Sally watched as the four leaders threw sprigs of a special fungus onto the body. The soldier had known death, stared it in the face, carried it as her weapon. But this was different. Sally had connected with Queen Fangs… mother, on a level that she hadn't with anyone else, pony or human. There was respect, honor, duty and even some fear in there.

The changeling satyr wobbled a little on her hooves. Sweet was at her right side, pressed against her. It helped with support, since she couldn't really walk all that good right now. At her left was Queen Sharp. Sally's tail flicked a little in delight at having her mate risen to such a position. The drones had accepted her so easily, she had after all been doing most of Fangs'… mother's, job for a few weeks.

"Do any challenge my right?" Sharp looked across at the changelings gathered for this ceremony. All the leaders were here, the more brave of the drones too.

"Your right?" One changeling stepped out. "No, I don't challenge your right. Mother named you queen of her hive. I challenge your ability to keep it."

Sharp grinned, showing off her fangs. "A challenge, mother would not have wanted this to go any other way." Bracing her hooves, she focused herself on the other changeling.

Sally wanted to help, wanted to fight by her lover's side, or even in her place. "Come on hoppy, get your butt over here and give Queen Sharp some room." Sweet steadied Sally with her magic.

There were no more words, the leader charged at Sharp, horn already starting to burn with energy.

"This is what you get for bringing so much food to the hive. Everypony is strong, ready to throw their power down for the chance to be ruler. Mother had their measure." Sweet got the wobbly satyr all the way to the other side of the room where they watched.

At first Sharp merely dodged the other changeling, Great Deed's, attacks. Both magical and physical. Sally watched the mare she loved dive, roll and avoid all but the most glancing blow. She hadn't realized Sharp had put in quite this much work, nor how well she countered the magic of the other changeling. Grinning now, Sally saw what was happening. Sharp was playing.

"You leap and dive, you run like a coward. I had feared you were such, bringing a consort with you to your reign. You are weak, Sharp." The words of venom came from Great's mouth and the changeling spat down between herself and Sharp.

"Watch this." Sally had leaned in, her mouth barely moving as she spoke to Sweet. Another changeling nearby heard and turned head and ears both to the pair.

They missed the strike.

Magic had slammed down on the challenger, like a ton of bricks. It bore her down to her belly. The shock of the attack not only stunned the changeling mare but knocked the wind from her too. Sharp was fast. Sally had never seen her move like this and it made her pride grow. She hadn't trained the mare, but she had trained those who had, it seemed. A hoof came down, slamming with force on Great's neck. "YOU WOULD CHALLENGE ME? I AM THE DAUGHTER OF FANGS!"

The pressure she put into her blow had a green glow backing it, Sally able to spot the magic as it forced the hoof harder and harder. "P-P-Please… my queen…" Great was in tears, the pain of having her neck bent like that, so near to breaking, made the mare whimper.

"Honeyed words now? Why wouldn't you accept my rule when I asked? Did you doubt my might that much? I led the attack that killed a rival queen." The words Sharp spoke were half growl.

Sally's heart pounded, Sharp was every bit the fierce warrior she felt she was. Sweet shifted, moving to stand just in front of the satyr. The movement reminded Sally that she had something now that was very good at indicating when she found something arousing. She would have to thank Sweet for her quick thinking.

"My queen I… command me." Great stopped fighting against the hoof and found the strength held in check. It was like a mountain had fallen on her but at the last moment stopped.

"My command, to you and every drone, every leader… every breeder." Sharp lifted her head, glaring at the other changelings present. "Rise, my hive, rise and show your respects to our mother. She was a great queen, she held all in her hoof. I will do the same."

Great felt the strength behind that hoof ease, the dark limb drawing back and then, leaving completely. Stepping back, Sharp looked down on her.

"My queen…" The leader-caste changeling crawled forward and was about to kiss Sharp's hoof when there was a deep green glow in both their eyes. Sharp's horn lit and there was a tremble in the supplicating changeling.

"You are no longer a leader. But I will not force a single changeling from my hive. You will accept orders, you will improve the hive. You will be a drone." Sally trembled a little too at these words. Sharp Mind showed her stock well. She was Fangs' daughter and successor.

The new drone gave a sigh, smiling and leaning in to kiss the hoof properly. "Thank you, my queen."

The scene played out in Sally's mind again, remembering it and now remembering other similar scenes, similar to her mind, that Fangs' had been involved in. "She was keeping her hive strong. She was worried at first, that I would bring weakness. She tested me all the way, every step, she made me fight her, fight myself." Lifting her midnight-black hands up and balling them before her Sally realized she couldn't, ever, hate 'mother'.

"What are you babbling about? We are here to teach you, not to grieve." Sweet clopped a hoof down on the cave floor. "Now, look at this pod here. It has a gryphon in it. You might even recognize them."

Sally did as bid, looking into the pod. Her arm no longer throbbed at the strike of this bird-cat's beak, but she remembered them as a fighter.

"Now, think about the pod, try and think yourself into it." Sweet poked the mass of green goop with a hoof.

The satyr did that, she looked into the open-but-not-seeing eyes of the gryphon, feeling for herself to be there, inside, beside her.

"Good, I can feel you reaching, as can she." Sweet Bite smiled wide. She was having the time of her life, teaching her lover how to do her best trick. This was something Sweet was not just good at, she was a master. "Now think with your teeth, with your hunger. This food is strong, she is safe in the pod. You cannot cause real harm, so bite, drink."

Sally's eyes were closed now, feeling with that strange new part of her. At once two things happened. The griffon inside seemed to squirm, pleasure and happiness welling within her and right then, Sally's hunger rose.

It was a dive. She felt herself lunge in against… something, inside the gryphon. It was sweet, it was delicious. She opened her eyes half way as she found herself pressed tightly against the pod, hands clawing at it, as she fed on the occupant. "Oh… shit…"

Sweet was there, at her side. The changeling pressed against Sally, making her feel as she too reached into the pod. It was like the sense you get, when someone has a second straw in your drink. You still get as much as you can suck, but there is a slight tension as their suction pulls at the air.

"Yeah, there." Sweet's eyes were glowing, Sally's too. Inside the pod the griffon seemed to melt into a dream, squirming, their own eyes aglow.

It took a few moments for Sally to recover, but she felt better, more solid, than she ever had in her life. "We need… we need to get back to the cave." She wobbled on her hooves and fell to her rump. Sweet looked down at her and giggled.

"I hear that, how good are you with that thing, do you think?" Sally's changeling mate gestured to the satyr's groin.

Sally's legs were under her quickly and she was almost ready to pounce Sweet right then, but Sweet was out from under her, running with a laugh.

The stallion Sally had become, even before her body was remade, would not allow this mare to go without a chase.

"You fed today, I hear." Sharp had entered the room, finding her two lovers tangled in each other. "How was it?"

Sally's grin, even waking from a doze, was wide. "It filled a part of me… it made me…"

"Get your first hole." Sharp stepped easily onto the bed. Though she hadn't changed in stature yet, word Sally had overheard seemed to hint that she would grow. Sally was pulled back to the present by Sharp nosing and nuzzling one of her hooves.

"Oh…" There was a single, small hole, right through it. It felt tingly. "Is that meant to… well I guess I am new and all, but I assume feeding is what causes them?"

Sharp nodded, her snout rubbing around the hoof, tickling Sally a little, particularly when she pushed her tongue at that hole.

Sweet Bite rolled a little, ending up on her back and kicking her hole-filled limbs in the air. "See? Lots of holes. Guess what my specialty is?"

Both Sweet's lovers giggled at this, Sharp giving an extra groan when Sally's leg twitched and her hoof pushed harder into her snout.

Sally looked up at their queen. "I think she likes that."

"Are you kidding, smell the air." Sweet poked Sally in the ribs with a hoof, her own nose working.

Sally inhaled deeply and blushed a storm. Things tickled inside, making her rise to the occasion. She pointed to Sweet's hooves, still up in the air. "My queen, your humble breeder is telling you, right now, to please inspect your consort's hooves."

"Is she now I… oh…" Sharp had looked for just a moment, but with her head turned she saw Sweet's offered limbs.

Sally moved, the smell imbued her with an imperative she couldn't ignore. She thought a moment and smiled. She probably could ignore it, but she didn't want to.

Nuzzling and rubbing her snout into Sweet Bite's bunched together hooves, already in her own little version of heaven, Sharp felt as Sally filled her, suddenly.

Sweet was giggling and squirming, the sight before her had her aching for attention as well, but it wasn't so long ago she had gotten some so she waited patiently, having her hooves tickled by her queen. The thought of her queen doing something like this only made her giggle more.

If Sally could purr, she would have. She lounged against the side of the big throne. Sharp sat in the cradling seat, one hoof off the side. The parallel to when Sally had been in this position to mother was not lost, but it was very different when the mare you loved and were loved by was doing it.

"You must choose new breeders from among those captured in the last raid." The leader changeling in the room seemed most insistent.

"Why?" Sharp rubbed at Sally's ear, even with just her hoof it felt good. "Why should I take them?"

The stallion before her looked quite taken aback. "Why? You need more drones, your own drones!" He stomped a hoof on the cave floor. "Your hive grows fat with food, if you hatched another hundred drones you could easily support them, and throw them at that upstart to the east."

Sally tilted her head, pushing her nose into that hoof and feeling it rotate and rub a little firmer.

"You were one of the changelings from the southern hive." Sally murmured it softly, but it was easily heard not only her queen, but also the stallion.

Sharp poked Sally's nose, she had offered Sally the chance to sit in if she wished, but had cautioned her not to speak. "What my breeder is hinting at, is you wish to improve your own old hive's standing by having your drones be my breeders. I don't believe we need to challenge that new hive yet, they are growing slowly, much slower than we are. Go."

The dismissal was final and the stallion, seething, stomped out with his hooves clopping on the stone.

Sharp waited for him to be gone before rounding on Sally. "I knew that, already. You rubbed his nose in it. Don't do that again."

Sally shrank a little, she was a fighter, not a politician. She looked up at the hoof that she knew had almost cracked that initial challenger's spine and gave a soft whine. Sally leaned up and nuzzled the hoof.

The queen sighed, slumping back but keeping her hoof out for Sally. "Sally, just… leave those types to me."

The satyr at her side was doing things to Sharp's hoof that made the queen want to squirm, just a little. She had always thought her little bent would be a problem for her, but never had she thought, as a queen, she would have her mood swayed so easily as being able to press her hoof to her lover, and having it tended to.

Author's Notes:

Sally has a whole new set of physical and mental imperatives wired in now. On one hoof Fangs made sure she was every bit the breeder her daughter would need, on the other she wanted her new changeling to be able to experience all the delights of her new heritage.