"I didn't get this close to them, I didn't know it would be like this…" Easy was looking at the rounded up changelings, Sally hadn't even ordered them lassoed, the sad excuses for their species looked terrible. Some were barely able to walk, only the leaders among them had any real fight in them and even those not much.

"You gave us what you could, clever drone." Sally smiled in a hard line to Easy, reaching a hand out to reassure the mare. "Damn it, where is that bitch, I am going to have words with her, as I cut."

Easy trembled a little, she knew Sally wasn't mad at her, but there was a palpable aura of building fury around her hivemate that the changeling scout new was waiting for just one thing to loose it.

"I… I don't know where she would be, she would normally be in the main cavern… unless she has retreated down." The former leader-caste changeling of the hive they were storming sounded shaken and broken. Her hive was indeed laid bare and she hadn't realized, until seeing the healthy changelings of Queen Sharp's hive, just how things should be.

Sally was stomping around in quite the mood, her spirit growing darker with the need to end this blight. "Where is…" She dropped to her knees, one hand reaching out at what she had found beside the queen's throne. There were three bodies, ponies. "CHANGELINGS!" Her voice thundered, echoing in the suddenly quiet caves. "WHERE IS THIS QUEEN TURNED BLIGHT?" She rose and turned to the weak drones and leaders of the hive. "Where is she, where will I end her?"

Even Sweet, watching from the side, took a step back. Her mate was in such a frenzy as the drone had never seen before. There was a glow to her eyes, green, Sweet knew she had not put it there and couldn't guess at the origin. Their queen had, as usual, instilled them with a level of protection against casual mind-magics, but this was brighter still.

Sally held the changelings spellbound. They trembled before her as she scanned their eyes. At last one caught her senses and she stepped forward. Bodies parted before her like the ocean before a ship's prow. "You tend the pods. I can smell the slime on you. Where is she?"

The changeling, a leader by their caste, but looking as weak willed as any drone, lifted a hoof and pointed to a cave. The green glowing blade slipped from Sally's back and into a hand as she turned and started off, hooves pounding.

"Easy, Strong, come on!" Sweet gave orders to the two most capable ponies she knew, only having Direct move up with them at the last minute. "Come on, if the queen has gorged herself, she could have a lot of power behind her."

Sally's eyes loved the dark, they were made for it. She didn't hide the clop of her hooves, nor her voice. "Come out, grub, you have infested this hive too long." Her taunting words echoed down the hall and she heard a gasp come from one passage. Her speed increased as she was now running just as fast as Sweet would canter at her side. There were hoof-beats behind her, her own hivemates were the only changelings mad enough to chase her into this labyrinth.

"They send a freak cross-breed after me?" Sally dodged as the rip of magic tried to tear past her. The rock wall beside where she had stood had a gouge in it. "Quick little piece of changeling waste."

It was everything she could do to avoid the powerful strikes. Sally could see this chamber was full of pods, pods with ponies in them. Dancing and diving, she tried to avoid leading the queen into the bulk of trapped food. Sally neither wanted more lives lost here or the queen to recharge herself on their energy. "Come on, you call this fighting? I know drones who are faster with their strikes than this." Sally spat the words at her, laughing at another flash of magic she had to dive from.

"You slippery little rat, very well, lets see how good you really are." The green glow from the queen's eyes rolled out and Sally felt as if she was suddenly in the ocean. Waves of energy bashed and battered her mental defenses. Even Sharp's carefully laid dominance was faltering. "Yes, that's it, on your knees now, I think I will send you back out and show my weakling drones how to cut down your hive."

Sally's fury was not being reduced, the queen fed into it, building the rage Sally had built at finding the ponies dead.

Sweet found them, then. Sally on her knees before the bloated oversized queen, her blade half hanging from her hand as she stared up, eyes locked with the dominating gaze. Sweet struggled, that just the cast-off waves of dominance from the corner of the queen's vision enough to half-stun her. "Direct… block that if you can…"

Beside her the cocky stallion cast forth his magic, not trying to fight the queen directly but spraying a pile of rock-dust into her eyes. The pressure in the room dropped and Sweet looked up in time to see Sally fall to the ground bonelessly.

"You filthy wretches, just you wait until I deal with you!" The queen didn't look impressed by Direct's trick, making the changeling stallion grin happily. He tried to work a hood next but it was rebuffed by the queen.

Strong had been badly affected by the dominance stare but with the queen having to close her eyes in pain at the dust and sand in them. The mare's breath came in with a deep rush as she leaped into action. Hooves pounding, she watched the target ahead of her as she dodged around. No actual attacks came but they might. A glint caught her eyes and she found what she needed. The big queen was large enough that the drone was sure there was nothing she could hit with hoof or body that would really slow her. Sally's sword, though, was just ahead.

Easy had never seen the pony ruler who it was whispered raised the sun. She didn't think anypony else had either, so that was okay. She came out from behind a smashed and broken pod a huge black stallion with burning eyes. "You will be the second queen I have defeated. I Celestus, will end you!"

The queen's eyes were wide with terror. She knew the legends of the sun-raiser, that a powerful queen had thrown her army at them only for their hive to be shattered by one strike of their hoof. The monstrous-looking pony before her, with huge bat-like wings and two horns, must surely be them. "I… please, I didn't hurt your ponies on purpose! I was hungry!"

Easy stepped closer, her magic burning up by the second as she was forced to exist as something much larger than her normal form. She reached out but every pod she touched, for energy, felt drained almost to death. She had seen Sally in so much fury at just a few wasted souls, she would rather risk this queen's wrath than her hybrid friend.

The distraction was enough for Sweet Bite to move around, behind the huge image of destruction that Easy had built herself to be. She knew the mare's limits and knew she would be reaching them soon. Suddenly a burn of green fire rolled over the big stallion and the little drone, Easy Slip, fell to her side.

Strong glanced a moment to see her distraction was gone, but Sweet was there. She turned her head away, a moment late. An ache of desire rose in her, the memory of Sweet Bite's eyes, glowing green, was something she had to fight not to turn back and gaze at.

The queen was shocked a moment. Such a perfect mare stood there, looking up at her. All the troubles of her fight were lost in a split second as she felt her will bending to her heart. The most amazing drone she had ever seen walked closer, her pretty eyes so easy to… to…

Something was wrong, Sweet saw as the queen lifted a hoof toward her. The drone threw herself aside at the last moment as the crushing hoof slammed where she had been.

"YOU WOULD TRY TO ENSLAVE ME?" The words trembled in the air but even as Sweet rolled she heard hoof beats.

Strong had reached the blade, her mouth scooping it up. Looking up to her target, the drone didn't hesitate in her dive. Wings folded back, Strong's legs bounded, launching her up with that blade sideways in her fangs. The queen barely noticed the approach, with everything else that had been thrown at her. The blade was sharp as sharp could be. Strong felt it slide and slice, the edge working past the softer flesh at the queen's neck.

A gurgle was all the dying matriarch managed as thick ichor sprayed and leaked. Strong landed and skidded to a stop on her hooves. Turning, she ran back at the queen, climbing up onto her bloated form and driving the blade in, point first, at her withers.

"There they are!"

The voices of her hivemates were welcome to Strong. She looked around the room. Sally was still slumped, as was Easy. Direct had trotted over to the satyr to check on her while Sweet was with Easy.

Strong tried to yank the blade free but it was wedged in firmly and, figuring Sally would get her blade back eventually anyway, she jumped down from the dead queen.

"Check the pods!" The voice of the leader that had pointed Sally down into these depths was yelling, getting Sweet's attention.

"Don't feed on them, they are almost dead as it is." Sweet Bite's voice was firm. She hoped her mate would be fine, she didn't think Sally had taken more than a mind-probe. She turned and started directing her hivemates to freeing the food in here and to search for more.

Sally felt like somepony had played a long game of tennis with her head as the ball. "What…"

"Shh, relax." Easy was beside the satyr and to Sally's ears they sounded not a lot better than she felt. "Got that bitch. Sweet is organizing everything."

This startled Sally. "Sweet?" It seemed odd, there had been a few leaders with them, from their hive.

"If you can get up, you probably should. There is no food here to replenish us, none that wouldn't die if we drank it."

Sally's energy returned in a rush, reserves she didn't know she had kicking in and getting her to her feet. She saw Easy relaxing on her belly beside where she had been laying. "You coming, weakling little drone?" She offered an ear rub to take the sting from the words.

"Yes you damn cross-bred freak." Easy returned the well-meaning insult. "I don't know a lot more than that."

Thudding hooves were heard and Sally had time to half turn before being captured in a happy mare's front legs. "You should lay down for a bit more." Sally wanted to demand when the mare had become so bossy but fought the instinct.

"No, enough rest. What has happened?" Sally kissed Sweet's nose, then lower and finding herself lost in the embrace. It took a few moments before they parted.

"Oh, sure, now you break apart. I thought you were both going to choke and I could step up and lead the charge next time." Easy grumbled but, without meaning to, stepped up to Sweet and hugged her.

Sally looked to Sweet, who looked back. "Easy?" Sweet looked down to the mare and sensed a soft glow in the drone's eyes.

"I think I took one for the team…" Before Sweet could react to her friend's behavior she got a second kiss from the infiltrator.

Sally couldn't stop herself, she giggled.

"It's not funny!" Sweet had managed to pull back from the kiss. "Easy, please, calm down."

"Damn it, you hit that queen with everything you had." Easy Slip sat down on her rump, looking up to Sweet. "I was going down, the form faded and I lay on my side, looking up."

Sweet Bite looked sad. "Easy that… that WAS a lot." She reached out a hoof and rubbed the mare's cheek.

"You think that's bad," a new voice called from behind the little group, "I have a stallion I love very much. Now I have a mare I can't stop thinking about!"

They turned to see Strong Back approaching.

"Just what did you do?" Sally looked to her mate, lifting an eyebrow.

Author's Notes:

Well, a badly managed hive struck down. Not a lot to show for it but a whole herd of badly broken ponies. Oh, hay, Sweet made some new friends!