Sweet Bite found Sally at the running circuit. It wasn't hard to work out she was there, since she had been learning to walk again, the drone just knew her lover would be aching to run. And run she did. Sweet had to quickly push herself into a canter to catch up and keep abreast of Sally.

"You still stumble when you walk, how are you doing this?" Sweet's body stretched easily into the motion, her hooves clopping on the stone floor.

Sally laughed and pounded her hooves faster. "Catch me if you can, slow-poke!"

The mood was more than infectious and Sweet pushed herself into a full gallop, her legs leaving the ground completely from one moment to the next. It took all the mare's speed to catch the running satyr. "Why are we going so fast?"

Sweet saw as Sally turned her head, her adorable little snout open, gasping in big lung-fulls of air. "It's good to run!"

At the pace they set for each other, neither was going to last too long. It was Sally that slowed first, weeks without heavy exercise having left her a little short on stamina. Sweet slowed with her, panting, but not out of breath. They brought themselves down to a light trot for the changeling mare, just a jog for Sally. "So why are we really running?" Sweet leaned over and poked Sally in the ribs as she asked, using her magic due to her hooves being kinda busy.

"No cold showers. A good run works off the energy." Sally watched the mare running at her side and cursed a moment. "Not working with you here though, still want… still want to jump you."

Sweet looked surprised at this and slowed more. Sally brought her speed down to match and eventually the two were just walking. It was obvious the slowest pace wasn't working as well for Sally as running had, her hooves wobbled every now and again.

"That bad? Guessing the reason breeders are normally kept away from the queen, unless she is wanting eggs, is now a little obvious." Sweet stepped so that she was a little further from Sally, understanding now that she had ruined most of the reason her partner had been running in the first place.

Sally would have none of it, she walked over and put one arm over Sweet's withers. "Doesn't matter now, you are here." Sweet looked up at the words the satyr said, realization dawning.

"Maybe we should go and talk to the drones who handle the breeders. There might be a trick to… calming you. Normal changeling stallions aren't like this." Sweet turned from the track and made for a side passage, one Sally had never had a need to explore.

The passage was long but, at it's end there was a series of large caverns. Sally lifted her nose and inhaled, finding something familiar in the air.

"Yeah, smells a bit like you just now. Like a dozen stallions are all showing off at once." Sweet confirmed Sally's mental musings.

A drone appeared before them from a side passage. "Who are you and why are you here?"

Sally blinked in surprise but Sweet scowled and stepped forward. "The queens breeder has come, she has questions."

The words confused the drone and he did a double take at Sally. "He is no breeder, freak, crossbreed!"

The satyr in question crossed her arms over her chest and was about to give the drone a good yelling at when Sweet just sighed. "Be a good drone and help us or I will tell the queen why I ripped your wings off. Trust me, she will forgive me doing that before she forgives your treatment of her." Gesturing to Sally with a hoof, Sweet looked fully ready to follow through on her promise.

Sally had certainly never seen a drone go pale, let alone as pale as this one went. "I… what can I do to help?" He seemed to have made a choice, his wings buzzing a little as if he were thinking about how it would feel to lose them.

Sweet smiled, fangs displayed and showed off. "A much more useful frame of mind. The queen does not require eggs at the moment, but she also wishes to keep her breeder near." Sweet Bite gestured to Sally again. "Now, what can be done to alleviate the… side effects of our breeder here remaining close to the queen."

The drone looked scandalized. "All breeders should stay down here until needed for eggs. He must remain here… are you sure he is a breeder?" They advanced on Sally.

"Whoa, hold on. I am not staying down here. I love Queen Sharp, and she I. Isn't there some slime I could rub on, or eat, or something?" The satyr had her hands out, trying to back away. She missed all the cues she should have gotten, that the drone was beginning a leash.

The green magic circled Sally's neck and she lifted her hands, too slow, to try and block it. "Come, breeder, strange though you might be. If the queen has truly chosen you I can find a nice calm cave for you to sleep in."

Sweet didn't hesitate. Her eyes lit, her power flowing out and as the drone turned at the glow, he was ensnared. "Let go of your leash, little pet." Her words startled Sally, but not enough to delay her stepping back and away from the now love-struck drone. Sally did see the glow in the room grow, her own eyes lighting. It felt nice and tingly.

Then it hit the satyr. "Oh, oh!"

Sweet looked full at her lover, grinning at the growing glow in Sally's eyes. "You okay?"

Sweet was tackled by a pouncing satyr, the pair rolling aside on the hard floor. Sally ended up on top, grinning like a loon. "It stopped it, your talent!" She leaned down and kissed Sweet Bite, kissed her a second time and giggled.

The recumbent changeling kissed Sally back and smiled into her partner's lips. It was a little time before they drew back, Sweet could see Sally's eyes glowing bright as ever. She thought about her special knack and focused on it. Looking only into Sally's eyes, inches from her own, Sweet poured out her power and watched as Sally gazed back. "How is that?"

Sally kissed her again but pulled back quickly. "It's great, like your power just cleared all the cobwebs out… smoke… no, fog!" The two untangled themselves and Sally looked at the drone standing patiently, waiting for his new love to give him another command, suggestion or even just an off-hoofed comment.

"He was an ass anyway." Sweet squinted at him and grumbled something else. "You be nicer to visitors, or I will never come back."

The drone looked shocked and trembled. "Please, I will be good!"

"No more lassoing random ponies, even if you think they are a breeder. That is not a nice spell to use." Sweet Bite seemed to be on a roll but Sally gestured to the exit, her eyes still glowing strongly.

Sweet nodded to the satyr. "I will go now. Tomorrow I will be in the main chamber, upstairs. Come up and I will give you a kiss."

The drone nodded so fast his head was a blur. "I will!"

Sally sighed. She knew it couldn't have been avoided, and was thankful Sweet used her talent, but it would take the drone some time to get over the effects.

Sweet trotted out, falling in beside Sally. "How is it now, no need still?"

Shaking her head, Sally did a few steps of a dance. "Nope, all gone, think that big hit will last me a day?"

"No clue. We will find out though, want to go for another run?" At Sweet's question Sally was already picking up pace, the changeling having to trot to keep up.

Six hooves pounded the track, the pair winding up their run at the pod farm. Moving slower, both were talking with their mouths a little more open. Sally noticed it and pointed it out. "Hay, you realize you show more fang when you are hungry?"

Sweet, looking for it now, nodded. "You too. What's on the menu?" The last was directed to the leader-caste who was in charge of the pods.

The stallion beamed, he loved his job. "Tonight we have the usual course of bunny. But of course the two mates of the queen are allowed to dine a little higher than that." He twirled in place, moving aside a little to show that two ponies were in the same pod. "These two, new lovers from the farm upstairs, asked to spend some time in the pods, together. An unusual request, sure, but they claimed that without the queen, they wouldn't have met." He was showing them the pod now, the green suspension inside holding the two ponies close, Sally could see they were kissing.

"They look adorably tasty, but isn't this reserved for-" Sweet was licking her lips but was interrupted by the changeling right behind them.

"The queen." Sharp quickly had two limpets attached to her, one changeling mare, the other a glowing-eyed satyr. Her magic flowed out and around the two, hugging them close. "So we get a special meal together."

The stallion leader looked absolutely delighted with this, gave a bow and made to drift away. The three females quite clearly heard him mutter. "Those two ponies deserve such a reward… but what?"

Sally grinned. "Sweet did it!" She did a little dance, her eyes closing in glee.

"Did what? Why is there a report that somepony did something to the head breeder handler?" Sharp looked at Sweet with a stern expression. She broke and giggled at her mate though, nipping her on an ear. "I trust he deserved it?"

Sweet grinned and nodded, twitching said ear. "He tried to lasso Sally! I used my whammy on him and, well, he calmed down a lot but Sally got a lot happier."

"Why were you two there?" Sharp looked between her two lovers.

"I couldn't stop thinking about sex. Every time I so much as got near a mare I got up and waved at her. When I closed my eyes all I could see was you." Sally pointed an accusing finger at Sharp. "But her power fixed it… suppressed it probably. I can think straight again!"

The satyr's next dance ended up putting her out of balance and she flopped over gracelessly into Sharp, feeling the mare's strong horn-grip holding her.

"Good news then. My clever mares, solving all their own problems." Sharp's words had her only half smiling, memories of the issues of keeping the hive in balance threatening to steal Sally's victory.

"Why, you got some too? Find me a leader you don't like and let me beat them to a pulp!" Sally threw a few practice punches into the air, her new arms proving to be not only as strong as her human ones, but stronger.

"Oh, that would be perfect. I am sure I need a mare who is generally accepted to be a breeder, beating down one of my leaders." Sharp slumped forward and lay down against the pod.

"Then what about another hive? Are there any around we should dust up?" Sally walked over with only one wobbly step and turned, sitting down just in front of Sharp, pressing her back against the queen's chest. The satyr got an ear nuzzle for her efforts and closeness.

"That wouldn't work unless…" Sharp tilted her head, thinking hard on something. Sweet coming down beside her and snuggling in didn't distract her in the slightest, even when the drone got to kissing her neck. "Sally, there is an older hive, a good few days away. If we hit that I could unload some of our excess leaders there, dump all the problem ones at once. If the old place has enough food we could even get away without giving any up."

Sally was distracted, however. She had reached out to the pod and now wore a silly and goofy grin.

"Sally, you okay?" Sharp tilted her head down and began to giggle at Sally's look. "Sally drank too much too fast. Silly filly, love this pure and given so freely, you have to take little bites."

The satyr looked up, turning her head to the side so her horn didn't poke Sharp in the neck, began kissing the exposed neck and jaw of the queen. "You're so pretty…" Even to her own ears Sally knew it was silly, but she didn't care, her queen had a war planned.

Author's Notes:

Now Sally knows how stick felt, when Cadance let her have a nibble. Careful girl, that stuff is 200% proof!