Sweet followed them, four changelings trailing her like lost sheep. The mare had heard what Sally said and, despite herself, she blushed with a warm feeling. It was still a little confusing to her, that her power didn't work on the human. She pondered that when they were all back and safe, she would test it on Sharp Mind too.

As they neared the small encampment Sally motioned them to stop and Sweet cursed softly and had to tell her charges to also drop down. "Something's wrong, we should have seen one of our scouts by now."

Easy's eyes widened and the flames that poured over her swelled her pony-like form back into a large feline. Sally moved back to where Sweet was.

"What does it mean?" Sweet suddenly had a chill feeling.

Sally shook her head, she didn't want to think about it either. Her dull green blade was in her hand now, her other resting on Sweet's withers. The cat that stepped from the brush did so in dead silence. Easy didn't drop her shape. "There are changelings everywhere. This was a trap."

"Fuck." The word was out of Sally's mouth before she even realized and she followed it up. "Anything strange there?"

"If you count the queen of that hive, then yeah." Easy Slip moved in and pressed to Sally's side. Her weapon side.

The woman shifted herself, stepping over Easy so she could press the almost-trembling changeling between her and Sweet. "Okay, our plan stepped up a notch. We move now. What is the easiest way in there without getting seen?"

"No chance. I barely got out, and only by nudging away two lassos." Easy felt like a very small drone right then, Sharp mind was captured and she had been the only leader in their force.

"Okay, Sweet, how well do you think they would follow orders?" Sally gestured to the four love-struck changelings.

Sweet looked back. "The two older ones, not so great. That one," she singled one out with a hoof, "is so love-lost they think I am their queen."

"Perfect." Sally's mind had cooked up something.

"Who goes?" The chittering demand came from the brush ahead of them. A group of six changeling drones melting from the forest.

"It's just Slink." Another one of the six seemed to have recognized the changeling in front of Sally, Sweet and Easy. "How… you caught them?"

The little changeling, his lasso extended and fastened around the three 'mares', looked so very proud. "I am taking them to see Queen Phalanx."

Sally hated wearing these lasso collars, but it needed to be done.

Slink stepped forward, jerking on the leashes and making them all stumble forward. Sally cursed under her breath.

The drone got much praise from their hivemates, a few cheers as the others saw them leading the last of the new slaves to meet their queen.

"How fascinating. Fangs giving all sorts of strange pets to her drones to play with now?" A larger changeling, her eyes aglow, turned and looked at Sally.

She could feel as the queen delved in, trying to set a spell of control. But one was already in place. The woman said her thanks to her queen, and would thank her more later. Sally dropped down to one knee, her head leaning out and touching the forest floor at the queen's hooves.

"Respectful at least, if not particularly tasty." The queen reached out a hoof and pressed it down on the back of Sally's neck, the human now struggling to get out from under the slowly crushing limb.

"I love you!" Sally screamed it, putting as much of her emotion behind the word as she could, focusing on all the love she had for her girls.

Every multifaceted eye was on her. All but two. The call had served as a trigger. First, Slink dropped the leashes. Sally felt that and smiled, feeling the queen delving around, finding the love she now had.

The second target of her words was already moving. The glint of green at the base of Sally's back was the first target of Easy's. The poncho the human had been wearing had hidden the blade before but now, leaning forward as she was, Sally's short sword's handle was visible. The burn of green came over Easy Slip as hooves became paws, stiff legs became muscled feline ones.

Sally felt the claws dig into her lower back, not far, but Easy needed some leverage. Fangs brushed the base of her spine as the changeling-cat's mouth clamped down on the handle and ripped the blade free. Sally pushed up with her legs, springing Easy up.

The human felt the intrusion into her mind break suddenly as a great weight fell on her. Wetness flowed down around Sally and all around there was a stunned silence. She was pinned under the weight of the queen's body. "You got her?"

Easy had become a changeling again, standing over Sally in a protective stance. "Yeah I got her, nopony is moving…"

"Get her off me and I will show you movement." It was a good natured growl from Sally and she felt the dead-weight lifted off enough that she could scoot out. Her poncho was stained green, as were her arms, fingers… well, most of her. She stood up and held out her hand. Easy slipped the ichor-slicked blade into her hand. "This hive is no more! In Queen Fangs' name, we claim all you have!"

Sharp watched Sally and Sweet leave. She trusted them not to get hurt. At least, she tried to tell herself that. "When did-" As Sharp turned back to Strong, she felt something tingle at her neck. "Ambush!" She got the word out as her hoof raised up to block the spell.

The fighting had been fierce but short. They were outnumbered nearly five to one. Sharp's mind raced as fast as it could. Each of her changelings had been leashed up, their magic held in check by the control spell.

"Well well, so old blunt Fangs didn't just send drones at me." Sharp whimpered a little, the queen of the hive had come out. "Tell me, little leader, are you all here?" The queen's eyes lit with power and it pushed against that which Fangs had imparted on her squad.

"You got us all." Sharp tried to focus, to make it sound like her voice was deadpan.

The queen grinned, opening her mouth when a changeling came running up. "My queen! One of the scouts returns, they captured more!"

Sharp's mind fractured then, her one desire that the two mares she cares about would get away dashed.

"Very well, have them brought directly to me." The queen stalked away and spared a look back at Sharp. "You managed to lie. I would have the secret to this trick… later."

Tears came, Sharp Mind could think of all the horrible things that could happen. Of the queen draining Sally to death, stomping Sweet once she discovered her talent. She heard the queen's voice sound triumphant, not too far away. Then it was like all the enemy drones around her stopped. They stopped taunting their captives. They stopped tugging their leashes to force them to move around. They stopped focusing on the leashes.

"This hive is no more! In Queen Fangs' name, we claim all you have!"

Sharp's head snapped up. Sally sounded like she was ready to fight, screw or both.

The changeling's legs moved on their own, she got to her feet and advanced on where she heard the voice come from to find Sally standing atop the dead queen, green changeling blood staining nearly every part of her. Sally's eyes were wide as she beheld the sight of the warrior, the human glaring at the drones and leaders around her, daring any to step up.

"Sharp! Get the squad together, we have a hive to pillage." Sharp ran, she collided with the human and half-knocked the wind from her. Sally's free arm curled around Sharp's neck. "Didn't think I would leave you in their hooves?"

More of their hivemates came from where they were interred. Strong and Hard led their own group of bruisers, rounding up the suddenly lost-seeming changelings of the defeated queen.

Sweet Bite trotted neatly up and pressed into Sharp's other side, nuzzling against the leader. "You don't have to use yourself as bait, you know. I am sure we could have found her," she gestured at the old queen, "eventually."

Sharp nipped at Sweet's ear just once before pulling free of her partners. There was hive business to do. "Drones, you now belong to a new hive. Know that though you will have a home, you will be expected to bow to Queen Fangs, though she isn't your mother, know that she will be fair." There was a huddle to one side she had to focus on right now. "Leaders. You get a choice." Sharp's grin spoke volumes and immediately two mares stepped up.

"We pledge our lives to Queen Fangs." Their voices were almost perfectly matched, Sally had an idea something was going on there.

"The rest of you?" Sally now stepped up beside Sharp, the changeling blood drying on her arms and face, giving the human the most fearsome look any changeling could dread to see.

Two more dashed away while the remaining looked to each other and milled around. Suddenly they were running.

"Oh silly little snacks." Sweet had circled around and was right in their path, her eyes glowing. Only Sally and Sweet were within the arc of her gaze and as the leader changelings fell to Sweet Bite's power, Sharp turned to Sally. Both of them could see the world as a shade of green. They recognized that each had softly glowing eyes.

"I don't… why isn't her magic working on us?" Sharp looked up at Sally, confused.

Sally crouched down and wrapped her free arm around the mare. "We love her to bits already. At this point it is like pouring water into the ocean."

Sharp kissed Sally on the lips and they turned back, away from where their mate had just secured the undying love of five powerful changelings.

"I swear, my drone, if you brought me back the pony empire next time, I would not be surprised." Fangs was positively glowing. The strike she had ordered had concluded with not only zero losses to her hive, but she gained a whole mess of drones and food.

Sally laughed and focused herself. She knew she had a debt to pay. Leaning forward and down, she lowered herself and tilted her head forward. Her neck offered completely to Fangs.

"And then a queen has to ask herself, why her most valued drone keeps giving her neck like this?" Fangs didn't turn back the offer, she still began to feed, even brought her fangs down to Sally's neck.

"Your spell saved me, saved us all." Sally felt the points of those fangs. She trusted her queen now, so much so that she didn't feel fear around her. "Their queen pushed at my mind, tried to ensnare me."

The fangs released a moment. "She couldn't break my grip?"

Sally waited until the fangs were back, closing her eyes. "She struggled, she died trying."

The fangs clamped tight, Sally felt a little blood leak as her mind reeled. Her heart raced as Fangs held tight to her and, after a tense few hundred beats, the changeling queen released her neck.

"I apologize, my drone. You didn't deserve that. You really should save such delightful news for times when I don't have your neck in my jaws." Fangs licked the blood from Sally's neck, the queen's tongue making Sally relax again, her heart slow back down.

"I guess your drone wanted to test you." Sally lifted her head slowly, facing her queen.

Neither noticed how quiet the room had gotten around them. "Test me?" fangs raised one eyebrow carefully.

"Your magic is, as far as I can tell, unsurpassed. Your hive swells with health and power. You chose to listen to a strange creature rather than just consume it. Queen Fangs. My queen." Sally lowered her head again. She wasn't really sure anymore, what to think. She really liked the queen, in an odd way. The mare held her life in her hoof still, but then she held every changeling in the hive the same way.

"Your tests are strange, little drone." Fangs' teeth came down on Sally's unpierced ear and the woman felt a sharp prick as she was pierced there too. "You confuse me sometimes, other times I see a changeling every bit as adept as myself. Your mares need to see you aren't dead at my hooves. Go to them." Sally's eyes flickered slightly green and she smiled.

"Thank you, my queen." The words came easy, so easy, Sally knew the queen was using force but she didn't care, it was simply how Fangs worked.

Author's Notes:

Complicated relationship is complicated. Sally comes to a more full understanding of not only her own place in the hive, but of a queen's.