death. Putting any and all infected to the torch and constantly making sure our air tubes are still functioning properly made our progress grind down to a crawl and there was several times that we had to double back just to move our equipment forward as we have ran out of tubes to connect and we also had to deal with the occasional infected changeling, diamond dog or tunneler.”

“After much setback, problems and dealing with our rationing, we finally found it.” She became silent and looked past me and her guards towards her throne, the source of her authority, her responsibilities, and of her problems and woes.

“It was from this cave of fungal damnation did I discover the root of the infection and the one who unleashed it, be it accidental or on purpose. Lying partially buried beneath several outgrowths of mushrooms was a diamond dog and further from it was several more buried and overgrown hounds, all with pickaxes and hammers in their paws. The only guess I could make is that the diamond dogs had dug into our tunnels and not knowing where they are or what they have discovered started to survey the area before coming into contact with the fungal forest and succumbing to the spores.” Shaking her head in disbelief that a group of dogs was the cause of the outbreak, whether on accident or on purpose neither of us will ever know.

“This chasm was filled with towering stalks of mushrooms and other fungal structures, the air was a fog of spores and it was so humid that we had to keep wiping our helmets just to see clearly. Moss and lichen covered the floors and walls, there was not one square inch of empty space that wasn’t filled with some sort of fungal object to the point that it was a small wonder that this thing even managed to spread onto us. Several minutes into wondering in this cavern was several dozen rough shapes of what looked like either ponies or changelings, I could not tell as they were both the same shape and size, but surrounding the fungal bodies were a multitude of skeletons with look what looked like decrepit equipment and tools strapped to their forms.”

“Looking at this unexpected crew of the deceased I noticed that while there were multiple equine-like bodies covered in stalks and mushrooms, they were the only ones to have them while the skeletons didn’t have a single iota of mold on them. If they were part of the same group than why were they unaffected by the pestilence that surrounded us? At first, I thought that they were simply immune to the fungal spores and died there from starvation next to their friends, but upon closer examination I saw that it wasn’t the case. The skeletons had runes carved in their bones, and the only beings that use runic magic are the minotaurs and equestrians who prefer to use the old methods of the arcane which only fueled more questions, but time was short, so I have shelved that line of thought for a different day when this fungal threat is put down.” Ambrosia said as I narrowed my eyes and entered Big-Brain Mode and figured it out because of all of my time playing Skyrim and Dungeons n Dragons.

Necromancy, black magic to raise and shackle the dead to your will and turn either fresh or ancient corpses into new zombies and skeleton warriors. From the many books and games I have gone through I know that the art of necromancy is either done by extensive rituals with blood sacrifices or by just breaching the veil between life and death and commanding it however one sees fit. Although necromancy is frowned upon in most theaters of productions and is almost always hunted down and destroyed for its reviled nature, I do see some good in it buts very slim so it’s a no go for me unless I go full evil.

"With magic I sealed off the mushroom forest to prevent any more spores from leaking out and with numerous casks of volatile reagents and a single spark did I ignite the mushroom forest. With anger in my heart and sadness and despair in my soul I burnt it all down until there was nothing left but cinders and ashes before completely sealing off the cave by melting the rocks sealing it in until it was nothing more than another part of the tunnel." Her shoulders sag ever so slightly as she lowers her head once more, exhaustion and pain coursing through her as she finishes retelling of her fall.

"Our journey back home was a quiet one, the burnt husks of my kingdom were all around me, a permanent reminder that I couldn't save my children from my own failure of inaction and ignorance. I should have had done something when I first saw the signs of the plague spreading, when I felt the slightest twinge of pain from the Weave, but I ignored it because I thought it was just my imagination and thought nothing of it." The shoulders sag even more as I watched the amber-hued matriarch started to crack and break down, the weight of retelling of her dynasty's downfall finally hitting its critical point.

“With each ruin we passed by us we have tried to scavenge and salvage whatever we can and tried to find any wayward survivor who managed to escape from the swarm. It is by the grace of the Weave that we managed to secure more love rations and a heartstone along with several changelings from the numerous villages and townships we passed through, a small twinge of hope grew for us, perhaps all was not lost after all.”

“As soon as we have returned to the capital, I instated a harsher rationing system and mandated hibernation for us all, a rotation for all citizens and the military. Very few scouts would remain awake to keep an eye on the palace walls and myself to keep feeding everyling, and to make myself remember my failure as penance.” Head completely lowered and obscured by her mane, tears resumed their race down her muzzle as I simply sat there, digesting it all.

"For the next seven decades I have kept what little of my hive that is still alive here within the palace, going out on harvesting missions to help keep our rationing to a minimum but it has been hard on us what with the griffons still fighting and screaming at one another throughout the continent into anarchy and depression. With our main food sources dealing with infighting and our own issues… everything just came apart.” Ambrosia broke down and started to cry into her pillow, her wings flitting wildly as her own drones buzzed weakly, sharing in her pain and sadness.

“I was afraid we were going to run out of our love rations within the decade, afraid that my children would die before my eyes one last time before I too would join them. I wondered if this was how my family line would end, by starvation and far from home, and not a soul to tell my mother of what happened here.” She continued to cry into her pillow as her tears flowed freely, her nose runny and drippy, her eyes reddened, and her face just looked like a hot mess of tears and snot.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with grave news that Ambrosia, Matriarch and Queen of the Amber Hive...

...is an ugly crier.

“But then you came, our savior.” Ambrosia said weakly as she wiped away the snot from her muzzle onto a floating handkerchief that was being offered to her by one of her hoofmaidens that was standing off to the side, her head lowered and in reverence to their queen although from where I am sitting I can tell that changeling maid looked a bit offput by their queen's not-so-queenly appearance at the moment.

"An agent of a sovereign power who did not judge us on our appearance and instead of reacting to us with violence or disgust, you treated us with cordial gestures and treated us with kindness and respect. When you found out about our dietary needs you did not react with hatred and vitriol, but with understanding and care, you even fed us without asking for anything in compensation or trade. In our eyes you are our hero, our savior, we will always remember this moment to be etched into the Weave as the first surface dweller who accepted us with open hooves and with grace.” The queen's face still looked like a mess, but it was no longer snotty, just wet from tears and looks like a wreck of emotions.

Getting up from my seat I made my way over to Ambrosia and kneeled down and wrapped my arms around her barrel and hugged her. Letting her rest her head on my right shoulder I began to pat her back as she began to cry in earnest as two centuries of locked up emotions come tumbling out from her as I felt her hooves wrapped themselves around my waist as her cries only grew in intensity.

“It wasn’t your fault Ambrosia, you need to stop blaming yourself over this. This was outside your control, and you know it. Nobody could’ve known what that fungal disease could’ve done to your people let alone how fast it could spread. If anything it was both that mining crew who opened the path for anyone to stumble through and that lone changeling who started it all is to blame. They knew they were injured and had an unknown infection coursing through their veins, but instead of seeking medical attention to deal with it they simply ignored it and let it fester and spread.” I said as I continued to pat the changeling queen on the back, doing my best to consul and alleviate her pain and anguish even though I knew for a fact that I was no consoler nor an emotional assistant.

“You did all that you could do with what little information and time that you had! You had to deal with a literal zombie apocalypse and you a food shortage to the point that there was always going to be someone dying from starvation for fucks sake! You were in a no-win scenario and you tried to make it work as best as you possible could with whatever you had available!” I said as felt Ambrosia tighten her grip on me as I heard and felt her whimper, I am hoping that my words are having a positive effect on her instead of a negative one because I don't think I will survive if I anger her and her swarm.

Keeping her in the hug I let her pour out all of her sadness and despair onto my shoulder as I brushed her back, taking care to avoid the wings. The sounds of hiccups and crying continue on for several minutes, Ambrosia’s hooves remain wrapped around my waist as I kept on petting her mane and speaking to her in a hushed tone that everything will be alright. I don’t know if that is true, if everything will be fine cause after all a literal zombie apocalypse happened right on her doorstep and took away everything she worked hard to achieve and killed god knows how many of her people.

This went on for almost an hour until Ambrosia started to calm down as she was now nothing more than sniffles and whimpers, her hug strength lessened as she muttered out under her mane.

“Am I a bad changeling? …for failing my children and failing my mother?” Ambrosia said in a hushed whisper, her words tickling my ear as I tried my best to think of the best thing to say to her without sounding rude or outright like an asshole.

Turning my head slightly to look at her, I saw nothing but a sea of mane blocking my vision of her and her strange organic looking crown that is resting still on her head.

“Ambrosia, you are not a bad changeling. You did all that you could and that is much more than what anyone could ever ask of you.” I said as I kept on petting her mane, being her emotional support human and I was wondering if this is going to be my life now.

This went on for who knows how long but all I know is that my left shoulder is moister than an oyster and that Ambrosia was slowly quieting down until she was only sniffling and the occasional whimper of sadness escaping from her.

Patting her a few more times to keep her from crying again I heard movement in my left and right as I saw both Lichen and the hoofmaiden approached us and wrapped us in hugs of their own.

Soon enough the rest of the hive came down from their spot in the ceiling and walls and joined in on the hugging and I was then covered in chitin and hooves.

It was during this hugging bonanza that I noticed that the changelings who were in on the pile were ever so slowly looking healthier and less holey than they did earlier before my brain rolled back the memory reel and replayed the fact that my emotions serve as food for them and that I’ve been expressing a heap of happy n caring feels this entire time. And because of said feelings the changelings are treating this as a feast, and I am the meal.

‘This is my life now I guess, being the emotional support human to a changeling queen… and now my nose itches.’

I can't recall how long this lasted but all I do know is that once it came to an end the changelings that fed backed off before sharing their meal with those that did not get a chance to feed on my positive emotions of encouragement and soothing calm, while Ambrosia herself was purring softly and murmuring that she is a good changeling.

Letting the queen rest where she is on my shoulder, I allowed myself to think on all that was said and how this will affect me going forward.

'Strange fungal colony that may or may not be completely destroyed deep in the depths of the earth and a mysterious cabal of necromancers that are somewhere out there in the world. Just who do they work for, how many necromancers are actually out there and whom do they serve. And then there is the group of diamond dog miners that opened the tunnel, are they from the Ruby Mountain clans or are they just a bunch of rogue dogs who are living on their own?'

'Whatever it is this is going to make my time here much more annoying. Oh joy.'

Was originally scheduled to be released before Thanksgiving day but due to my work schedule making me work the week leading up to Thanksgiving I didn't have the physical energy to type it out nor the mental energy to think on what to put down along with the hell that is December Christmas shopping but thankfully it is now done, sorry for the huge delay.

Happy New Years folks!